Nord User Forum

Hi Nord Users.

Soon I will buy a Leslie for my Nord C1 organ. Getting tired of normal speaker use .
I have found a Leslie 145, but I don't know about connecting it to my C1. What do I need in order to do this, special adapter plug?
Found a Leslie 145 on eBay for $246 - Is that a okay purchase? Condition is okay. The functionality is working 100% (seller says).
Btw it's a 6 pin at the 145.

Have a nice day.
Best, Simon

"Found a Leslie 145 on eBay for $246 "

If it is indeed a Leslie 145, that is a very cheap price, almost too cheap. There is a 6-pin to 11-pin adapter available. Try the Hammond Suzuki site, or check with Tonewheel General (great people!)

I would expect an average price in my area ( northeast corridor) to be $1000- or more.

I don't know what your monetary resources are, but if you can get a Leslie 3300, all you will need is the 11-pin cord, and away you go.

A Leslie 145 with correct amp, two speed and a decent cabinet usually goes for a lot more than 246 dollars.

If that is the real price (and it works OK) you'll spend as much again on the right cable. Probably the Leslie is offered without any cable, which would partly explain the low price.

I bought a Boosey and Hawkes Sonorous 602 speaker for £100 here in the UK. Fortunately I got a cable with it - 9 pin at both ends. I took off the organ-end plug and replaced tu with a breakout box that takes a jack from the High-level output on the Nord, the jack on the half-moon switch and a mains supply via a Neutrik powercon (as older rotary speakers were designed to take power from the organ.

There's something about the physical presence of a rotary speaker that outshines simulators - even though mine is not a Leslie and not even a valve design. So you'll enjoy your Leslie, even while you're complaining about the size and weight of the thing!

Talking of size and weight, old speakers usually have broken castors (if they have wheels at all: domestic Leslies just sit on the floor). If you plan to gig with a speaker of that size you need some heavier-duty castors than the originals, or build a dolly for it to sit in that has the castors on.

In order to use a 145 (or any genuine Leslie, for that matter) with your NORD, you'll need to use a TREK II pre-amp or Leslie Pre-amp, This allows you to not only send the appropriate output signal values from the NORD, as well as power up and control the 2spd motors on the 145. Most older Leslies relied on the power and preamp values from the vintage Hammonds they were connected to. The pre-amps I mentioned are used by guitar players, synth players, etc. , for the same purpose. Allows you to connect anything with a line output - to - a vintage Leslie.

http://www.trekii.com/UC1A.html

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Leslie-VINT ... tads-plaid^134292308922-sku^109900370@ADL1V@ADL4GC-adType^PLA-device^c-adid^66736785762

They're kinda pricey, and will cost you more than the 145 Leslie you're buying. But, as I stated - you can't operate the Leslie w/o one.

The 1/4 plug next to the 11-pin plug on a Nord C2 or C2d is supposed to be a high-level out. I'm not sure, but that might be hot enough to drive a Leslie w/o an additional pre-amp.
Of course, the Leslie pre-amp incorporates the motor switching, too.

Pablo would know what the "hi-level" 1/4 output is for on the Nord organ. It might very well drive a Leslie amp.

I drive my Sonorous 602 (which is supposed to be Leslie compatible) from the high-level output on the Nord and have made up a breakout box to connect the half-moon switch so the speed can be controlled. That doesn't prove you can do it without the Trek pre-amp, but you *should* be able to.

I posted on another thread about my breakout box a while back. If I get a moment, I'll track it down - there's a picture and a reference to the website that has the appropriate pinouts for the various Leslies.