Acetone Top-1

Very easy, plug it in, turn the tabs, play it.

The keyboard has four octaves, the lowest one can be set to either bass or organ and has reversed-coloured keys. On top of the organ, there are eight tabs for setting the sound and effects. The first one is red and is labelled ?Bass?. This switches the first octave of the organ to a bass sound. Then comes five white tabs for setting the tone : ?Flute?, ?Organ?, ?Sax?, ?Reed? and ?String?. These are of course not real-sounding synth pre-sets, they just represent an approximation to the tonal qualities of the instrument names. Just like most combo organs. Then there is a red tab called ?Treble? which make the sound more trebly ( oh yeah ? ) and a black tab called ?Vibrato?, which switches on the vibrato effect. This also works on the bass sound.
There are four turning knobs : ?Bass volume? ( volume of the bass section, when switched on ), ?Vibrato Speed?, ?Vibrato Depth?, ?Balance? and ?Volume?. The vibrato settings can make some difference in the overall sound, but basically, this is just a combo organ with one sound. At last, there is the On-Off switch and the little red light indicating ?On?. To the right side of the organ are three in-outs : ?Pedal? ( haven?t got one ), ?Headphone? and ?Amp? ( which is the main output ).
The organ is covered with red tolex and chrome, the case is black. The four legs fit in the case, but make the organ a little heavier.

Well, if you?re looking for the classic sounds of a Vox Continental or a Farfisa Compact, this is not really the organ for you. The Ace-Tone has a sound of its own, less shrill than a Vox. The upper notes sound a bit more like a Compact to me, but not totally. I was at the time actually looking for a Vox-type of sound or at least something sounding like the malfunctioning Teisco I had been playing before. The Ace-Tone wasn?t it, but with all the keys working and with almost no possibilities to find another combo ( this was in 1994, way before anyone here knew about the Internet ), I bought it and I have never regretted it. The Fs are a little sharp, especially audible when playing chords, could probably be mended, but it?s not really a problem.

This is where the Ace-Tone shines : I gig with it regularly and it has never let me down so far. The B in the bass section came and went for a few years and then disappeared. It can be repaired, but as I don?t really use the bass section ( I play a Novation Bassstation on top of the organ ), I?ve not yet got around to take action about it.

Probably none, as the company is long gone.

If you like the Ace-Tone sound, this is a really good buy. The organ looks sharp on stage with the cool Ace-Tone name and the shining red and chrome surface, it plays well and is reliable and easy to carry, at least if you leave the legs at home. I just use a standard keyboard stand, as I play the organ standing up and the legs are best for playing in the sitting position.
The Ace-Tone fits perfectly into these retro times, where you shouldn?t be seen on stage with an instrument from after 1975 ? sooo different from the Eighties, where I got laughed at for playing a Mini-Korg and not a Roland D-50 ! I got the last laugh, though, as I got the chance to buy this old gear before the prices went boooom !!

I've been playing in bands for 20 years, drums, bass and keys, ranging from folk-rock to new-wave. Keys include Mini-Korg. Korg Polysix, Roland JP-800, Bassstation, Weltmeister Claviset ( not working ) and pump organ. I also used to play a Rhodes 73, lovely.