Farfisa: Constant Playing Notes

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Musicdecco
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Farfisa: Constant Playing Notes

Post by Musicdecco » Wed May 17, 2017 6:08 am

Hi everyone!

I just bought a Farfisa FAST 3. It sounds great...except...there is a constant sound of about 5 notes. It sounds like someone is just pressing down on 4 or 5 consecutive keys the whole time while it is on and while actually playing on it. When actually pressing down on the keys, you can hear those, but you can still hear the 4 or 5 consecutive notes in the background. Annoying and hopefully an easy fix. Any ideas on what is causing this and how it should be fixed? Thanks for your help!
"Do it again on the next verse, and people think you meant it." - Chet Atkins

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Nick Sevilla
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Post by Nick Sevilla » Wed May 17, 2017 2:00 pm

Hi and welcome to the TOMB!!!

To answer that question, I think the most likely culprit is stuck keys.

They could be stuck with dropped soda or beer, or their binding material could be old and has started to become messy.

In either case, you should find a local instrument tech to clean it up for you. Your local music store might know a keyboard tech in your area.

Cheers,

Nick
Howling at the neighbors. Hoping they have more mic cables.

Musicdecco
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Farfisa constant playing notes

Post by Musicdecco » Wed May 17, 2017 5:23 pm

Thank you for the information, Nick! I may actually try to open it and clean/see in there myself. No keys look stuck, (they aren't staying down) and all keys work when pressed. Interested in sewing what is going on inside. Anyways, I appreciate your help! Gonna try to clean them!
"Do it again on the next verse, and people think you meant it." - Chet Atkins

crow
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Post by crow » Tue May 30, 2017 10:58 pm

Many if not all transistor organs seem to suffer from this symptom. It's because (I think, and pardon my simplification of the process) all 12 oscillators are always on, and pressing a key simply allows the signal to travel to the output. I think that as the components (mainly capacitors) in these organs age, pathways develop that allow the original signals to leak into the audio path.

I have a Mini-Compact that had a severe case of this problem, and it magically disappeared when I replaced the main power supply filter capacitor. Since capacitors combine in the opposite way as resistors do, you can check without removing the old one. just alligator-clip a new cap in parallel to the suspected one, and see if the behavior changes. if it improves, then go ahead and replace the old one. BE CAREFUL though! I you aren't sure you can do it safely, have someone else do it.

Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions. And there's a wealth of information at http://www.combo-organ.com/

Musicdecco
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Joined: Wed May 17, 2017 5:51 am

Farfisa constant playing notes

Post by Musicdecco » Wed May 31, 2017 10:08 am

Thank you Crow. I am going to find a new capacitor, like you said, and try it. I opened the organ up and cleaned it pretty good, but, unfortunately, the noise is still there. So, on to the next step: replacing the capacitor. Thank you for the help!
"Do it again on the next verse, and people think you meant it." - Chet Atkins

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