The Guitar page of Kimbro's Leslie Frame's Page

For an even more eye opening taste of Leslie Speaker goodness, give a listen to this demo. The Lex Rotary by Strymon is a cool Leslie Speaker simulator pedal, and close study of this audio sample collection is truly the express lane to expanded rotary consciousness.

This demo best shows the Leslie's defining control, the ability to ramp the speed up and down, using a Boss RT-20 Rotary Ensemble (rotary sound processor). Then click here for a guitar demo, and click here for a demo on keyboard.

Here I Am Again with The Paula Nelson Band (via a Texas Longhorn orange MXR Phase 90)

The Ventilator by Neo Instruments has been proclaimed to be "Best Rotary Stompbox Yet" when tested in the May 2010 issue of Keyboard magazine. Reading further..."It's clearly the new king of standalone electronic rotary simulators." Here's a couple guitar oriented demos (#1 and #2) for your enjoyment.

The Roto Choir by Tech 21 NYC is a pretty complete package, with a unique single amp/bi-amped switch for Uni-Vibe/Leslie versatility, and it's priced for the masses.

Hitchcock's Lullaby with The Hammer -effect via the Dimension IV feature of the Fender Super Showman amp head >>>>>>

The Rocky Road DJ-20 by Danelectro is a cost effective rotary speaker simulator, and judging by the You Tube demo videos, it's a lot of mono analog rotary sounding sweetness for the money. Find them on Craigs List for $60.

[Jack] Butler remembers the thrill of playing before such a large crowd. �We came on in total darkness,� he says. �I will never forget Jerry�s guitar intro to the first song, played thru a Leslie rotating speaker and blaring off the walls, echoing like mad � one of the best sounds I�ve ever heard.�

Now, for a test of the rotory speaker oriented Line 6 Roto-Machine, check out this video, and pedal steel guitarists might like to check out these samples where the Roto-Machine is employed by Greg Cutshaw: #1 & #2.

My Idols from the Tears Will End album by Charity (more likely it's a phaser pedal)

Next, the handsome Hughes and Kettner Tube Rotosphere Leslie Emulator is an object of desire for many guitarists ***, not least for it's pure analog Leslie tone. Clickhere for a sound sample from the mighty H & K, and a here's a very interesting review which also covers speaker positioning theory applicable to any stereo rotary speaker setup.

The Option 5 Destination Rotation Single Vibe Pedal by Option 5 also offers incredible rotary speaker simulation. Check out this Pro Guitar Shop demo video which is so well done that Stevie Ray Vaughan would be proud.

Souped-up Leslie (click here for the complete "Sound on Sound" article)

"Something that was unique to the 'Layla' sessions was our Fender guitar Leslie. Eric was enamored with it and we used it a lot," says Ron Albert.

"We had a great big Variac speed control on it," adds Howard, "so we could actually change how fast it went."

Ron: "The way that Leslie was designed, it had two foot pedals. One enabled you to switch the cabinet on or off so that it was just guitar amp or guitar amp and Leslie amp, and the other pedal was the rotor on or off, making it spin or not. By clicking it on and off you could change the intensity or shut it down. However, that wasn't quite good enough for us, so we came up with this ability to control the speed on a constant basis with this big Variac that probably weighed about 30lbs. It controlled the voltage to the motor, so we could have it running at half-speed or any speed we wanted, and that was unique as up until then it couldn't be controlled. Howard being a B3 player, he was familiar with the slow spin of the B3 Leslie and turning it on and off with the left hand, making it spin and stop, spin and stop. Well, we tried to create that within the guitar sound by having it at a speed that was not too fast or slow, and therefore using the pedal to turn it on and off would produce the same kind of start and stop effect. Eric loved that."

Both the Fender Guitar Leslie and the Hammond B3 now reside in the Audio Vision Recording Studios facility that Ron and Howard co-own with partner Steve Alaimo in North Miami.

Check out this review of EHX's Lester G Deluxe Rotary Speaker Simulator stomp box by Bill Ruppert.

Carl Wilson or Al Jardine of The Beach Boys (or Barney Kessel of The Wrecking Crew)

And this video provides way more than just a taste of another fine rotary speaker simulator, the Korg G4.

Many feel that one fine Rotary Speaker Simulation pedal is the DLS Effects RotoSIMM.

Grey in LA from the Knocked Up Soundtrack with Loudon Wainwright III (Tremolo?)

Amongst the Leslie faithful, the only area of really heated disagreement concerns which speaker arrangement is best for a live setting, whether the rotary speaker sound is at it's best live in mono or stereo. The Digitech RPM-1 is a rack mounted tube pre-amp and rotary speaker emulator with one exclusive feature:

I Will Not Breakdown from Tiffany's 2000 album The Color of Silence (ok, maybe phaser)

Everything from alternative rock goddess Alanis Morissette's CD So-Called Chaos

Dinasour Rock Guitar states that Pat achieved his tone by splitting his guitar's signal and running one side through a Marshall stack and the other side through a Leslie Speaker...all the time. This is made easier by the fact that Pat also played the Hammond Organ.

Next let's examine the Dunlop Uni-Vibe pedal, a phaser based rotary simulator which has achieved such fame that's it's actually in a category of it's own. While it's poor high speed quality eliminates the need for a slow/fast switch, the Uni-Vibe pedal still has it's own set of clones, such as the Voodoo Labs Micro Vibe and the following univibe pedals as well:

This demonstration video by ProGuitarShop.com really shows off the incredible tone of this Univibe pedal clone, the Effectrode Audiophile Tube Vibe Pedal which benefits from three tubes.

The Cool Cat Vibe is another incredible value from Danelectro, I know cause I used to own one. Click the button, and this uni-vibe clone benefits from a Leslie like ramp up to full speed. Experience the coolness via videos here and here and here.

The Fulltone Deja Vibe also serves up some fine modulation effects, as demonstrated in this video

The folks at Tortuga Effects offer the Neptune Opto-Vibe Univibe/Rotary Speaker Simulator Pedal (above) with unique light sensing actuator for switching between slow and fast modulation speed. Check out this demo video.

Next, these videos (#1, #2 & #3) demonstrate why the versatile Soul Vibe by BBE is promoted as a "phase-like" rotary speaker emulator .

Click here for a nice video demo of the Dunlop RotoVibe model JD-45 electronic rotating speaker emulator with vibrato and chorus modes.

The vintage DOD Chorus 690 pedal has the foundation for doing a reasonable Leslie simulation because it's fitted with the electronics to switch between 2 different modulation rates with the push of a button. To give it a bit of grind, place a quality distortion pedal ahead of it on the effects loop chain.

Yet another Chorus / Leslie combination pedal is the Ibanez RC99 Rotary Chorus pedal. But having only one pedal to handle the on/off duties, and none to handle the speed changes which are so much the soul of the Leslie speaker limits it's appeal.

But while any one of the above would be nice to complete that stomp box case, another wise choice could be a multiple modulation pedal, since some can provide a pretty convincing rotary speaker simulation.

The Eventide Modfactor is one such stomp box, and the Guitar Player Magazine review at right proclaims it's Leslie speaker patch to be "...worth the price of the pedal alone."

While Electro-Harmonix has various keyboard pedals for guitar, the most versatile might be the C9 Organ Machine, which also has mellotron and telstar-esque patches, as well as 'shimmer', with an octave up added. Here's a nice review byBritish guitarist Tim Green, which also demonstrates certain patches with added reverb, and one with delay.

Next is the EX-7 Expression Factory, a reasonably priced stereo multi effects pedal from Digitech's X-Series, pictured at right.

With separate patches for both Leslie Speaker and Uni-Vibe, as well as an interesting "overdrive & distortion" implementation which nicely compliments the modulation patches, the EX-7 can easily service your rotary speaker needs. Check out this EX-7 demo page for sound samples and the owner's manual.

Now surely some of you are asking yourselves: "I wonder what Mike recommends for the rotary novice?" Excellent question. The important thing to understand about a true rotary speaker is that, at it's best, it's an integrated tube amplifier and speaker cabinet containing 2 speakers which broadcast sounds spinning in opposite directions. If you can afford the cost of one in terms of purchase price and space and maintenance, then by all means...treat yourself.

This isn't a stupid suggestion at all, since there are thousands of genuine Leslie's in the homes of organists who do nothing more than perform at weddings and funerals, and at church on Sundays. If they can afford to have the best equipment just for practice, then so can a guitarist who wants the best home studio possible.

But if that's not practical, then the next question to ask yourself is: "Are my amp and speakers right for the rotary speaker sound?" The fact is that even a high quality leslie speaker pedal can sound like garbage through the wrong rig, and you won't know the results until you attach one to your combo amp and give it a spin...at the various venues where you'll be using it. But there is a better way.

Consider the Digitech RP-350 multi-effects pedal. Available for about $100.00 via Craigslist, possession of this serious musical monster will afford you the ultimate introduction into the world of the rotary speaker, the univibe, the vibro-pan, and practically every other modulation efx known to man. Feel free to visit my RP-350 page for specific instructions to set up the Digitech pedal to achieve optimum Leslie-ocity.

For something priced right for our current economic reality, check out this sample generated by the versatile Digitech RP200, which can be found on CraigsList or ebay for $50 or less.

Finally, while I'm hoping to provide a little entertainment and inspiration, feel free to examine the efforts of others for more intellectual substance. Additional thoughts, ideas, and theory on the use of the guitar with the Leslie Cabinet can be found at:

And an excellent comparison of some of the Leslie emulators and simulators, along with rotary rich audio samples of "Badge" by Cream, "Nantucket Sleighride" by Mountain, and "Well All Right" by Blind Faith, can be found at:

*** Guitarists who seem to employ an H & K Tube Rotosphere everywhere except on their recordings.

Example #1. From the June 2002 issue of Guitar One Magazine, at right is a list of guitar gear used by John Mayer which includes the H & K Tube Rotosphere, though frankly I do question it's accuracy, as I'm hard pressed to find a song which features a clear Leslie groove on any of the 3 Mayer albums which I've owned (Room for Squares, Heavier Things, and Continuum). In 2009, Mayer's CD Battle Studies does exhibit evidence of rotory speaker-esque emanations in the bridge of the song "Perfectly Lonely", a head scratcher considering a Rotosphere is supposedly a regular fixture on his pedal board. When pressed on this issue, he'll probably blame the producers.

Example #2. It's very much the same with guitarist Jonny Lang. At left, in the October 1998 issue of Guitar Magazine he's credited with being a big Tube Rotosphere user, although it wasn't until his 2003 album "Long Time Coming" that I can identify some semi-serious Leslie warble going on in his music, in the song "Hide Your Love". Now don't get me wrong here, I love Lang's work, particularly "Still Rainin" and his vocal contribution to this year's Eric Johnson creation "Austin", but all I'm asking is "Jonny, why not practice in the studio what you preach?"