From ynottnaro@yahoo.com Sun Sep 29 10:12:23 2002
Subject:Re: CX3 v2 and Speakeasy Vintage Pre 3 day evaluation (for anyone interested)

One more thing!

I just want to clarify that I don't mean to disparage
ANYONE's product. As we all know, these things are
totally subjective, and after lugging around real
leslie's for the last 5 years to EVERY gig, big or
small (at least 175 gigs per year), I am truly a
bigot. As my vintage Marshall guitarist pal likes to
say: YOU DONT GET TONE ON A DIET! So, if I seemed a
little harsh on the MS rig, it's only because I
admittedly have a very strong bias. But that said,
the MS/Speakeasy setup is a very effective, and
weight-reduced, substitute for what is really the most
gorgeous and muscular musical product on the market:
the 122 Leslie!

Let's Twist Again!
tony

Ps...Yes I know: 147's kick butt too!

--- ynottnaro wrote:
> Hey folks!
>
> Well, went out on a limb, and with only 2 days of
> programming my CX3, setting up my own splits (so as
> not to totally ambush myself) and tweaking various
> parameters, I committed myself to really checking
> out
> the CX3 and Speakeasy Vintage pre (THANKS TO STEVE
> FOR
> GETTING IT HERE SO DAMN QUICK!) and Pro-3T/Lo Pro
> rig.
>
> I had one full day to play with the pre-amp/MS rig,
> and I really dug the sound of it in my studio. Is
> it
> a real leslie? NO. Did it sound good? Yes!
> Certain
> transients that I really disliked about the MS were
> greatly alleviated by the Speakeasy, so I felt
> confident about taking the rig on this 3day road
> trip.
> But to cement the deal, I forced myself to leave the
> Bulldog at home.
>
> Day One: Horrible PA with an even more horrid
> "engineer" at the helm. Even though I sing as well,
> there weren't enough wedges to go around, and I had
> to
> share the bassplayer's wedge, with no boards in the
> monitor. Ok...I can do this. My usual rig is
> optimized for my monitoring purposes: Bulldog's
> upper
> horn almost at ear level when sitting on a tray, and
> my Yorkville combo atop the Bulldog allow me to hear
> everything very well, with no need to be pumped into
> my vocal wedge. Well, my height adjustments were
> WAY
> out of wack with this rig, and with no monitor
> reinforcement I was handicapped. I had to wind the
> MS
> up (thank goodness for the Speakeasy!), but I really
> didn't like the sound....too shrill at those
> volumes.
> And imagine my surprise when I realized I had
> disappeared from the PA: Some industrious would-be
> 2nd
> engineer thought those "extra mics" up there were
> causing the horrendous howl in the pa, and pulled
> them
> off the stage. (The fact that they were micing the
> MS
> rig seems to have eluded this braintrust.) At this
> point, I unplugged the MS and went direct (via the
> Speakeasy) through my Yorkville and engaged the
> built-in CX leslie sim. Not bad...but not great.
>
> Day Two: Much better engineer, but still a woefully
> inadequate PA. I had my own wedge (YAY!), but had
> to
> share the bassist's mix, which meant no boards
> (BOO!).
> But I seized on the idea of stacking the MSrig on
> top
> of a couple of empty beer bottle crates to get it a
> little higher, then put my Yorkville on top of the
> bass rig aiming at me (not at him), but that was too
> high unfortunately. But still, marginally better
> than
> the previous evening. Because of proximity, I
> didn't
> need to pump the MS as hot, but the engineer decided
> it was "not necessary" to mic the lo-pro. (!)
> Can't
> testify as to what it sounded like outfront, but at
> least on stage, the band was pretty happy with that
> sound. I was ambivalent.
>
> Day Three: Great engineer, strange but very
> effective
> PA. No wedge for me (damn!), but stage was a
> semicircle 6 feet up in a corner, so I was forced to
> set up VERY CLOSE to my rig. And then it hit me:
> Lo-Pro on wheel tray, Yorkville on top of LoPro, and
> 3T atop that! THIS TOTALLY WORKED! Everything was
> where I need to hear it, and of course, since my
> left
> elbow was precariously close to the rig (close
> enough
> to trigger a "funny bone" accident) I could hear
> myself brilliantly. I backed the volume of the
> lo-pro
> down a bit, pumped the Speakeasy a little hotter
> (Yummy grind!) and I was TOTALLY IN BUSINESS! He
> had
> me going big time through the PA, the band was
> definitely digging the sound, and for really the
> first
> time, so was I!
>
> Certain register setting still sound a little "off"
> to
> me, at least in the upper registers, but the rig
> sounded really really good. I feel for the first
> time, I have a reasonable substitute for the
> Bulldog.
> The Bulldog is still my mainstay, but for a 6week
> tour
> of the Pacific coming up, the MS rig in a flight
> case
> is definitely my answer.
>
> Particulars: I didn't really like the stacking
> concept
> MS has for that rig, so I took gaffers tape (leaves
> no
> gummy residue when removed, and taped over the 2
> gray
> slits, and then applied stickyback velco (the soft
> side) to the tape. I then taped the bottom of the
> 3t
> similarly, and then applied the prickly side of the
> velcro to it. This forms a nice tight lock when
> stacked on top of the lo-pro. As an added bonus,
> when
> I sandwiched the Yorkville between them, the prickly
> bottom adhered nicely to the carpeted Yorkville!
> SERENDIPITY!
>
> The Speakeasy Preamp: I can't say enough about how
> much this totally SALVAGED the MS rig. I would not
> have brought the MS anywhere (in fact, I was close
> to
> sticking it back on ebay before the Speakeasy
> arrived)
> had it not been for Steven Hayes/Speakeasy. When
> that
> box arrived (less than 48 hours after a midnight
> phone
> call ordering a custom set-up), I tore right into
> it.
> With minimal tweaking, I had that thing doing a very
> good Jon Lord right out of the gate. Big, thick,
> creamy distortion, with balls! And when I cleaned
> it
> up, it made the CX3 glisten. It sounded really very
> sweet. And when I had to abandon the MS rig on Day
> One, I still used the Preamp through my Yorkville,
> and
> again, it REALLY improved the sound of the CX3.
> I've
> not had to wind it up higher than 10:00 (plenty of
> gain, and it allows the expression pedal to really
> have some sweep), I max the bass out, and set the
> treble to about 3/3:30, depending on the room. I
> run
> the bass on the organ full, with the treble at about
> 2:00/3:00. It rocks, and it rocks hard! I got good
> clean Allman tone out of it, and good grinding
> "ChestFever" sounds too! (After reading some
> postings
> about that song, I found a great little
> skateboard/music/head shop in Bloomington, IL and
> found the live 3Dog Night and the J Geils Blow Yer
> Face out records, and listened to Chest Fever in the
> store. Amazing what $5 will buy you!)
>
> Steven/Speakeasy was very very helpful, and
> obviously,
> very expedient (THANKS STEVEN!). The pedal is built
> like a tank, is heftier and more attractive than my
> Hamptone pre (which I do love). It also obviously
> is
> a custom unit: I had him set it up to drive the MS
> rig
> or a 122 leslie (independently only); I also had him
> set it up with the optional handswitch. The
> handswitch takes some getting used to (it's a 3
> position toggle that is actually too stiff for MY
> liking...not really slap&tickle friendly). And with
> MS's fast/slow/stop set up, the handswitch can make
> that just a little confusing, but Steven walked me
> through it on the phone, and after 2 minutes, I
> could
> navigate fast to stop or slow to stop, or any
> combination; but again, my own preference is the
> hand
> switch needs to be a little more giving, so I will
> keep that as a safety in my case, but will stick
> with
> the "stomp" method. After using it for 3 days, I'm
> having him change 1 thing: Since I'm dispensing with
> the handswitch, I want the lamp setup to change: the
> power lamp will be amber, the fast/slow lamp will
> now
> be green (Green for GO FAST! WHEEEEEEE!) and Steven
> will put in a "stop" lamp which, of course, will be
> red!
>
> So...to those of you who emailed me privately about
> the Speakeasy and my thoughts about it....I'll tell
> you the same thing I'm saying here: Steven is THE
> MAN!
>
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