Can i use a vibrato pedal to recreate the sound of a Leslie rotating speaker?

[danny458]

Hey guys,

Can I use a vibrato pedal to recreate the sound of a Leslie rotating speaker or is there a similar pedal that can do the job?

[stratguy23]

Re: Can i use a vibrato pedal to recreate the sound of a Leslie rotating speaker?

I don't know about the vibrato/tremolo pedal part of the question, but, yes, there are Leslie emulation pedals on the market:

http://tonereport.com/blogs/tone-tips/*****in-leslie-pedals

The EHX Lester G came out after that article was published.

I don't go for these kinds of tones, so I don't have experience with these pedals, but maybe someone else here does.

[PFDarkside]

Re: Can i use a vibrato pedal to recreate the sound of a Leslie rotating speaker?

Many, many rotating speaker sims out there.

That being said, I use a Chorus as a Leslie simulator, and what is a chorus but a vibrato with dry signal mixed in!

What exactly are you looking for? (Specific song/tone, general rotating speaker tone, general modulation tone?)

[Boogie Bill]

Re: Can i use a vibrato pedal to recreate the sound of a Leslie rotating speaker?

And...some phasers can give a credible Leslie sim. My old Mutron Phasor did this really well. For a great Leslie tone you need to be able to reproduce fast and slow speeds and the ability to ramp up and slow down the speed as the mechanical rotor does.

Bill

[PFDarkside]

Re: Can i use a vibrato pedal to recreate the sound of a Leslie rotating speaker?

Yes that's true.

I've got serious GAS for a H&K Rotosphere.

[Diego]

Re: Can i use a vibrato pedal to recreate the sound of a Leslie rotating speaker?

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: Can i use a vibrato pedal to recreate the sound of a Leslie rotating speaker?

That is the one I use, sounds great!

This is a recent collaboration I did. The RT-20 is on the clean electric guitars.

[Mincer]

Re: Can i use a vibrato pedal to recreate the sound of a Leslie rotating speaker?

To me, Vibrato itself doesn't sound quite like a Leslie. Mix it with some modulation and a hint of overdrive, and it is better. Remember, a Leslie is throwing sound all over the room, so you are hearing sound hit your ear at different times. A Univibe is closer, but a true Leslie sim is what you want.

[Jacew]

Re: Can i use a vibrato pedal to recreate the sound of a Leslie rotating speaker?

I've been somewhat over my head with all these effects. Reverb and Delay I get, but Chorus, Flanger, Phaser, Leslie, Echo, Rotosphere etc... Not to mention all those companies own names for their effects (like EHX stuff).

Aren't they all just modulating either volume (tremolo) or pitch (vibrato) or both? So what's the actual difference?

If there's an article or a web page explaining these most usual effects, and what they do in simple package, I would be thankful for a link.

[beaubrummels]

Re: Can i use a vibrato pedal to recreate the sound of a Leslie rotating speaker?

Flange, Chorus, Echo and Delay are all delays, from shortest to longest, respectively. Flangers and Chorus modulate the time value to get the sweeping watery sound they make. Similar but very subtle modulation in Echos and Delays can make them sound more natural, like a real echo or reverberation off something in real life.

Reverb is also technically a delay, but a very dense collection of delays of various amounts/orders to simulate room reflections.

Phaser isolates a frequency, shifts the phase by 45 or 90 degrees usually, and modulates what that corner frequency is that is shifted to get the sweeping sound it makes.

Leslie is a doppler affect where not only is delay time adjusted up or down but pitch shifted with the time.

[jeremy]

Re: Can i use a vibrato pedal to recreate the sound of a Leslie rotating speaker?

a leslie 122 is a tricky thing to duplicate. a 40w tube amp with low frequency driver and a spinning rotor and a high frequency horn spinning at a slightly higher speed. there are two switchable speeds (chorale and tremolo), the ramp up and down between the two speeds, and a break to stop the spinning so there is a lot going on. you get a little tremolo from the spinning but you also get a little doppler effect vibrato.

[danny458]

Re: Can i use a vibrato pedal to recreate the sound of a Leslie rotating speaker?

I'm actually looking for the solo effect on any colour you like. I know it uses a univibe but it doesn't sound the same without that rotating speaker. Would I be able to achieve a similar effect by combing a phaser with a vibrato pedal and maybe some delay aswell?