farfisa fast 2 question

[InfiniteVines]

I just picked up a fast 2 model. Everything seems to work great, but for some reason the polyphonic section stops short four keys from the bass section (which is monophonic). I can't tell if this was a cost cutting measure or if something is wrong with the farfisa. Any light on the subject would be much appreciated. Thanks!

[Orang Goreng]

Model Name/Number: C2/143=Compact FAST 2

Rather anemic, feature-wise, the FAST 2 is nonetheless a pretty cool looking little fellow, all orange and dark blue-grey body, with orange ball feet. It sports a 4-octave keyboard, with 3 octaves dedicated to treble voices and a 1-octave fixed bass section. There are only four treble voices, all 8'. The single-voice bass octave is always-on, controlled only by the bass volume control. The bass notes feed into the same voice filter as the Flute tab (but are not switched on/off by that tab), and so have the same sound. Thus, with only the Flute tab on, you get four full octaves of Flutes. The Bass keys, however, are monophonic, with low-note priority. It also has a built-in 10-watt amp with two 6x9 speakers - an unusual feature for one of the earlier Farfisas (some of the later VIPs and Matadors had amps/speakers built-in).

The sound of the FAST 2 isn't as anemic as you'd expect. It actually sounds pretty good, for being single-footage voices. The four voices are noticeably different from one another, and mix together well. One rather odd "feature" is that the lowest 5 notes in the Treble section are monophonic. For some odd reason, They decided to save a buck (or two) by skimping on the lowest four dividers.

Note about the pictures below. These are some really good pictures, which is why I chose them, but I don't believe the two orange-topped knobs are original. The original knobs are grey with a brass-color top.

FRom here: http://www.combo-organ.com/Farfisa/Fast/index.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[InfiniteVines]

Awesome, thanks!

[InfiniteVines]

Another interesting thing I noticed is that the top 12 keys sound slightly more brilliant than the rest of the keyboard. Apparently these and other combo organs typically/always? had 12 oscillators and subsequent lower notes were divided down from the top 12. I'd be curious to to know if some of the more expensive organs possibly had an oscillator for every key.

[Orang Goreng]

As far as I know, tone wheel organs have a wheel for every key, but I could be wrong there. I'm not aware of any combo organs that have more than 12 oscillators (well, plus the one for the vibrato), but I may be uninformed.