From bruce@ashbysolutions.com Tue Feb 29 15:41:57 2000
Subject:RE: [Voce] Digest Number 18

All,

My $.02 on the following matter. Actually, I've given the matter
serious thought in the past -- on the HAMTECH forum, and during the
'Hammond Clone Wars' shootout documented at the Hammond-Leslie FAQ
site -- so maybe it's worth $.40-.50:

>> I got a question maybe you might know the answer: Why the chorale
>> speed of the Pro3T does not sound like the chorale sound of a leslie?
>
> I agree with you. It sounds kinda artificial, and definitely not as
> dramatic. Why? The bass. sim thingy? The physical dimensions? More
> tubes? A combination of all these things?

There are probably hundreds of subtle things, but here are the two most
notable things that I've found. Interestingly, the bass simulator is
NOT one of them: The Leslie 302, with it's stationary 12" woofer and
rotary simulator, sounds more like a "real Leslie" than the PRO-3/3T or
R3-147 coupled to any amplifier or PA system that you can name --

- The Treble Driver -- A Leslie uses either a Jensen (old) or Atlas
(new) driver with a phenolic voice coil frame and speaker dome.
This assembly is really a PA/midrange driver, and rolls off nicely
above 6-7kHz. The PRO-3 series uses an Eminence driver with a
titanium frame/dome that works well to 20kHz or so, and is rolled
off artificially. The roll-off filter can emulate the frequency
response, but it can't simulate all the subtle phase relationships
of the phenolic driver, nor can it fully reduce the transient
response of the titanium dome. The difference in materials also
means different resonances, etc. that affect the overall timbre.

- The Horn -- The Leslie horn is a narrow-beam conical design with
conical 'deflectors'. The PRO-3 horn is a medium-dispersion
exponential design. Even taking into consideration that many
Leslie owners pull of the deflectors, there is a radically
different frequency response and dispersion pattern in the two
horn shapes.

These two items make up 80-90% of the difference, IMHO.

>> I've played my V5 through a leslie 147 and 122, Its awesome!!!!!!!
>
> I still want to do that. Actually, I have access to a 122 and a preamp
> so I must try it out. I believe you.

Alas, another sad case of LSOS (Leslie Speaker Owners' Syndrome). ;^)
Once you try the Real Thing, it's hard to go back, even though the
process of miking and pumping the Leslie through the PA in a band
situation probably eliminates a lot of the differences for the audience.

At the Hammond Clone Wars shootout a few years ago (V3 vs. XB-2 vs.
XM-1) it was obvious to all the "taste testers" that the sound of ANY of
the clones through one of Al Goff's 122 Leslies was preferable to Al's
best B-3 through either of the available simulators (RPM-1 and PRO-3).

Best regards,

-BW

--
Bruce Wahler
Electrical/Computer engineer
Keyboard player
Voce Support Group moderator
bruce@ashbysolutions.com

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-----Original Message-----
From: Eamonn Flynn [mailto:EamonnF@earthlink.net]
Sent: Tuesday, February 29, 2000 3:10a