The Farfisa's Percussion Setting: Richard Wright's Secret Weapon on 'Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun'

On “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun”, Richard Wright engaged his Farfisa Compact Duo’s percussion setting, giving the keyboard line that crisp, staccato attack you hear cutting through the track’s dark, percussive pulse. The effect mimics a harpsichord or a vibraphone more than a traditional organ—each note stabs and decays quickly, adding an alien, almost ceremonial shimmer. Without that setting, the song’s ascending motif would lose its hypnotic edge.

By contrast, the Hammond B3 organ Wright leaned into on Dark Side of the Moon is round, warm, and legato. On “Us and Them” and “The Great Gig in the Sky,” he let chords breathe and swell through a Leslie rotating speaker, creating a soulful, church-like atmosphere. The Farfisa’s bright, reedy tone belongs to a psychedelic era of