From hasbenrocker@yahoo.com Fri Apr 21 07:16:28 2006
Subject:Re: 145 ordered, horns and me rambling on.
OK... I never thought I'd admit this, but since we're among friends....
Remember. This was 1969, 24, hair down to my A$$. Hippies. Mini-skirts. Nickle bags that cost 5 bucks. Cheech & Chong, our heros. Make love not war
-GAWD!
Since, in the process of moving my Hammond, I broke a $15 leslie switch (That's right, $15.00, dealer cost) every month, on average... And since the average good job paid $25 - $50 a night. I re-invented the Leslie switch.
My improved Leslie switch was a mercury switch*, a from a thermostat, hidden in my head band. All I had to do in order to switch speeds, was tilt my head. It was fine until I got "into the music", and forgot what would happen if I didn't pay attention. I get razzed about it to this day. And rightfully so. HEY! It was 1969!!!
*( a glass bulb, the size of a dashboard lamp, 1/4 filled with mercury, and contacts placed so that when moved, the mercury would flow to the contacts, thereby closing the circuit completed simple connection)
Dan A wrote: It's ok Allen, we will just refer to you as "Dr. Frankenleslie" from now on!
allen renles wrote: A word of caution. Since a recent post mentioned the balance horn on Leslies, and since I did many stupid things as a "kid"... It occured to me someone else might repeat one of my many mistakes. Only two of which are described below.
It was the late '60's and I wondered what would happen if I opened the throat to allow sound out of the other side of the Leslie horn. Had I used my head, I would have realized it would simply sound as though the horn were spinning twice as fast. It would also, in effect, lower the volume. Certainly not an improvement.
Later, another "smart move" involved front-loading an EV SRO 12 in the space above the 15 in a 122... powering it with a Bassman head, and running my Wurlitzer 200 thru it, thereby making the Leslie the only cabinet I needed to carry.... Actually it did work, but it destroyed the Leslie's resale value. It was later used "for parts".
Shed no tears over my altering (destroying) equipment. It was the 'mid - late 70's and on a good day you could buy a used Leslie for $25, a Wurly for $50 and a B-3 for as little as $500. These were road pieces, functioning, but usually beat up. Even if you allow for inflation , the prices were quite low. Disco and DJ's had taken over many bars, and if your band was a victim, you sold out cheap, or played for next to nothing.
In 1980, face with a need for bucks, I sold my B-2, 122, Wurly 200, Les Paul (4-12 ) amp, a blackface Bassman head, Guild 2-12 cabinet, Shure SM57, stand, and cable... The highest offer was $900. I took it. To put things in the proper perspective, the day job I had lost, necessitating the sale, had paid just under $3.00 an hour. It was a different world.
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