Anything extra I should consider in a Leslie speaker cabinet?

[David Eugene]

I pulled the speakers and extra stuff from an old Thomas transistor organ and I have it all working as a guitar amp, I just need to find/build a cabinet.

I think it's fairly straight forward, but I'm just wondering if anyone has opinions with Leslie speakers.....I have 2 main speakers which I think I might mount on the sides for a stereo effect and then have the Leslie facing forward....

but is there anything else I should consider when building a cabinet for a Leslie speaker?

[Brad1]

How is the Leslie configured in one of those? Is it a rotating drum with a speaker firing into it? At any rate, you'll probably want to build the cab so all four sides are open...just so you have more mic'ing choices, and so it bounces around off everything...like a real Leslie.

Having only one opening will constrict the effect, which defeats the entire purpose of a Leslie. You'll end up with something that sounds like "eeweeEEeeeww......eeweeEEeeww..in mono...from one point.

And you won't get a "stereo effect" just from a speaker on each side, unless you have two separate amps running two separate signals. And, the only place that might come in handy is if you had them mic'ed. On a stage, with other instruments blasting, you don't want your speakers firing to the side...you want hear them.

I think I'd use the uneffected speakers higher on the front, with the Leslie open all around, under them. I'd also use two separate amps to mix the two signals.

Or, just build a single Leslie cab, and use the two others in some other cab/amp.

Brad1

[hazysonic]

i'm thinking leslie too...

I'm really interested in getting a leslie involved in my guitar setup, but I tend to agree that a single cab to do leslie and stereo sounds isn't the best idea. My current thought is to have two smaller extension cabs for L and R, and an additional leslie cab in the center.

But that sounds like a lot to cart around just to have stereo. So then I think maybe I should incorporate leslies into both the L and R cabs, although the cost and time to build would increase... Anyone else experimenting with this stuff?

[Brad1]

So then I think maybe I should incorporate leslies into both the L and R cabs, although the cost and time to build would increase... Anyone else experimenting with this stuff?

Probably not a good idea. Then you'll have two spinning speakers, unsynchronized. The benefits of a Leslie will disapperar into a garble of doppler-esque mayhem. It may even make the effect appear to be less, because you'll add more.

A Leslie can sound good with only one speaker, or two speakers splitting frequencies, as in low/high spinning-drum/horn-rotor.

Having two putting out the same frequencies, shooting out to who-knows-where and when, is almost like putting more than two mics on each side of the high or low of a Leslie cab. You'll lose the pitch-modulation depth because one is picking up before the other has left off. With two Leslies, it'll probably sound more like uncontrolled chorusing than anything. And, if the speeds don't match up, you'll have a heck of a time controlling the thing to get a classic Leslie effect. May be OK for a weird effect, but a steady diet would probably get old, quick.

Make sense?

Brad1

[IronmanMC]

Leslie's have louvers on three sides. This is very important. Leslies are omnidirectional and have a naturally "spacious" sound, enhanced by room reflections. This is why mic'd Leslies have such a different sound.

Also critical to the Leslie sound is the number, shape, and layout of the louvers. They help shape the sound.

Personally, I don't much care for the speaker/rotating drum portion of the leslie. It's most of the size and weight, but not much of the bang. The rotating horn is where most of the magic occurs. BTW the drum and horn are not synchronous.

I've heard a few B-3 players with dual Leslies. They sound fine. In theory, yes they're asynchronous and seemingly in conflict. In the real world, these seeming conflicts enrich the sound. Our ears perceive direction per psychoacoustics.

I'm an electrical engineer. We like to think we can use science and shop math to sensibly and logically design great gear and solve all of life's great mysteries. Objectively, though, there are certain things we either cannot quantify or are just too mathematically complicated to bother with. So we learn by trial and error, and find empirically what works. We call this "Mojo", things we can't necessarily explain but know they work.

A prime example of Mojo is ground loops. Do you tie grounds together or isolate them from one another? Math and current state of the art theory don't give us the answer (at least not the RIGHT one). Mojo does. If one doesn't work, try the other. Duke taught me science and math. Life taught me mojo. Mojo is why old engineers make more than new ones

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