Rotary speaker sounds on the semi-cheap? (NPD page 3)

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Rotary speaker sounds on the semi-cheap? (NPD page 3)

Post by marqueemoon » Sat Mar 20, 2021 10:34 am

Still have a bad case of H9 GAS, and that might be the best way to do this as well as have some specialty reverbs and delays and such, but I do like the idea of a hardware pedal that is cheaper and in theory more future-proof. I’d want to stay under $150 new or used. Mono-only would be fine.

I’m not set on digital rotary emulation if there is an analog chorus that would get me in the rough ballpark. The Maxon CS-550 seems promising. It’s just huge.

The Keeley Dyno My Roto has a nice sounding rotary, but the trichourus is a bit too over the top for me.

I’m not excited about the EHX Mod 11 If it’s anything like the Canyon in terms of noise and build quality.

What I’ve found in checking out a lot of demos is a lot of emulations seem to make the guitar sound more like an organ, which is not what I’m after. I also don’t dig the Univibe thing.

Anybody using something they like for the swirly?
Last edited by marqueemoon on Mon May 10, 2021 7:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Rotary speaker sounds on the semi-cheap?

Post by jthomas » Sat Mar 20, 2021 11:03 am

I have tried several pedals for the swirl.

DSL Roto Sim
Lex Strymon
line 6 RotoMachine
and the Rotary Wave
http://www.mahaffayamps.com/rotary-wave.htm

The pedals work but they just suck sound like crazy. The RotoSim maybe was a little better but it's a big pedal. I have kept the Lex on my pedal board but, well it's not the sound I hear in my head. The Rotary Wave works well, no tone suck... but it is relatively fragile. The motor is at the top of the cab and the drum hangs off of it. I finally bought a 910 Leslie and a Combo Preamp for $500 with help from Craigslist. None of the pedals that I've tried really equal a Leslie, IMO.

Video with leslie vs pedal comparisons:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0aXOKHp5L4

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Re: Rotary speaker sounds on the semi-cheap?

Post by marqueemoon » Sat Mar 20, 2021 11:37 am

jthomas wrote:
Sat Mar 20, 2021 11:03 am
I have tried several pedals for the swirl.

DSL Roto Sim
Lex Strymon
line 6 RotoMachine
and the Rotary Wave
http://www.mahaffayamps.com/rotary-wave.htm

The pedals work but they just suck sound like crazy. The RotoSim maybe was a little better but it's a big pedal. I have kept the Lex on my pedal board but, well it's not the sound I hear in my head. The Rotary Wave works well, no tone suck... but it is relatively fragile. The motor is at the top of the cab and the drum hangs off of it. I finally bought a 910 Leslie and a Combo Preamp for $500 with help from Craigslist. None of the pedals that I've tried really equal a Leslie, IMO.

Video with leslie vs pedal comparisons:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0aXOKHp5L4
Thanks!

Yeah, super-accurate is not really my goal. Just needs to come close to the sound in my head. John Squire’s sound on Where Angels Play is probably my favorite. I know he used a CS-9 on a lot of things, but that sounds chewier and more Leslie-like.

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Re: Rotary speaker sounds on the semi-cheap?

Post by Zork » Sat Mar 20, 2021 12:10 pm

marqueemoon wrote:
Sat Mar 20, 2021 10:34 am
.
I’m not set on digital rotary emulation if there is an analog chorus that would get me in the rough ballpark. The Maxon CS-550 seems promising. It’s just huge.
I've got an Ibanez RC99 Rotary Chorus and I think it's very cool. I like it because it can do rotary, chorus and really rather crazy stuff, too. There are a few demoes on youtube. Faster settings are closer to the real thing than slow speed.

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Re: Rotary speaker sounds on the semi-cheap?

Post by marqueemoon » Sat Mar 20, 2021 2:11 pm

Zork wrote:
Sat Mar 20, 2021 12:10 pm
marqueemoon wrote:
Sat Mar 20, 2021 10:34 am
.
I’m not set on digital rotary emulation if there is an analog chorus that would get me in the rough ballpark. The Maxon CS-550 seems promising. It’s just huge.
I've got an Ibanez RC99 Rotary Chorus and I think it's very cool. I like it because it can do rotary, chorus and really rather crazy stuff, too. There are a few demoes on youtube. Faster settings are closer to the real thing than slow speed.
Hmm... I remember these. I assumed they would be collector priced these days, but not too bad.

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Re: Rotary speaker sounds on the semi-cheap?

Post by jthomas » Sat Mar 20, 2021 2:14 pm

"Suck sound" probably doesn't really capture what I don't like about the Leslie sim pedals. The ones that I have heard have a high frequency undercurrent of distortion, especially at the higher speeds that kind of sounds like a metallic rubber band or spring. I suspect that the wave form has a spike shape embedded in it. That can work in some songs and some mixes, I suspect.

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Re: Rotary speaker sounds on the semi-cheap?

Post by fuzzjunkie » Sat Mar 20, 2021 4:00 pm

All of these are giant sized pedals, but the best Leslie or Vibratone Rotary speaker sims that I have heard are:

1- Hughes & Kettner Rotosphere - tubes, big, and expensive.
2- Roger Mayer Voodoo Vibe - excellent Vibratone sounds, much more than a Univibe and tremolo pedal. Speed can be changed with an expression pedal.
3- Morley PFA Pro Phase - more of a Vibratone than a Leslie, but very swirly and has 2 modes, so you can change speeds with your foot.

I wonder if the Fender Pinwheel sounds good? Anyone try one? Not cheap but smaller footprint than the above.

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Re: Rotary speaker sounds on the semi-cheap?

Post by marqueemoon » Sat Mar 20, 2021 5:56 pm

fuzzjunkie wrote:
Sat Mar 20, 2021 4:00 pm
All of these are giant sized pedals, but the best Leslie or Vibratone Rotary speaker sims that I have heard are:

1- Hughes & Kettner Rotosphere - tubes, big, and expensive.
2- Roger Mayer Voodoo Vibe - excellent Vibratone sounds, much more than a Univibe and tremolo pedal. Speed can be changed with an expression pedal.
3- Morley PFA Pro Phase - more of a Vibratone than a Leslie, but very swirly and has 2 modes, so you can change speeds with your foot.

I wonder if the Fender Pinwheel sounds good? Anyone try one? Not cheap but smaller footprint than the above.
I just watched a Pinwheel demo. Way too syrupy sounding for me.

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Re: Rotary speaker sounds on the semi-cheap?

Post by fuzzjunkie » Sun Mar 21, 2021 10:32 am

marqueemoon wrote:
Sat Mar 20, 2021 5:56 pm
fuzzjunkie wrote:
Sat Mar 20, 2021 4:00 pm
All of these are giant sized pedals, but the best Leslie or Vibratone Rotary speaker sims that I have heard are:

1- Hughes & Kettner Rotosphere - tubes, big, and expensive.
2- Roger Mayer Voodoo Vibe - excellent Vibratone sounds, much more than a Univibe and tremolo pedal. Speed can be changed with an expression pedal.
3- Morley PFA Pro Phase - more of a Vibratone than a Leslie, but very swirly and has 2 modes, so you can change speeds with your foot.

I wonder if the Fender Pinwheel sounds good? Anyone try one? Not cheap but smaller footprint than the above.
I just watched a Pinwheel demo. Way too syrupy sounding for me.
After reading your post I watched one too. There are so many knobs that I wonder if it can be dialed out? The presenter kept the grind (distortion) up way too high and it did sound syrupy. It seems like it could be the same thing that happened with tape echo videos. They always emphasized the exaggerated sounds and not anything a real tape echo sounds like. I wonder if that’s what happened here? The presenter doesn’t really know what a Leslie sounds like but the exaggerated sounds like some of the recordings they like, so that must be what everyone wants to hear.

In any case, it doesn’t sound as good as my Voodoo Vibe’s rotating speaker setting. I wouldn’t buy one without being able to try it myself.

The Voodoo Vibe can do this:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yV5JPyWTMog

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Re: Rotary speaker sounds on the semi-cheap?

Post by PorkyPrimeCut » Sun Mar 21, 2021 10:58 am

There's a feature on the Vox Vibravox that allows you to switch between 2 speeds of vibrato using the footswitch. As the transition from one to the other is gradual & kind of ramped (it naturally speeds up & slows down) it can get quite Leslie-ish.

Can be found for around 100 - 150 Euros.
Last edited by PorkyPrimeCut on Mon Mar 22, 2021 5:39 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Rotary speaker sounds on the semi-cheap?

Post by MayTheFuzzBeWithYou » Sun Mar 21, 2021 12:28 pm

I‘ve recently purchased a used Gurus Doppoler it runs on 12V and is Tube powered - ans sounds really great! I always thought I‘d be an univibe guy - but after trying a few I had to try a Leslie emulation.

I thought it had a slow/fast switch - but it‘s actually a tap tempo that works just fine for that purpose too - I intended to use it on vovals but I haven‘t yet worked a way out to integrate it in the vocal setup... so I use it on guitar for now! :)
It‘s about the size of a BB Hammond enclosure. And has a nice light effect once powered! :)
Quite expensive new - but you could get lucky on the used market.
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Re: Rotary speaker sounds on the semi-cheap?

Post by MechaBulletBill » Sun Mar 21, 2021 2:15 pm

i saw a h&k rotoshpere go on ebay for under £150 so i guess... be the person who won that auction? ;D

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Re: Rotary speaker sounds on the semi-cheap?

Post by Sweetfinger » Sun Mar 21, 2021 3:22 pm

I used to use a DOD Flanger. If you're looking for "rotary" but don't want it to "sound like an organ", or Univibe, you might want to look outside of pedals that are specifically trying to sound like an organ or Univibe.

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Re: Rotary speaker sounds on the semi-cheap?

Post by CorporateDisguise » Mon Mar 22, 2021 5:04 am

I recently picked up a Fender Lost Highway phaser. With a high speed and low depth, it does a decent facsimile. Good enough for me, although rotary isn’t really my thing to begin with. I tend to prefer trem or vibrato for faster mod sounds. I also have rotary on my h9, but almost never use it. It does sound pretty good though.

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Re: Rotary speaker sounds on the semi-cheap?

Post by fortytwo » Mon Mar 22, 2021 5:35 am

marqueemoon wrote:
Sat Mar 20, 2021 10:34 am
What I’ve found in checking out a lot of demos is a lot of emulations seem to make the guitar sound more like an organ, which is not what I’m after.
I might be going out on a limb here, but rotary emulations tend to make guitars sound like they are going through a rotary speaker, or a Leslie to be more precise.

So maybe you not looking for a rotary sound, maybe you're more into harmonic trem.

I love the "Leslie" sound, but I don't really like uni-vibes, they are to syrupy/sticky sounding, but a great leslie emulation sounds much better to me.

Best one I've heard has been the Rotosphere, but it's pricey, it breaks, it has to have that dumb big PSU for it to work, unless you got other AC things powered from an other PSU.

If I didn't know if rotary things where for me, I'd just get the Boss RT-20 to try it out, it does what it says, sounds alright, can be powered from your normal PSU, and is not too pricey. It might not be the prettiest thing out there, but I've seen worse. :)

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