From k2mojo@groovedaddies.com Thu Feb 27 22:08:18 2003
Subject:Stand-alone Leslie Sims (was SPIN (was (Re: SPIN II...)))

Hi Gang,
Before I bought my KORG CX-3, for years I used different Kurzweils for my
Hammond emulation, but IMO the Leslie sim in the Kurzweils severely sucks
and so I always used a stand-alone Leslie Sim instead. As a result, I've
owned and had a chance to A/B most of the more recent stand-alone Leslie
Sims and I thought I'd offer my 2% on how I felt they rated. My definition
of 'stand-alone' means a rack unit or stomp box that you plug inline between
your Hammond Clone and amp/mixer; I'm not counting anything inside a
keyboard, sound module, speaker, computer or a Leslie Clone (i.e. Pro-3T,
KBR-3D, etc.). I'll point out that I was able to play through all of these
with a real C3 in addition to the Kurzweils, and likewise I played them all
in stereo, none of which seemed to change how they ranked for me. The only
reason I ever used a stand-alone Sim was for live work anyway; most
everybody with the space, dollars, roadies, or a strong back is usually
going to use a real Leslie. However, IMO the ideal Leslie Clone should be a
stand-alone unit, just as a real Leslie is. The Leslie Sim in my CX-3 is
the best I've heard to date, but unfortunately I can only play my CX-3
through it, which is such a sad waste since so many other instruments sound
tres cool through a Leslie. Also, with a stand-alone unit you can place the
rotary effect at the end of the sound chain where it naturally belongs
(Hammond Clone->tube preamp->Leslie Sim). I hope KORG reads this and grants
my wish for a CX-3-based Leslie Sim.
I mainly focused on these unit's ability to simulate the rotary effect and
not so much the preamp distortion. There are several (and better) ways to
coax distortion out of your rig, the Speakeasy VTP being the clear choice du
jour; rotary simulation is a whole different beast. Several of these units
are no longer manufactured, but there's always eBay. Glaringly absent from
my list is the infamous Dynacord CLS222/DLS223 (analog,'92 & digital,'93
respectively), mainly because I've never had the spare $500 to try one out
(but I'd sure love to if anyone wants to loan me theirs for a while). And
please, these are just MY opinions/biases; everybody has their favorites.

(best to worse)

1. Motion Sound R3-147 (analog,'95?). Moving real air in a 4U rack is just
hard to beat. 12AX7 tube distortion is a nice plus, but it's a little
pricey ($700+). I'm kind of sorry I sold mine, but it helped pay for my
CX-3.

2. KORG ToneWorks G4 (digital,'94). Deep simulation and very flexible
parameters. You can dial in the 'virtual mics' anywhere you want and
there's even cabinet modeling; very sophisticated for a unit that's pushing
ten years old. A lot of Sim for the money; I still keep one for rehearsals
and a backup. This is not the same Sim as what's in a KORG CX-3, but fairly
close. Very good review of the G4 on the SOS website.

3. SPIN (original 1/2 rack unit)(analog,'95). First 'real' Sim I owned and
the reason I joined the predecessor to this group (Voce Support Group). At
the time it came out I felt it had the most realistic 'ramping'. It should
be noted that the Spin and SPIN II are essentially the same guts. The
differences are the first SPIN had MIDI capabilities in a 1/2 rack unit; the
SPIN II left out the MIDI and enclosed it in a stomp box. Soundwise, they
are identical and I'm not sure why Voce thought the SPIN II was an
improvement since you could already plug in a cheap foot switch into the
first SPIN for Leslie F/S.

4. H&K Rotosphere (analog,'97). VERY quiet and solidly built, which makes
it good for recording. However, I always felt the Leslie effect was never
'deep' enough and even the real tube seemed lame. Also, no flexible
parameters to speak of. I've always thought of the Roto as being a step up
from a UniVibe or RotoVibe, mainly that it's pedal that's geared more for
guitar players, which the H&K website also seems to suggest.

5. Boss/Roland SE-70 Multi-effects unit (digital,'92?). This little guy is
also pushing ten years old, but still quite good at lots of tricks including
one of the better Leslie Sims I've ever heard in a multi-effects unit.
Still, it suffers from the 'jack-of-all-trades' syndrome. Very similar are
the Alesis Quadraverb/Q2/Q20 ('89-'98) and Roland SDX330 ('94) which both
have respectable Leslie Sims for unit's that aren't dedicated for that
purpose.

6. Digitech RPM-1 (digital,'95). A waste of 1U rack space, the RPM-1 is not
at all realistic and the 'real tube' distortion is worse than most digital
distortions I've heard.

You might notice that the most of these Sims are 6-10 years old. Except for
the DanElectro 'Rocky Road' and the Alesis 'Vertigo' (which is still nowhere
to be found on Alesis' website), neither of which can be taken very
seriously, this market seems to be somewhat neglected these days. One new
unit that looks interesting to me is the Line6 'Mod Pro' Studio Modeler
which claims to have a model of a Leslie 145. Line6 seems to have the
modeling thing down and I bet this is worth looking into.
I hope some of you will find my experience with these various units
interesting. Perhaps Bruce Wahler (or others) might chime in, as I remember
him owning several of the same Sims mentioned here.

Ed Fliege
k2mojo@groovedaddies.com
www.groovedaddies.com

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