mini leslie ....

[Delaware Dave]

Stumbled onto this by accident. Something to do during the Covid-19 times ....

 

Footnote: The leslie you hear in the videos is the finished product. 37 pounds and $800.

 

part 1

 

part 2

 

part 3

 

part 4

[DaveMcM]

That's awesome! Wish I had those skills. And tools. And time.

[Outkaster]

That's too much freakin work.

[Konnector]

Quite the undertaking to build that. Easier to go out and buy a Vent, but people like that enjoy the challenge and work involved more than anything else. I can relate. I've built things over the years that I could have just gone out and bought or paid someone to build for me. No fun or personal reward in that though. (Provided the build works out OK that is!)

[Outkaster]

It's strange to me that people always want to reinvent the wheel when it comes to Leslie speakers.

[eric]

Wow. That dude"s a mad scientist. It"s hilarious he kept the green plastic bottles for the upper rotor. I wonder how it sounds?

[cassdad]

Absolutely incredibly impressive, Scott! Nice work! After seeing all the labor, equipment, materials and engineering that went into that, I'm thinking maybe $3K for a Model 3300 isn't so unreasonable after all!

[Delaware Dave]

I wonder how it sounds?

The music playing in the background of the 4 videos is through the leslie he built, which he calls it Looselie.

[Markyboard]

It's strange to me that people always want to reinvent the wheel when it comes to Leslie speakers.

 

[AnotherScott]

If I could buy a 37 lb Leslie for $800, I would.

[Baldwin Funster]

That still looks pretty big. Cant he make it smaller?

[zukskywalker]

Sorry to jack this thread but IMHO it"s for a noble cause: to the op, I recall having recently read a post somewhere where there was a mention that you (of all people) do not have a Hammond console. Any interest in a maybe free A100?

[zukskywalker]

Good question, at that size he could 'simply' hotrod a 120.

But there"s nothing like a true frankenleslie.

[Delaware Dave]

to the op, I recall having recently read a post somewhere where there was a mention that you (of all people) do not have a Hammond console. Any interest in a maybe free A100?

 

FAKE NEWS!!. Seriously, did you read my signature before you posted the above?

 

In regard to the A100, if it's free and has no issues, let's talk.

[Konnector]

Just missing some LED's to light up that see through cabinet.

[stoken6]

If I could buy a 37 lb Leslie for $800, I would.

This.

 

I expect the ~$800 is parts only. There's a hell of a lot of labo(u)r in that thing as well (did I see him hand-wire a tweeter coil?). But as a volume-production* proposition for Hammond-Suzuki, or a boutique company like Crumar, a small, lower-power leslie with a 6-8in woofer is highly interesting. Bonus points for pre-installed mics, although that might add to the cost and reduce flexibility.

 

Cheers, Mike.

 

*Pun unintended!

[Bif_]

I breezed through his videos, a bit too much "cute" sound effects for me to intently watch. Interesting to see how creative this guy is but I'm not sure how some of his part choices equate to the reality of the finished parts and certainly the sound. His low frequency speaker spins in the same direction as the horn, so not authentic there......not sure authenticity matters. Some of his home-made parts may not stand the test of time.

 

One funny thing I noticed was when he said someone was throwing out two speakers because one was bad, and he had the idea to use one of them in his project. I laughed at that......"Wow, I got this nice speaker for free, now I can make a cool mini-Leslie." So, if I got that right, he saved $30 on a speaker then spent $800 and a lot of time. Probably the worst $30 anyone ever saved. LOL.

[ABECK]

Sometimes it's fun to just see if you can make something yourself....even if it's reinventing the wheel. Tinkerers gonna tinker. Love it. But - anyone else put off that the motors rotate in the same direction? I assume counter rotation adds to the effect, but could be making an assumption.

[Delaware Dave]

I noticed that the drum appears to spin faster than the horn in chorale. sounds kind of weird. I have to say that a 37 pound cutdown leslie is pretty cool. The Motion Sound Pro 3T was 27 pounds and I would output the low rotor sim to my keyboard amp (now PPA). The Vent though is much more convenient at the end of the day.

 

It's interesting how your priorities change as you get older; lighter smaller and less trips to the car trump authenticity, compromises suddenly are more rational than they were 20 years ago.

[stevie b]

Interesting, at 38 lbs. I'd get one if it sounds good. I'm still carrying a Traynor K4 for my rig and getting older by the minute.

[Kurt W]

But - anyone else put off that the motors rotate in the same direction? I assume counter rotation adds to the effect, but could be making an assumption.

 

Interesting question. Also wonder if Don Leslie made this intentionally or if it was a consequence of the motors for the horn and rotor was mounted in opposite directions to save space. The Pro Leslie 900 series actually have the motors mounted in the same direction with the horn and rotor moving the same way.

[bill bosco]

yea , didn't the upper and lower rotors on the original leslies spin in the same direction ? anyway the video was fun ,

but of course , who needs a 37lb plexiglass leslie anyway ?

[zukskywalker]

Sorry about that, just now seeing your sig, and yes this 100 will need a bit of work. I got it off of some kids that pulled the speakers and were about to attempt a chop. it does spin up but I've got to replace a few missing tubes before I actually get to hear it and do a full inspection.

[Threadslayer]

... if it was a consequence of the motors for the horn and rotor was mounted in opposite directions to save space.

That was always my assumption. I also couldn't help thinking that Don Leslie's garage probably looked pretty similar to this guy's when he was cobbling together the first Leslie prototype.

[mate stubb]

Regarding motor direction - as others have said, original 1 speed Leslie's had both motors hanging and everything turned in the same direction.

 

When they added the slow motor, the motor stack was too tall and would have collided with the amp, so the bottom stack was mounted upside down.

 

Fun fact: you can install the fast motor armature upside down if you want to switch the direction of rotation. The last time I reassembled one after cleaning I did this accidentally. It was a bit weird watching the horn slow down and switch direction when changing speeds.

[Doug Robinson]

I think these videos were just fantastic! Thanks, man. I am in awe of your skills and your persistence. And on the final video, the motif you were playing from about 8:09 on was really sweet.