Home Made Compact Leslie Speaker Unit: Construction and Function
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- Опубликовано: 20 май 2013
- Leslie speaker units are famous for the unique way they alter the sound of guitar and organ music. Unfortunately, most units are too large, bulky, and expensive for home use and lack the portability necessary for guitarists to transport to gigs. This video describes the construction of a compact, homemade, variable speed Leslie speaker unit, using parts from an original unit and some simple modifications. I hope you enjoy this video and will subscribe to my channel to see many more videos featuring classic vintage guitar amps, jukeboxes, and interesting homemade equipment. Thanks !!!
In response to numerous questions about the speed control unit I used in the video, it is a ceiling fan speed control from Ace Hardware. I installed it using the directions that came in the package. If used for an extended period of time, it will cause the motor to overheat, so pay attention to the temperature of the motor to avoid damage. 
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I've got a 1961 Leslie Instrument cabinet with a rotating baffle. The motor is lound, the baffle bearing is loud, none of that matters, because the sound of a guitar through it is absolute magic. People who have never heard one of these REALLY REALLY need to; they'll never use a vibro or chorus pedal again.
I agree, OW. The effect must be experienced in person to be believed.
This is so awesome. It sucks that Leslie speakers are so hard to find and are considered “obsolete”, thanks for keeping these awesome speakers alive!
You're welcome, Collis. Glad you liked it.
My Grandfather was an amazing wood worker. He built me a couple of 4 x 12 Marshall cabs before passed in 84 and I still cherish them. I was a heavy metal kid obsessed with Marshall stacks but had no money. These are spot on and we did it together.
You're lucky to have been able to share such experiences with your grandfather, Kurt. You have memories and great speakers that will last a lifetime. Perhaps you can do the same for your own children, relatives, etc.
Uncle John I've spent lots of money trying to learn how to build and put a good nitro finish on these. I usually get nitro in the can from Reranch but if You are aware of other vendors I'd love to know. Speaking of the doppler effect if you put a couple of mics on a leslie out front beyond where there's any stage volume I wonder if a simulator in that application might be good. Mr. Doug my Granddad fought in Okinawa. There's nothing like having solid roots when you're out in the world. Peace
I have salvaged several Leslie tremolo units from old organs. They work great. On one of my rigs, I took 2 tremolo units and put one atop the other. One rotated clockwise and one counter-clockwise, like the Leslie 122 and others. I never did try to reduce the size of the units but after seeing your work, I may modify mine again. They sure are lots of fun.
When I hear Leslies, Clapton and Pink Floyd are the ones that come to my mind first
Elic Crapton and Stink Floyd lol
Followed by The Beatles
@@javiceres Jimi Hendrix
Pink floyd mainly used maestro rovers
@@joeybegnomebino-rama1831 Jimi used a Univibe much more often.
SRV is the biggest user of a Leslie/Fender Vibratone. Another pretty big player? Peter Frampton, who uses a full size Leslie converted to guitar use (just a preamp).
Thanks, Aaron. After you get rid of all the extraneous wood, wires, cabinetry, etc., the Leslie drum unit is fairly compact and portable. It's a fun project, and the sound it produces with a guitar is really unique.
nothing wrong with geeky home made stuff,beats sitting around watching TV and gives a whole lot of satisfaction when things turn out well. Never seen a Leslie speaker before interesting but i guess thats why we come to your channel to learn and see different things from the past.
We're glad you came, Ray. You're always welcome.
Wow when I was a kid a couple of friends of mine sold me one of these exact units for 25 bucks. It was a blast to play with. Don't know what happened to it but I can't believe you came up with a video on it. Totally cool totally totally cool 😎😎😎👍
I remember back in my High School and college days (late 1960's to early 70's) a lot of local bands had a Hammond B3 organ wired in stereo or maybe just two channels through both Voice of Theater and Leslie Speakers. Hearing those two Leslie's bounce and influence each others sound was mesmerizing. A good organist knew when to use these speakers and when he would rely on just straight sound. The effect when used sparingly seems to have more impact. Thanks for the great video and a trip down memory lane.
richb313 You're welcome, Rich, and you're right.....like any effect, i.e. reverb, tremolo, echo, etc., the Leslie must be used sparingly to maintain its dramatic effect. Thanks for watching and for your input :)
The Leslie Speaker was a very unique invention! This was invented by Donald Leslie who was a radio repair technician for a department store in California! The "quick" story behind his invention (the entire story is extensive) and the idea for it was sparked off when he was standing outside one afternoon and a sound truck with 3 trumpet speakers on top was playing music in the background of political announcements...As he heard the truck pass, he noticed the drop in pitch of the music as the distance increased away from him. Similar to dopler except he utilized his invention for the Hammond Organ. His first prototype was an old phonograph horn with a $2 speaker mounted in the horn. The horn was then mounted to the top of a turntable platter. The speaker was driven with a rotary wiper contact to maintain continuity from the amplifier to the speaker. The output of his Hammond model A organ was connected to this amp...and the rest was history. The first commercially available Leslie Speaker was the model 30 "Vibratone" 1939 :) The reason for this knowledge is, before I became a Club DJ, I was a professional working musician--a Jazz Organist...I played the Hammond B3 organ for a living at one time :) I also repair quite a few Leslie Speaker Amplifiers...Someday, I will make a video explaining the theory and operation of these various Leslie Speakers, their motor control methods, and amplifier operation :) I like your modification on this one Doug! :)
Wow, thanks for the extensive historical review, Frank. It was very interesting.
May you´ll want to know that hammond really dislikes the leslie speaker unit. They told every reseller *not* to sell leslie speaker units as well, or hammond will quit sell organs to them.
Since the original leslie speaker units are sounds good, they all got a *big* disadvantage, they are not very loud. If you ever played an organ through a leslie unit in a rock band, you know this.
So I bought a solton rotor - a leslie speaker unit clone, the "Solton Turbo" - made by RotorSound - an Italian company who made the rotor hardware. Solton provides the speakers, the Cabinet and the 100 or 200W solid state Amp.
They really can compete with a "Full Stack" marshall Amp.
I was so impressed that i´ve looked years for the big one the "Solton - Twin Jet"
with the mid-high rotating horn in a seperate cabinet.
The whole thing is about 60 inches high. The inbuild Amps are 100W each. One for the organ channel 12 inch bass speaker with rotating drum and 2inch CompressDriver with a rotating horn. As well a second channel with 15 inch and 2 inch speakers static speakers for another organ or synthesizer.
As i played in a hard rock band, I changed the speakers to absolute top notch 1000W 12 inch beyma and 2Inch EV Compression driver in the mid 1990 century To keep up with an Ampeg SVT and 8x10 as well as two full stacks, I´ve also build a 6x 6C33C Tube amp for it, a *big* unit about 40x14x14 inch and 300W of sound output. Never need to re-mike it on stage just for the FOH PA system :D
With all that power, you could probably play in a large arena or stadium.....and still blast the people in the back row :) Speaking of which, did you suffer any hearing loss as a result?
Yes! you're right! Laurens Hammond hated Don Leslie (and his invention) it was out of pure envy because the Leslie Speaker too the sterile sound of the Hammond Organ and literally put it into motion. At one time, Hammond organ dealers were NOT aloowed to even sell Leslie Speakers in their stores, or they would face loosing the authorized dealership...
Luckily, I never allowed myself to be exposed to those high SPL's...being a recording engineer/tech all my life, it's bound to happen. However, I smartened up quickly at an early age to save my hearing...
I've been planning a build like this only using a pedal for speed control and haven't worked out exactly what I was going to use for a pedal. I love it !!!
Thanks, Vdrive. Good luck with your project.
Awww, man! I loved Leslies back in the day! Now I have to look at one of these things!
Build your own, Michael, like I did. You can buy the drum and motor on Ebay, then alter and fabricate the rest.
Hey, Seth. It's good to hear from you. I appreciate your positive assessment. The majority of the Leslie unit, including the drum and motor, was bought on Ebay for $65 (plus about $35 shipping....it's big and heavy). I can think of no other way to get the drum, unless you hunt down old Leslie units through your local Craigslist. Good luck !!!
Sounds gorgeous 👏👏
+Javi G Thanks, Javi :)
Javi G Genesis engineers use 3 cheap vox Mike's, 2 for the top horn and just 1 for the bottom drum, in a triangular shape, then jack it out of the pa.
I always loved going out to a local venue, like a large local bar, and listening to a favorite band. This was the 1980’s. The best bands featured these speakers. I didn’t know what they were called but they sounded phenomenal, adding amazing depth and feel to the music. Plus they looked cool spinning around.
Thanks for sharing, Clay.
Got one at a second hand store , removed from within an organ but unmolested. What a gem of a find ! with a 12 inch speaker and fast/slow motors. I rigged them with a light switch. May eventually make a speaker enclosure but it sounds so good as is ive just left it open.a terrific chorus effect when used in tandem with another unmodulated speaker , better than any pedal I've found live , the sound literally dances all around you.
It is definitely an effect that is so "three dimensional" it must be experienced in person to be fully appreciated. The moment you record it, it's reduced to two dimensions......flat and nowhere near as dynamic.
Roll With It (John): There is no Reply capability for your comment, so I'll reply here. Yes, it's a fan motor speed control. I bought it at the local Ace Hardware for less than $10. I have seen similar units at Home Depot and Lowe's, generally at a higher price. You need a motor control, not a light dimmer. Good luck.
I'm seeing $17-20 for the controller at True Value and HD/Lowes (here in the Boston area). Will check online next.
Maybe the price went up or the one you're looking at is of better quality. Either way, be sure it's for motors not lights.
Thanks for the informative and helpful input, John.
You're welcome, John :)
When I was very young I remember experimenting with sound and would place a radio across the house turned up loud and have another quieter near me listening to the echo effect from the delay of sound from across the house. Another I would do when I had a transistor radio was whip the radio around and around in a circle to get the cool effect. Later in life I learned about Leslie Rotating Speakers and one time someone my brother knew brought one over and was playing guitar through it. We were checking out how it was made.
The thing about your unit it the fact that if I am not mistaken the Leslie units rotated the entire speaker which gave it not only a tremolo effect but also a phasing effect.
Listening to the front then the rear of the speaker.
Thanks for sharing your recollections, Michael. In Leslie speakers, the speaker itself remains in a fixed position, but the sound from the speaker is sent through a passage in the rotating drum, creating both a tremolo effect (volume modulation) as well as vibrato effect (frequency modulation) and echo delay
@Leon thecat For the sake of compactness and the fact that the horns are really not all that necessary for guitar use, I omitted them from the design.
Your instructions are wonderful. I have always loved the sound of a Leslie Cabinet. Now finally I can afford my own!!!
Thanks, F1. Best of luck building your own. Let us know how it turns out.
Fantastic !. Makes me wish I could still play. Brings back some good memories. Thank you Sir.
All the best.
Bobby
You're welcome, Bobby.....glad you enjoyed it :)
Once again, Roll With It, your inquiry did not have a reply capability. Re, the 10A current requirement for the Leslie motor, are you speaking of the same small motor as the one in my video? Did you get this value by actual measurement? This amount of current would be more appropriate for a much, much larger motor....perhaps 1HP, whereas the Leslie motor in the video is probably around 1/15 to 1/20 HP. Just out of curiosity, I ran the Leslie motor through an AC Current Meter and it draws 0.5 to 0.6A max. It would appear that the Ace Hardware motor speed controller has about 10x the current capability required.
Any time the Doppler Effect and sound scoops are discussed, I am all ears. Maybe Eric Clapton might not like the Behr paint bucket, but there are a number of musicians here at SXSW who are kitschy enough to dig it.
Thanks for defending my paint bucket, Nancy. Rusty and I think it really adds to the tone and overall class of the speaker unit. May the Doppler Effect be with you :)
That makes me feel better, again thanks👍🏻
Uncle Doug's paint bucket obviously works. So, I discovered, does a metal potato chip can. But if you opt to replace the Leslie's factory speaker with one that's a bit more gutsy, an alternative can be found in the shipping box it comes in. There's usually a heavy duty protective padded cardboard insert that surrounds the speaker when it's shipped. Mount your new speaker and attach the cardboard insert to the back by slipping it over the magnet and snugging it against the wooden base. Something as simple as tape (on the flaps) can be used to hold it in place. Virtually no sound escapes through the back. Metal can cause the sound waves to reflect forward. This has the potential to "flatten" the speaker cone. The padded cardboard insert absorbs the sound and all but eliminates this issue. And again, Uncle Doug's mod is very cool.
Thanks for all the great (and economical) suggestions, TH. I use the original Leslie sound-deadening material (that generally comes stapled over the rear of the speaker) to line the paint bucket. Who says you need to spend hours constructing a bulky, heavy speaker enclosure ?? ;)
Well, guy, I Finished my Leslie today.. I made a couple of changes... First off I moved the. Control panel to the floor into a nice walnut box..then I made a walnut box lined with damping Material to replace the Bucket. Then. I printed a big old English style Leslie® logo and stuck it in the front, grabbed the old gretsch and went to town oh man Did I feel important please tell rusty of my improvements. I hope he won't be insulted. First tune played: beach boys in my room Awesome try it someday
+David Salny It sounds like your Leslie project really turned out great, David. Thanks for sharing this with us. You are welcome to post a photo or two on my Facebook page: Uncle Doug's Vintage Amps so we can all see it.
I carried (roadied) a Leslie for a friend once in the early 70s and said "never again". My Roland chorus device weighs a bit less and for PRACTICAL (real world outside YT) applications is just as superb. I will go play through it right now.
That's not the same thing - at all.
Doug, that's a cool item. Thanks for sharing your story and experience.
Glad you enjoyed it, P :)
An interesting note on Leslies... They are notoriously hard to record accurately. I've heard stories of engineers putting up 3 or 4 mics all around one in an attempt to capture the ambient effects it produces live. I would think at least two mics would be needed to simulate a stereo effect. of the Doppler effect producing closer waves while coming toward one ear and slightly lower frequency waves moving away from the other. The effect actually produces, if miced in stereo and panned completely to one side and the other, a third note effect like a Phaser.
Brad Linzy I believe it, Brad. The effect, in person, is extremely dynamic with sound coming from all directions, and varying amounts of frequency shift and delay.....very three dimensional. Trying to portray this with one microphone would be impossible and would reduce the effect by at least one dimension. Multiple microphones and multi-track recording would be more accurate, but I doubt that it would ever be able to capture the effect in "all its glory" :)
I have played around with all sorts of mic techniques. My favorite thing is a 5 mic set up. Two on top and two on bottom on the left and right side of cabinet next to the vents and never inside the back (way to noisy) and the vents are actually engineered to quite the sound of the air the rotors stir up inside the cabinet. Then one ambient mic (up to) 8 ft away but sometimes less. My mic mixing techniques can vary depending on the drawbars I'm using and how it sits in the mix. Sometimes I bring my 1 ambient mic in around 3 ft and just use it only. It's all about taste and how it sets in the mix with the other tracks. If the organ is playing some heavy bass notes on the pedals occasionally I will only use 1 mic on the bottom rotor. Not doing so makes the stereo track seem unbalanced. That doppler effect is definitely hard to capture in playback. I also make sure the leslie isn't too close to any one wall in the room. I have played around with phaser and chorus effect layered on top of the leslie tracks (primarily with the ambient mic but not always) and find that it works better to operate the wet/dry mix according to the speed of the leslie. For instance as the leslie slows down or is rotating slowly I adjust the chorus or phaser wet mix a little more and then back to dry when it rotates faster. If you notice the leslie speed switch on an organ says choral/ tremolo and not slow/ fast. They gave it those names for a reason. Anywho, just thought I'd put that out there.
Wow, thanks for the very detailed commentary, SK. We definitely appreciate your input.
Uncle Doug one other thing. lol. I would suggest you building a box for the backside of the exposed speaker. Closing off the backside will dramatically change the Leslie effect and it will be more pronounced. Running it open as you are doing is canceling out some of the doppler and other nice effects because of phase issues. Of course doing this will increase the size and weight some depending on how large you build it. The larger you can get away with the lower the frequencies you will be able to reproduce up to a certain point. If you use a small enclosure of the backside of the speaker adding poly fill available from your local Wal-Mart can help some. You might find that its worth the sacrifice. I definitely would. You could always experiment with setting a box over it and standing back to observe the difference before you commit.
Greetings, SK. I guess you didn't see my "classy" plastic paint pail full of sound-absorbing material, perched over the rear of the speaker. It is visible in the video and does indeed make a huge difference in the intensity of the effect.
The sound of the Leslie is so unique, it was years before i found out what made the effect.
Uncle, as always a complete knowledge in a few minutes and a very pleasure to listen.
Thanks, Stefano. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
I have those exact parts that I fished out of the dumpster. I am going to do this exact thing one of these days. Thanks for all the inspiration Uncle Doug!
Your Dumpsters are certainly better stocked than the ones in my neighborhood, Chris :)
The Beatles also used the Leslie effect on guitars a lot.
Live or just in the studio? (I saw them live in Seattle in '65. Couldn't hear a damn thing because of all the chicks screaming)
Fender Vibration speakers I believe
@@ryanreeves8931 I Think You Mean a Vibratone! I have a restored one! :ruclips.net/video/A6zJJeYYBIc/видео.html
Here comes the sun for example. George was a big leslie user.
@@marcosjaviercastrorico1572 Yes!
simply find the two motor wires, remove them from the socket mounted on the board, attach a two-wire power cord to them, and plug it in. Find the two speaker wires and attach them to a female phone jack, mount the jack on the board, and plug in the male phone cable from your amp. Do not get the wires mixed up or bad things will happen.....quickly. Good luck and be careful.
Do you have a layout/sketch showing how to build the on/off switch and speed switch/control?Or even better do a video showing how you do it!
@@edanderson8035 I'm sorry, Ed, but the wiring is so basic that I never thought a diagram would be needed.
Uncle Doug is it just a dimmer switch or something out of an oscillating fan? Very nice work as always
@@UncleDoug Hi Uncle Doug....Can you please just give a simple description of what the speed control is?
Loved the video! My wife used to own a Hammond organ with a built in Leslie and by luck the organ had an RCA input in the back and I played my guitar through the speaker with great results. I recall the effect was more dramatic as the rate of rotation was changing from slow to fast and viceversa. George Harrison played his Gibson through a Leslie for the Something guitar solo. Obviously the speed of rotation was slow but the effect was glorious.
It was indeed. Thanks, JG :)
Oh, now you did it. Now I'm going to have to find one of these for my arsenal. Thanks!
You're welcome, Jeff. Good luck :)
Hendrix used a pedal called Univox for his tone.
Univibe
LOVE this! I have a lot of spare parts at home, and I think I could build something similar to this...it seems simple enough...but my question is, does the drum have to be made of styrofoam? Great video!
Greetings, Randy. I'm glad you liked the video. In some Leslie units, the drum is made of wood. One advantage of the styrofoam is that it is very light and rotates quietly, but apparently the wood works well too. A Google search for Leslie units....or even an Ebay search....will probably turn up some examples of the wood drum. Good luck with your project :)
Rotating "drum"/baffle should be made of formed 1/ 4 plywood as it has to stay
together at different rotating sppeeds affixed to the bearing shaft or aligned bearings.
I would try the styrofoam drum but use fiberglass resin coated cloth on the inside of the baffle to harden it. It would end up being lightweight yet reflective of sound
exactly what I was thinking.
Great job with the speaker. The first time I ever saw a Leslie was at a Steppenwolf concert in 1970. Even from a distance I could see the rotating parts in the Leslie, I believe they had it turned backwards so the crowd could see it. I was astonished at how that sound was made.
Thanks, Jon. It reminds me of a lawn sprinkler, spraying sound all around the room.
Thanks again, Doug. You built a very cool rig, and the workmanship appears to be up to your usual standard of great quality.
But you have also provided a vital piece of information concerning the belt tension. A friend has accquired a "Wilder" brand rotary cabinet that had no motors. We did some engineering, and adapted real Leslie 122 motors into it, but we had the tension idler too tight, and the pulley was dragging. This caused the horn to rotate too slowly and sometimes it would just stop. We changed the belt tension, and now it's just fine. It's like the fan belt on your engine. If it's too tight, you wear out the bearings in the water pump and alternator. Thanks again for all the great tips and info.
Hats off to you once again, sir.
You're quite welcome, JP. Thanks for your nice comments and best of luck with your projects.
Ron Swanson?!
+Justin Turcotte He hires me to provide his voice.....his natural voice sounds like Barney Fife :)
The "Leslie" effect you refer to on Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughn (and Trower) recordings was in fact NOT a Leslie... they both used an electronic floor pedal effect called a Univibe.... which was of an early version of today's "Leslie Simulator" pedals/stomp boxes.
Greetings, PM. I've read several conflicting descriptions of the gear used by these musicians, but the general consensus agrees with you about the Univibe pedal. In addition, SRV also occasionally used a Fender Vibratone rotating speaker unit for the "Leslie effect" rather than an actual Leslie cabinet. Thanks for your input :)
Fender Vibratones were a fun variation on the theme. By the way besides reading descriptions of what gear they used I also SAW what gear Hendrix and Stevie used several times.... LIVE !
One of my great regrets is that I never got to see either of them perform in person. The fact that SRV and I both live(d) in the same state (Texas) makes it all the more inexcusable :(
I saw Hendrix 3 times and SRV twice !
Uncle Doug, you’re still pretty much right. The Grateful Dead’s album “Workingman’s Dead” had the song Casey Jones that had Jerry Garcia playing slide guitar on his Telecaster through a Leslie. Thinking about it today, I am sure that Rusty would have loved it. Fond memories reinforced by getting behind the scenes in the technology dept.!
Another great vid uncle D..inspired me to have a go at building a miniature Leslie Since my new home made hammond worked out so well (thanks to you tolex/tweed covering videos it looks beautiful too) thanks again
+Kaine Joyes You're welcome, KJ. I'm glad the videos were helpful :)
Ewww. I'd love to recover this Monoprice 15w amp I just bought with tweed instead of the white, Vox-style tolex that's on it.
Thanks, Davo. There are pedals and modeling effects currently built into amplifiers that attempt to duplicate the Leslie, but they lack the three-dimensional, swirling quality that makes the real Leslie so impressive. Even the sound accompanying my video fails to fully capture the true nature of the effect, since the sound you hear is only coming from one or two (speaker) sources.....it has to be experienced in person to be fully appreciated.
I really like the sound that comes from this.
Thanks, Larry. It really is a beautiful effect. With some chords it reminds me of being in church and hearing the organ play.
I wish you were my uncle. Nice job. You gave me a great idea: i have a tumble dryer motor and a 1965 12" Jensen lying around that would be perfect for something like that.
+Waldorf andStatler Thanks, W & S. That sounds like an interesting project. Please let us know how it turns out :)
Very nice and solid work. Perfect when you find a solution for the speaker housing.
You get the famous Leslie-effect wearable with one hand! I like it!
Thanks, BMB.
A leslie is very much like the effect I get by cupping and un-cupping my hands around my harmonica. One of my favorite effects is the acceleration and deceleration of the leslie effect as you turn the motor on and off. I like to imitate that when I play harmonica.
Thanks for sharing, Skip.
Hi Doug, nice build, works well. In the original Leslies they had the hi level rotating horns rotating in the opposite direction. This greatly increased the Doppler shift effect. I used to used a leslie made by Selmer which had the octal plug for Hammonds etc but it also had a jack input so you could plug a guitar into it. I sold it for silly money many years ago I immediately wished I hadn't. The old Vox Continetal organ ( as used by Mike Smith in the Dave Clark Five) had really fairground sound but as soon as you plugged into the Selmer Leslie you would be had put to not think it was a Hammond. Great idea, may you have great fun with it.Back in the 70's in north London there used to be a Hammond Leslie repair man who serviced all of the Hammonds and Leslies of late Keith Emerson, (of Nice and Emerson Lake and Palmer fame). ELP commissioned him to build a super leslie, I think it had 4 top horns and 3 or 4 bottom bass units. I heard in his workshop and it was like a 747 taking off backwards and forwards at the same time. Ohh, great times. Gone are those days.
Thanks so much for your nice comments and knowledgeable input, ML. I sacrificed the rotating horns in favor of compactness and portability. It's nice to have a fully functional Leslie speaker you can carry around with one hand, like a lightweight suitcase. Best regards from Rusty and his assistant :)
I love your analogies! Sounds great. Excellent job!
Thanks, Peter. Glad you liked it :)
Your video triggered a long time memory in the cobwebs of my mind going back to 1971.
I was working in a recording studio in Toronto, at the time. One of the producers brought in two Leslie rotating speaker baffles that he procurred somewhere, and wanted me to do something with them. There was no vari-speed motor or shaft with bearings or a pulley/belt, with them, so I had to start from scratch. I sized up the baffles and constructed two hexagon cabinets with 4 open sides each so the rotating Leslie baffles could be heard. It took some doing and fabricating to get them working for a stereo effect. i had to find motor speed control dimmers for the special fractional 1/8 HP fan type motors that I found, to find the optimal low speed to high speed RPM. to keep the baffles rotating and not stopping completely.
For speakers, I used 10 inch RSC (Radio Speakers Canada)
Sounds like a challenging project, SC. Thanks for sharing it with us.
First time I see and hear this thing. Great sounding device. Loved it. Thank you Uncle.
We're glad you liked it. LS.
Thanks for the video! I'm constructing a totally homemade 10in version for bass (a la John Paul Jones on Heartbreaker) and this is the only style I found that I could do easily. Big help!
+P71 You're welcome, P71. It sounds like an interesting project. Glad the video was helpful :)
Thanks for the tour! I kind made my own too! That was years ago and after looking at this, I think ill get my toys out the closet and upgrade! :)
You're welcome, William. Good luck with your upgrade.
Thanks! Nice explanation of the function of the Leslie Unit.
Glad you liked it, CV.
Thanks, Frederik. The motor is original. I believe they come in two variations, one-speed like mine, and two-speed. They are usually available on Ebay. I think it would be easier to simply buy an original motor than try to modify something else. The speed control is one that you can buy at most building supply stores. They are used to control the speed of ceiling fans. You have to be careful when using it, because they make the motor heat up if you run at low speed for a long time.
I am glad I watched this.
I have a few of those that I forgot that I had!
Back in the days when I played in a group; if we had a regular gig where we would play every weekend in a bar for a month or so, we would actually bring a Hammond B3 and 2, yes 2, full size Leslie cabinets to the site. One for the B3, and one for the lead guitar player....
Once a Guitar player experiences plating his amp through a Leslie, he never wants to be without one.
The full size cabinets had their own amplifier system in them. Usually 2 amps. One for the rotating drum, and another one for the dual horn speakers at the top that also rotated and could rotate at the same or a different speed. There were Leslie cabinets made with as many as 4 high power amplifiers in them, but the biggest I ever saw had three amps in it with obvious space on the chassis for a third one..
The advantage of having it's own amplifier was that the lead could play through his normal amp and signals could be picked up from anywhere in his amplifier to feed to the Leslie, or just use a bridging external speaker jack.
The full size cabinets had foot controls for the different speeds but no continuously variable controls, which would have been a plus at the time...
Your video brought back some very good memories playing through them, and some not so good memories of some back breaking labor when we had to move that stuff....
I shudder to think of the challenges you faced dragging those behemoths around......but I'll bet it was worth it when they wowed the crowd (sheer poetry ;)
i feel very touched by your videos as i grew up with tubes, and later , i was an electronic design engineer. now retired, i concentrate on tube projects which i could not do as a youngster and du to lack of money. i wish you good health , so, that you may record some more nice movies.
Thanks so much, Stephan. We welcome you to our channel and hope we can get back into video production in the near future.
I just purchased a Hammond 7222k , and I was looking to incorporate a Leslie, the reverb tank and an amplifier into one unit from the cabinet. I will be using the original 12 and 8 speakers also. The pot gave me an idea now to use a foot control to control the wheel. thanks for your video.
You're welcome, Mark. Best of luck with your project.
Interesting approach with the mounting. Provides clean midrange and treble.
You're right, Ken. There is nothing between you and the music :)
Another great video Uncle Doug. Sparked a new idea. Keep up the wonderful work.
Thanks, Jeff. I'm glad the video was helpful :)
simply perfect and pure sound
Thanks so much, Leonard. I'm glad you like it :)
Sounds amazing ,I was thinking about extracting a Leslie from my old Yamaha organ and building a unit like this ...After seeing yours in action I'm motivated , This Leslie looks identical to the one that was in my old Kawai Drawbar organ
Thanks for your input, Paul, I really appreciate the information.
Sounds great Doug.
Thanks !!!
Ok. Thank you. I’ll give it a try. Love that sound!
Good luck, MM.
WONDER HOW A MOVING FAN BLADE WOULD SOUND-THIS WAS A GOOD VIDEO. LEARNED SOMETHING NEW.
You can put a fan in front of a speaker and see, Joe.....it does make an interesting sound effect.
I have watched this video about 20 times over the last two years. Of all the projects you post, this is one I think I can do with my limited electronics knowledge. I just wish I could find the parts you bought on Ebay to get me started. But so far, no luck.
In my earlier musician life, we always had a leslie connected to the Hammond organ. Hauling the organ and the leslie around from gig to gig made sure we had great sound, but also made sure we needed knee and back surgery in later years. IMO, one of the greatest rock sounds of all time, and only made by a real rotating speaker.
I agree that nothing can duplicate the sound of one of these devices......spewing music like a lawn sprinkler spews water :) Good luck with your search. They used to be plentiful on Ebay.
excellent demonstration
Thanks, VN :)
thank you for sharing your wisdom and knowledge. Mighty generous.
***** You're welcome, Buster. Getting nice notes from viewers (like you) makes it all worthwhile :)
I must compliment you on this lovely and ingenious piece of audio equipment. I've long since been into vintage technology, especially anything audio related (I've designed and built several tube amps for one), and have never had the privilege of owning a "normal" Leslie. Sure I've seen the cheese-wheel Leslies on eBay, but I've never even thought to use one like this. I don't have much room in my apartment, so the small size is ideal, and your's sounds great! Thanks for the great video, and I hope to make one for myself soon!
Greetings and thanks, Valveman. I'm glad you liked the miniaturized Leslie device. It's a whole lot more compact and portable than the original....perfect for your apartment. Let us know how it turns out :)
Thank you. Loved this demonstration.
You're welcome, LC
Incredible work, sounding fantastic, i think if Mr. Clapton see and hear your home made Leslie system he wanna buy this, thanks for share...
Sounds absolutely wonderful; like a slightly more subtle chorus with a smaller duty cycle (I hope that makes sense to any of you).
It makes very good sense. Thanks :)
A very informative video there Doug. Your homemade version of a Leslie is unique and a fair bit smaller than any other I've seen. - Nice work
Thanks, Tim. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
I've seen Clapton using Leslie cabs onstage...incredible tone machines. The rocketship of rock; a Hammond B-3 with a Leslie Cab.
I agree wholeheartedly, MT :)
Beautiful sound! You're a Jedi!
Thanks, Cleber. Leslie made the effect, I simply made it portable :)
So cool. Thanks for upload.
Glad you enjoyed it, Lyle.
I just knew we were about to hear Pieces of April by Three Dog Night.
Those sound wicked with a drip pedal. And a Mimiq.
Wow I’m impressed
I'm glad, JB. Thanks.
Love Leslie’s thank you
You're welcome, Blake.
Uncle Doug, your videos make my day! 👍
That's good to hear, Oq :)
Very nice, sir. I lost my vision and I have always wanted to try and build a Leslie before, since I love their sound, but never got around to it. Sounds awesome, and the stereo mics on the camera definitely brought the sound out a lot more.
Thanks, Gerad......glad you enjoyed the video.
Helpful and informative - explained heaps I didn't know.
Colin Gantiglew Thanks, Colin. Glad you liked it :)
Hi Doug, I just bought a similar Leslie Chassis on Ebay, it originally came out of a Wulitzer organ that was scrapped, the strange thing is it has two AC motors mounted in tandem, one drives the drum fast, the other slow, I'm building an enclosure similar to yours, I mounted it in a temporary enclosure just to see if it all works OK, it really sounds good, thanks for making the video, it's really inspiring.
Greetings, Derek. Yes, many Leslie's (probably the more expensive, elaborate models) had two separate drum motors. Some even had separate, counter-rotating horns for treble tones. Mine just had the single drum motor, but the adjustable speed control I installed facilitates operation at all different rotational speeds. Congratulations on successfully building your own unit. I'm really glad to hear that the video was helpful.
Very cool. Thank you for posting!
+bruce007 You're welcome, Bruce. Glad you liked it :)
+Uncle Doug. Did you create the foam cheese wheel component or is it possible to buy it? Though I am not too mechanically inclined and doubt I would be able to create one of these, it looks like a fantastic and fun project.
Thanks, Bruce. I bought the styrofoam wheel, motor, speaker, board, etc. as a complete unit on Ebay.
Roll With It....Your inquiry came without a reply capability, so I'll answer up here and hope you see it. If the HD switch was a fan motor speed controller (not a light dimmer), then I'm surprised it didn't affect the motor speed. Are you sure it was installed correctly? The fan motor speed controller I used in the video came from Ace Hardware. I hope you're able to solve this problem.
Hi Uncle Doug, I thought to say hi and also that I enjoyed a lot of your videos about amps, electronics, jukeboxes, etc. Having broken my wrist 2 weeks ago and so not being able to play drums, bass, keys or guitar or do my usual fiddling around with music, gear and electronics, so being forced to do not much for a lot of weeks, your videos entertain me and I also learn a lot as a side benefit. Great work, thanks!
+ericBdrums You're welcome, Eric, and best wishes for a speedy and complete recovery.
great description and explanation
Thanks, Ryan :)
Cool, Uncle Doug. I I salvaged one out of an old Guilbranson organ. I used the amp for a separate head. I cut the rotor cab part off the key board section
It works good enough for fun times at home. Looks good enough to keep upstairs.
BTW, try using a sewing machine speed peddle for speed control. Motors aren't my thing so be careful with the angry pixies and the magic smoke that's inside those parts.
Thanks for the suggestion, RB. It's hard to find those old sewing machine pedals any more.
I've got a multi-effects pedal that does a fairly good Leslie impersonation, but something like this is just infinitely cooler and would give incredible tone.
You're right, DP. With the Leslie speaker, the effect is greatly enhanced because the sound comes at you from all directions (bouncing off walls, floor, ceiling, etc.), while the sound from an effects pedal only comes from one source.....the speaker(s). In addition, the slight (and varying) delay in receiving the reflected signals really enhances the effect, sort of like a built-in chorus and delay.
Both are fine units.
Thanks, Jason.
Nice creation.
Thanks, Justin. Glad you liked it :)
You just gave the old, still functional 12" inch guitar speakers from my busted fender amp a new lease on life (;
Good news, YS. Best of luck with your project :)
Awesome video!
Thanks, AM :)
Looks very professional to me. Impressive to me....thanks....
+Rick Miller You're welcome, Rick. Glad you liked it :)
woww! it sounds amazing! congratulations!
Thank you so much!!
That's great! Nice unit!
Thanks, Lloyd. I'm glad you liked it :)
neat stuff. well done
+C Cook Thanks, CC. Glad you liked it :)
thats excellent uncle doug,
Thanks, William :)
Such a sweet sound!
Thanks, Anthony. I'm glad you enjoyed the video :)
that is cool. as an electrical engineer of age I thank you. that is cool.
You're welcome, Sam. I'm glad you liked it :)
Excellent special sound device.I finished my amplifier.I have put 2X47μF parallel in output transformers for filters.I try to find better solution for the hum.See the video.
+ΜΠΑΜΠΗΣ ΡΟΥΧΛΑΣ Thanks, I will :)
Thats really cool 😊 I play a fender tele through a fender champion 20.. I get a leslie affect either by setting the chorus to medium fast.. Or by setting the flanger affect to the full speed/slower speed. Both sound fairly close I think.. And both affects are built into my amp. It also has tremolo, wah, delay, and vibrato. Have a blessed day! 😊
Thanks, Doc.
Nope. Not even remotely close. Sorry, but that's a simple fact.