Halifax / Welson RARE Vintage Combo Organ 1960s

Description

This is a super rare vintage 61-key combo organ, likely from the late 1960s. It's branded "Halifax" and is identical to other organs with the "Welson" name, and was probably made in Italy.
The pictures don't do it justice (I'm not the best photographer), but it really is a beautiful retro piece and comes in its original red and black hard case with removable lid.
The sound it produces is similar to that of a Vox Continental, Vox Jaguar, and a Farfisa Compact Duo combined, like the early Pink Floyd sound.
Keyboard controls include:
- DRAWBARS: 16', 8', 4', 2', 2-2/3'
- TABS: Bass 16' + 8' Bass Coupler, Percussion Bass, Percussion Long, Percussion Short, Repeat, Reverb, Vibrato
- KNOBS: Bass Balance, Vibrato Speed, Repeat Frequency, Reverb Intensity
There's not much information available on this model as it's extremely rare, but here's about all I could find on it:
- "Halifax branded models were probably more commonly sold under the Welson brand name. They were actually built by Quagliardi in Castelfidardo, Italy. In addition to combo organs there were Welson accordions, electric guitars, and Synthesizers. Quagliardi also manufactured electric guitars for the Vox, Eko, and Wurlitzer brand names. The Welson name was used because it was more English/American friendly."
- And as some person on the internet described this specific Halifax model: "It's a really unusual organ, in that it's kind of a Connie/crappy-generic hybrid, with amazing built-in reverb and percussion/repeat. The keyboard is split to bass keys (one octave, reverse color) and treble (3 1/2 octaves), but there's only one line out. You can mix the bass and treble keys with the "bass balance" knob, to the left of the drawbars. The drawbars are a lot like a Connie, except for the footages: 16', 8', 4', 2', & 2 2/3'. Sound is not as "tough" (sorry for the non-technical lingo) as a Continental, but it's still more biting than a Jaguar -- somewhere in between, I guess. The built-in reverb is great, as cheesy and trashy as you would want from a combo, and incredibly deep/long when it's all the way up -- like a Compact Duo's F/AR unit, but not *quite* as long a decay. And regarding the 'Repeat' effect: This sounds basically like the repeat on my Compact Duo, but a little more fully 'on and off,' whereas the Duo is a little smoother. My favorite trick is to use the repeat and reverb simultaneously -- every time you lift off of the keyboard, this classic 'na na na na' delay effect happens, as the repeat decays through the endless reverb."
The keyboard will be packed securely and shipped with extreme care. We can also do free local pickup in the Los Angeles area, or contact if you prefer an alternate shipping method not listed.
Feel free to contact with any questions or to make an offer.
Also selling another rare 1960s combo organ, the Fender Contempo, so check out our other listings too. Thanks!