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Description

The Elka Panther 300, also known as the Capri, is an Italian combo organ produced from around 1966 to 1972.

The organ came in several different colors, including red, white, and black.

Bell Tone Synth Works

Bell Tone Synth Works

Elka Panther 300 Combo Organ Features Demonstration - Elka Capri

Video thumbnail for Elka Panther 300 Combo Organ Features Demonstration - Elka Capri by Bell Tone Synth Works

Elka Panther 300 Combo Organ Features Demonstration - Elka Capri

Bell Tone Synth Works

Bell Tone Synth Works

Video thumbnail for Elka Panther 300 - Tour by Larry Turtis

Elka Panther 300 - Tour

Larry Turtis

Larry Turtis

Reviews

Owner Insights

We analyzed real musician discussions from forums and Reddit to find what players love, question, and tweak about Elka Professional Panther 300.

Comparisons

  • The Elka Panther 300 might be a suitable alternative to the Farfisa Combo Organ, offering a similar vintage organ sound.

    Source

Features and functionality

  • The Yamaha Reface YC is noted for its decent Farfisa sound, alongside other organ emulations like Vox, Acetone, and Yamaha YC-45D.

    Source
  • Some users highlight the Korg Vox Continental's ability to emulate a Farfisa sound effectively, especially when using the Valve Drive and Dynamics features.

    Source

User experience

  • Users report that the Yamaha Reface YC can be fun to play with distortion, though it may lack punch in live settings compared to other models.

    Source

Other

  • It's noted that some players prefer holding smaller keyboards like the YC Reface to avoid the stationary feel of larger keyboards during performances.

    Source

5.0 out of 5

Based on 1 Review and 1 Rating

5 star
4 star
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1 star
bmw100997

A Great Combo Organ

A very versatile combo organ with a bold yet rich sound, a powerful vibrato and a wide variety of tone filters.

Artist usage

Add artist
See how Brian Jones uses Elka Professional Panther 300

Brian Jones

Guitarist, Keyboardist

The Rolling Stones

...
Verified via Photo

In this photo, Jones can be seen playing a Elka Capri combo organ (also sold under the Panther 300 name).

See how Benjamin Goldwasser uses Elka Professional Panther 300

Benjamin Goldwasser

Keyboardist

MGMT

...
Verified via Photo

Goldwasser used an Elka Panther 300 heavily on the MGMT album Congratulations. In this photo from an MGMT practice session, Ben's red Elka Panther can be seen on the far left.

Sound on Sound's article about Congratulations discusses Ben's use of the organ:

Meanwhile, the highly idiosyncratic sound of 'Congratulations' was being created using an array of new musical toys discovered by the band. Chief amongst these was the Elka Panther organ that features throughout. "We found it on Craigslist in LA and got it for about $400,” says Goldwasser. "It needed a little work on it. The vibrato knob's broken but everything else works great. I got really obsessed with transistor organ sounds early on in the recording process. For me it was the most psychedelic sound of the moment. I just love how jarring it is and how cartoony it is. It's this weird reddish orange colour and it's set up differently from some of the other organs. For each register, there's different stops that have a different tone. But then it has a volume knob for the whole stop, so you can set up a tone on one and then you can mix it. It's really musical and you can get so many tones from it really easily.”

See how Andy Bown uses Elka Professional Panther 300

Andy Bown

Guitarist, Keyboardist

Status Quo

...
Verified via Photo

Bown can be seen here playing an Elka Capri 300 (same as Panther 300) with the English pop group The Herd on Top Of The Pops TV in 1967.

See how Don Preston uses Elka Professional Panther 300

Don Preston

Keyboardist

The Plastic Ono Band

...
Verified via Photo

Don Preston can be seen in this photo using an Elka Panther 300 combo organ, which he used early on in his time with the Mothers of Invention (most notably on Absolutely Free).

See how Dave Rowberry uses Elka Professional Panther 300

Dave Rowberry

Keyboardist

The Animals

...
Verified via Photo

In this photo, Rowberry can be seen playing a Elka Panther 300 organ with the Animals on Top of the Pops in 1965. Rowberry usually played a Vox Continental with the Animals, and his use of the Panther was likely very short lived. A photo from a different televison show can be seen here.

See how Presser Gábor uses Elka Professional Panther 300

Presser Gábor

Singer, Keyboardist

...
Verified via Photo

Presser Gábor played a Elka Panther 300 in the Hungarian rock band Omega. An additional photo can be seen here, and a pretty sweet organ solo can be found on YouTube here.

See how Carolyn Wood uses Elka Professional Panther 300

Carolyn Wood

Keyboardist

The Brooklyn Bridge

...
Verified via Photo

Carolyn Wood played a Elka Panther 300 combo organ during the Brooklyn Bridge’s performance of “Worst That Could Happen” on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1968. Video here.

See how Rick Stelma uses Elka Professional Panther 300

Rick Stelma

Keyboardist

Dr. Spec's Optical Illusion

...
Verified via Photo

Rick Stelma can be seen here behind an Elka Panther 300. The picture comes from the back cover of a reissued single by Dr. Spec's Optical Illusion.

See how Maurice Montez uses Elka Professional Panther 300

Maurice Montez

Keyboardist

...
Verified via Photo

Maurice Montez posed behind an Elka Panther on the cover of her 1966 instrumental album The Groovy Organ Goes Romantic. A footnote on the bottom left of the front cover reads "PANTHER Jazz Organ Courtesy of Merson/Unicard." (I'm not sure what Merson was, but I think Unicard is a misspelling of "Unicord.")

Genre Usage

Based on how artists on Equipboard use this gear, it is most commonly found in the following genres.

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