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#1937574 - 05/05/08 05:40 PM

combo organs

arneyz
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I'm looking into getting an old electric organ. Not a Hammond but more like whatever The Doors used. I think a single tier would be ideal. But I would like it to be something close to 61 keys and if it takes two tiers to achieve that then so be it. I play alternative rock music but I plan to use this similarly to how one would use a synth, putting filters and effects in front of it to get different sounds that you wouldn't normally attribute to an organ.

Seeing as this is kind of an experimental buy, I don't want to spend too much. Under and around $500 US is ideal. let me know if you need more info.

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#1937576 - 05/05/08 05:46 PM

Re: combo organs [Re: arneyz]

ITGITC?
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The answer to the question is...

Wait, what's the question?

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#1937582 - 05/05/08 05:53 PM

Re: combo organs [Re: ITGITC?]

arneyz
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I guess the question would be. Whats a good electric organ that i can snag for little cash.

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#1937583 - 05/05/08 05:53 PM

Re: combo organs [Re: ITGITC?]

The Real MC
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Very few combo organ are more than 49 keys, most of the 61 key models have bass in the lower octave.

#1937584 - 05/05/08 05:55 PM

Re: combo organs [Re: The Real MC]

Ed Coury
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Knock knock...

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#1937592 - 05/05/08 06:15 PM

Re: combo organs [Re: Ed Coury]

arneyz
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do the bass keys just skip down an octave from what would normally be there. I don't really mind bass keys. could actually be a good thing.

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#1937600 - 05/05/08 06:28 PM

Re: combo organs [Re: arneyz]

mate_stubb
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It is hard to speak in generalities - combo organs were very diverse. Many bass sections activated a completely different set of stops that tried to sound like a bass guitar or similar.

BTW, any combo organ you buy will be very old, and very heavy compared to anything modern.

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#1937611 - 05/05/08 06:45 PM

Re: combo organs [Re: mate_stubb]

arneyz
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i know they're old. but how heavy can something not much bigger than a keyboard be? I have been looking at Farfisa as it is really the only company i can find other than hammond.

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#1937613 - 05/05/08 06:48 PM

Re: combo organs [Re: arneyz]

eric
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Look for a Vox Continental. They are cool and red.

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#1937619 - 05/05/08 07:04 PM

Re: combo organs [Re: eric]

arneyz
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I like red. I didn't see any up on ebay at the moment. do you know how often they come along? And it looks like that is the organ the doors used which is perfect.

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#1937622 - 05/05/08 07:12 PM

Re: combo organs [Re: arneyz]

eric
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There is a Vox Jaguar on eBay right now for $450 Buy It Now. Could be intriguing. If you search completed auctions there are a couple that sold in the past week or two. Seems to be fairly regular, but may be a little out of your price range. You sure you are limiting your search to transistor combo organs?

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#1937629 - 05/05/08 07:32 PM

Re: combo organs [Re: arneyz]

mate_stubb
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Originally Posted By: arneyz

I like red. I didn't see any up on ebay at the moment. do you know how often they come along? And it looks like that is the organ the doors used which is perfect.

Vox Continental was used on the Doors first album. They are highly prized and you will not find one for the kind of money you want to spend.

Ray also used a Gibson G101 later, which was a cool organ as well. These also go for high prices because of the Doors connection.

The Vox Jaguar was a junior organ to the Continental, but should still be fun.

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#1937636 - 05/05/08 07:45 PM

Re: combo organs [Re: eric]

arneyz
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Originally Posted By: eric

There is a Vox Jaguar on eBay right now for $450 Buy It Now. Could be intriguing. If you search completed auctions there are a couple that sold in the past week or two. Seems to be fairly regular, but may be a little out of your price range. You sure you are limiting your search to transistor combo organs?

Are there other kinds I should be looking at? If there is another kind of cheap alternative with a similar kind of sound, I'd be willing to look into it.

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#1937638 - 05/05/08 07:47 PM

Re: combo organs [Re: arneyz]

eric
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You might be happy with a modern inexpensive rompler like Yamaha MM6, Korg X50, Yamaha MO6, Roland Juno D or similar. These would be able to pull off a Vox/Farfisa organ sound plus a ton of other sounds, not to mention being easier to carry and more reliable than an old transistor organ. Go to a local shop and play some.

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#1937649 - 05/05/08 08:06 PM

Re: combo organs [Re: eric]

arneyz
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The only thing is I know the transistor combo organs can be run through a guitar amp. but I don't know about these digital keyboards. If I only used the organ sounds would I be fine or would I have to go spend a thousand dollars on a PA? Thats my dilemma.

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#1937680 - 05/05/08 09:59 PM

Re: combo organs [Re: arneyz]

jook
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Besides being expensive these days, the Vox organs tend to be easy to break - just from playing them too hard (which was why Ray Manzarek of The Doors stopped using them).

There's no reason why you can't run a digital keyboard through a guitar amp.

#1937705 - 05/06/08 12:23 AM

Re: combo organs [Re: arneyz]

Dave Horne
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Originally Posted By: arneyz

The only thing is I know the transistor combo organs can be run through a guitar amp. but I don't know about these digital keyboards. If I only used the organ sounds would I be fine or would I have to go spend a thousand dollars on a PA? Thats my dilemma.

The only thought that came to mind was this - the sound from those old 'transistor' keyboards were so shitty to begin with, a guitar amp that colors the sound wouldn't make much of a difference to the listener. Is that your point re guitar amps and a flatter PA system?

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#1937762 - 05/06/08 04:20 AM

Re: combo organs [Re: Dave Horne]

King Julien
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Look for a Yamaha YC-20 - they too are cool and red and vintage and can sound like a Vox or Farfisa. For others check out Comboorgan Heaven. Quite drool worthy methinks.

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#1937766 - 05/06/08 04:32 AM

Re: combo organs [Re: Ed Coury]

Ed Coury
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Originally Posted By: Ed Coury

Knock knock...

Who's there?
Farfisa.
Farfisa who?
Farfisa's jolly good fellow,
Farfisa's jolly good fellow...

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#1937817 - 05/06/08 06:11 AM

Re: combo organs [Re: arneyz]

JMcS
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Originally Posted By: arneyz

Are there other kinds I should be looking at? If there is another kind of cheap alternative with a similar kind of sound, I'd be willing to look into it.

You might try finding one of these:
http://www.vintagesynth.com/index2.html

#1937854 - 05/06/08 06:52 AM

Re: combo organs [Re: Ed Coury]

MusicWorkz
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Originally Posted By: Ed Coury

Originally Posted By: Ed Coury

Knock knock...

Who's there?
Farfisa.
Farfisa who?
Farfisa's jolly good fellow,
Farfisa's jolly good fellow...

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#1937855 - 05/06/08 06:57 AM

Re: combo organs [Re: ITGITC?]

Leberwurst
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Originally Posted By: ITGITC?

The answer to the question is...

Wait, what's the question?

no kidding - not long ago there was a trance song very popular in Germany. The lyrics were "The question is - what is the question?" Went on for 5 minutes

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#1937861 - 05/06/08 07:04 AM

Re: combo organs [Re: arneyz]

mate_stubb
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Originally Posted By: arneyz

i know they're old. but how heavy can something not much bigger than a keyboard be?

Heh heh. You have NO idea.

I thought it would be fun to post pics of every combo organ I ever gigged with. Every one of them felt like a refridgerator to haul around, and that was with my pre-Hammond healthy back.

Pics linked from combo-organ.com:

The Doric:

The trusty Farfisa Combo Compact:

The Gibson G101:

And finally for my last combo organ, I went back to Farfisa for the Professional:

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#1938058 - 05/06/08 12:03 PM

Re: combo organs [Re: JMcS]

arneyz
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Originally Posted By: Dave Horne

...Is that your point re guitar amps and a flatter PA system?

I'm not sure I know what you mean by this.

Originally Posted By: JMcS

Originally Posted By: arneyz

Are there other kinds I should be looking at? If there is another kind of cheap alternative with a similar kind of sound, I'd be willing to look into it.

You might try finding one of these:
http://www.vintagesynth.com/index2.html

This seems to just be a link to the home page.

mate_stubb what is that in your avatar?

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#1938107 - 05/06/08 01:30 PM

Re: combo organs [Re: arneyz]

mate_stubb
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Originally Posted By: arneyz

mate_stubb what is that in your avatar?

Rhodes Chroma and Chroma Expander.

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#1938119 - 05/06/08 01:51 PM

Re: combo organs [Re: mate_stubb]

timwat
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Just stumbled into this thread but am pretty sure the venerable Chroma and Expander doesn't qualify as a combo organ.

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#1938127 - 05/06/08 02:06 PM

Re: combo organs [Re: timwat]

arneyz
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Originally Posted By: timwat

Just stumbled into this thread but am pretty sure the venerable Chroma and Expander doesn't qualify as a combo organ.

I was just wondering what it was. It looked kind of like an organ.

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#1938232 - 05/06/08 05:01 PM

Re: combo organs [Re: arneyz]

Zack Pomerleau
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Vox Conti was used on parts of the second album too

#1938899 - 05/07/08 06:45 PM

Re: combo organs [Re: Zack Pomerleau]

arneyz
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So, as far as sound goes do most transistor combos sound pretty much the same or does it very alot from company to company?

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#1940328 - 05/10/08 02:43 PM

Re: combo organs [Re: arneyz]

arneyz
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I have a recording here of a song of mine. This is the kind of sound I want to be able to get. I actually used an electric organ sound on a super-duper cheap Casio portable keyboard (with light up keys i might add $\:\)$ )for this recording. Can I get this kind of sound from pretty much any combo?

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=6520613

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