Jon May Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 While monitoring Hammond organ listings that come up on eBay I regularly read mention of a 'built-in Leslie speaker'. This one has a Leslie badge on the organ. Were there ever such speakers installed in Hammond organs or are these owners mistakenly (or otherwise) quoting the Leslie name because of its association with Hammond? "I'm well acquainted with the touch of a velvet hand..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B3Nut Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 Plenty of spinets and self-contained consoles starting around 1968 or so came with built-in Leslie modules (usually an 8" speaker with a foam rotor.) The T-200 and higher spinets were among the first, as well as the Phoenix solid-state spinet and the J-200 and higher spinets. The R-100 series had a Rotosonic drum Leslie unit built in, as did the Concorde and Elegante. The T-2xx/3xx/4xx/5xx series and the R-1xx series were the only tonewheel Hammonds to come with small Leslie units built in. They became standard issue in most of the line when the LSI era began. The internal Leslie units aren't as good-sounding as the external cabinets, though the Rotosonic drum units in the R-100, Concorde, and Elegante could sound quite rich for theatrical music. It was almost the equivalent of a Leslie 700 cabinet built into the console. Most organs equipped with internal Leslies could also control an external cabinet with no additional kits provided the correct cabinets were chosen for the organ (e.g. the Concorde was designed to connect to the 700 and 710 cabinets.) TP --- Todd A. Phipps "...no, I'm not a Hammondoholic...I can stop anytime..." http://www.facebook.com/b3nut ** http://www.blueolives.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CEB Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 No the Concorde has internal leslie speakers. Many home organs do. They are internal full range speakers with a rotating drum. It isn't the same as a free standing cabinet with 360 degree dual rotation goin on. But it is better than nothing. "It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne "A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!! So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B3Nut Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 Incidentally, the first collaboration between Hammond and Leslie after the anti-Leslie taboo was consigned to the dustbin was the custom cabinet for the X-77 console. Alan Young from Hammond (the man responsible for the Type 4 spring reverb tank we all know and love, as well as the father of the A-100 series) worked with Don Leslie on that speaker. TP --- Todd A. Phipps "...no, I'm not a Hammondoholic...I can stop anytime..." http://www.facebook.com/b3nut ** http://www.blueolives.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mate stubb Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 To me the iconic leslie sound requires a spinning horn. The full range drum didn't do anything to excite me at all. Moe --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B3Nut Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 I don't care much for the full range drum either. They're better for guitar than organ, and even then I prefer a 2-rotor Leslie for guitar, too. Fun trivia time: which manufacturer of organs was the first to incorporate an internal Leslie into their organs? TP --- Todd A. Phipps "...no, I'm not a Hammondoholic...I can stop anytime..." http://www.facebook.com/b3nut ** http://www.blueolives.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polkahero Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 I don't care much for the full range drum either. They're better for guitar than organ, and even then I prefer a 2-rotor Leslie for guitar, too. Fun trivia time: which manufacturer of organs was the first to incorporate an internal Leslie into their organs? TP I'll take a guess: Wurlitzer. '57 Hammond B-3, '60 Hammond A100, Leslie 251, Leslie 330, Leslie 770, Leslie 145, Hammond PR-40 Trek II UC-1A Alesis QSR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mate stubb Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 Gulbransen? Moe --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marzzz Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 Interesting. I understand Laurens Hammond did not look very favorably on Leslie speakers back in the day.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B3Nut Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 Gulbransen? Ding ding ding ding ding! Yup, Gully. Once Dick Peterson started putting Leslie modules in his organs, others followed suit. Hammond was the last holdout. TP --- Todd A. Phipps "...no, I'm not a Hammondoholic...I can stop anytime..." http://www.facebook.com/b3nut ** http://www.blueolives.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveMcM Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 Wurlitzer came up with their own version of an internal rotating speaker for their spinet and console organs. They actually mounted two opposing speakers (around 5" diameter as I recall) to a cylinder, and that cylinder was mounted to an arm with a counterweight on the other end. The center of the arm was attached to a motor. So the speakers themselves rotated. Didn't sound that great but was an interesting ripoff of the Leslie unit. Wm. David McMahan I Play, Therefore I Am Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B3Nut Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 They also made a standalone tone cabinet with that unit. Spectratone, they called it. Many years prior they had made a speaker-firing-into-a-shallow-scoop rotary speaker for their amplified reed organs, it looked similar to a tallboy Leslie. They're quite rare, I've never seen one in the flesh. The old Wurlitzer amplified-reed organs sound amazingly pipelike, especially given the vintage. TP --- Todd A. Phipps "...no, I'm not a Hammondoholic...I can stop anytime..." http://www.facebook.com/b3nut ** http://www.blueolives.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon May Posted July 28, 2011 Author Share Posted July 28, 2011 Well I'll be a monkey's whatsit. Thanks for your input everyone. B3nut - your name is aptly chosen! "I'm well acquainted with the touch of a velvet hand..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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