Arturia FARFISA V User manual

USER MANUAL
_FARFISA V

DIRECTION
Frédéric run Kevin Molcard
DEVELOPMENT
Samuel Limier (project
manager)
Theo Niessink (lead)
Stefano D'Angelo
aptiste Aubry
Corentin Comte
aptiste Le Goff
Pierre-Lin Laneyrie
Valentin Lepetit
Germain Marzin
Mathieu Nocenti
Pierre Pfister
enjamin Renard
DESIGN
Glen Darcey
Shaun Elwood
Morgan Perrier
Sebastien Rochard
Greg Vezon
SOUND DESIGN
Jean- aptiste Arthus
oele Gerkes
Theo Niessink
Jean-Michel lanchet
Stephane Schott
TESTING
Thomas arbier
MANUAL
Hollin Jones
Gala Khalife
Minoru Koike
Jimmy Michon
Léonard Sauget
Holger Steinbrink
Daniel Tinen (manual
update)
Justin Trombley
Jason Valax
SPECIAL THANKS
Alejandro Cajica
Chuck Capsis
Denis Efendic
en Eggehorn
David Farmer
Ruary Galbraith
Jeff Haler
Dennis Hurwitz
Clif Johnston
Koshdukai
Joop van der Linden
Sergio Martinez
Shaba Martinez
Miguel Moreno
Ken Flux Pierce
Daniel Saban
Carlos Tejeda
Scot Todd-Coates
Chad Wagner
© ARTURIA SA – 2022 – All rights reserved.
26 avenue Jean Kuntzmann
38330 Montbonnot-Saint-Martin
FRANCE
www.arturia.com
Information contained in this manual is subject to change without notice and does not
represent a commitment on the part of Arturia. The software described in this manual is
provided under the terms of a license agreement or non-disclosure agreement. The software
license agreement specifies the terms and conditions for its lawful use. No part of this
manual may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any purpose other than
purchaser’s personal use, without the express written permission of ARTURIA S.A.
All other products, logos or company names quoted in this manual are trademarks or
registered trademarks of their respective owners.

Product version: 1.9.1
Revision date: 18 March 2022

Thank you for purchasing Arturia Farfisa V!
This manual covers the features and operation of the Farfisa V.
e sure to register your software as soon as possible! When you purchased Farfisa V you
were sent a serial number and an unlock code by e-mail and/or the Arturia Software Center
app. These are required during the online registration process.
Special Messages
Specifications Subject to Change:
The information contained in this manual is believed to be correct at the time of printing.
However, Arturia reserves the right to change or modify any of the specifications or features
without notice or obligation.
IMPORTANT:
The software, when used in combination with an amplifier, headphones, or speakers, may
be able to produce sound levels that could cause permanent hearing loss. DO NOT operate
for long periods of time at a high level or at a level that is uncomfortable.
If you encounter any hearing loss or ringing in the ears, you should consult an audiologist.

Introduction
Congratulations on Your Purchase of Arturia Farfisa V
We’d like to thank you for purchasing Farfisa V, a virtual instrument that faithfully recreates
the sound of the Farfisa Combo Compact Deluxe, a solid-state combo organ that was
created by the Italian company Farfisa and used by many keyboardists in the 1960s
and beyond. We are confident that it will give you many hours of playing and producing
pleasure.
We've painstakingly studied and modeled every nuance of the original hardware to provide
you with the classic sound and experience of a legendary keyboard and the effects and
amplifier that often went with it. ut we didn't stop there — we’ve expanded on the original
design with new features that make this classic organ a powerhouse instrument adapted to
a modern workflow.
As with all of our products, we believe in offering the best of both worlds in a single package
and letting you choose how you want to use it - either use the original features on the main
panel for a classic experience, or dive deep into the advanced features to create sounds not
possible with the original hardware.
We hope using it will bring excitement and joy to your music making!
The Arturia Team

Table Of Contents
1. Welcome to Farfisa V................................................................................................................................................ 3
1.1. What is Farfisa V? ................................................................................................................................................................. 3
1.2. History of the original instrument .............................................................................................................................. 4
1.3. Appearances in popular music .................................................................................................................................... 5
1.4. What does Farfisa V add to the original?............................................................................................................. 6
1.5. TAE-powered sounds .......................................................................................................................................................... 7
1.5.1. Arturia’s Secret Ingredient: TAE® ........................................................................................................................................................................ 7
1.5.2. Aliasing-Free Oscillators.......................................................................................................................................................................................... 7
1.5.3. A etter Reproduction of Analog Oscillator Waveforms.................................................................................................................... 8
1.5.4. Additional factors ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 9
2. Activation and First Start ...................................................................................................................................... 10
2.1. Activate the Farfisa V License.................................................................................................................................... 10
2.2. Initial Setup ............................................................................................................................................................................. 11
2.2.1. Audio and MIDI settings : Windows ................................................................................................................................................................ 11
2.2.2. Audio and MIDI settings: macOS................................................................................................................................................................... 13
2.2.3. Using Farfisa V in plug-in mode ..................................................................................................................................................................... 14
3. User Interface .............................................................................................................................................................. 15
3.1. The Virtual Keyboard ........................................................................................................................................................ 15
3.1.1. Playing notes from an alphanumeric keyboard.................................................................................................................................... 16
3.2. The Upper Toolbar .............................................................................................................................................................. 17
3.2.1. The Farfisa V Menu.................................................................................................................................................................................................... 17
3.2.2. rowsing Presets ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 22
3.2.3. Advanced Features ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 23
3.2.4. Side Panel Settings ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 23
3.3. The Lower Toolbar............................................................................................................................................................ 24
3.4. The Side Panel..................................................................................................................................................................... 25
3.4.1. Settings............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 25
3.4.2. MIDI Tab ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 26
3.4.3. Macro Tab....................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 31
3.4.4. Tutorials .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 32
4. The Preset rowser ................................................................................................................................................ 33
4.1. Search and Results............................................................................................................................................................ 33
4.2. Using Tags as a Filter...................................................................................................................................................... 35
4.2.1. Types ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 35
4.2.2. Styles................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 36
4.2.3. anks................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 36
4.3. Search Results window................................................................................................................................................. 37
4.3.1. Sorting the Preset Order........................................................................................................................................................................................ 37
4.3.2. Clearing Tags ............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 37
4.3.3. Liking Presets ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 38
4.4. Left Sidebar........................................................................................................................................................................... 39
4.4.1. My Library...................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 39
4.4.2. Playlists Area ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 40
4.5. Preset Info (Right Sidebar) .......................................................................................................................................... 41
4.5.1. Preset Info Mini-menu........................................................................................................................................................................................... 42
4.6. Preset Selection: Other Methods ............................................................................................................................. 43
4.7. Macro Knobs......................................................................................................................................................................... 43
4.8. Playlists .................................................................................................................................................................................... 44
4.8.1. Add a Playlist ............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 44
4.8.2. Add a Preset ................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 44
4.8.3. Re-order the Presets............................................................................................................................................................................................... 45
4.8.4. Remove a Preset....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 45
4.8.5. Playlist Management............................................................................................................................................................................................. 46
4.8.6. Editing a Preset Within a Playlist................................................................................................................................................................... 46
5. Main Panel and Features ..................................................................................................................................... 47
5.1. Front panel.............................................................................................................................................................................. 47
5.1.1. The Treble Voices......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 47
5.1.2. Multi-tone ooster (MT ) Voices ...................................................................................................................................................................... 48
5.1.3. REPEAT - PERCUSS controls ............................................................................................................................................................................... 49
5.1.4. TREMOLO control...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 50

5.1.5. Reverb and Vibrato controls ............................................................................................................................................................................. 50
5.1.6. The ass Manual section ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 51
5.2. The Amp and Pedals....................................................................................................................................................... 53
5.2.1. How this section works ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 53
5.2.2. The Effect Pedals...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 53
5.2.3. The Amp......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 54
5.2.4. Flanger pedal.............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 55
5.2.5. Phaser pedal ............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 56
5.2.6. Chorus pedal................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 57
5.2.7. Analog Delay pedal................................................................................................................................................................................................. 58
5.2.8. Overdrive pedal......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 59
5.2.9. The Swell pedal ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 60
6. Advanced Panel .......................................................................................................................................................... 61
6.1. The Voice Tune section.................................................................................................................................................... 62
6.2. The ass Wave section ................................................................................................................................................. 63
6.3. Noise Level control............................................................................................................................................................ 64
6.4. Voice Mode switch ............................................................................................................................................................ 64
6.5. The Envelope section ...................................................................................................................................................... 65
6.6. The User Wave section.................................................................................................................................................. 66
6.7. Master Volume and EQ .................................................................................................................................................. 67
6.8. Reverb Type........................................................................................................................................................................... 68
6.9. The Knee Lever section ................................................................................................................................................. 69
7. Software License Agreement........................................................................................................................... 70

1. WELCOME TO FARFISA V
1.1. What is Farfisa V?
Farfisa V is part of Arturia's extensive family of software instruments that recreate hard-
to-find classic keyboards and synths. In addition to bringing the authentic and instantly-
recognizable sound of the Farfisa to your studio, we have added some 21st century features
that were never available in the original!
The Farfisa V is a software version of the classic Farfisa Combo Compact Deluxe organ. The
instrument upon which this virtual model is based was a staple of popular music from its
creation in the mid-1960s. It remains popular today for its unique character. Since finding
and maintaining a real Farfisa is both difficult and costly, we’re confident Farfisa V will bring
you all of the benefits with none of the hassle.
Developed using an original hardware organ for reference, Farfisa V accurately simulates
the original circuits and sound of the famous Compact series. It runs both as a standalone
instrument on Windows and macOS and as a plug-in in all major formats inside your DAW.
It has easy MIDI learn functionality for hands-on control of many of its parameters and in
plug-in mode supports automation for greater creative control.
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1.2. History of the original instrument
Farfisa is an Italian electronics manufacturer and in fact makes all kinds of products, even
if it’s best known for the electronic organs it created in the 1960s and 1970s. They predated
commercially affordable synthesizers but offered a different sound in a far more portable
form factor than Hammonds and other tonewheel organs which were fairly impractical
for many bands to transport. The Mini-Compact, Combo Compact, and Combo Compact
Deluxe had built-in legs and pedals that could be folded up and a top cover making it into
a self-contained suitcase for transport. The Farfisa sound was wider-ranging than the main
competitor of its time, the Vox Continental, thanks to having more bass waveforms playable
with a split keyboard on the left side and an expanded percussion and vibrato section. It
also cost less and was a little more reliable, according to some.
As a result, combo organs like the Farfisa series came to shape much of the popular music
of the period. Here was an instrument that had a distinctive and powerful sound and was
also very flexible in terms of the way you could alter its settings to get different tones. est
of all, you could actually take it to gigs in the back seat of a car, which wasn’t true of many
keyboard instruments at the time.
The Farfisa Compact series had four models that appeared between 1964 and 1969. The Mini
Compact was the smallest, and the Combo Compact came in two different versions. The
Compact Deluxe – the model recreated by the Farfisa V – added significant features and the
Compact Duo had dual keyboards.
Among the notable features of the Compact Deluxe were:
• A splittable keyboard allowing the organist to play one or two octaves of left-
hand bass, denoted by the lowest octave of keys having black naturals and white
sharps (like the Vox Continental) and the next octave with grey naturals and
white sharps
• Independent percussion controls for both bass and treble manuals
• 16' ass, Strings
• 8' Flute, Oboe, Trumpet, String
• 4' Flute, Piccolo, Strings
• 2-2/3' with independent brilliant tab
• 4 vibrato settings
• Real spring reverb
• 2 reverb settings
• Multi-Tone ooster
• Swell pedal and knee control for Multi-Tone ooster
There were a number of things that made the Farfisa popular and gave it a unique sound:
• A rudimentary envelope ("percussion") that allowed for an attack and decay that
went beyond the typical organ sound.
• The addition of a note repeat percussion function which gave it almost a square
wave tremolo type of effect similar to the sound of the Who’s “Teenage
Wasteland” keyboard part.
• The tone boosters gave it a grungy sound that made it great for the 80’s New
Wave bands.
• The softer attack made it popular with the indie electro bands and indie rock
bands in recent years.
• The knee lever was a type of global filter that added a manual wah type of effect.
• The overall sound is almost more top octave synth-like than organ-like.
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1.3. Appearances in popular music
The Farfisa sound was well suited to the harder-edged garage bands and psychedelic acts
that first adopted it. Again, its portability was a big factor in the kinds of bands that first
started to use it. It was the kind of organ that studios and rehearsal rooms would have on
hand and as a result, came to be used on more and more productions.
efore too long the Farfisa had grown rapidly in popularity and quite quickly outgrew its
niche in 60s garage bands. In fact it spread into rock and pop and then electronic music,
partly because of the unavailability or unaffordability of polysynths at the time, and the fact
that the Farfisa could be made to sound more like a synth than an organ. It remains popular
today, though the age and scarcity of real hardware models plus the cost of maintaining
them means that it’s rare to see one in the flesh.
Famous Farfisa users and songs:
1960s
• Sam the Sham “Wooly ully”
• Grateful Dead "Morning Dew"
• The Swingin' Medallions "Double Shot (Of My aby's Love)"
• Percy Sledge “When a Man Loves a Woman”
• Strawberry Alarm Clock "Incense And Peppermints"
1970s
• Jean Michel Jarre
• Sun Ra
• Pink Floyd (many albums up to Dark Side of the Moon)
• Kraftwerk
• Tangerine Dream
• Sly and the Family Stone
• Van Der Graaf Generator
• Led Zepplin “Dancing Days”
• Herbie Hancock
• Elton John “Crocodile Rock”
• Steve Reich "Four Organs"
1980s
• londie
• -52’s
• Squeeze
• Talking Heads
• Simple Minds
• REM
• Fleshtones
1990s
• Green Day
• Inspiral Carpets
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2000s
• The Moons
• Stereolab
• Tara usch
• Paul Weller
• Lords of Altamont
• The Cesars
1.4. What does Farfisa V add to the original?
Recreating an instrument in software allows us to add more advanced features, while of
course remaining true to the original hardware! ut there are a number of features in Farfisa
V that you wouldn’t find on a hardware Farfisa.
• A special USER position that allows the user to create an additive waveform or
use the sliders to create a new waveshape based on the graphic look of the
sliders.
• We have modeled the built-in spring reverb and added more advanced reverb
models as well.
• We have added effect pedal units:
◦Analog Delay
◦Chorus
◦Phaser
◦Flanger
◦Overdrive (modeling a 12AX7 tube pair)
• Easily accessible individual voice tuning.
• Paraphonic/Polyphonic alternatives for triggering attack envelopes.
• Attack/release envelopes for upper and lower keyboards to expand the sound
palette.
• ass section waveform selector with eight choices.
• ass section tone control.
• Tremolo sync to the computer sequencer's clock.
• Repeat sync.
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1.5. TAE-powered sounds
1.5.1. Arturia’s Secret Ingredient: TAE®
TAE® (True Analog Emulation) is Arturia's technology for emulating the analog circuits used
in vintage instruments. TAE®’s software algorithms result in spot-on emulation of analog
hardware. This is why Farfisa V offers an unparalleled quality of sound, as do all of Arturia’s
virtual synthesizers and keyboards.
TAE® combines major advances in the several domains of synthesis:
1.5.2. Aliasing-Free Oscillators
Standard digital synthesizers produce aliasing in high frequencies, especially when using
Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) or Frequency Modulation (FM).
TAE® enables the creation of oscillators that are completely free of aliasing in all contexts
and behaviors (PWM, FM, and more) and does so without any CPU cost.
Linear frequency spectrum of a current well-known software synthesizer
Linear frequency spectrum of an oscillator modeled with TAE®
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1.5.3. A Better Reproduction of Analog Oscillator
Waveforms
The waveforms produced by the oscillators in analog keyboards are affected by the
presence of capacitors in the circuits. The discharge of such capacitors results in a slight
‘bend’ in the original waveform (most notably for sawtooth, triangular and square
waveforms). TAE® reproduces the result of this capacitor discharge in software.
Directly below is a plot of a waveform from one of the hardware instruments that Arturia
has emulated, followed by one generated by Arturia’s TAE®. As you can see, the waveforms
are quite similar and both are equally deformed by the low-pass and high-pass filtering.
Temporal representation of the sawtooth waveform of a
hardware synthesizer
Temporal representation of a sawtooth waveform
reproduced by TAE®
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1.5.4. Additional factors
Analog oscillators in vintage hardware were often unstable in their operation. Their
waveforms differed slightly from one period to another and the starting point for each
period (in Trigger mode) could vary due to changes in temperature and other environmental
conditions. These stability “problems” were, in fact, largely responsible for the beloved
“warm” sound of many instruments! TAE® accurately reproduces the inherent instability of
vintage oscillators, resulting in a fatter and “bigger” sound that captures the magic of vintage
synths.
In the case of the Farfisa, each note of the scale could be tuned via an analog potentiometer
which led to slightly unequal temperaments as the twelve pots aged. Our implementation of
the Farfisa V in software gives you access to these "tweakers" so you can have the twelve
notes of the scale be in equal temperament (in tune) or slightly out of tune for an authentic
sound.
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2. ACTIVATION AND FIRST START
Farfisa V works on computers equipped with Windows 8 or later and macOS 10.13 or later.
You can use the stand-alone version or use Farfisa V as an Audio Units, AAX, VST2 or VST3
instrument inside your Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) software.
2.1. Activate the Farfisa V License
Once Farfisa V has been installed, the next step is to activate your license for the instrument.
This is a simple process that is done through a separate program called the Arturia Software
Center.
The registration process will require you to enter the serial number and the unlock code you
received with the product.
In order to proceed, go to this web page and follow the instructions:
www.arturia.com/register
Note: If you don’t have an Arturia account yet, you will need to create one. The process is quick, but
it does require that you can access your email address during the registration process.
Once you have acquired an Arturia account you will be able to register the product.
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2.2. Initial Setup
2.2.1. Audio and MIDI settings : Windows
At the top left of the Farfisa V application is a pull-down menu. It contains various setup
options. Initially you will need to go to the menu and choose the Audio Settings option to get
sound and MIDI flowing in and out.
You will then see the Audio MIDI settings window. This works in the same way on both
Windows and macOS, although the names of the devices available to you will depend on
the hardware that you are using.
Farfisa V main menu
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Starting from the top you have the following options
•Device lets you choose which audio driver you want to use to route sound out of
the instrument. This might be your computer’s own driver like Windows Audio, or
an ASIO driver. The name of your hardware interface may appear in this field.
•Output channels lets you select which of the available outputs will be used to
route audio out. If you only have two outputs, only two will appear as options. If
you have more than two you can select a specific pair of outputs.
• The Buffer size menu lets you select the size of the audio buffer your computer
uses to calculate sound. A smaller buffer means lower latency between pressing
a key and hearing the note. A larger buffer means a lower CPU load as the
computer has more time to think, but can result in an audible latency. Find the
optimum buffer size for your system. A fast, modern computer should easily be
able to operate at 256 or 128 sample buffer size without creating pops or clicks in
the sound. If you are getting clicks, try raising the buffer size a little. The latency
is displayed on the right-hand side of this menu.
• The Sample Rate menu lets you set the sample rate at which audio is sent out
of the instrument. The options here will depend on the capability of your audio
interface hardware though even most computers’ own hardware can operate at
up to 48kHz which is perfectly fine. Higher sample rates use more CPU power
so unless you have a good reason to go up to 96kHz, then 44.1 or 48 are usually
fine. The Show Control Panel button here will jump to the system control panel
for whatever audio device is selected.
•Play Test Tone helps you to troubleshoot audio issues by checking that sound
can be heard through the correct device.
• Your connected MIDI devices will appear in the MIDI Devices area. Click the
check box to accept MIDI from the device you want to use to trigger the
instrument. In standalone mode, Farfisa V listens for all MIDI channels so there’s
no need to specify a channel. You can specify more than one MIDI device at
once.
Audio and MIDI settings (Windows)
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2.2.2. Audio and MIDI settings: macOS
The process is very similar to setting up for Windows and the menu is accessed in the same
way. The difference here is that macOS uses CoreAudio to handle audio routing and within
that, your audio device will be available in the second dropdown menu. Apart from that, the
options work the same way as described above in the Windows section.
Audio and MIDI settings (macOS)
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2.2.3. Using Farfisa V in plug-in mode
Farfisa V comes in VST, AU and AAX plug-in formats for use in all major DAW software like
Cubase, Logic, Pro Tools and so on. You can load it as a plug-in instrument and its interface
and settings work in the same way as in standalone mode, with a couple of differences:
• The instrument will now sync to your DAW’s host tempo, so the organ's tremolo
and repeat controls will quantize to the beat of the DAW when you turn on the
SYNC buttons over those controls.
• You can automate numerous parameters using your DAW’s automation system.
• You can use more than one instance of Farfisa V in a DAW project. In standalone
mode you can only use one at once.
• You can route Farfisa V’s audio outputs more creatively inside your DAW using
the DAW’s own audio routing system.
Farfisa V as a plug-in
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3. USER INTERFACE
Farfisa V has many great features, and in this chapter we’ll make sure you know what each
one does. We think you’ll be amazed at how quickly Farfisa V provides you with sounds that
are inspiring and perfect for all sorts of projects.
It’s also really easy to work with: just a few tweaks here and there and suddenly you’re in a
new world of sound. That will always be the main focus of every Arturia product: unleashing
your creativity while remaining easy to use.
3.1. The Virtual Keyboard
The virtual keyboard allows you to play a sound without the need for an external MIDI
device. Simply click on a virtual key to hear the currently selected sound. You can also drag
the cursor across the keys to hear a glissando.
The Farfisa is actually velocity sensitive, but in a very particular way. It uses the velocity to
vary the speed at which the different key contacts make. There are 5 key contacts for each
key (16', 8', 4', 2⅔', percussion). When you press a key very slowly you should be able to
(almost) hear the individual key contacts make.
The keyboard is divided into sections. The white treble keys always play the upper register.
The lack keys on the left hand side can play the bass and the grey keys can be set to either
extend the treble or bass ranges.
With the ass section switched off, the upper register plays across all available keys. You
can see this mode is active when none of the small red lights on the keyboard are lit.
If you switch the bass section on using the Bass On / Off switch, the black keys now play
the bass tones. The lights show that the bass section is active.
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