Fender Contempo Organ

I would have to say it really can't get a whole lot simpler to use, power switch, keys, and a row of Tabs which are either on or off, simple.

As far as combo organs go, this is really one of the best, good selection of Stop Tabs, including the oft forgotten 5-1\3' stop, switchable bass section (with those wonderul reversed keys) it has great sounding vibrato circuit, with the inclusion of the awesome sounding Tremolo effect, and one VERY cool chrome tone\volume pedal. Full Polyphony (obviously), and the keyboard action is very nice, quick but solid. The Stop tabs are solid, large and have a nice feel to them. Some may say it lacks features, but that's the point, it's simplistic, has it's own specific purpose, it does what it does extremely well.

The sound is incredible, one of the thickest sounding combo organs I've ever heard, terribly dynamic sounding. It has a nice range of sound mixes from a rather soft, subdued, subtle organ tone to a simply raunchy display of cheesy, fuzzy, buzzy 60s combo organ tone, sounds terrific through a Leslie too. It feels like a true instrument, something that is always lacking from so many of todays keyboards, it just has that feel, the look and that tone that make it feel so different from anything else. There is a vast lack of Contempo sounds exisiting both on records and on the internet, which is a shame for those interested, I didn't really know what it would sound like when I bought it, perhaps that should be soon recitified though...

Well, the first one I bought, I bought for somewhat cheaply, missing the pedal and the stand, it arrived at my doorstep, I plugged it in, and much to my dismay, the unit was non functioning, despite the sellers claims, turns out all twelve oscillating coils were missing, and due to poor preperation and packaging, the internal components were rather trashed and caused significant damage to the external cosmetics, however, this was no fault of the unit, just a shifty seller and a poor go with UPS (I did manage to get most of my money back from the seller AND kept the unit).

I proceeded to purchase another unit which was working, had the pedal, still no stand (though I already had an old Chrome Combo Organ stand which worked quite well), but it was in confirmable working condition and the cosmetics were more than acceptable (the other unit was sufficient to fill in any discrepencies as far as that went), it arrived, I had JL combine the two organs best parts together, and now I have one pristine, fully working unit, and one parts cow in case something goes wrong in the future. The Organ is working like new, and while I wouldn't risk dropping it, I'm confident in the unit's reliability, on and off the road.

The unit is extremely reliable overall, but I had to pay for that reliability.

Customer Support doesn't really exist, though Fender Instruments are very nice about giving out their old schematics, and they can also be obtained for free from Combo Organ Heaven. Luckily for me one of the best repair technicians this side of North America lives and work in the same city as me, he does a simply terrific job at a very fair price.

Though I'm bitter from the whole ordeal, once I got the unit back, it all seemed worth the time and money, it truly is a wonderful unit, the gem of my collection (and it looks so nice next to the Rhodes too), if it were lost or stolen, I'd not hesitate for a second before trying to find another one. There isn't one thing I dislike about the unit, it's lighter than my other keyboards (Rhodes and Farfisa VIP 500, each over 100Lbs, blech), and while not light, is far more reasonable to carry around by myself. It is easily my favourite of all the combo organs (even more than Continentals and Compacts), it is visually and sonically striking, an extremely unique unit which never fails to catch the attention of others, I hope to treasure this wonderful instrument for years.

This is the best of the crop as far as combo organs of the 60's era goes. Great through a vintage leslie or a good tube bass amp. I had to be heard over 2 competing fuzzed driven guitar egomaniacs and it was done by the Fender Contempo. I have used a Vox, Acetone, Baldwin, Farfisa and nothing compares to my Contempo!! Now let's talk about how cool this organ looks...not since my 1966 red Corvair Monza with black interior and lots of chrome have I seen anything cooler...and it swivels to adjust to your height too!! I got it in mint condition with the original legs, volume pedal and vinyl case. Nothing says cheezy, wheezy combo organ like the Fender Contempo and there is no contempory electonic keyboard that can reproduce this sound except maybe Dave Amel's thingamajingy that has real retro organ samples in it.

keyboard action is great compared to a Vox organ.

This organ was flown between 2 different continents, 4 countries and driven 15,000 klms, set up and broken down to many times to count and still stayed in tune, no contacts broke, basically no troubles at all. All this without a professionally made road case too!

If this was lost or stolen I would just die, these are hard to find in the type of condition I found mine in. Especially with the original legs footpedal and vinyl case. I've been playing combo organs since 1976 and basically only use vintage keyboards, especially combo organs. I also own a Vox Continental and an AceTone Top5. I have owned a Farfisa Duo compact, Vox Jaguar, Acetone Top6, and a Baldwin Blue & Black. I have never owned or used a contempory electronic keyboard and actually considered buying one to use on the road but everytime I tried one out I just couldn't bring myself to buy it. Guess I'm just a purist at heart!

Bands I have started and played in...

Tina Peel - 1976- 1981
Das Furlines - 1986 - 1990
The Fuzztones - 1981 - 2005

each organ is different, as with most vintage equipment if properly restored and maintained it is as reliable as something new. The problem with this organ is that it tends to go sharp over time and tuning it is a professional only, seriously!! do not mess with the guts unless you know kind of operation.

finding an experienced repair professional for this organ, as with most older analog organs is tough, but this organ like the melotron has a complex circuitry for each key making it time consuming and expensive to repair.

if it works, even if slightly out of tune, this organ stands out among the early analog organs for its warm tone and visual presence.
I play it on the road through a Gibson Titan, a mid-sixties tube amp into a Leslie 16 (portable Leslie cabinet) and also sampled it into a k2000, tuned and took the kurzweil on the road.

You'll have it all figured out in an hour.

Reviewed here is my 1967 Fender Contempo combo organ. There were produced also in 1968 and possibly ?69. Fender must not have sold a great many as they dropped the line and Contempos are now rare. All the units I?ve seen, (ebay) including mine have a bright red top with a very 60?s ?Fender Contempo? script logo. Some were produced with a black top. The tone is controlled by a row of rocker switches running the length, and just above the keyboard. White switches activate specific voices. Each voice had three switches to control volume, so voices could be mixed in different amounts, similar to the way drawbars are used. The volume switches just cut additional resistors in or out. Transistors ? 270 in total, generate the tones. The keyboard is divided into main and bass (reverse color keys) sections. The bass section has it?s own tone and volume switches. You have the option of switching the entire keyboard into the ?main?, or kicking bass on the black keys. Effects include vibrato and tremolo, each with options for fast or slow. They sound better than some combo organ effects I?ve heard but I never use them.

It is a visually striking instrument, compete with it?s original stand. Probably the sexiest looking of the combos. Accessories for a compete, original unit include the excellent chrome stand that adjusts so you can tilt the keyboard and play sitting or standing. The stand also has Fender logos cast into the metal at the tilt heads. The original volume petal is chrome with a black rubber plate. By twisting the plate left to right you can add or subtract brightness to the organ tone. This takes a little getting used to but it can be very effective on a sustained note or chord. The volume pedal attaches to the organ with a special 5-pin connecter that looks very much like military grade hardware from a P-51. Like most combos the bottom of the carrying case is also the bottom of the organ and the lid detaches. Mine does not have a separate case for the legs and I?ve never heard of one, although it would be very handy.

The sound; Wow. Phat, Robust, and it can cut through the mix. A lot of presence and volume without sounding shrill or cheesy. Think James Brown?s horn section at your fingertips. My band mates say I should ditch my ?pro? keyboards and stick with the Contempo. I should stop now and mention that the only reason that this organ sounds so good is that I play it through a Motion Sound Pro 3T. (A high quality Leslie speaker simulator. See some glowing reviews on this site). The combination works very well for the blues/funk material that I enjoy. It doesn?t sound like a B3, but has a distinctive quality all it?s own (and you can?t get it with a synth!) I usually play with just the lowest fundamental and a little of the highest tone. This high/low split works for rhythm part and then you can add in midrange tone for your solos. The downside is that there is no percussion. If it had it, I?d marry it. The separate bass keyboard section can really kick some passable organ bass if you use just the lowest fundamental tabs and have a 15? speaker and plenty of power. There is a separate line out for the bass section so you can bypass the Pro 3T and feed that signal directly into your amp. Mix the bass way up on that channel.

You take your chance with any old keyboard. Especially if you buy it sight unseen and/or have it shipped to you. Mine came with just one key that wouldn?t play on all the harmonics. My tech fixed it in just a few minutes. The tuning was a few cents sharp of A440 across the whole board. We decided to leave it that way as it?s a common thing and combo organs and gives it a little ?edge? to the sound. Overall it seems very solid and I?ve gigged with it quite a bit without any problems.

Fender doesn?t service them. Surprise!

Fantastic. Buy one if you can get a really clean one in the $500 dollar range. I would not buy a Contempo without the original stand and volume pedal. The organ won?t play (without modification) unless the petal?s attached. And the whole Zen of the thing would be compromised without its stand.