Re: Wbat Is the Best Leslie Pedal???
Here's a bit more info taken from another modders webpage:
"Anyway, enough ranting. I finally got my grubby hands on one, when a friend went to the US on holiday and was kind enough to bring one home for me. Musician's Friend had them on sale, so it ended up costing a mere $20... Now, that's a bargain, if I ever saw one! So what's it like? Well, I'm utterly amazed at how well this little thing does the single-rotor Leslie 16 / Fender Vibratone sound. As opposed to other - more expensive - simulators, this one doesn't allow for the "horn" and "woofer" to spin at different speeds. Instead, when the Rocky Road spins up to speed, the whole frequency range accelerates uniformly - just like a Vibratone does. This is probably more due to design limitations than any specific goal set by the design team, but it still places the Rocky Road in a class of its own. The other simulators I've tried - H&K Rotosphere, Korg G4, Voce Spin etc - are all very good at sounding like a woofer/horn type leslie (122/147), but this is the only one that even gets close to sounding like a Leslie 16 / Fender Vibratone.
Now, to the bad points. First off, the pedal has a nasty volume boost, even with the "drive" knob at zero. Including a small amount of overdrive can help you get closer to the real sound, but this is way too much. Especially since there's no provision for setting the output volume compared to the bypass level. Unless you plan on keeping the pedal active at all times, the pedal needs to be modified. Luckily, there is a relatively easy mod here, which you can do yourself if you feel confident enough. If not, you can take it to someone to have it done - it shouldn't be too expensive. It is definitely worth it - after the modification, the output level is at unity gain when the "drive" knob is at zero. If you need a little more push to your leslie, just give it a little drive. Why Danelectro chose to ship the pedals the way they are - and continue to ship them this way - is beyond me.
Another drawback is the miniature plastic casing - it is so small, that hitting the switches with any sort of accuracy requires one to take off their shoes, using the big toe to prod the switch. I'm not joking - that's the only way I've been able to work it... And even with the shoes off, the switches need a good prodding to actuate, which means that you can't be 100% sure the thing is actually going to change speed (since there's no LED to indicate speed status). I'm already looking at ways to rehouse the circuit into a bigger, sturdier box.
But all in all - if you are looking for a decent single-rotor leslie sim, it does a fine job indeed. Thumbs up for Danelectro! Now, can we have it in a bigger box, please?"
