Pictures of my Leslie 3300 unboxing

[davyyd]

Just wanted to share some images of when I received my Leslie 3300 the other day.

 

http://picasaweb.google.com/davyyd/Leslie#

 

The delivery truck was late on the day I had taken off work to sign for delivery. I called and they said that the truck was behind because it had to be towed out of a ditch! I verified that my item was on the truck, and waited a bit nervously for them to arrive. The box was a bit banged up, but there was no visible (or aural) damage to the leslie.

 

I have to say after playing it for about a week, that I am even more impressed with the leslie sim on the xk3-c. I suppose part of that is because I only played a real hammond / leslie (b2 & 31h) for four years in college and the vast majority of my experience with the sound has been through listening to recorded music and playing romplers. With a lot of recorded hammond / leslie, you get the sound swirling around your head because of the micing and stereo balance. The sim on the xk3-c reproduces this.

 

With the real leslie, there is a single source of sound, even though that sound is NICELY being thrown around the room. Different feeling than recorded / simulated.

 

If someone were building their Hammond piece by piece like I am, and asked me if they should get the leslie or the pedal board first, I'd probably say the pedal board. I went with the leslie, and while very happy with the purchase, think that the pedals would have brought me a larger step toward the full hammond organ deal.

 

Now to begin PAYING for it

 

David

[Outkaster]

So you are not really happy with it?

[davyyd]

Outkaster - sorry if I came across that way. I am VERY happy with it. I just wanted to voice my observation as someone reintroduced to a real leslie after a long hiatus. I also wanted to make the point that for the price, the pedal board gets you closer to the full hammond experience than does the leslie, since the sim is so good.

 

In the end, I wouldn't go without the 3300, as I am enjoying it very much.

 

David

[Outkaster]

OK I was wondering. I have an XK-3C and get compliments on it all the time.

[JMcS]

You might try lifting it up about a foot or so off the floor. I just tried that with mine a few days ago (after almost 2 years) and I was surprised by how much better the sound from the low rotor was thrown around and could be heard.

 

Also, you might try replacing the 12AX7 with an old 12AT7 or one of these new TechTube E813CC 12AX7 replacements:

 

http://www.techtubevalves.com/valves/e813cc.php

 

Good Luck and have fun.

[bhodaway10]

David, how are you getting it to gigs?

 

Do you have a van or....?

 

 

[davyyd]

bhodaway10

 

I have a dodge caravan, although I have yet to actually attempt to load it. We'll see if I can lift it in by myself.

 

David

[CEB]

You might try lifting it up about a foot or so off the floor. I just tried that with mine a few days ago (after almost 2 years) and I was surprised by how much better the sound from the low rotor was thrown around and could be heard.

....

 

I've stacked leslies in the past or have had a 122 or a Proline Leslie elevated and I always thought I lost low end response.

 

It seemed to me lower frequencies carried better if the cabinet sat on the floor. I have never tried raising the 3300 though. When I would elevate one is was usually on top a 2 or 3 foot road case.

[hookie]

bhodaway10

 

I have a dodge caravan, although I have yet to actually attempt to load it. We'll see if I can lift it in by myself.

 

David

 

You shouldn't have too much of a problem because the Caravan has a low load in. Just put the 3300 against the back bumper and tip it in - no need to pick up.

[JMcS]

I've thought the same thing, thats why I had mine on a platform about the same height as the wheels would have it. I'm not sure but it may be that bass is only boosted when the Leslie or other amp is on a floor that can resonate. I was recently trying to resolve an issue where the sound changed some when I moved or stood behind the bench. I have the 3300 and 21System about 10 feet in front of the XK-System and about 3' apart. My XK-3 is on top of the XK-System with a music rack on top of that so I have kind of a wall between me and the Leslies. Moving my head to look around the side of the XK-3 would cause the tone to change. It changed even more if I stood up. I raised the height of the platform - basically a square of cement blocks with a layer of fatigue mat, 3/4" plywood and another layer of fatigue mat between the top layer of block and the 3300. Now the low rotor and the 2121's 15" speaker are about the same height and the rotation of the low rotor is greatly enhanced. The horns are about head height when I'm sitting on the bench. I didn't notice a drop in low frequencies but I also run the subwoofer out of the 3300 into a stationary amp. Something else I've been trying to resolve is a fair amount of bass boost near the walls at the ends of the room. I built several carpet and laundry rack baffles a couple of years ago and they helped reduce it so the bass is only boosted near the end walls and I don't sit near them.

[bhodaway10]

bhodaway10

 

I have a dodge caravan, although I have yet to actually attempt to load it. We'll see if I can lift it in by myself.

 

David

 

You shouldn't have too much of a problem because the Caravan has a low load in. Just put the 3300 against the back bumper and tip it in - no need to pick up.

 

When you tip it in, do you lay it on it's side during transport or tilt it back upright on it's wheels?

 

Seems like a dumb question but it's pretty pointless if I have to get another car or a roadie to use the leslie.

[hookie]

bhodaway10

 

I have a dodge caravan, although I have yet to actually attempt to load it. We'll see if I can lift it in by myself.

 

David

 

You shouldn't have too much of a problem because the Caravan has a low load in. Just put the 3300 against the back bumper and tip it in - no need to pick up.

 

When you tip it in, do you lay it on it's side during transport or tilt it back upright on it's wheels?

 

Seems like a dumb question but it's pretty pointless if I have to get another car or a roadie to use the leslie.

 

I've always left it on it's side (techically it's front or back).

[lucasb]

I just got one, bhodaway, and it definitely is hard for me to move by myself (if not impossible) and takes up a lot of space. I am now wishing I had a bigger car to fit it plus my other stuff. Unless you have a van or truck, you probably have to tip it on its side.

[bhodaway10]

Wow w/ all of these people buying 3300's, either they've really gone down in price or goodbye recession!! j/k.

 

 

[MikeT156]

by davyyd:

 

If someone were building their Hammond piece by piece like I am, and asked me if they should get the leslie or the pedal board first, I'd probably say the pedal board. I went with the leslie, and while very happy with the purchase, think that the pedals would have brought me a larger step toward the full hammond organ deal.

 

I can appreciate what you're saying about getting the pedal board first. Eons ago I had a B3 and a Lesle 122 in my music room. I took a few years of organ lessons after several years of piano. My teacher told me to turn the Leslie rotors OFF and learn the music. JS Bach never had a Leslie, although a pipe organ is pretty darn impressive without a rotating speaker system! In a number of JS Bach songs, your feet are playing and your hands are not (Fugue in Dmin for one) so Pedals are a bigger part of the organ sound than a Leslie. The rotating speaker is cool for jazz and rock, but not mandatory for classical.

 

 

Mike T.

[NoahZark]

Cool pics. Like Christmas morning!

 

Noah

[_Maximus_]

ahh, nothing like the smell of new gear in the morning

[Jim Alfredson]

Once you play it for about a month, you won't want to go back to a sim.

 

I agree with jmcs. Change that tube; get an NOS RCA 12AT7 or similar. With a 12AT7 you can adjust the tube distortion to give you a beautiful 122-esque grunge when you really push the expression pedal.

[Ian Benhamou]

Nice Standtastic!

 

I see I'm not the only one who uses a keyboard stand with a shelf for computer monitors.

[Analogaddict]

Re: the real Leslie/Leslie sim, I did a gig last week where we shared stage with 2 other bands over a course of 3 days. We are two keyboard players in my band, I use a PC3 and a Motif ES rack for all sounds except Hammond.

 

Day one, I used my XK3c and my in-ears, day two I got to play a late 60's B3/142, and day 3 I was back to the XK3c. When I played the Hammond, the Leslie was raised and placed about 2 feet right behind me (just close enough to feel the airstream!). The Leslie was 'mono' miced with an SM57 on the treble rotor and an AKG something on the bass rotor, and the signal was fed to my in-ear system. I placed my PC3 on top of the B, and the line signals went to my in-ear too.

 

Sound-wise, I must say that the XK3c stood up very well. I wasn't allowed to dial in the tone I want on the B - I could play it, but not touch any settings - but sound wise, it was pretty close. The big difference for me is the feeling - having the bass rotor pump sound into my lower back with the in-ears giving me more precise information is AWESOME. And the way a real Leslie fills a stage, I guess it makes any band sound fuller and richer and really adds to the vibe. My personal feeling was that my other sounds seemed more defined with a miced Leslie than with a Leslie sim. The Leslie added air to the whole mix. I have a 3300 too, love it - but I haven't really felt that it's wort it for cover gigs, and it's usually behind me on the floor with no direct sound to me. Having the Leslie closer really got me going, and I'm going to bring the 3300 when I go back to that venue in a few weeks.

 

So, to sum it up, the Leslie sim sounds great, about 85% of a real Leslie speaker IMHO (which I consider really good!), but having the real deal adds to the feeling, in such an extent that it's worth bringing.