From tande.adamson@btinternet.com Thu Jan 24 03:12:30 2002
Subject:Re: Leslie Simulators

Hi Bill,

I read your post with interest. I too have had a special interest in
simulators for a different reason. I have a Leslie 145 at home but
don't always get the chance to play my Hammond through it and don't
ever really get the chance to practice pieces over and over so the
sim has become important to me. I can experiment using a clone, in my
case, the V3 and the e-mu B-3, together with my keyboard and
headphones and also as an amateur, recording through line is far
easier than using a microphone.
However I still want a good Leslie sim. I too am interested in
hearing the new Vertigo. I see that Alesis also have a multi-purpose
FX featuring amongst other things, a Leslie sim, so perhaps their
World-class simulator (the Vertigo) will indeed be up with the new
clone contenders such as clavia, as new algorithms will surely have
been developed by such a major company.

Reading your post, I see you have adopted and discarded quite a few
contenders, a couple of which puzzle me. First the Pro3T. We don't
really get the opportunity to hear Motion-Sound products in the UK
but as it appears to be a satifactory replacement for the Leslie,
could you explain what it was about the product which didn't convince.
As it features a true rotating horn it must be up above the purely
electronic as a Leslie substitute, or is it merely that the group you
play with won't allow the cabinet on stage and you didn't want to
resort to microphones? Did you consider the RS-147 4u rack-mount M-S
product?

Also the Rotosphere was confined to your recycle bin, and this
electronic device is extremely popular, and whilst not a perfect
match for a Leslie, it can be made to sound like it moves air like a
rotating speaker quite convincingly too with a little tweaking and
EQ'ing.

I'm surprised that you choose a Korg G4 above the H & K for whilst it
gives a decent cabinet simulation and slow rotating Leslie effect, I
could never get it to sound like the fast Leslie tremelo, it always
sounded to me like a cheesy vibrato. I've used the G4 for tube
simulation in conjunction with the Hughes and Kettner (for the
rotation) quite effectively though but it was an inconvenient option.

I downloaded the clavia Nord-Electro mp3 and have to admit that it
does sound close and I am awaiting with interest the UK price to be
of their rack-mount Electro to be announced soon.

In the meantime I'm enjoying my new (old) toy, the Dynacord CLS222,
truly an amazing simulator; musical in the manner of the H & K but
IMHO much more closely capturing the nuances of movement produced by
the real deal. Mind you it should do when you consider the original
cost. They still come onto the market. They don't simulate tube growl
but that can be better achieved by using a tube pre-amp in any case.
I'm now looking to get a DLS223 in my search for Nirvana. One thing
about buying old but good technology is that it is no longer
expensive. The CLS222 cost in the region of £900 when new; quite an
amount for a one trick FX. I paid £150 for mine.

snip >>Thank's to Dave Amels the Voces satisfy my
> Hammond Clone needs << I'll second that,----

Dave Amels is a bit of an unsung hero. The V3 and the V5 really
reached close to the old B-3 and is a marvel of technology, warm
strong sounds, screaming in the last octave, good percussion (after
the resistor tweak), and also importantly no phasing when playing
chords unlike the excellent but flawed OB3^2, and a very fair chorus
too, not as strong as the original maybe but realistic sounding
nevertheless. Even the Spin/(2) was/is an excellent Leslie sim,
particularly at fast speed, just a bit noisy in the original V3.

Regards, Thomas.

--- In CloneWheel@y..., "jubaoffice" wrote:
> Hello All,
> Thank you, Etienne, for becoming the co-moderator of this forum.
> Special thanks to Bruce Wahler for continuing as co-also. Bruce
> your clarity of thought (and thoughtfulness) and expertise are
> astounding! I am a re-tired public school music teacher (K-12)
> and now find my self playing and singing in a Classic Rock
> "Corporate" Show Band. At 57, I qualify as Classic and my
> choreography does resembles a rock. My problem is Leslie
> simulation. The band will not allow "ANY" amps on stage. The
> guitar and bass players go direct to the mains through Tech 21
> pre-amp stomp boxes and I'm using either a Voce V3
> w/drawbars or a V5 into a Korg G4. It's close but not quite there!
> This group has talked about the Leslie simulators in both the
> Korg CX-3 and the Nord Electro as superior to anything available
> in a digital simulator. I had used the H&K Rotosphere for 6
> months (sold it) and a Motion Sound Pro 3T for one and a half
> years (sold it). I know I'm picky. Since I'm told the Korg
> Corporation reads this list, will they be putting out a "NEW"
> Toneworks G4? Has anyone heard/tried the Alesis Vertigo?
> ("The Vertigo is a world-class Leslie simulator") Will Nord put out
> a Lezlie stomp box, Mark Z? I have a Hammond A100 and four
> Real Leslies. Thank's to Dave Amels the Voces satisfy my
> Hammond Clone needs but is there help for the other 40% of the
> Hammond clone sound. I want to thank the Clonewheel member
> that took the time to give out his "tweaks" for the Spin in my V3.
> They really helped.
> Bill Bolick