Leslie simulators... Which do you like best?

[TrueTone500]

I've been going through the many YT clips of Leslie simulators for the last week, and decided to buy a couple of them. I've owned several Univibe clones, but never a Leslie cabinet simulator pedal. I purchased a Korg Nuvibe a little while back, but ended up sending it back due to tone-suckage when using the chorus side of the effect. The two I chose: H&K Rotosphere MK II, and a Neo Ventilator II. If any of you have experience with these pedals, please share your thoughts.

 

[rubyAudio]

I have the H&K Rotosphere Mark I. Love mine. Sounds fantastic in the loop. Only gripe is that it hisses a little when you switch it on, but they may have addressed that with the Mk II. Tracked it in stereo a few years ago and it was awesome in the headphones.

 

[TrueTone500]

I didn't think there were a lot of Leslie pedal users on RT. I'll try the Rotosphere and the Neo Vent II... Those seem to be the two top favorites. The Pigtronix Rototron sounds cool too.

 

[firegate]

Neo Ventilator is the closest I've found to a real leslie cab. That said, my favorite vibe far and away is the Effectrode.

 

[TrueTone500]

Neo Ventilator is the closest I've found to a real leslie cab. That said, my favorite vibe far and away is the Effectrode.

I loved my original issue Effectrode Tube Vibe, but that was more of a Univibe effect. No braking, and no chorale modes.

 

[steve_k]

Try a Strymon Rex.

 

[TrueTone500]

Many are saying the Lex sounds too digital when you hit it with gain... ? It looks like it a nice compact unit, with a ton of control options. I keep going back to the Rototron clips...

The Neo Ventilator II has the brake switch built-in, and does the Rotosphere... The Rototron requires a separate switch, but it also lets you use 2 x gas pedals for controlling the rotor speeds.

 

[TrueTone500]

I ended up getting a Neo Ventilator II and a Hughes & Kettner Rotosphere MK II. I sent the Neo Ventilator II back, and kept the Rotosphere.

 

[gibson08]

I ended up getting a Neo Ventilator II and a Hughes & Kettner Rotosphere MK II. I sent the Neo Ventilator II back, and kept the Rotosphere.

Cool, hows the MKII? any complaints? thought about one of those myself.

 

[TrueTone500]

I ended up getting a Neo Ventilator II and a Hughes & Kettner Rotosphere MK II. I sent the Neo Ventilator II back, and kept the Rotosphere.

Cool, hows the MKII? any complaints? thought about one of those myself.

It's a cool piece of gear for sure. No complaints whatsoever. If you're looking for a more intense Leslie type effect in chorale (slow) mode, I would get a Fulltone MDV-3. I've found that I like to use the Rotosphere as tube boost with the rotor effect in static mode via the brake switch. Turn the brake on and off for some cool note morphing! The Neo Ventilator II is just too polished sounding to my ears.

 

[Bxlxaxkxe]

I'm by no means an expert with Leslie sims but I dig the roto setting on the Mobius. I've found a way to incorporate it into a bunch of songs. Fast or slow....it sounds fantastic. Extremely chewy when slow - very fun to play. If someone were to say they find it too polished...I would understand that. But that hasn't gotten in my way.

 

[TrueTone500]

I'm by no means an expert with Leslie sims but I dig the roto setting on the Mobius. I've found a way to incorporate it into a bunch of songs. Fast or slow....it sounds fantastic. Extremely chewy when slow - very fun to play. If someone were to say they find it too polished...I would understand that. But that hasn't gotten in my way.

I've never played Strymon modulation effects, but many say that they go digital when you pump them with gain... At least that's what I heard about the Lex. Is this true?

 

[Bxlxaxkxe]

I'm by no means an expert with Leslie sims but I dig the roto setting on the Mobius. I've found a way to incorporate it into a bunch of songs. Fast or slow....it sounds fantastic. Extremely chewy when slow - very fun to play. If someone were to say they find it too polished...I would understand that. But that hasn't gotten in my way.

I've never played Strymon modulation effects, but many say that they go digital when you pump them with gain... At least that's what I heard about the Lex. Is this true?

Not to the point that it sounds shitty. When I'm doing high gain I don't typically use any effects. My rhythm tone is slightly crunchy and the möbius sounds great here. Every effect, roto included, is so tweakable... For an all in one unit its killer. I went from 10+ pedals down to an OD, möbius, and delay and haven't looked back.

 

[scgtr]

I've never played Strymon modulation effects, but many say that they go digital when you pump them with gain... At least that's what I heard about the Lex. Is this true?

I haven't had that problem at all with them running in the loops of my Mesas. Both the Timeline and Mobius do organic sounding effects pretty well. They can go digital if that is where you want them to go (such as slight pitch detune for chorus like with an Eventide unit), but the analog sounds have an analog tone and feel to them.

 

[TrueTone500]

If you have a TC2290, try running your Leslie simulator in the #5 stereo switcher loop... It will literally make you sea sick!

The one thing I would like to do with the Rotosphere, is turn down the braking speed of the rotors. Going from fast to slow, I like it to be a bit more pronounced. Take another listen to Andy on the Rototron... It has a very pronounced acceleration/deceleration.

Look at the inputs... You can control the speed of the rotors using 2 x expression pedals.