I'm thinking of getting a Hammond SKX but curious to know what the best Leslie would be for it? I would have thought a 2 channel like a 715 so that the static sounds can be split from the Organ? Open to suggestions!
Many thanks
Paul
The 715 has the Rotosonic drum rather than a standard rotor. The lower frequencies therefore have a definite theatrical throb to them. The Rotosonic takes a lot longer to change speed than the standard rotor, though this is masked by a) the treble horns operating the same as a 122/147 above 800Hz and b) the low bass being shunted to the 15" stationary woofer. The 715 and the 'road' version 815 is gutsy and loud.
The 720 may look a little odd but it has a standard rotor. The bass is not shunted to the stationary woofer, but merely filtered off and lost. If you're not playing pedals, that may not be an issue.
If you have deep enough pockets, the 3300 will make a great sound, of course.
As for tube leslies, there are none that will correctly deal with the rotary and non-rotary voices. It all depends on just how desperate you are to get an exact B-3 sound -if you were really desperate you'd be buying a C-3 or A100! No tube leslies will be plug and play, you'll need some kind of preamp or adaptor, or you'd have to modify the leslie to take the signal from the SKX. Would you notice the difference? I don't know how experienced you are so I can't answer that, but I can tell you that 90%+ of an audience wouldn't, and in a blindfold test, a lot of players probably wouldn't either. :) And of course, you'd then need to sort out suitable amplification for the non-rotary voices.
You don't say whether you're planning on gigging or playing at home. If the latter, then don't rule out the shortie version of the 715, the 415. Less common and probably less expensive.
It's not what you play. It's not how you play. It's the fact that you're playing that counts.
Thanks for the replies - I would go for a 3300 but this is only single channel as far as I can see? Its going to sound a bit strange with Piano of Vibes going through the rotors! :) Its a real shame as there does not seem to be a huge amount of choice of 2 channel Leslies out there. The 251 looks like a possibility with the second channel but its a 6C interface which I'm not sure how easy it is to hook up to 11 pin!
If you connect the SKX to a 3300 with an 11 pin cable the Extra Voices will be routed to 2 1/4 jacks at the bottom of the 3300 near the power cord and 11pin cable.
The 251 won't really cut the mustard. It does have the second channel but it's not very powerful and only feeds two 6x9" speakers - no real bass response. OK, the pedal drawbar sounds - if you're playing them - will go through the rotary, but the lower end of things like piano would be affected. And you'd have to construct a custom kit to hook it up.
How about the 2101 and 2121 combo. Not as pretty as a 715 but does amplify everything correctly. No lower rotor, though. The electronic sim is probably good enough for most people, as it's backed up by the real horns.
It's not what you play. It's not how you play. It's the fact that you're playing that counts.
Andy - I just looked at the 251 a bit closer and can see what you mean regarding the second channel - I seem to remember reading these were originally made for the likes of the A100 reverb channel so of course not much bass needed for that. Just thinking about this, what I'm looking for is not very different for when the T5 was hooked up on 710's back in the 70's so being a bit of a sucker for the old wooden Leslie cabinets (Hence not being keen on the 2101/2121!) I think my only option is going to be a 715 without having to go to two separates speaker systems for rotary / static. Well the SFX turns up on Friday so thats the first bit out the way!
Somewhere in the UK are two Leslie 415s that we had modified with better speakers in the straight channel, swapping out the stock speakers with JBL units and the little 'transistor radio' tweeter with a piezo horn. Made a big difference, so if you can find a cheap 415, it's a simple upgrade. Brian # blew the speakers by over-cranking them after I'd told him not to one evening! Never saw them again after that.
Yes, the 251s matched the A100, M100 and E100 perfectly and they did OK-ish on a Conn, as all the bass was sent through the rotary channel. But the straight channel was so weedy compared to the rotary.
So I'd go for 715 or 415.
It's not what you play. It's not how you play. It's the fact that you're playing that counts.
Thanks for the info Andy - I have found a 715 and will probably take a punt on that. Interesting idea on the swap out of the static speakers as I'm sure there must be quite a few options which should improve frequency response over the original ones even on the 715?. Will keep you posted on the progress!
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