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Topic: Lesile simulators |
Skip Keane
From:
Rhode Island, USA
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Posted 9 Mar 2003 3:52 am |
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| I am beginning the search for that great Lesil sound. I know I could go with the original package but the shipping would kill cost me. So I thought I would ask the Forum for advise, "Does anyone use a Lesile simulator and if so which one, How does it work? Would you recommend a pedal or unit to me? Anyone have any thoughts on this subject? Please, tell me what you use or have tried and how good did it work?" Help!!! |
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Peter
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Larry Bell
From:
Englewood, Florida
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Posted 9 Mar 2003 7:13 am
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If you don't want to wade through all that stuff, I'll 'nutshell' it for you:
Best: Wood, original Hammond/Leslie cabinet
Next: Cordovox, Fender, or other more compact 'Leslie copy'
(of course, neither of those are 'simulators' but there's nothing that simulates better than the real thing)
Acceptable: H&K Rotosphere (tube stompbox -- about $350 street price)
OK but no cigar: most everything else
That's what I've found in any case. It's not an effect that I use often (usually one song in a three or four hour bar gig) so I just use the 'OK but no cigar' category -- they're much cheaper. The Hughes & Kettner Tube Rotosphere is a great little box but more expensive than I can justify for the amt I use one. 
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Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2003 Fessenden S/D-12 8x8, 2000 Fessenden S-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S-12 6x6, 1971 Dobro, Standel and Peavey Amps[This message was edited by Larry Bell on 09 March 2003 at 07:22 AM.] |
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Michael Holland
From:
Nashville, Tennessee, USA
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Posted 9 Mar 2003 8:15 am
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I picked this up at the vintage guitar show last weekend. Very impressive pedal.
Option5 Website
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Matt Steindl
From:
New Orleans, LA, USA
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Posted 9 Mar 2003 11:04 am
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Michael, looks like you got some cool new toys at the show!
Does that roto-pedal have stereo outs? Never seen one before.
DUH didnt see the link or look at the photo close enough!!!!!
Hope you like it!
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Mattman in "The Big Sleazy"-:
S-10 Dekley, Suitcase Fender Rhodes, B-bender Les Paul
[This message was edited by Matt Steindl on 09 March 2003 at 11:05 AM.] |
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Larry Bell
From:
Englewood, Florida
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Posted 9 Mar 2003 12:43 pm
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What's the price on that unit, Mike? Have you used the H&K? Can you compare?
I just talked to an old buddy who plays B3 -- I can remember hauling his TWO wooden Leslies up and down steps in the 70s -- and then you gotta contend with the Hammond.  Well . . . he tells me he's still using the B3, but is playing through a Blackface Fender Twin (!) with a Rotosphere and an external speaker (a 15" JBL I believe) and has to look back to verify there's not a Leslie back there. Maybe it's better than I thought. Just curious how the Option5 stacks up.
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Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2003 Fessenden S/D-12 8x8, 2000 Fessenden S-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S-12 6x6, 1971 Dobro, Standel and Peavey Amps |
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Michael Johnstone
From:
Sylmar,Ca. USA
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Posted 9 Mar 2003 3:12 pm
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| The Rotosphere is indeed a good choice - especially when fed through a cranked up open-back tube amp w/a spring reverb. For more realism and true doppler effect,use the stereo outputs and feed it through 2 such amps about 3 or 4 feet apart.Apart from the amps,the schlepp factor is nil.And that's no small consideration - for me anyway - for I too have hauled B3s and Leslies up fire escapes in the 60s and 70s. -MJ- |
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Alvin Blaine
From:
Picture Rocks, Arizona, USA
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James Quackenbush
From:
Pomona, New York, USA
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Posted 10 Mar 2003 7:25 am
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There is an older pedal that was made by Korg that I used a while ago when I needed a Leslie simulator..I am a keyboard player by trade, and used a Korg G4 Leslie simulator...It has a lot of variables that you can adjust to taste..It's also stereo or mono, and you can find them on Ebay for $200 more or less..They are very effictive in duplicating the Leslie sound on a budget, and make your back smile !!
There's NOTHING like a real Leslie though ( unless you play through 2 real Leslies like I do (keyboards only ) ..I'm gonna try a Rotosphere for a portable rig to see what the hoopla is all about !! |
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Bill Llewellyn
From:
San Jose, CA
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Posted 10 Mar 2003 7:41 am
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 I haven't heard any of the ones you fellows have listed here I sure hope you've got some winners. It's a very elusive sound. I must say that I've been disappointed with most of the Leslie speaker simulations I've heard over the years. I'm very picky because I've owned a Leslie 122 (see image) for about 32 years. I absolutely LOVE it.
Not to digress too far, but my love of the rotating speaker started in high school when I got to play a console organ in our gym which had a slowly rotating sound diverter below one speaker inside the organ cabinet to get the slow Leslie (chorale) effect. I later on saw and heard the real thing with bands that came to play our school dances. I had a combo organ and just HAD to get some kind of Leslie effect, so actually built one. It was a 12" speaker mounted face up into a plywood box with an open front. The speaker opening was 4", and fed into the base of an assembly of 4" dryer ducting formed into a 24 inch long "T". The T was supported by and rotated on nylon bearings, one in the middle of the speaker opening and the other in the top of the box (on a vertical rod running through the T). To spin the rotor, I used a large O ring wrapped around the base of the T running to a pulley on a homemade dual motor unit. The motor worked just like the ones in a Leslie, using the pop-out/slide-back behavior of the slow speed motor contacting a rubber rimmed wheel on the fast speed motor to do the clutch action.
The whole box sat on top of an old card table and looked absolutely ridiculous, but it worked and sounded really good! (I remember showing the thing to a Hammond organ salesguy-- he broke out laughing when I first turned it on but was startled by how good it sounded when I started to play through it.) A year or two later I got a real Leslie and sold the old pine box thingy to another rock'n'roll organist in town. I wish I had a picture of it.
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Bill L | Steel page | My music | Steelers' birthdays | Over 50? |
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Brad Burch
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Posted 10 Mar 2003 8:37 am
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| I just bought a early 70's Cordovox CL30 rotating speaker. Actually the 12" speaker sits still while a horn around the speaker does the rotating. I paid $250 for it and it sounds incredible as an extension speaker for my Fender Twin. It is big and heavy though, about the same size as the twin and weighs about 50 lbs. I will only use it for home recording, I couldn't see carrying something like that for one effect. |
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Jay Ganz
From:
Out Behind The Barn
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Posted 10 Mar 2003 4:54 pm
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| Motion Sound Pro-3T! |
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Bobby Lee
From:
Cloverdale, California, USA
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Posted 10 Mar 2003 6:14 pm
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I'm real happy with my H&K Rotosphere.
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 Bobby Lee - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs
Sierra Session 12 (E9), Williams 400X (Emaj9, D6), Sierra Olympic 12 (C6add9), Sierra Laptop 8 (D13), Fender Stringmaster (E13, A6),
Roland Handsonic, Line 6 Variax |
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Michael Holland
From:
Nashville, Tennessee, USA
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Posted 11 Mar 2003 5:09 am
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The Rotosphere is very well regarded and I haven't played through one so I can't compare. The designer/builder of the Destination Rotation was at the show demoing the pedal and he was selling at the show for $225 with the regular price at $250. But the website shows $299 as the price, so I'm not sure exactly what one will cost.
Nice work, Larry, on the track. -- From another Fessenden/TrueTone player! |
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Bill Llewellyn
From:
San Jose, CA
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Posted 11 Mar 2003 7:04 am
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| I worked once with a Motion Sound Pro-3, it was pretty nice. It's not a simulator, it's an actual midrange/high frequency rotor unit which mimics the upper rotor in a Leslie speaker and emulates the low frequency rotor electronically. It sounds very good, though it's not quite as light and compact as a pedal or rack unit. It's also kinda expensive--in the $750 range. But if you have to get that real rotating sound, it has it. It's also ruggedized for road work, unlike the furniture-like Leslie 122/147 shown in my post, above. |
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Bill Llewellyn
From:
San Jose, CA
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Posted 11 Mar 2003 7:22 am
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Incidentally, I've perpetually been of the school of thought that there will never be a Leslie simulator that can truly capture the nuances and soul of true rotating sound. I'm not so convinced of that any more. The 3-dimensional sound experience one gets when standing next to a Leslie will probably remain elusive, but the sound one gets when recording one I think may get put into a box someday. I say this because the capacity to do very complex audio processing in digital audio processor (DSP) chips is getting greater by the day. The Leslie has historically been so hard to imitate because its sound involves Doppler (pitch shift) effects, equalization, and an array of sound reflections, all of which are continuously changing. For example, as the opening of the rotor moves past the front of the Leslie and swings to the back, the direct sound experiences a dulling in tone and a drop in frequency, while the reflected sound off the back of the inside of the cabinet experiences a delay, a brightening in tone, and an increase in frequency. This is not to mention the reflections off the left and right sides, top and bottom (all of which are getting different Doppler and tone effects), the resonance of the cabinet, double and triple reflections, and so forth. All these effects contribute to a marvelously complex result, which is why the Leslie sound is so alluring and so hard to imitate. But watch out, there are audio gear manufacturers out there who are working on this, and as DSP capabilities grow, they'll get close enough to fool even the most discerning ears.
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Bill L | Steel page | My music | Steelers' birthdays | Over 50? |
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Matt Steindl
From:
New Orleans, LA, USA
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Posted 11 Mar 2003 3:28 pm
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The leslie sims on my Korg Triton sound great on tape. But there is no comparison live.
Got to sit right next to Melvin Seals Leslie at a Jerry Garcia Band show, and it rocked my world.
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Mattman in "The Big Sleazy"-:
S-10 Dekley, Suitcase Fender Rhodes, B-bender Les Paul
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Brad Sarno
From:
St. Louis, MO USA
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Posted 13 Mar 2003 2:15 pm
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Matt Steindl said:
"I Got to sit right next to Melvin Seals Leslie at a Jerry Garcia Band show, and it rocked my world."
Me says: "You lucky dog!!"
Really, I've never ever ever heard a more majestic Hammond/Leslie sound than Melvin Seals had with the Jerry Garcia Band. Did you ever hear their version of "Lucky Old Sun"? What an organ solo! It was like being in church except for the funny smell in the air.
Brad Sarno
Blue Jade Audio Mastering
St. Louis, MO |
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