Speaker Questions for homemade leslies...

[Retkid]

So, I made a post a couple of days, forgot because I was a new user i needed to wait for my posts to get approved, though I was banned and forgot about it... yea.

I decided that It would be a stupid idea for my first big scale project to be a Leslie, and so I decided to do it.

I've gotten to understand the way Leslies are building much better than I think I would have gotten otherwise, and so I'm now Modeling and planning
I'm at the part where I'm picking speakers and designing a two-way active crossover, and so I must have the specs of the speakers for the tweeter...
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I' have a few speakers in mind for the Woofer but I have, but really no clue for the tweeter, any suggestions?

[picothinker]

There is one thread on here, that goes on for nearly 8 years, that covers homebrew Leslies very completely. It would probably be best to read it. The. Whole. Damn. Thing. Every question you will ever have, has been asked. You get the benefit of seeing years of other guys spend money and invent things, so that you don't have to. Some of it is magic, and some of it is tragic.

If your desire is the traditional Hammond/Leslie sound? You want horns/driver that output about 7k (you can homebrew, but a modern 20k compression driver will be shrill), a crossover at 800 hz, a 15" bass speaker. The bass rotor weighs about 5 pounds, the plastic horns weigh about 7 ounces. They're driven by a stationary 3/4-inch throat Jensen compression driver, connected to a vertical tube that acts as a thrust bearing.

Fast is about 340-400 rpm, slow is about 40-49 rpm. They are not synchronized, the fabric belt slip, as the wooden rotor starts to catch up to the little horns already spinning faster, is part of the magic. Getting the spinny parts balanced is very important. The wooden cab shaped and ported like it is, is part of the sound.

There is no law that your homebrew Leslie won't sound great, or different. If you want it to sound like a traditional Leslie, these are things you need. And, to actually answer your question? This Selenium horn driver is a popular modern replacement, but it's not quite the same as the original Jensen. It is an 8 ohm driver, compared to the original 16 ohm, you'll have to adjust your crossover stuff appropriately. They used to have some 16 ohm ones, but no more.

Mods, should probably move this to the Leslie section.

[Retkid]

Thanks, this helps quite a bit. I'll read every last reply and take it to heart!

[Retkid]

This is the frequency response of the bass threw the crossover is working on, and I can't find the original frequency response for a Leslie, should i be a little less strict on the highs and stuff?

This very likely isn't the final version as I haven't checked out the prices.

[alpine]

For the treble driver, , there are several suppliers. The key thing is you want a phenolic/cloth coil diaphragm, not one of the titanium formers that are aimed at high trebles. If you are in the USA, then the ones TWG sell, the Atlas PD5-VH matches the original V21 quite well. But the post, vat and import duties which are even charged on the post cost will double the price to get it to Europe.
https://ssl.tonewheelgeneral.com/bui...item_no=PD-5VH
When I was playing with mixed impedance speakers, the Pyle Pro PDS432 is the same as the Selenium one picothinker has mentioned and there's a UK seller on Ebay with them at a very reasonable price.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_odkw=toa+treble+driver&_osacat=0&_from=R40 &_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=horn+driver+driver&_sacat =0

[NittyRanks]

I don't see why people always want to reinvent the wheel on this.

[picothinker]

I don't see why people always want to reinvent the wheel on this.

Agreed. I used to want to. Many people have made Spinny Speakers, but if your goal is a traditional Hammond/Leslie sound, it's hard to beat the original once you examine all the quirks (and try to replicate them). The modern sims are pretty darn good, but if you want a physical cab, it's difficult to top a real Leslie.

[Retkid]

I don't see why people always want to reinvent the wheel on this.

2 Reasons mostly:
I. want to see if I can do it
2. I really don't like the idea of getting a 40-year-old product to be shipped to me, and the Organ place in my town closed when I was very young. Plus, I like to experiment

[alpine]

I don't see why people always want to reinvent the wheel on this.

Because in most countries Real Leslies are rare and expensive.

[geoffbrown]

I agree but gathering together all the parts and assembling will probably cost just as much as buying a complete unit

Here in Australia leslies are very rare but can be obtained if people are patient and prepared for a long drive

[Papus]

I’m struggling to understand why anyone would bother these days.
Just get a Mini Vent II. Nobody will be able to tell the difference from a real Leslie 122 in the context of a recording mix or through a stage PA.
If you absolutely MUST do the DIY thing, the most amusing, educational and AFFORDABLE route is to obtain an unloved solid state organ equipped with a cheesewheel Leslie - plenty of Hammonds, Lowrys, Yamahas, etc are freely available.
Simply remove the cheesewheel unit and rehouse it. Power the speaker via a guitar amplifier. You’ll need to devise a simple relay switching system to control the speed motors.
Many people have gone down this path.
The beauty of cannibalising a cheesewheel is that they’re usually FREE and can be used as a poor man’s Fender Vibratone for guitar.

My money is on the Mini Vent II....

[Sweet Pete]

When all Leslies sound the same? Even with different clones or the real deal the new normal is a Ventilator.
I am lucky to have both,all of the Leslies one would ever need and more.
For the sake of effort and expedience,a Ventilator will certainly do the job.

Recently recorded in a beautiful studio and the pedal got the day off.One of my 'dead silent' boxes got the
stereo top mics and an RE20 on the baffled bassport. Some Neve 1071 strips IIRC.Way different than a Ventilator.
Every call is different and this is how I account for doing it old school.
If the client agrees to help schlep or have someone handy I'll even bring a Hammond and leave the C2D.

Any real Leslie will have more options than a pedal,both are ideal!
If you are new to this? Get the pedal.Some day you'll find the real deal and the wait will have been worth it.