leslie reverb amp

[waterman]

I will apologize in advance if this has already been covered but I did a search and didn't find anything about it.</P>


Apparently my 147 leslie is a 147RV. It has the amp and a 6 X 9 speaker but no reverb. After checking I found that the reverb amp wasn't plugged in but even after I plugged it in, it doesn't work. The tubes light up but there is no reverb. I was wondering if anyone has any information on troubleshooting the reverb amp in a lesile. Is the reverb controlled by an on/offswitch? how many tubes are there supposed to be? Any info. will be appreciated. </P>


I have read that the leslie reverb isn't really very desirable but since I have all the components on the Leslie, I would like to have it working. BTW the spring tank is mounted and connected.</P>

[jimmywilliams]

Re: leslie reverb amp



Waterman,</P>


To the best of my knpowledge, the reverb amp in the Leslie sabinet is meant to carry a separate reverb signal. It is only going todo somethingif you have the cabinet hooked up to an organ that carries this extra channel. If you have this hooked up to a single-channel organ then I don't believe the reverb amp / 6x9 speaker is going to serve any purpose (which may be why it was unplugged).</P>


If this is the reverb amp I am thinking of, it has one 12AU7 and two 7189s - about 16 Watts. Reverb channel volume is controlled be a separate volume potentiometer on the small amp assembly.</P>


If I am wrong about any of this I'm sure the Hammond/Leslie specialists will jump in. It would help to know what organ youhave hooked up and what conector kit youare using.</P>


- Jim</P>
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[geoelectro]

Re: leslie reverb amp



The reverb amp in the 147RV simply picks up the incoming signal and sends it through the reverb tank, amplifies it and sends that to reverb speakers.</p>

There was a reverb switch that mounted on the organ and connected to the reverb amp. If that switch was removed, there is a break in the circuit to the reverb speakers. If you jumped across the switch connections, you should get sound as long as the amp is in fact working. There is a volume control you can set to your liking.</p>

Geoelectro
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[waterman]

Re: leslie reverb amp



ah, thanks for the information. I have the leslie hooked to an M3. As far as the kit, I don't know In fact I think he just wired it without a kit.. I bought the leslie from a Hammond dealer in Louisville. They delivered it and installed it. I didn't realize it had the reverb amp in it until after they left.Ithought the signal into the leslie was routed to the reverb amp then out to the 6 X 9 speaker so when it didn't workI assumed itwas broken.</P>
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[waterman]

Re: leslie reverb amp

<P mce_keep="true">thanks geoelectro, I don't have a switch on the organ for reverb so that might be the problem. </P>

[waterman]

Re: leslie reverb amp



I am sorry about the duplicate posts. I have no idea how I did that.</P>

[Guest]

I realize it has been a while since this discussion, but I recently got the reverb amp working in my 122RV, which is the same 061440 amp they used in a 147RV, so I thought I might be able to help here. Above, geoelectro suggested "there was a reverb switch that mounted on the organ and connected to the reverb amp. If that switch was removed, there is a break in the circuit to the reverb speakers. If you jumped across the switch connections, you should get sound as long as the amp is in fact working." Judging by mine I don't think that could be the problem, because the system could not possibly be switchable from the organ without turning off the signal to the dividing network too. The reason being that the twisted red/black pair of audio signal wires from the dividing network that would normally plug into the main Leslie amp is instead plugged into the reverb amp, and a similar pair of wires from the reverb amp is plugged into the main amp, so the audio signal is in effect intercepted by the reverb amp on the way to the dividing network. There is a vertical pin type volume knob on the reverb amp that is turned counter clockwise to get less reverb volume to the reverb speaker, otherwise, the reverb is always on. If yours is still not working a couple more things to check: There are two small limitter light bulbs inside the amp - I had to replace mine because the tiny pin sockets had split and the glass near one of the pins had cracked. There are two leads from the reverb amp with RCA plugs - a black and a brown - the black goes to the socket on the spring unit marked output and the brown goes to input - that could have been backwards. Finally, if the spring unit is intact the only other thing to keep in mind is that the reverb is very weak on these I guess because it is only going to one 6 x 9 dedicated speaker. I'm sure this is why people advise not to bother repairing these, as there are far, far better solutions. In a large hall, I can't even tell if the reverb is on because it is overwhelmed by the natural reverberation in the room. By comparison, the old ElectroTone Organ Mate reverb I have on one of my B3s is at least a hundred times stronger, because it modifies the preamp signal before being sent to the full Leslie. But like you, I had all the components and spent just $16 on a pair of bulbs, so I figured it was worth it to get it working just for the heck of it - so now at least it isn't broken. Still pretty useless, but maybe in a small livingroom it would be worth it.

[geoelectro]

I realize it has been a while since this discussion, but I recently got the reverb amp working in my 122RV, which is the same 061440 amp they used in a 147RV, so I thought I might be able to help here. Above, geoelectro suggested "there was a reverb switch that mounted on the organ and connected to the reverb amp. If that switch was removed, there is a break in the circuit to the reverb speakers. If you jumped across the switch connections, you should get sound as long as the amp is in fact working." Judging by mine I don't think that could be the problem, because the system could not possibly be switchable from the organ without turning off the signal to the dividing network too.

Actually a Reverb switch was sold (possibly as an accessory) that had it's own cable going to the Leslie. It was run to the reverb amp in the upper compartment of the Leslie. It intercepted the reverb signal going to the 6x9 speaker. There was a resistor in the switch so you could select two levels of reverb, or off.

Kinda messy with two cables to the Leslie but that was how it worked. If a Leslie was setup that way and eventually separated from the organ, it would be possible that the reverb switch cable was just removed leaving the reverb amp unconnected.

Geo

[tojpeters]

i have a 122rv. it has no switch. lots of reverb. i probably matched the caps and resistors in the driver circuit and used a driver tube that was matched also, so i might have a bit more output. It's been a while. I know I matched the driver circuit in the 122 amp. Here's a link to a little thing i wrote on hammondwiki about the driver circuit http://www.dairiki.org/HammondWiki/LeslieAmpMaintenance

[martin62]

Maybe this is the appropriate thread to ask the following question: What's the difference between a 51/251 Leslie and a 122RV/147RV Leslie concerning the reverb channel? I know that 51/251/351 Leslie are intended for reproducing the reverb signal from Hammonds with built-in reverb (A-100, M-100 etc.). This means that no reverb signal is produced in these Leslies, they only amplify it and send it to the side-speakers. I also know that the amp of these Leslies have two channels (main and reverb, respectively flute and strings for Conn organs).
The only difference to RV models I know is that they have a separate amp for the reverb. But what else? Do they produce the reverb signal itself (spring tank)?

Martin

[martin62]

answering myself

The reverb amp in the 147RV simply picks up the incoming signal and sends it through the reverb tank, amplifies it and sends that to reverb speakers.>

Should have read first before asking! I think this is the answer to my question. RV models produce the reverb signal itself in opposition to x51 models, right? Whats about the quality of the reverb signal, compared with the one of an A-100? I mean does it sound the same if I play an A-100 with a 251 respectively a B3/C3 with a 122RV?

Martin

[Tim_at_Jonas]

There's a volume control on the reverb amp (a very thin shaft sticking up in the corner of the amp).

[Goff]

I think the amount of reverb that comes out of this system is the right amount so as not to overshadow the effect of the rotors. The reverb tail on the end of certain notes enhances the rotor effect and gives a sense of a straight organ pitch as the rotors doppler, making the pitch seem to waiver. If the reverb system were too loud and wet then both doppler and stationary reverb would clash. If in using a 122R or RV live, you would want to mic the 6x9 so that the reverb tone would be more controllable if you wanted to add that sound but playing in a large reverberant room will mask the delicate reverb this was supposed to be. Even if running a reverb system through the Leslie rotors is desirable itself, there is something to be said about this unappreciated 6x9 tube amped original Leslie reverb.

Here is a sample of the 122R. You can hear a faint tail on some of the percussion notes and if you listen carefully you can hear how the unrotored reverb signal adds a nice phase of reverb to the rotor sounds.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnzU-FBtrvc

[Goff]

The only difference to RV models I know is that they have a separate amp for the reverb. But what else? Do they produce the reverb signal itself (spring tank)?

Martin

The "RV" might have VIBRATO that was designed to make the reverb sound more sympathetic to the rotor sound. The "R" only has reverb.


Note: It was clarified after this post that the RV does not have vibrato..

[Goff]

i have a 122rv.[/url]

How does the vibrato operate on this?