Lester K and Strymon Lex Mk1 - How close to Neo Ventilator?

[To B3]

Would like to know specifically to those who experienced those pedals: is the Lester K and the Lex mk1 too far from the staple leslie sim, the Ventilator?

 

The situation: I´d like to improve the leslie sim and overdrive of my older clones, a Korg digital CX3 (2005), a Nord Electro 2(2008) and a Roland VR09(2013).

 

Dont have the money to buy a new clone, so a leslie sim seem the right choice.

 

As I live in Brazil, the hardware leslie sims within my reach price wise are some new Lester K and some used Strymon Lex Mk1 that show up form time to time.

 

Ventilator or Burn is out of my reach definetly.

 

Questions are: how much of an improvement are those pedals from the internal sims of the aforementioned clones and specially, from the Ventilator (any model)? Overdrive and air movement are important.

 

I can´t test any of them in person, would have to jump it blind sighted. 

 

Watched may, many youtube demos and comparisons, but I´d love to know for real the real experiences. 

 

Is it worth it to bite the bullet and get one of those "lesser" spoken leslie sims or only the ventilator is the answer?

 

My main references organ style are Gregg Rollie, Gregg Allman, Ian McLagan, Billy Preston. So, blues, rock, funk, overdrive, air movement sensation, are all important.

 

Thanks in advance.

[Baldwin Funster]

I have a couple ventilators. I don't have the Lester or the Lex. I think the Lester is the least expensive and would work fine. I've heard youtube demos and they seem ok. No it's not a ventilator but it's also less than half the price. 

[D. Gauss]

I have a lester. I like it.

[Polychrest]

I used a Lester K with a digital Korg CX3 years ago as a practice rig.  It punched up the CX3 nicely.  Its small footprint made hitting the control buttons awkward sometimes.

[lightbg]

I plugged one into a Reface YC a while back. Take a look here:

 

It doesn’t move air, but it is better than the built in on my NE2 and C-1.

[JamPro]

Ya gotta love the convenience of the ready availability of digital video, but I don't trust online audio quality enough to think I can make discriminating judgements of musical tone from it.

[ElmerJFudd]

49 minutes ago, JamPro said:

Ya gotta love the convenience of the ready availability of digital video, but I don't trust online audio quality enough to think I can make discriminating judgements of musical tone from it.

However, all the comparison videos are being compressed in the same way on the YouTube.  
 

Your hardware spans a good chunk of time there, and each of those internal Leslie simulations represents a pretty good sound for the time period 2005-2013.  Playing solo or trio, yeah, I’d be interested in a dedicated DSP box for Leslie.   With band, meh.  Maybe it makes a difference to me on a song or two in the set.  It depends on what style of music your group is doing.
 

Yes, the Ventilator is still the king of the hill in stomp boxes.  But by how much?  Only you can decide if it’s worth the investment. Obviously carrying a real Leslie cabinet is not an option or you wouldn’t be curious about pedals.  

[cphollis]

15 hours ago, To B3 said:

 

As I live in Brazil, the hardware leslie sims within my reach price wise are some new Lester K and some used Strymon Lex Mk1 that show up form time to time.

If it were me, I'd go for a Strymon Lex V2 over the Lester K.  Yes, it's marketed to guitar players, but during my short time with it I found it much more musically useful than the Lester K, even more than my Vent II.  I don't have any experience with the V1 version. 

 

Full disclosure: I've been using the native sim on the more recent Nords and not using outboard gear.  For example, I find the leslie sim on the NS4 quite musical, and don't feel the need to bring any sort of pedal.

[UnderGroundGr]

I have Lex and i like it much better than the Ventilator...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[To B3]

Thanks for the answers so far! One thing I always read about the Lester K is the lack of volume. Is it really an issue?

 

Another thing I perceived from the vdeos is that, on slow, it sounds more like a chorus pedal. Real or just perception?

 

What about overdrive?

 

 

[CEB]

I have a Vent and I have a Lester K I got as a backup.  There is no comparison. The Vent crushes it.  
 

The secret sauce for the Vent is the overdrive and how the drive responds to the swell pedal.  The swirls are nothing. Everything does half decent swirlies.  
 

But that’s just me. 
 

I know nothing about the the Lex.  
 

I do like the Lester K on a guitar board.  

[To B3]

5 minutes ago, CEB said:

I have a Vent and I have a Lester K I got as a backup.  There is no comparison. The Vent crushes it.  
 

The secret sauce for the Vent is the overdrive and how the drive responds to the swell pedal.  The swirls are nothing. Everything does half decent swirlies.  
 

But that’s just me. 
 

I know nothing about the the Lex.  
 

I do like the Lester K on a guitar board.  

 

I imagine the Vent is superior, but the price difference is too much for me. Main thing ´dd like to know is how the Lester and the Lex behaves compared to the overdrive and leslie sims of my clones, that are older or more entry level.

 

Especially the 2000s Korg CX3, that lacks the most IMO on that department.

 

 

[Outkaster]

Sold my vent.  The SK Pro sim is very good. 

[J.F.N.]

16 minutes ago, Outkaster said:

Sold my vent.  The SK Pro sim is very good. 

 

Can you buy that as a pedal for a Korg digital CX3 (2005), Nord Electro 2(2008) or a Roland VR09(2013) ?

[Outkaster]

I like the sim on the Hammond SK Pro that is built in, that's what I meant.. Actually Jon (Tucktronix) on the forum here has a CX3 and Lester pedal that sounds good front of house. I got the vent because of the Korg Kroons I had at the time.  I just got rid of it because it was something more to set up in an already large rig.  Instead of comparing pedal to pedals, if possible, compare it to the real thing.  

[ElmerJFudd]

I had compiled some stuff in this thread a while back, maybe useful.

 

https://forums.musicplayer.com/topic/161071-leslie-sims-in-a-stomp-box-review-and-compare/

[To B3]

Thanks for all the inputs so far, guys! Gonna read and watch all the videos with atention,

 

Meanwhile, for all the Lester K people: does the slow speed sound chorus-y like on the videos? Have to say that it bothered me very much 😫

 

By chorus, I mean the guitar effect, not the hammond chorus.

[KRK]

ciao (someone already linked a couple o videos of mine 🤣).

just for a more complete "image" of all the possibilities, here a dedicated playlist with all of rotary simulations you answered about (and many other ones):

all rotary simulations 

(I tested other rotary simulation pedals too - Fender Pinwheel, SpinCycle, Nux Roctary, etc. etc. but they are some kind of tremolo for guitar, nothing remotely related to a Leslie for organ 😁).

 

maybe (in this moment) the Lex V2 is the top player, it respond to an organ in the right way, this particular video explain that it sounds definitely different (better?) than any other available simulators (the Burn is still my favorite but it is discontinued...).

and, compared to the Lex V1, the V2 seems to offer still more realism (despite they say it's the same simulation... but in my previous videos with the V1 it's clear that the sound is different 🤣).

 

🍻

 

[tucktronix]

I have been using a Lester K with my 2005 Korg CX3 for about 8 yrs now and I love it.

 

I used to own a Vent several years ago and sold it to get a Mojo61(they were backordered at the time, so I ended up getting an iMac instead).

 

If I were to compare the two, the Vent wins slightly in realism, BUT the Lester K IMO trumps it in tube saturation.. sounds much more warm and fat where the Vent can be very digital sounding if the drive is turned up to a certain point. Don't know about Lex V2 but didn't like the original Lex. 

[To B3]

11 hours ago, KRK said:

ciao (someone already linked a couple o videos of mine 🤣).

just for a more complete "image" of all the possibilities, here a dedicated playlist with all of rotary simulations you answered about (and many other ones):

all rotary simulations 

(I tested other rotary simulation pedals too - Fender Pinwheel, SpinCycle, Nux Roctary, etc. etc. but they are some kind of tremolo for guitar, nothing remotely related to a Leslie for organ 😁).

 

maybe (in this moment) the Lex V2 is the top player, it respond to an organ in the right way, this particular video explain that it sounds definitely different (better?) than any other available simulators (the Burn is still my favorite but it is discontinued...).

and, compared to the Lex V1, the V2 seems to offer still more realism (despite they say it's the same simulation... but in my previous videos with the V1 it's clear that the sound is different 🤣).

 

🍻

 

 

Big fan of your videos! I´m always rewatching them! Thanks for the contribution! The Lex seems fantastic, but it´s very rare here in Brazil, and that one that I mentioned is already sold :(. Guess it´s about the Lester now.

 

In one of your videos, I saw that you used the Lex with the VB3m, an organ plugin that I love. How did it cmpared to the sim on the VB3m? 

 

One other curiosity, does the Nux sounded that bad to you? It´s everywhere here and at a good price.

 

 

 

4 hours ago, tucktronix said:

I have been using a Lester K with my 2005 Korg CX3 for about 8 yrs now and I love it.

 

I used to own a Vent several years ago and sold it to get a Mojo61(they were backordered at the time, so I ended up getting an iMac instead).

 

If I were to compare the two, the Vent wins slightly in realism, BUT the Lester K IMO trumps it in tube saturation.. sounds much more warm and fat where the Vent can be very digital sounding if the drive is turned up to a certain point. Don't know about Lex V2 but didn't like the original Lex. 

 

Exactly the same board tha I have! How does the CX3 internal sim and especially overdrive compare to the Lester? I think the main problem of the CX3 is the overdrive, very, very digital. With some editing, I achieved a good simulation in terms of movement on the internal leslie. Would love to hear more, if possiblem about that chorus-y impression that I got with the Lester´s slow speed. If you have some videos too, woul be great!

 

[AnotherScott]

On 7/17/2024 at 6:02 AM, KRK said:

maybe (in this moment) the Lex V2 is the top player, it respond to an organ in the right way, this particular video explain that it sounds definitely different (better?) than any other available simulators

 

Right from the start, I didn't like that drive sound at all. Not only does it sound more "transistor" than "tube", but it also suffers from something I've seen elsewhere as well... it doesn't sound like an organ sound being overdriven... rather, to me, it sounds more like a clean organ sound with a second distorted sound being laid on top.

[J.F.N.]

55 minutes ago, AnotherScott said:

 

Right from the start, I didn't like that drive sound at all. Not only does it sound more "transistor" than "tube", but it also suffers from something I've seen elsewhere as well... it doesn't sound like an organ sound being overdriven... rather, to me, it sounds more like a clean organ sound with a second distorted sound being laid on top.

 

I full second you there, it sounds like the dist is apart from the organ sound, they're not "glued together"... 

[Baldwin Funster]

The overdrive area is where the vent is still the undisputed king. It even beats the HS onboard leslies. Even the Burn doesn't nail the 6550 tube flavor. 

[Jimbo Rocks]

Be sure and explore this, at least regarding the VR-09. https://v-combo.webspace.rocks/organ-settings  I wound up buying a Lester K, but frankly haven't been bowled over versus just tuning up the onboard Leslie settings.

[Baldwin Funster]

3 hours ago, Jimbo Rocks said:

Be sure and explore this, at least regarding the VR-09. https://v-combo.webspace.rocks/organ-settings  I wound up buying a Lester K, but frankly haven't been bowled over versus just tuning up the onboard Leslie settings.

There Is a pretty big difference between a vr09 leslie which I believe has a rotary effect close to the vk8 and the boss rt20, and the cx3  which is probably the rotary of korg G4 which is from the 80s?. The Lester would be a huge improvement over the korg. The Roland, somewhat marginal.

[KRK]

On 7/17/2024 at 11:00 PM, To B3 said:

Big fan of your videos! I´m always rewatching them! Thanks for the contribution! The Lex seems fantastic, but it´s very rare here in Brazil, and that one that I mentioned is already sold :(. Guess it´s about the Lester now.

thanks a lot!

 

 

On 7/17/2024 at 11:00 PM, To B3 said:

In one of your videos, I saw that you used the Lex with the VB3m, an organ plugin that I love. How did it cmpared to the sim on the VB3m? 

for sure the VB3m sounds great, considering the price 😁

and its internal leslie sim sounds great to me.

but the Lex has something more (you can compare with my VB3m videos).

 

 

On 7/17/2024 at 11:00 PM, To B3 said:

One other curiosity, does the Nux sounded that bad to you? It´s everywhere here and at a good price.

unfortunately the Nux and other similar pedals that I tested are not even comparable 😢   

 

 

 

concerning the Lex overdrive... yes, it's not strictly a "tube" drive.

but it has the plus of letting almost all frequencies "unchanged". 
this happens with the Burn too.

the Ventilator overdrive add some mid frequencies taste and drastically change the organ sound.

feel free to see the video  (in the linked playlist) with my hammond C3 and a SK2 clone: with Ventilator they sounds almost equal each other... so, the Ventilator can make a clone sound as the real one... or can make the real one sound as a clone 😁 (but... if you put a real C3 in a real leslie you hear a real hammond, if you put the Sk2 into the same leslie, you hear a digital clone, sounding different).
this is my experience with the Ventilator...

but no matter to me, I always use real leslie in studio and the tube amped Tornado for live gigs 😁

 

🍻

[AnotherScott]

1 hour ago, KRK said:

concerning the Lex overdrive... yes, it's not strictly a "tube" drive.

but it has the plus of letting almost all frequencies "unchanged". 

 

 

If it makes it sound/behave less authentically tcompared to the real Hammond/Leslie combination, I wouldn't see that as a plus, since that is almost always someone's goal.

 

 

1 hour ago, KRK said:

(but... if you put a real C3 in a real leslie you hear a real hammond, if you put the Sk2 into the same leslie, you hear a digital clone, sounding different)

 

if you put a real C3 in a real leslie you hear a real hammond, if you put the M-Solo into the same leslie, to me, you hear something virtually identical, at least based on the demo in the second video (and the paragraph preceding that video) at: 

https://forums.musicplayer.com/topic/186739-hammond-m-solo/page/5/#comment-2997346

 

[KRK]

On 7/20/2024 at 4:07 PM, AnotherScott said:

if you put a real C3 in a real leslie you hear a real hammond, if you put the M-Solo into the same leslie, to me, you hear something virtually identical, at least based on the demo in the second video (and the paragraph preceding that video) at: 

https://forums.musicplayer.com/topic/186739-hammond-m-solo/page/5/#comment-2997346

 

yes, the sound is VIRTUALLY identical with some settings, but definitely different with other 🙂 
there is still something "strange" with the clone (with all clones)...

(and yes, almost any vintage hammond organ with no recent maintenance sounds different on the same leslie, but this is not the case: here we can hear something "digitally strange" 🤣)

but this is normal and maybe in the next (near) years someone will make the PERFECT clone (all clones are growing exponentially in these last 10 years!)

🍻

[AnotherScott]

29 minutes ago, KRK said:

On 7/20/2024 at 10:07 AM, AnotherScott said:

if you put a real C3 in a real leslie you hear a real hammond, if you put the M-Solo into the same leslie, to me, you hear something virtually identical, at least based on the demo in the second video (and the paragraph preceding that video) at: 

https://forums.musicplayer.com/topic/186739-hammond-m-solo/page/5/#comment-2997346

yes, the sound is VIRTUALLY identical with some settings, but definitely different with other 🙂 
there is still something "strange" with the clone (with all clones)

 

Can you point out (i.e. a time reference) to where you're hearing the differences/strangeness? (Assuming it's not just what I mentioned myself in that preceding paragraph I referenced.)

[Outkaster]

We're still talking about the VR09?