Received Rotosphere As Gift

[TD_Madden]

My wife knows I'm an effects junky, so she gave me an H&K Rotosphere as a Christmas gift after seeing me reading a review over at Harmony Central one day.

Now, I'm certainly happy to play with all kinds of toys, but I'm scratching my head over the practical use of this thing (and returning it is NOT an opiton, believe me!)

I tried it by itself (with the keyboard/guitar switch set to "guitar"), and also with an Electro-Harmonic POG (oran settings with the H&K set to "keyboard".)

OK, cool effect. Anybody using one of these things, or know any bands I can listen to that use them?

[Brad1]

These are basically billed as a "Leslie Simulator", so any band using a Hammond B3, or guitarists using a Leslie, should be a good listen.

Try "Badge", with Clapton kicking on his Leslie after, I think, the second verse...where everything stops except the guitar.

The cavaet is that I never played through a Rotosphere, so I'm not sure if it does what a Leslie does best. And, you'll have to remember that there are actually two basic types of Leslies. One is a "real" Leslie with a downward facing speaker shooting through a spinning drum and also with a top rotor shooting out a high frequency signal. These usually spin opposite each other, and at different speeds, the top normally faster. They both slow down and ramp up with the control, but the interaction between the faster top and slower bottom naturally makes them ramp up and down at slightly different rates...which gives them their wonderful all-encompassing sound.

Then, you have the Leslie types with no top rotor, only the large speaker with a spinning drum...unless you are Trey Anastacio who uses the top rotor only. (He says his techs told him that covers the range of his guitar, but he also said he suspects they were just tired of carrying the big bottom).

So, unless it has separate, adjustable high- and low-rotor simulation with adjustable frequency splits, it would be hard to get it to sound like a "real" Leslie.

The ads DO say it has a "Break" and ramps up and down like a Leslie, but it doesn't say that it does what a Leslie does best. Which is the "Doppler Effect".

If it is simply a "Vibrato" circuit, but doesn't apply any pitch-bend manipulation, all it will do is vary the volume to speed.

If it applies a "Tremolo" circuit, then it should apply a slight pitch bend. You'll notice it pitching up at the loudest point on either the left or right side, and then pitching down as it moves away from that side. (I think I got Tremolo and Vibrato right...blame Fender for the confusion).

When a spinning speaker throws sound around, it's kind of like hearing an ambulance coming at you from a distance, passing you, and going away. It pitches higher as it gets closer. If the box doesn't do that, it's not a Leslie simulator. It's simply a stereo Vibrato box, with a ramping-speed circuit.

The secret to effectively using a Leslie, assuming it DOES apply pitch, is in the working of the Fast/Slow and Break switches. Simply leaving it on one or the other will not usually provide much satisfaction. You almost need to anticipate when you want it to go faster and slow down, as it takes a bit of time to ramp. If you hit the Break, it should pretty much just stop a bit quicker, and stay static in whatever L/R position the "rotor" stopped in. You have to imagine putting up two mics positioned on either side of a Leslie cabinet. And, if you have it running mono, you won't hear the spread, naturally...it'll just sound like the effect is nearly twice as fast, since it's high point is coming from only one position, instead of two. (It'll go "phlap,phlap,phlap" from one point, instead of "phlap(r)...phlap(l)...phlap(r), etc.

If you run it through a stereo mix, or two amps, you may want to play with the pan positions of a mix, or the separation of the two amps. If you get them too far from each other, you MAY create a hole in the middle that is distracting. If you put them too close, youll lose your stereo perspective.

So, listen to nearly any blues, rock or jazz tune with a Hammond B3, and it'll probably have a Leslie. Listen to guitars that have run through them. Dig up some old Redbone, Clapton...even Three Dog night used one on "Pieces of April". Beatles used them. Zeppelin even put Plant's vocals through one on "What Is And What Should Never Be". Check them out, and see if you can hear what they are doing. Working the speed is usually advised.

BTW, one of the better Leslie simulators I have run across is a surprising find. The old Yamaha DG-Stomp has one that actually does vary the pitch, and ramps up and down. You can apply a bit of simulated tube-amp grunge if you wish, and here's the kicker....
It has separate high and low split points, which are adjustable for frequency crossover, and separately for speed and pan-width position.

Hope that helped,

Brad1

[TD_Madden]

Brad,

Great writeup, thanks!

Actually it does the ramp up/down pretty well, and you can adjust the balance between the high-freq and low freq. When it ramps down, the tone definitely varies with where it "stops". I've tried it in a stereo scenario, but probably not at its best (Marshall 1987 and AC50)....maybe better with two Deluxes. I'm sort of experimenting with the fast/slow conversions, and that does seem to hold the most promise.

The tough part about it is knowing how much she paid for it....I could buy a used amp for that!

[cjlectronics]

I had one of these in for repair a while back. the complaint was too much hiss. After researching this pedal and searching a few forums, I found out that the hiss is normal...its supposed to have some hiss. I gave it some TLC...opened the pedal, checked jacks and soldered a few joints on the pc board. It sounded great. I have to admit, this is one of the best Leslie simulators I heard. Definitely, one I'll put at the top of its category.

CJL

[Alf]

I have one of these pedals too . It sounds great but there is some hiss ( a bit too much to my liking).
When you connect it to a mixing console , you add the effect , then it sounds better , no hiss at all.

How did you open it? I couldn't open mine after removing the screws.
The boardwas stuck in smone way .
I would like to check the tube and replace it if needed.

Alf

[cjlectronics]

I don't remember how I removed the board but I do remember it being a pain to remove.

CJL

[Sweetfinger]

Years ago I saw Warren Haynes in a medium sized venue with a pretty good sound system using a Rotosphere with Gov't Mule. Moe Denham, a local keyboard player, was sitting in with them on a Hammond/Leslie. The sound of the Rotosphere sounded more like a Leslie than the real thing! -at least out in front. In a smaller room, Where it wouldn't need to be mic'd, there just ain't nothin' that can touch a Leslie for groove-a-licious tone!