From ynottnaro@yahoo.com Wed Apr 02 12:06:58 2003
Subject:Re: Road leslie

Great info Mark. I especially like the tip about
leaving the leslie in fast on breaks: Had no idea
there was a difference in the motors.

One thing I'd like to add though: when replacing tubes
and carrying a spare set, make sure that the pair of
6550s or KT88s are a MATCHED BIAS pair. This is
actually pretty important, as it will make the amp
perform better, and give it a longer life.

And I would like to suggest rather than putting mic
mounts INSIDE the leslie, go to the music store and
buy 2 LP percussion claws. They're very inexpensive,
take up very little room in your cable case, and
actually provide you with flexibility. Mounting mic
holders inside the leslie is a trick bag, because you
have no way of knowing where the sweet spot is without
recording and REALLY analyzing things. Once the
holder is in, you're obligated and committed to that
mic's placement. With the LP claws, you can mount
them in 10 seconds on your leslie (I use the "back"
side -the side where you can see the rotors because I
leave the covers off) and then tighten the claw along
the right lip. Once that's secure, you now have 3 more
positions to choose from with various thumbscrews.
Once you've found your sweet spot, you'll only need to
adjust the fastening screw with each application. EZ
as pie! This is great for a number of reasons. One,
if you mic from the outside of the louvre, you get no
wind noise (a huge plus when recording or going
through the PA). Two, even if you supply your own
mics (I use two mid-70s SM57s purchased for $50),
sometimes the engineer really cares and knows what
he's doing and will substitute your 57s with a real
nice Sennheiser on top, and a D112 on the bottom.
Those mics would not fit inside your leslie. And
trust me, a guy carrying those mics as spares for his
live rig knows a bit about tone and is likely to make
you sound even sweeter.

The wheels thing is good. For those of us using vans
who don't want to put the leslie on its side (ANY
THOUGHTS ON THIS FOLKS?), that may prove to be too
high (like in my case with a full 122). So I built a
couple trays with swivel wheels and handles, and the
great thing is, in the van the leslie doesn't roll, it
stays upright, and I can now use those trays to roll
other equipment as well.

A padded cover is definitely a necessity as well.
They have kept my road leslies still looking in church
condition (you can see them in the yahoo pic folder
somewhere). They're about $60 apiece, but well worth
the investment. I didn't want to put handles on any
of my leslies, so I had cutouts put in my covers in
strategic places that allow me to lift from various
louvres, etc..

As for the beefier horn...I've still got original
Jensen's in all 3 of my leslies, one of which has gone
to every damn gig, and I've never blown it yet. And I
run my amp at full, my speakeasy at 4/5:oo....until
the end of the night when it inevitably creeps up to
max. I did however just purchase one of Speakeasy's
80watt drivers which I'll pop in before this weekend's
shows. I just got a new pre from him as well to
switch from Classic to Howler, so I'll DEFINITELY be
putting it through its paces.

Hauling a leslie can be an intimidating pain in the
butt, but frankly, I'll haul one EVERY TIME. As good
as the sims may sound....they aint GETTIN IT compared
to a real leslie, pure and simple. And with a little
planning and effort, you'll forget that the leslie is
a beast...especially when you're smiling up on stage.

Anyhows....
T

__________________________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Tax Center - File online, calculators, forms, and more
http://tax.yahoo.com