It was designed to compete with similar instruments such as the Vox Continental and Farfisa Compact, and had additional stops, features and controllers not found on the other models.

In the early to mid-1960s, there was an influx of inexpensive portable combo organs introduced by companies such as Vox, Gibson and Farfisa.

[1] Fender wanted to diversify from their established guitar and amplifier market and create a wider product range, and noticed this demand for keyboard instruments.

[2] Bill Carson, who designed the Fender Stratocaster, was particularly scathing about the instrument, calling it "the Contemptuous" and "a pile of junk".

[3] The Contempo featured a keyboard built by Pratt-Read, who also helped construction with the Rhodes,[2] and was enclosed in a similarly styled black vinyl cabinet.

[1] Sonically, the instrument lay somewhere between the thick weedy "buzz" of a Farfisa Combo Compact, and the breathy, piercing flutey tones of the Vox Continental.