From mlongo@highmarkdesign.com Wed Apr 02 10:44:19 2003
Subject:Re: Road leslie


Longo's Road Leslie Tips and Survival Guide...

There a quite a few things that can be done to a "road Leslie" to
make it a better companion. The first things to add are casters and
handles.

The casters should be fairly heavy duty and all four should fully
swiveling (not stay in a fixed direction). I advise against the
locking type, they tend to lock when you don't want them to and
they're utility is oversold. Use "T" nuts to attach them. A "T" nut
is basically a threaded metal sleeve with barbs on one end. You
drill a hole in the Leslie and insert the sleeve into the hole from
the inside of the Leslie. Then when you thread a bolt into the T nut
from the outside, the barb will bite into the wood inside the
Leslie. This is how the amp is attached to the Leslie. Get a T nut
that is shorted than the Leslie's bottom panel is thick. IMPORTANT:
before drilling holes, be sure to remove the amp! Also, be sure that
the T nuts are positioned so that they won't interfere with the AMP
mounting or the lower rotor.

Different types of handles can be used. I use surface mount handles,
which don't require you to cut holes in the side of the Leslie. I
was afraid that doing that might change the cabinet's sound subtly,
though that probably isn't noticable on a gig. I bought two spring-
loaded handles mail order from a custom road case maker. Those
handles are normally riveted onto a road case, but instead I drilled
holes through the handle surface mount plate and bolted the handles
to the Leslie using T nuts and hardened bolts. Use hardened bolts so
that the weight of the Leslie will never shear them off. Hardened
bolts are darker in color and have some lettering on the head. Ask
at any hardware store.

Another simple thing I did was to reinforce the cabinet. I did this
with a number of small "L" brackets (about 1" on a side). I used
short wood screws to fasten the L brackets inside the Leslie to
reinforce all the right angled wood joints (deck to wall joints, wall
to wall joints, etc). The idea is to make all the joints more rigid
to prevent the Leslie from splitting apart if it ever falls off a
truck/dock, etc. It may or may not work if ever needed, but the
materials just cost about $2 and weigh only ounces.

If you have a "classic" tube type Leslie and you want to remove the
upper and lower rotor access panels at a gig (to make it louder), get
some velcro strips and staple the strips to the edges of the panels.
They simply pop on and off for setup/teardown and anything that saves
time and effort before and after the gig is a big winner in my book.

Consider attaching mic desk mounts inside the treble and bass rotor
compartments. In case you want to occasionally mic your Leslie into
your keyboard amp for reinforcement, this eliminates the need for
stands, again easing the dreaded setup/teardown burden. Position the
mounts at the front left corner of the treble rotor compartment floor
and the front left corner of the bass rotor compartment ceiling. I
use a pair of SM-57's (with windscreens!) that I bought off the net
for $65/ea. Point the top mic more toward the back of the cabinet
than toward the rotor (WoW--WoW--WoW!). There are many other mic'ing
setups and techniques that work. Search the archives of this list to
find out more.

When making your Leslie road ready, replace ALL the tubes and keep a
set of spares with you on the gig. Always. If you use the old tubes
as spares, be sure to mark them as used cuz a year from now when you
want to change them you won't remember if the spares are the extra
set you bought last year or if they're already used and you can't
always tell by looking at them. Also carry spare fuses (the tube
Leslies often have two, one internal and one under the fuse cap).

If you're playing with a band at any volume, I strongly recommend
replacing the top driver. The original Jensen will blow easily at
high volume and it's long out of production so you can't easily get
another of those. Save that driver for less demanding work, it's a
beauty. My strong preference for a replacement driver is the
phenolic driver offered only through BT Productions. It sounds the
most like the original Jensen of all that I've tried. Sweet and
smooth. Loud too.

If you have trouble getting your Leslie loud enough on the gig,
consider getting the amp rebuilt. I recommend Bob Schleicher
(www.tonewheel.com) who does complete amp rebuilds mail order for
around $200 (don't quote me, but that's what it was about 5 years
ago).

Put a drop of oil in the top rotor oil port and also oil the lower
rotor bearing if it hasn't been done in a while. I do this about
once a year or so. Be sparing with the oil. You can (and should)
partially disassemble the motor assembly and oil the motors once a
year or so. A few drops on the felt inside each hole on the end of
the fast motor and a few drops in the small oil port of the slow
motor will do it. Use only Hammond Oil and don't over oil. A little
goes a long way. Mark the pieces as you disassemble them so you can
put them together the way they came apart. Replacement motors are
hard to get, so be very kind to them.

Leave the Leslie in "fast" (tremolo) mode during your band's breaks
and before you start the gig. The fast motor is much beefier and can
handle extended operation much better than the slow motor.

Have fun!

Mark Longo