rotating speaker alternative

[ubertar]

Just had this thought. I'm sure this has been done, but I'm not aware of it... instead of using an expensive rotating speaker or a pedal emulation, you could get the same effect with a stationary speaker and a wireless mic. The wireless mic can be rotated by a motor in front of the speaker. Einstein's relativity says it's the same thing.

I don't have a wireless mic, or I'd try it.

[drumsound]

I have no doubt that it would work. I think the biggest issue would be mechanical noise from the motor doing the spinning. It would sound different from an actual Leslie because the mic would spin around, point into the room, and then back to the source. It still might be cool, but I doubt it will sound like a rotating speaker. Of course the Doppler Effect still applies, but in a different fashion.

[The Scum]

Sparkfun sell "slip rings" that facilitate the whole spinning concept - be it speaker or mic.

I think part of the Leslie thing is that the horn is really narrow, so you have a distinct change as the mouth passes by. Normally, if you're selecting a horn, you want something with a wide, even dispersion pattern, so it doesn't have a pronounced hot-spot.

[winky dinglehoffer]

I seem to recall a radio special about Yes (from the bygone days when radio specials about bands were kind of a thing) where they said that one of the band members spun a corded mic around over his head during recording in an attempt to get some sort of Leslie-ish sound. I don't know how it worked out, but it does sound like fun.

Slip rings look cool. I have a couple of old home stereo horns lying around somewhere that I've always wanted to experiment with, & those look perfect for the job.

[Scodiddly]

I did a thing a few years ago with a turntable between the speaker and the mic. On the turntable was a flat wall, so that as the turntable spun it would be blocking or not. Later I made more of a baffle, like a bundle of square wooden tubes. You could put multiple mics around it for stereo and beyond.

Hey, I found one of those animated gifs I used to make!

Rotor-card.gif (189.88 KiB) Viewed 105772 times

[Scodiddly]

Found an image of the Mark II version:

Califone-stereo.jpg (127.54 KiB) Viewed 105772 times

[drumsound]

Found an image of the Mark II version:

Califone-stereo.jpg

Obviously the first version did something interesting to make you make V2. So what was the sound like, in general and compared to a Leslie?

[Scodiddly]

Obviously the first version did something interesting to make you make V2. So what was the sound like, in general and compared to a Leslie?

I don't entirely remember, I lived in a small apartment and couldn't keep it around. It definitely wasn't a Leslie, because it didn't have separate rotors for high and low frequencies. I probably didn't save any recordings of it either. However, it was interesting and would be worth fooling around with again.

[jimjazzdad]

Those old Califones were beasts! I used to run a high school AV department back in the '70s and we had a bunch of those Califones as well as Wollensac cassette machines...not particularly hi-fi stuff but capable of surviving a thermonuclear explosion! As I recall the old Leslies, which every roadie hated - they weighed a ton, did not have any slip rings; the rotating horns/baffles were positioned over stationary speakers.

[Scodiddly]

Those old Califones were beasts!

Yeah, I kind of wish I'd saved it, but... small apartment. I'd be happier to get my Yamaha CS-05 back, though.

[digitaldrummer]

this actually sounds pretty good... https://www.uaudio.com/uad-plugins/dela ... eaker.html
and takes up a lot less space.
.

[Scodiddly]

Obviously the first version did something interesting to make you make V2. So what was the sound like, in general and compared to a Leslie?

So thinking about it more, I guess it would have sounded like a frequency-dependent tremolo. Lows would go around the baffle, highs would fade up and down. The stereo version would be like a frequency-dependent autopanner - lows in mono, highs swishing from side to side. There would of course be some effect from the reflections off the baffle, too.

[markjazzbassist]

analog options

Dynacord CLS-22 or CLS-222 - These were made in the 80's and are stereo with options to adjust the width of the stereo spread. Also you can adjust the speed of the Bass and Treble rotors. I have one and it sounds great.

digital options

neo ventilator - simply the best digital emulator, any of the models are fantastic

[Recycled_Brains]

this actually sounds pretty good... https://www.uaudio.com/uad-plugins/dela ... eaker.html
and takes up a lot less space.
.

I was going to suggest this. I use it on all kinds of stuff. The Roto Speaker plug that comes stock with Pro-tools is good too and has a blend function. Not as artifact-laden and authentic as the UA, but I love it. Gets used on background vocals a lot.

The free Valhalla Freq Echo can do some sick spooky panning stuff too.

[A.David.MacKinnon]

Found an image of the Mark II version:

Califone-stereo.jpg

Awesome!!!

It's not hard to find single rotor leslie baffles pulled from old home organs. They're basically a styrofoam version of your Mark 2 turntable leslie. I had one for a while and it did an ok job. There's no horn but you get some of the effect.

I also used to have a very old Everett Orgatron. It was a reed organ with a pick-up system and amplifier. If I'm not mistaken Wurlitzer bought the patent on the pick-up system and used it for their electric pianos. Anyway, it had a similar tremelo system to the first version of your turntable leslie. There was a board on a spindle in front of the speaker. The board would spin and give an effect midway between trem and a leslie.
I miss that organ. It sounded fantastic and unlike anything else I've ever had. Unfortunately all the lights in the studio would dim when you turned it on and one day it caught fire.