From bruce@ashbysolutions.com Tue Nov 06 09:56:10 2007
Subject:=?ISO-8859-1?Q?Re=3A_=5BCWSG=5D_Re=3A_Group_Direction_?= =?ISO-8859-1?Q?=2F_Leslie_Myths__=5BWas=3A__Another_?= =?ISO-8859-1?Q?crazy_Leslie_idea=3F=5D?=

Hi All,

I think that we may have to agree to disagree on this one. I've stated my personal take on what the list's purpose is, as have several others. I really do hope that this list stays more of a players' forum than a tech forum, but time will tell.

One last thing that I would like to address however, are several misstatements and misconceptions about Don Leslie and his speakers.

1. Don Leslie was, to his last day, somewhat amused with the fervor and popularity of his older speaker style (drum + horn). Several people who knew Mr. Leslie have told me that he considered the 122-style Leslie Speaker good for what it was: an approximation of the tremulant of a theatre organ, based on '40s and '50s technology. He did NOT consider it the Holy Grail of organ speaker design, and felt it had many flaws.

2. Much of the "continued development" of the Leslie Speaker was an attempt to reach Leslie's original goal (theatre organ pipe tremulant). He actually thought the rotating drums with 6" x 9" speakers and Mercotac contacts were closer to his ideal sound. If one were able to go back 15 years and ask Don Leslie what his favorite Leslie Speaker model was, my money would be on one of those 'Rotosonic' models.

3. Mr. Leslie was not a rock, or even jazz music buff. He liked other styles of organ music better, and created the Vibratone for the kind of music he liked. The suitability to other genres was just an accident.

4. The change to single-motor speed control was done for cost reasons, not because it was technologically superior, or because the old method was unreliable. My Leslie innards were built around 1968, and the two-motor system in it still works fine. The single-motor system has it's own set of problems: vibration at Chorale speed, and heat. If one wanted to "bring the Leslie into the 21st century," a DC servo or stepper motor would be the logical choice; however, the costs would be prohibitive.

Regards,

-BW
--
Bruce Wahler
AshbySolutions.com_
978.386.7389 voice/fax
bruce@ashbysolutions.com

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