Farfisa VIP 233

the VIP 233 is amazing. no presets, pre-midi era. this thing is EASY as hell to use. just plug it in and play. its all slider/drawbar type switches. with an optional bass octave on the lower keyboard.

it has sweet bass. really fuzzy and cool. it has jacks on the bottom for 2 expression pedals. one is a volume control, the other is EQ. you can also plug in a set of bass pedals, but good luck finding them. also, the screw on connecters for the legs have a notch in them for flipping the farf on its back to show off yr skillz to the audience.

this thing can sound like the 70's. if you set it right, it can also go to a more Nintendo vibe. the top surface has just enough room for a few effects pedals. a delay and fuzz on this thing make it incredible. the vibrato isn't that great for standard sounds but you can get weird noises with it. it also sounds crazy if you only turn on the percussion sliders.
it has that weird background noise that most farfisas make. nothing to worry about. if you are worried about it then you are a jerk and should stick to digital stuff.

i've never had a problem with this thing. aside from its bulky case, its great for shows. mine didn't have legs so i made some for it. i've had it for a few years and its never needed to be tuned or serviced. from what i understand it could be easily serviced at home. it has been thru the fire with my band and i can only imagine what it must have gone thru in the 30 odd years before it came into my life.

i love this thing. if you are an organist, but a hammond just doesn't do it for you. the farfisa organ is for you. i've played the more compact ones and the ones with cooler looking colored keys and buttons, but this one is really the best. having 2 keyboards and the bass octave make it lots of fun. i've taken it to most of the shows i've played in the past 3 years. if its good enough for Sun Ra, its good enough for me.

Here's how to tune this puppy.

you will need a small phillips screwdriver, and a small regular screw driver. You will also need a guitar tuner.

Under the keyboard on the bottom is a large black plastic square held on with screws. Take this off. Looking up you will see twelve metal silos/tube holder looking things with a small hole at the top. Each silo is a note.
Next to each one of these silos are the words do, ri, mi etc.
Those tell you which silo is what note.
To tune each note, gently insert the reg screwdriver into the hole at the top of the silo. You will feel the slot for the screwdriver. By slowly turning that screw/slot, you will tune the Farfissa. Be Gentle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I use a guitar tuner to tune, and something heavy to weigh each key if I am doing it by myself.
It's really quite easy.

Its harder storing the legs in the case than actually using the organ. You edit the sound by mixing 3 sounds, Flutes, Clarinets, and Percusion. Within each sound you program th harmonics (16,8,5 1/2,4).
When I first got it the first thing I did was open all the drawbars in any order, wich sounded pretty bad, but with some tweeking you can get some really great sounds. Not difficult anyway

Well, it the early 70's!!!!! Dont expect pressure sensitive keys, nor midi. Expect the 70's!!!!!
The keyboard drives smoothly, its very very very cool. Its like nothing else i've played, the keyboard by itself transforms your playing , and you end up playing things you whould never expect. Its very inspiring. It has a double keyboard which takes some time to get used to if you've never played one, but once you've mastered it, its just magic.
If you are luky enough to find one complete, with the original legs , pedals, and case, your in for quite a surprise. Its a giging monster!!! You can do weird slalom pitches for a psicodelic solo, and eveng go as far as turning the whole keyboard towards the public to show off your deadly finger solo action!!!

This is where this guy shines. Even though its a total drag carring it around (big bulky thing), the sound it provides makes it worth for all your problems.
The bass is absolutely incredible!!!!!!!!! FAT FAT FAT FAT!!!!! No digital synth can outmatch this bay!!!! I work in studio with a friend of mine who owns a Triton ProX, and all the times we choose the Farfisa rather than Korg. (Not to mention all the other synths in my arsenal). In a band... well..... I fired my bass player.... Heard enough???
The bass is great but there are other million posible sounds that stand out. You can work out some really warm gospel organs, some devilish Doors sounds, some hard metalic Deep Purple organs, well....
Its not a hammond. Hammond is hammond, im not comparing them, but this guy has an identity of its own its not Hammond its Farfisa, and that is great too.
....Although i've also been able to get some super-cool hammonds.... ;-)
The only thing i whould add, is a more dramatic tremolo. Which you can do by just adding a tremolo pedal.
Ahhhhh.... one thing, without a good Reverb, this organ is nothing, be sure add to it a good reverb amp. And if you get a tube amp......

Well, it has 30+ years, and it still sounds. Anything else????
I use it for giging all the time, and its still working like a good boy.

I think I payed some long dolars for it (you can probably get for less), but the one I got was in AAA shape plus case and complete pedals.
If it was destroyed or stolen....well....i'd kill myself, i absolutely love it!!!!
If you get your hands on one, dont hesitate for one moment. BUY IT!!!
Great for its price range.
Ahhhh.... If anyone has the schematics please let me know.

It's about as easy to use as it gets. You'll take longer trying to figure out the legs than figuring out how to play it! I found an old owner's manual online but honestly I've never had cause to use it.

Built-in tremelo has speed control but not much depth - you may prefer an external tremelo for a little more shake. As long as you keep the drawbars clean they work great. Two manuals, action is pretty much what you would expect from plastic keys. There's a pedal bass set and a pitch-control pedal. The pitch control takes some getting used to - it shifts over a pretty large interval (over an octave) and it's pretty sensitive.

I think it's got great tone - a bit more video-game-sounding than a Farfisa Compact or a Vox Jaguar or some other classic compact organs, but it still sounds great nonetheless. Running it through spring reverb makes a wonderful difference too. You can beef up arrangements with the lower notes without being obtrusive, and the highs cut through the mix nicely. It's a great model for a wide range of thin, reedy compact organ stuff. There's also the added bonus of a totally creepy, very loud running noise which presumably may differ from organ to organ. I've used this organ extensively with two very different bands, the retro-psych-pop Sw!ms (www.theswims.com) and the grind-avant-rawk An Albatross (www.analbatross.com) as well as avant recitals with "real" musicians and it's worked well for all of them.

This is the most dependable piece of equipment I own. I have taken this organ on the road extensively and I've never had a problem with it. It's sounded great everywhere from Eastman School of Music to smoky, damp, filthy basement punk-rock shows (where it has been smashed into on countless occasions!). It's been stored in a freezing cold trailer and had beer poured all over it and it still keeps ticking. The only difficulty I've ever encounted is that the case and legs need maintenance every now and then. If you're going to use this organ a lot I'd suggest putting metal corners on the case and exploring other leg options.

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This is one of the main instruments I use, so if it were lost, stolen or completely destroyed I would definitely replace it. It's really versatile for a compact organ. It's nice and big too, like a work station -- there's room for other equipment to fit snugly on top without worry (I stack a Moog Rogue and a theremin up there) -- and works as a great barrier between you and a rough crowd! If I had to change anything I'd add sturdier legs and a sturdier case.

ABOUT AS EASY AS IT GETS. IT'S YOUR BASIC LATE 60'S EARLY 70'S ORGAN/KEYBOARD.

THE KEYBOARD HAS TWO LEVELS, BOTH ARE POLYPHONIC. THE BOTTOM KEYBOARDS FIRST OCTAVE AND A HALF CAN BE SWITCHED OVER TO A BASS SETTING WITH THE BASS LEVER. ONCE THIS LEVER IS SWITCHED ON THAT OCTAVE AND A HALF IS MONOPHONIC. THE KEYBOARD SOUNDS, TONE AND VOLUME ARE CONTROLLED BY LEVERS THAT ONE PULLS OUT OR IN. IT HAS 3 SOUNDS -FLUTE, CLARINET, AND PERCUSSION. THE ACTUAL SOUNDS DON'T SOUND LIKE THOSE INSTRUMENTS, BUT WHAT THE HEY, THEY SOUND GREAT ANYWAY. THERE ARE A LOT OF LEVERS FOR TONE WITHIN THOSE THREE SOUNDS, REALLY QUITE A PALLET. IT DOES HAVE A VIBRATO, BUT IT'S NOT TOO EXTREME, AND IT'S AMOUNT CAN BE CONTROLLED WITH A LEVER. IT HAS A FOOT SWITCH INPUT, AND WHEN I PUT ONE IN AND PRESSED IT, IT SEEMED TO TUNE EVERYTHING DOWN, AND IT WAS NOT ALL THAT GREAT. MIDI? NO. IT IS KIND OF BIG, BULKY, AND HEAVY, BUT NOT UNMANAGABLE. ACTION IS OKAY, BUT IT IS A CHEAP KEYBOARD. IT IS WHAT IT IS AND IT'S GREAT. IT SOUNDS LIKE IT SHOULD!

THE BASS IS SUPER RICH AND DEEP, ALMOST DUB LIKE. THIS KEYBOARD HAS AN ALMOST HAPPY SOUND, AND JUST SINGS. I LOVE THIS THING. I OWN A LOT OF VINTAGE KEYBOARDS AND SYNTHS, AND THIS ONE HAS MY FAVORITE TONE. MY MOOG AND ROLAND PARAPHONIC 505 HAVE A LOT MORE VARIETY IN SOUNDS, BUT THEY DON'T HAVE THIS GUYS SOUND. IF YOU PUT THIS THROUGH A LOT OF REVERB, IT'S PURE MAGIC. IT'S GREAT FOR LAYERING IN A MIX OF ANY KIND OF MUSIC, ESPECIALY PROG, POST ROCK, AMBIENT, TRIP HOP, ETC. AS A LEAD INSTRUMENT, IT PROBABLY WOULD GET ANNOYING IN A KEITH EMERSON HOUR LONG SOLO KIND OF WAY. USED WITH A BIT OF SUBTLETY IT'S JUST THE BOMB. IF YOU SEE ONE OF THESE, BUY IT, AND IT SHOULDN'T COST MUCH. THE HIGHS ARE SWEET BUT NOT SHRILL AND LOWS JUST SOUND OUT NICE IN YOUR CHEST. CHORDS SOUND AWESOME, LIKE A HAPPY PORTABLE CHURCH ORGAN. IT'S QUITE RESPONSIVE TO TOUCH, BUT IT'S DEFINATLY NOT WEIGHTED KEY ACTION. IT'S A BIT SELF NOISY BUT NOT TOO BAD.

WENT OUT OF TUNE, AND I COULD NOT FIGURE OUT HOW TO TUNE IT. SOME ONE SHOWED ME HOW, AND IT WAS SO EASY I FELT LIKE A DUNCE. IF IT'S LASTED THIS LONG AND STILL SOUNDS GREAT, I WOULD SAY IT'S PRETTY DARN RELIABLE.

YEAH, RIGHT.

LOVE THIS GUY, IT'S THE MAGIC ORGAN. TONE TONE TONE! STEREOLAB MEETS LEE SCRATCH MEETS FLOYD. I'VE USED IT ON MANY SOUTRANE RECORDINGS (VISIT WWW.SOUTRANE.COM) IF I LOST IT, I WOULD DEFINATLY TRY TO FIND ANOTHER ONE.