Nord User Forum

Hello. If you follow this link you will find the song "Circle of hands" by Uriah Heep.
At the 00.56 second you can hear the leslie effect gradually slowing..

How can I create this effect with my C2D ?

Thankls
Gabriele

I have a real C3 + 122 (1961) have to say, it seems these beasts vary so much, also I would think some players had their setup tweaked like a custom car to get a certain sound. That UH Hamm is very characteristic of the year and style. I also think players have custom Leslie setups too, it can get very specialist. And to complicate things more, how the Leslie is mic'ed up make a diffence too, and then some players needed two Leslies!!

From what I've tried myself using simulators, it's all to try for. I find one Leslie simulator works well at low speed but not at high, some don't distort too well and so on. Seemingly endless!
I've had a look in the manual for the 5D organ and indeed there seems to be a good number of useful parameters to change, if they can get the sound you want, is only a matter of experimenting.

Usually a Leslie simulator has a "rotor inertia" - or ramp up/slow down speed, this seems only half of the equation, the simulator needs also to be able to do all the sonic magic, the sign of a good simulator.

I want that sound in the UH clip, I just can't get there even with the real thing.

Sounds like the slow motor on the drum is unplugged. I know of no commercially available simulator that can do this.

elseif wrote:Sounds like the slow motor on the drum is unplugged. I know of no commercially available simulator that can do this.

The Neo Ventilator II pedal allows you to remove the rotary effect on the lower rotor (and upper rotor individually), so you can get that 'memphis' sound. So all you hear is the horn spinning, but the lower rotor stays stationary. I'm pretty sure that's the only Leslie Sim that offers that, other than the Mojo...that also has a 'memphis' option.

The discontinued GSI BURN can do the Memphis setting as well.

The C2D allows you to choose from 3 acceleration/retardation times; High, Normal, Low. (Sound Menus) You can also choose from 3 Bass/Rotary balance types; 70/30, 60/40, 30/70. The closest you'll get to the Heep sound will be to choose a "Low" retardation speed, and a 70/30 balance. Not sure if that'll do it for you.
What you're hearing on the Heep recording is a result of the belt tension on the rotor, and a heavily mic'd rotor balance. I'd bet the farm on guessing the belt tension was purely happenstance. There is simply no way of "measuring, and selecting' a set accel/decel speed on a well used war horse of a leslie. You can make an adjustment by increasing/decreasing the tension at the motor pulley. But that's strictly trial and error. On top of that, the fabric belt has a "worn and stretch" fact that is unique to it self. To replicate that in a rotary SIM patch, you'd literally need to sample thousands of Leslies, and choose the ones you want to replicate. Good luck!

Yes! you can gradually slow down rotary up to full stop. Neo Ventilator 2, pedal does this brillantly.
Check this video: