Any opinins on Leslie Rotating Horn?

[WWBLEVINS]

Several years ago, I had a chance to buy a near perfect example of a 700-series Leslie Rotating Horn. I have always been fascinated by these monsters seen on stage at most rock concerts. For those that don't know what the hell I'm describing, the Leslie is a radical spinning horn(s), residing inside a huge wooden cabinet the size of a washing machine. It was an accompany speaker for Hammond organs, and provided a mechanical means for a tremolo effect for the organ. I recently saw Bob Seeger, and there on stage was a version of the Leslie with the spinning styrofoam drum. I have thought that one of these would be more than a conversation piece amongst the rest of my home theater speakers. I could use it for music or for concert videos. Anyone out there know if this would be practical, or how to provide the signal source from a reciever instead of an organ? 99.7% of wives would laugh you and the Leslie out of the house, so maybe I should do a little more temperature-taking with my own spouse! Am I nuts?

 

[billnchristy]

I dont know if I would hook one up, but it would be very cool to have in the HT...maybe make an end table out of it or something.

 

[jaxvon]

I'm pretty sure those would only sound good with a B3 hooked up. However, since you have some Leslie cabs in good condition, maybe you should take up a hobby of organ playing

 

[highfihoney]

Post a pic of that bad boy if you can,i'd really like to see one again,there getting pretty rare now days.

I think Greg Allman still use's one while touring.

 

[markw]

It's kinda like putting a guitar's fuzz box in line with the stereo signal.

IMNSHO, that tremelo effect sounds great with an organ, particularly because it's part and parcel to the organs it's unique sound quality, but hokey when used in a stereo. YMMV.

If you want to use the speakers, I'd suggest disconnecting the motor and facing the mid/tweets as suits you. You may be disappointed, though.

These are insturment speakers, not hi-fi speakers. ...big difference. If you've ever tried to use guitar speakers for the stereo you might know what I'm saying.

 

[Nuglets]

These are insturment speakers, not hi-fi speakers. ...big difference. If you've ever tried to use guitar speakers for the stereo you might know what I'm saying.

Very true, I'm using my guitar amp as a PC speaker and even though it's a high quality guitar amp, it cannot reproduce music accurately. Which it shouldn't because it's not meant to be used in such a manner. Don't get disappointed if it sounds like poop when you force it to do something it simply cannot do well. Have fun though it's always fun to mess around with things like that, maybe you'll find some interesting use for it.

 

[billnchristy]

Post a pic of that bad boy if you can,i'd really like to see one again,there getting pretty rare now days.

I agree, and imagine my shock and horror when we were at a Dresden Dolls concert and one of the opening acts named "Whitey" was using one to make horrible noise...for shame that one of the few in the world would be wasted like that!

 

[skizzerflake]

Several years ago, I had a chance to buy a near perfect example of a 700-series Leslie Rotating Horn. I have always been fascinated by these monsters seen on stage at most rock concerts. For those that don't know what the hell I'm describing, the Leslie is a radical spinning horn(s), residing inside a huge wooden cabinet the size of a washing machine. It was an accompany speaker for Hammond organs, and provided a mechanical means for a tremolo effect for the organ. I recently saw Bob Seeger, and there on stage was a version of the Leslie with the spinning styrofoam drum. I have thought that one of these would be more than a conversation piece amongst the rest of my home theater speakers. I could use it for music or for concert videos. Anyone out there know if this would be practical, or how to provide the signal source from a reciever instead of an organ? 99.7% of wives would laugh you and the Leslie out of the house, so maybe I should do a little more temperature-taking with my own spouse! Am I nuts?

I don't think it would work very well. For audio repro, you want neutral sounding speakers that have no identifiable sound of their own so the music comes through as it was recorded. Leslies, bless them, have a very distinctive sound of their own. That's what makes them such an identifiable vintage electric organ sound, the Leslie sound. In addition, you would be adding tremolo to your music...all of your music....that's what the rotating thing does; the rotating thing is hooked to a foot pedal so you can speed it up or slow it down. I love that classic Leslie sound, but it's for organs.

 

[Ryan8886]

I dont know if I would hook one up, but it would be very cool to have in the HT...maybe make an end table out of it or something.

Definately a cool piece of audio history! Gotta agree, I don't know if I'd hook one up though....other than just to see just how weird it would sound with a receiver playing through it! The tremolo effect would make an absolute mess of most listening material.
Hard to find anyone that still uses the Leslie anymore. There used to be an R&B band that was the house act at the House of Blues in Myrtle Beach a few years ago that ran one. They rocked! Such a distinctive sound gone the way of the analogue synth!

 

[WWBLEVINS]

Thanks everyone for the good replies. I got to play with one yesterday, and decided it's not for me. It needs a feed that a receiver can't supply, and any sound from it using a rear channel feed would be confusing. Thanks for talking me out of it! That's a grand or more that I can spend on other gear.

 

[baseman]

They sound amazing with guitars. Listen to some Stevie Ray Vaughn for that juicy warbling stratocaster tone. Where is it located and how much is it?

 

[WWBLEVINS]

They sound amazing with guitars. Listen to some Stevie Ray Vaughn for that juicy warbling stratocaster tone. Where is it located and how much is it?

They are on Ebay all the time. You can find one that needs a lot of work for a few hundred dollars, or a museum piece for several thousand. There are even kits for modern solid-state reproductions. I basically wanted it for the nostalgia/conversation piece value.