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Leslie pedals

Posted: Thu Nov 21, 2013 9:55 pm
by Iommic Pope
So, now I have GAS for this: http://hammondorganco.com/products/leslie/pedal/
I love rotary effects...although they seem to be the most expensive fucking thing out there.
Anyone know anything else about this mofo?
It seems like it should be the biz, lots of features, actually made by Hammond. But there are very few decent demos out there (I won't post them here, they really aren't great, youtube if you wanna).
I'm a long way off getting a leslie pedal, but they are definitely on my radar.

Anyone else down with the rotating sound?

Also on my radar are the obvious offenders, H&K rotosphere, strymon lex. All in the same ballpark price-wise. Neo ventilator out. Too spensive.

What do we reckon, ILF think tank?

Re: Leslie pedals

Posted: Thu Nov 21, 2013 10:16 pm
by bigchiefbc
Iommic Pope wrote:So, now I have GAS for this: http://hammondorganco.com/products/leslie/pedal/
I love rotary effects...although they seem to be the most expensive fucking thing out there.
Anyone know anything else about this mofo?
It seems like it should be the biz, lots of features, actually made by Hammond. But there are very few decent demos out there (I won't post them here, they really aren't great, youtube if you wanna).
I'm a long way off getting a leslie pedal, but they are definitely on my radar.

Anyone else down with the rotating sound?

Also on my radar are the obvious offenders, H&K rotosphere, strymon lex. All in the same ballpark price-wise. Neo ventilator out. Too spensive.

What do we reckon, ILF think tank?
I have a Mobius, and I'm pretty sure that the rotary mode is the same algorithm from the Lex. I love the hell out of it, and I just used it on a few takes I recorded in my sessions last week. The Mobius also has a pretty ballin' Univibe mode too, which isn't really a rotary sim, even though that was it's original intent.

Re: Leslie pedals

Posted: Thu Nov 21, 2013 10:33 pm
by Iommic Pope
Cool man, good to hear!
Yeah I love vibe as well. Heaps of cats write them off as the same thing as leslie.
Not the same thing.

Re: Leslie pedals

Posted: Thu Nov 21, 2013 10:44 pm
by Gone Fission
I've got the Tech 21 RotoChoir. I got it for a lot under usual price, so I wasn't really comparison shopping to the other stuff in it's range. It's not perfect, but it's pretty damned good and sounds better than my BBD chorus pedals at faster waivers -- less mechanical sounding, which is bizarre given that it's simulating a mechanical device. About the time I got it the Ventilator was the big dog in the game based on the forum comments -- don't know if the Leslie is new king or what.

Re: Leslie pedals

Posted: Thu Nov 21, 2013 10:49 pm
by Iommic Pope
The Hammond pedal has just come out, so I guess we'll know soon.
Was checking out the tech 21, but the retail is nuts and they don't seem to pop up used too often.
Which may be testament to something good about it.
I doubt there will be any "perfect" contenders (especially considering the amount of blues lawyers who happen to corksniff "vintage" sounds, like leslie") but I suppose it will be a case of "for the money, who does the best?"
I like the aforementioned because you get the brake, I think its a cool feature, and would defo utilise that shiznat.

Re: Leslie pedals

Posted: Thu Nov 21, 2013 11:16 pm
by Chankgeez
I've got a Ventilator and I don't know how similar in use it'll be to the Hammond.

I can tell you my experiences with the Ventilator and that would be that it's really picky as to what other pedal it plays nicely with. So, unless the Leslie sound is of major importance to you, I might look at a less Leslie-centric pedal to get that sound. I could probably get close to what I really want with a latching vibrato pedal or a flanger.

Re: Leslie pedals

Posted: Thu Nov 21, 2013 11:24 pm
by Gone Fission
The most apt criticism I've seen of the Tech 21 is that sometimes it sounds like a broken flanger. Sometimes a bit. Kind of. But I'll bet you could fool most people if you record with it in stereo. It's the best sim I ever played through, though that's not a long list, and it's the only dedicated device of this tier I've spent time with.

I think that only a handful of people are in the market for a high-end dedicated hardware Leslie sim. That's going to limit the used market.

Re: Leslie pedals

Posted: Thu Nov 21, 2013 11:26 pm
by Iommic Pope
Yeah, I'm pretty stuck on the leslie sound.
Did consider a flange, but I'm kinda meh on flange sounds and don't find their leslie end of town to really be that close.
Do you think not playing well with others is centric to the Ventilator or could be applicable to Leslie emulators in general?

Thanks Fission! Food for thought.

Re: Leslie pedals

Posted: Thu Nov 21, 2013 11:35 pm
by Chankgeez
IDK, the Ventilator is the only dedicated Leslie simulator I've played around with. So, if any of the others are similar in use, you might have to tailor your sound around the Lesle sim. I've found that when I'm using the Ventilator I have to dial in sounds on other pedals to what works with it. It's definitely the best sounding Leslie simulator I've heard, but it comes at a price. It's a big commitment to throw it in the signal chain. Yeah, flangers don't sound that close, but if you play with lots of effects on all at once, it kinda masks the beauty of the Leslie sound anyway. So, if I'm using a lot of effects, a flanger would probably be fine for me.

Re: Leslie pedals

Posted: Thu Nov 21, 2013 11:43 pm
by Iommic Pope
Hmmm, interesting.
I'd probably mostly be using it for fairly clean passages anyway, leslie tends to get lost in fuzz. Plus you lose that cool grind. So, yeah, I getcha.
Probably verbs and delays, that'd be about all the other effects I'd throw in that salad.
I'm looking at the Hammond again and I'm only seeing a fast/slow footswitch, no actual speed control.
Also no expression control input for speed.
That is a deal-breaker, unless I'm wrong.

Re: Leslie pedals

Posted: Thu Nov 21, 2013 11:58 pm
by Chankgeez
Well, that's the thing. All those pedals are trying to emulate an actual Leslie cabinet and Leslies by their very nature are limited.

I just pulled up pictures of the Hammond pedal now, looks very similar to the Ventilator in features, which is, of course, very similar to a Leslie. I think if you're looking for an exact Leslie sound, these Leslie sim pedals are great. If not, something more flexible and versatile would be a close enough substitute.

I'm not totally happy with the speed options on the Ventilator, but I can accept it for what it is: A gorgeous sounding Leslie simulator. That just means that it probably gets used a lot less than say a flanger, which requires a lot less fuss to dial in and operate. From what you're telling me, I don't think you'll really be happy with a Leslie sim. I think you should look at something that sounds close and has less of the limitations and more of the functionality you're looking for.

Re: Leslie pedals

Posted: Fri Nov 22, 2013 12:01 am
by Iommic Pope
Interesting, thanks man.

Re: Leslie pedals

Posted: Fri Nov 22, 2013 12:33 am
by Gone Fission
On the Tech 21, there's speed adjustment for the fast and slow modes, though no expression-in. The fast/slow stomp switch is key, though, because it isn't a hard switch and the ramp up and down is magic.

Re: Leslie pedals

Posted: Fri Nov 22, 2013 12:34 am
by rustywire
I still have GAS for a Destination Rotation, from Option 5.

Re: Leslie pedals

Posted: Fri Nov 22, 2013 12:36 am
by bigchiefbc
The Lex and Mobius both have expression control :poke: