Combo Organ Heaven: Farfisa Others

Just a collection of other models that didn't fit anywhere else (well,the Matador could have been stuck in with the VIP's, I guess).

The basic Matador appeared about 1972 It shares a lot of traits with the VIP series, but since "VIP" isn't part of the name, I've got it (and its brethren) here, instead of with the VIPs. It has drawbars, like the VIPs, Percussion/Repeat, and a Slalom pedal jack. The first 17 notes form the manual bass section. A fully-equipped Matador will have two pedals, one a standard Compact/VIP type pedal with the 3-pin DIN jack, and the other, a similar looking pedal, but with a 1/4" plug, for the Slalom function.

Manual Bass: Bass Attack On
Treble: Flute Brass Horn Oboe Reed Brilliance
Percussion: On Phrasing Decay Repeat
Vibrato: Speed Delay
Repeat Speed (knob)

The Matador M shows up in a 1973 price list. It seems like a scaled-down version of the Matador. Single-voice Bass section, no Percussion or Repeat, and tab voices instead of drawbars (but the exact same voice names, even the colors match). It's got a Slalom pedal, though!

Knobs: Volume, Manual Bass, Vibrato
Voice Tabs: Flute Brass Horn Oboe Reed Brilliance

Another odd bird in the Matador family, I've only seen a couple of these. Judging by the script lettering on the tabs, I'd guess this one came out in the late 70s, maybe even early 80s. Still the same voice names (and colors, though more subdued) as its brethren, the Matador A adds "Wah-Wah" and Bass Chords features. I don't know if it has a Slalom pedal jack.

Accomp: Soft/Loud Bass Chords/Manual Bass
Wah-Wah: Off/On
Vibrato: Slow/Fast Off/On
Voice Tabs: Flute Brass Horn Oboe Reed Brilliance

I've only seen a couple of these, and don't know much about them. The Schematic for it is dated 1980. Nice orange accents.

Tab style similar to the Bravo (below) and also has the same "m" and "7th" buttons as the Bravo.

This picture is courtesy of Carlos (owner of the Spanish combo organ yahoo group - URL is in the picture). Note that the stand is just like the one for the Bravo.

Tabs:
    Pedalboard: Bass, Sustain, Bass Guitar, Trombone
    Lower M.: Flute, Clarinet, Reed
    Upper M: Flute 16', Flute 8', Flute 4', Clarinet 16' Oboe 8', Piccolo 4'
    Vibrato: Vibrato On, Vibrato Fast, Vibrato Delay
    Wah Wah

Buttons:
Mono Section: Cancel, Trombone, Sax, Clarinet, Harmonica, Violin, Piano, Attack

Sliders:
Volume: Pedal, Lower M., Mono
Sustain, Reverb

Buttons on front, below keyboard: M, 7th

Owner "Dirk" offers the following commentary: "for me the commander sounds like a vip205 look a like. the sound possibilities are less than on the vip, but the accomp and rhythm unit is big fun with elektro harmonix effects! ;-) the connector for the bass pedal is strange. looks like a small scsi-adaptor."

Introduced around 1980 (Schematic is dated February, 1980), the Bravo and it's brethren, the Super Bravo and Bravo 61 must have been one of the last combo organs made. I don't know much about them, other than what's apparent from the photos. I suspect their sound isn't much to write home about. and the built-in rhythm unit only makes it worse.

They have a built-in amp and speaker, headphone jack, and a 5-pin DIN jack for a volume pedal - could it be they use the same Compact-style optical pedal that had been around for 25 years?

Sliders:
    General Volume, Bass Volume, Rhythm Volume, Tempo
Accompaniment Tabs:
    Bossa Nova, Rock, Disco, Swing, March, Waltz
    Key Start, Easy Chord, Memory, On
Treble Tabs:
   Flute, Brass, Horn, Reed, Strings, Wah-Wah
Vibrato Tabs:
    On, Fast
Attack Tab: On
Buttons Below Keyboard: m, 7th

The only difference between the Super Bravo and the Bravo (that I'm aware of) is the relocation of the "Easy Chord" and "Memory" tabs to the left of the keyboard, being replaced by "Chord" and "Free Bass" tabs. Note that while the id plate proclaims it as a "Super Bravo", the model number is the same as for the "plain" Bravo.

The service manual for the Super Bravo is dated July, 1980.

Thanks to Melbourne Music for the pics of the Super Bravo. Here's their typically entertaining description:

"Born in 1971 and raised on a diet of psychedelia, this is the musical equivalent of a large block of Gruyere. The ubiquitous rocker tabs surface once again in shades of Yellow, Red, Cornflour Blue, Regal Blue and Ivory, proving beyond a doubt that the visually challenged were not just restricted to Eastern design studios.A similar (almost identical), complement of voices to the Japanese entries, with the addition of a dedicated WhaWha tab.(Oh yeah, this is Really Useful!)Control is via slide pots (Hey.1971, remember?), and includes controls for a rhythm section. Rhythm? -Yes!..Bonus! Really Useful feels like Swing, March, Waltz-who could ask for anything more. But more there is...Attack-(the dumbest percussion ever heard),Auto Chord function with dedicated Minor and 7th buttons ,and another tab called Free Bass, which is probably for those really Hot Richard Pryor sounds. But wait!..forget the free set of steak knives, this unit comes with it's own integral amp and speakers.Casiotone eat your heart out!"

The Bravo 61 was a later incarnation (the ad, shown below, was published in 1981), and appears to have a few more features (most notably, the 61-note keyboard, hence the name). I believe it has Sustain, but I don't know what else - I don't have a close-up shot of the tabs. Anyone care to enlighten me?

This one is a bit fuzzy, but it's larger, and you can see some of the markings a bit better. Still can't quite make out the tab names, though.