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Farfisa
ActiveOsimo, Italy
BiographyFarfisa was founded in 1946 in Osimo, Italy by Silvio Scandalli, first as a manufacturer of domestic radio receivers and televisions. In the mid 1960s, the firm shifted to begin manufacture of a series of electronic organs, including the popular Combo, FAST, VIP, and Professional series. Throughout the decade, their instruments stood in direct competition to the UK-based Vox firm, with American distribution handled by Chicago Musical Instruments (CMI). In the early and mid 1970s, their reach again expanded into the burgeoning synthesizer market with instruments such as the Syntorchestra, a combined monophonic synthesizer and combo organ, and the Polychrome. At the end of the decade, Farfisa released the Transicord, a transistorized combo organ with the interface of an accordion. During this time, the company operated manufacturing facilities in both the Ancona and Marche regions of Italy. Today, the Bontempi group holds the Farfisa brand, with a new iteration of the company, Aci Farfisa, focusing on the production of intercom and video surveillance systems. The term ‘Farfisa’ is derived as an acronym of Fabbriche Riunite di Fisarmoniche, or “united factories of accordions”.
