From tonysounds@yahoo.com Fri Apr 13 05:03:29 2007
Subject:Re: Electro 73 -disappointing NOT!

I have to agree with Fossdog. If you're playing in a situation where sound reinforcement is either a no no, or an art, then a b3 and a leslie is the bomb.

In any other situation, it's up for grabs. I have heard leslies sound like dog$ht, and have heard devices I won't name or use sound pretty decent through a PA. It's all about context. I have a lot of live recordings of my bands using every combination of imitator (analog CX3 through Toneworks G4, CLS 333, and even an SPX90; Electro on its own; XK3 RT20, XK3-2101, and of course B4) and in context with drums, raging guitar, bass, percussion and vocals, every one of them have sounded believable, and no less decent then using my Electro or analog CX3 or Voce V5 through a real leslie. That's one of the reasons I switched to the Roadbox 3, because not only did it sound great on its own, but in context, you couldn't point to anything being "different" than a standard 2 rotor leslie.

But again, I don't play in those naked situations where every finite detail is examined. And unfortunately, while I have had the pleasure of working with some very fine engineers in live contexts, I can honestly say, there aren't enough of them.


fossdog2001 wrote:
As long as the listener is within' a few feet of the Leslie, and is
actually hearing the Leslie and not an amplified version of the sound
coming out, you're absolutely right. I bought my first simulator
(Dynacord CLS222) in the 80's after getting an opportunity to
get "out front" in a concert to hear what my rig sounded like to the
audience. I used to carry 3 mics for the Leslie and just hand the
cables to the sound man, but even that wasn't enough to keep them
from DESTROYING the sound coming from the Leslies. My sound got a LOT
better using the CLS simply because I had control over the mic mix
and EQ of the system all they needed to do was turn up one knob
enough to hear it. I know that it's possible for a sound man to 'get
it right', but after hearing literally hundreds of bands in concerts
and clubs over the years, there have only been a few occasions where
the 'real leslie' sound came through the mix.