Leslie 51

[Guest]

Hello. Could someone tell me what a leslie 51 is and what the difference between and single and 2 speed is?

[Brendon Wright]

Re: Leslie 51



Hi mwigfall!</P>


2 speed has fast and slow, there are 3 speed models which include a"brake", but an ordinary light switch can be used to make one of those.</P>


Here are a couple of great resources on leslie info: http://www.speakeasyvintagemusic.com...eslie/id12.htmthey have a bit of info on just about every cabinet you can imagine.</P>


Because it has no "C" after the 51 it means it was made after 1960.</P>


<FONT face=Verdana color=#000000 size=2>They say theamp is a 2 channel tube type, rotary channel producing 35 watts, the stationary channel producing 20 watts.</FONT></P>


<FONT face=Verdana>It says it's a single speed, I've never found out if that's slow or fast. It's stillmeant to sound fantastic!</FONT></P>


<FONT face=Verdana>One jazz player said he didn't mind about that, because he only ever used "brake" or tremelo (fast) but never chorale (slow) I use slow all the time, but I don't havea valve leslie, let alone one with horns. It sounds a fantastic leslie to get.</FONT></P>


<FONT face=Verdana>With a little modification you might be able to take the two speed motors out of cheap electronic spinets with internal leslies.</FONT></P>


The other site is Captain foldback. There's an owner's manual here, but no service manual, alas.</P>


http://www.captain-foldback.com/Lesl...ie_manuals.htm</P>


good luck!</P>


-Brendon</P>
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[jimmywilliams]

Re: Leslie 51



Single speed, 2 channel, originally made for Conn organs but then marketed to use with the Hammond A100 (which had a separate "secondary" Reverb channel). It was superceded by the 2-speed 251.</P>


You can see detailed photos of both the 51 and 51C here: http://www.captain-foldback.com/Leslie_sub/chorale2.htm</P>


Be careful as the 6-pinconnector is different for these old2-channel models. Pin 5 carries audio channel 2 (secondary channel - goes to the small stationary speakers) and Pin 6 carries audio channel 1 (primary channel - goes to the full range rotor/horn system). </P>


If your organ only has one channel then I guess you can ignore pin 5 - you may have to cobble your own connector kit together.</P>


The captain-foldback.com site contains a wealth of information about Leslies and I highly recommend it. They have a freely downloadable service manual for the 251 that I referenced recently. Besides the motor speeds, I believe the other principles of operation areroughly the same as the 51.</P>


-jim</P>

[TheAdmiral]

Re: Leslie 51



Yes, the 51 is fast and off speeds (is off a speed?). It can be changed by replacing the motors with 2 speed and altering the socket and relay wiring in amp.</p>

The amp and speakers is/are basically the 47 single speed (forerunner of 147) with extra channel and slight wiring change as noted above (be careful getting that wiring correct on your connector). </p>

Really good amp with horns and bottom rotor. Easily upgraded. I sometimes run an electric piano through the extra channel and have added a 1/4 inch phone jack to do that. Piano and organ coming out of same Leslie blends nicely.
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Brendon's correct in that old jazz players like the fast/off. You can catch that if you listen close to older songs.
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[Guest]

Re: Leslie 51

<blockquote>can I use this on a C3
</blockquote>

[Hammond101]

Re: Leslie 51



Yes, this Leslie will work with a C3. Since you will not be using the stationary channel. I would recommend pulling the tubes from the stationary side of the amp. These are great Leslies. I would also vote for a Carribean Controls 2-speed kit if you want the chorale (slow speed). This is a lot easier and most likely less expensive than amp mods and motors.I own one and love it.</P>


As mentioned above, be careful of the wiring. A 147 hookup has pin 4 and 5 jumpered together as mentioned above. you must remove that jumper BEFORE connecting a 51/251 leslie. As far as upgrades go the 2-speed kit or 2-speed motors are all that is neccessary. Everything else is 147 spec. The only drawback with a C3 could be it will be difficult to wire MEE with a Hammond tone cab. as the tone cabe is double ended and the Leslie is single ended.</P>


H101</P>

[TheAdmiral]

Re: Leslie 51

I'm so used to modifying things I forget about the controllers. They're easy to install. The Hamptone speed controller is another one. I have one on a 31H that works well and they're less expensive than Caribs, I believe.

[Hammond101]

Re: Leslie 51



I haven't tried a Hanptone but you're right, that one is out there too. I like the Carrabean unit because you can program the low speed to any speed you prefer.</P>


I should say that to install one of these you do have to do a little work to the amp. Remove the brake wire (orange) from the relay and wire one of the motor plugs to be hot all the time to power the unit. I guess that would qualify as a mod but it is completely reversable.</P>

[Guest]

Re: Leslie 51



I have an old 46W Leslie. I do believe that it was classified as a 2 speed unit. This was somewhat true. The upper rotor had a chorale and a fast setting while the bass rotor only had off and fast. I added a Hamptone converter box to it and now I have it configured so I still have chorale and fast on the upper horn and slow and fast on the lower bass rotor. I did away with the off setting because it didn't sound as good to me. I never use the bass pedals on my M3 anyway. All they are good for is entertaining the puppy. I have synths for bass stuff and they sound waaaaaaay better. Besides I play bass guitar a lot better than I do keyboards.
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The Hamptone converter is a real cool little device. Not only does it make the lower rotor have 2 speed settings instead of one it also has 4 speed selector dip-switches that allow you to set custom speeds for each rotor. I messed with that for quite awhile before I found the combination that I wanted. None of them were bad but some were better than others. It was also very simple to install and configure. Also quite inexpensive as I remember. Less than $150 USD. I set the speeds so that it sounded best while playing guitar through it. I still use that Leslie on my M3 and it sounds good with those settings as well.
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I had spoken to an organ tech about converting the lower rotor to a 2 speed and he said that in order to do that with conventional methods that it could cost upwards of $500 by the time he changed out, moved the motor, and modified the switching. He was the one who recommended the Hamptone converter. It really made the 46W come to life. </p>

Kenny
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