oando
New Member
Posts: 2
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Post by oando on Dec 11, 2012 12:46:50 GMT -5
Hello all. I'm having an issue with my Farfisa Mini Compact. The problem just started and of course I have a gig on Friday. The repair tech I use is booked for the next few weeks so I'm out of luck.
My F# in the 3rd octave stopped producing any sound - regardless of which stops are selected. All of the other F#s are working so that leads me to believe this may be a mechanical issue? This key also seems to be slightly loose compared to other keys. I've taken this apart in the past to replace the fuse holder, does anyone recommend taking this apart and poking around? Could this be a key contact issue? Any help is greatly appreciated!
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Post by joelindsey on Dec 11, 2012 23:50:07 GMT -5
If it is not working only on that particular F# with any of the footages, it probably is a key contact issue, or more specifically the mechanical part that actually moves the contacts, which is something most techs have little to no experience with. Minis in particular are prone to having these little plastic actuators come unhinged, which would explain why the key feels loose. You'll have to take the organ out of the wood frame (only five screws on the bottom, six on top), unscrew the tabswitch board and look to see of those plastic arms are still hooked up. This is what they look like: www.vintagevibe.com/p-630-farfisa-combo-compact-actuators.aspxHopefully they haven't come loose and gone missing inside the organ. If you are missing any, you can make your own with some flexible plastic and a dremel tool. I will warn you though, those things are frustrating to put back on, so I hope you have a lot of patience, a steady hand and some small needlenose pliers. You'll need to take the entire key off, just unhook the little spring and pull it out. Let me know how it turns out!
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oando
New Member
Posts: 2
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Post by oando on Dec 12, 2012 19:54:07 GMT -5
Hey thanks for the thorough reply. This problem turned out to be much worse than I was expecting. You guessed correctly, it looks like all 3 of the plastic connectors have become disconnected for this F# key. The worst part is that one of the thin metal wires that connects to the plastic tab is completely missing. I tried connecting the other two but after quite some time I gave up. Sounds like this will be best left for my tech to handle. If he can't fix it, I don't think anyone can. I'm now worried that this will happen to another key.... Thanks for your help! In the past week my farfisa, pianet, and wurlitzer all went on the fritz. Some days I feel like I should just give up and buy a Nord Electro. ;(
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Post by joelindsey on Dec 12, 2012 22:58:24 GMT -5
Total drag about all that gear breaking!
You can replace those metal things, I did two of them just yesterday and had to make new actuators. weird coincidence, eh?
If you or your tech can find a thin and rigid but springy wire you can bend it into the proper shape and glue it into the contact spring. I used a bristle from a wire brush for cleaning off rust. It's not easy to do, but as long as the missing one isn't from the 4' bus you can do it without taking the whole switch assembly apart. Coat the new wire in superglue or epoxy and slide it in the contact spring, and let it dry before you put the actuators back on.
If you happen to live in new england, I could do it for you, my workshop is an hour north of Boston.
If you/your tech needs further help, send me a PM and I'll give you my contact info.
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