Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Leslie speaker
The Leslie speaker is a combined amplifier and loudspeaker that projects the signal from an electric or electronic instrument and modifies the sound by rotating a baffle chamber ("drum") in front of the loudspeakers. A similar effect is provided by a rotating system of horns in front of the treble driver. It is most commonly associated with the Hammond organ, though it was later used for the electric guitar and other instruments. A typical Leslie speaker contains an amplifier, a treble horn and a bass speaker—though specific components depend upon the model. A musician controls the Leslie speaker by either an external switch or pedal that alternates between a low and high speed setting, known as "chorale" and "tremolo".
The speaker is named after its inventor, Donald Leslie, who began working in the late 1930s to get a speaker for a Hammond organ that better emulated a pipe or theatre organ, and discovered that baffles rotating along the axis of the speaker cone gave the best sound effect. Hammond was not interested in marketing or selling the speakers, so Leslie sold them himself as an add-on, targeting other organs as well as Hammond. Leslie made the first speaker in 1941. The sound of the organ being played through his speaker received national radio exposure across the US, and it became a commercial and critical success. It soon became an essential tool for most jazz organists. In 1965, Leslie sold his business to CBS who, in 1980, sold it to Hammond. Suzuki Musical Instrument Corporation subsequently acquired the Hammond and Leslie brands.
Because the Leslie is a sound modification device in its own right, various attempts have been made to simulate the effect using electronic effect units. These include the Uni-Vibe, the Neo Ventilator, or Hammond-Suzuki's own simulator in a box.
Leslie worked as a radio service engineer at Barker Brothers Department Store in Los Angeles, which sold and repaired Hammond organs. He bought one in 1937, hoping it would be a suitable substitute for a pipe organ. He was disappointed, however, with the sound in his home compared to the large showroom where he originally heard it. Consequently, he attempted to design a speaker to overcome this. He initially tried making a cabinet similar to Hammond's, but soon concluded that pipe organs produced a spatially varied sound because of the different location of each pipe. He set out to emulate this by making a moving speaker. He tried various combinations of speakers and speeds, and discovered that a single one running at what's now known as the "tremolo" speed worked best. After further experimentation, he decided that splitting the signal into a rotating drum and horn helped accentuate bass and treble frequencies.
By 1940, Leslie decided his prototype was ready to market, and went to the Hammond Organ Company to demonstrate it. Laurens Hammond, however, was not impressed with Leslie's attempt to better his own organ design, and declined to market it. The company even changed the speaker interface on their organs to make them "Leslie-proof," though Leslie quickly worked around this. Leslie began manufacturing the speaker in 1941—initially under a variety of names, including Vibratone, Brittain Speakers, Hollywood Speakers, and Crawford Speakers. He returned to the name "Leslie Vibratone" in 1947. To counteract Hammond's slogan "Music's Most Glorious Voice," Leslie added a similar slogan, "Pipe Voice of the Electric Organ" to the plates. He eventually owned nearly 50 patents on the speaker.
Leslie manufactured the speaker to work with other organs besides Hammond, including Wurlitzer, Conn, Thomas and Baldwin. He never particularly liked Hammond organs, once remarking "I hate those damn things."
In 1965, Leslie sold his Electro Music company to CBS, which had also acquired the Fender guitar company. In 1980, the Hammond Corporation finally bought Electro Music and the Leslie name from CBS. After Hammond went out of business in 1986, a former engineer re-established Electro Music, licensing the name from Noel Crabbe, who had acquired the rights to Hammond. It was subsequently sold to Suzuki in 1992, who continue to manufacture the speaker.
A Leslie speaker consists of a number of individual components. The audio signal enters the amplifier from the instrument. Once amplified, the signal travels to an audio crossover, which splits it into separate frequency bands that can be individually routed to each loudspeaker. Different models have different combinations of speakers, but the most common model, the 122, consists of a single 15" woofer for bass and a single compression driver and acoustic horn for treble. The audio emitted by the speakers is isolated inside an enclosure, aside from a number of outlets that lead towards either a rotating horn or drum. An electric motor rotates both horn and drum at a variable speed. The Leslie uses a dual horn; its symmetry is used for mechanical balance, however one of the horns is audibly blocked.
Hub AI
Leslie speaker AI simulator
(@Leslie speaker_simulator)
Leslie speaker
The Leslie speaker is a combined amplifier and loudspeaker that projects the signal from an electric or electronic instrument and modifies the sound by rotating a baffle chamber ("drum") in front of the loudspeakers. A similar effect is provided by a rotating system of horns in front of the treble driver. It is most commonly associated with the Hammond organ, though it was later used for the electric guitar and other instruments. A typical Leslie speaker contains an amplifier, a treble horn and a bass speaker—though specific components depend upon the model. A musician controls the Leslie speaker by either an external switch or pedal that alternates between a low and high speed setting, known as "chorale" and "tremolo".
The speaker is named after its inventor, Donald Leslie, who began working in the late 1930s to get a speaker for a Hammond organ that better emulated a pipe or theatre organ, and discovered that baffles rotating along the axis of the speaker cone gave the best sound effect. Hammond was not interested in marketing or selling the speakers, so Leslie sold them himself as an add-on, targeting other organs as well as Hammond. Leslie made the first speaker in 1941. The sound of the organ being played through his speaker received national radio exposure across the US, and it became a commercial and critical success. It soon became an essential tool for most jazz organists. In 1965, Leslie sold his business to CBS who, in 1980, sold it to Hammond. Suzuki Musical Instrument Corporation subsequently acquired the Hammond and Leslie brands.
Because the Leslie is a sound modification device in its own right, various attempts have been made to simulate the effect using electronic effect units. These include the Uni-Vibe, the Neo Ventilator, or Hammond-Suzuki's own simulator in a box.
Leslie worked as a radio service engineer at Barker Brothers Department Store in Los Angeles, which sold and repaired Hammond organs. He bought one in 1937, hoping it would be a suitable substitute for a pipe organ. He was disappointed, however, with the sound in his home compared to the large showroom where he originally heard it. Consequently, he attempted to design a speaker to overcome this. He initially tried making a cabinet similar to Hammond's, but soon concluded that pipe organs produced a spatially varied sound because of the different location of each pipe. He set out to emulate this by making a moving speaker. He tried various combinations of speakers and speeds, and discovered that a single one running at what's now known as the "tremolo" speed worked best. After further experimentation, he decided that splitting the signal into a rotating drum and horn helped accentuate bass and treble frequencies.
By 1940, Leslie decided his prototype was ready to market, and went to the Hammond Organ Company to demonstrate it. Laurens Hammond, however, was not impressed with Leslie's attempt to better his own organ design, and declined to market it. The company even changed the speaker interface on their organs to make them "Leslie-proof," though Leslie quickly worked around this. Leslie began manufacturing the speaker in 1941—initially under a variety of names, including Vibratone, Brittain Speakers, Hollywood Speakers, and Crawford Speakers. He returned to the name "Leslie Vibratone" in 1947. To counteract Hammond's slogan "Music's Most Glorious Voice," Leslie added a similar slogan, "Pipe Voice of the Electric Organ" to the plates. He eventually owned nearly 50 patents on the speaker.
Leslie manufactured the speaker to work with other organs besides Hammond, including Wurlitzer, Conn, Thomas and Baldwin. He never particularly liked Hammond organs, once remarking "I hate those damn things."
In 1965, Leslie sold his Electro Music company to CBS, which had also acquired the Fender guitar company. In 1980, the Hammond Corporation finally bought Electro Music and the Leslie name from CBS. After Hammond went out of business in 1986, a former engineer re-established Electro Music, licensing the name from Noel Crabbe, who had acquired the rights to Hammond. It was subsequently sold to Suzuki in 1992, who continue to manufacture the speaker.
A Leslie speaker consists of a number of individual components. The audio signal enters the amplifier from the instrument. Once amplified, the signal travels to an audio crossover, which splits it into separate frequency bands that can be individually routed to each loudspeaker. Different models have different combinations of speakers, but the most common model, the 122, consists of a single 15" woofer for bass and a single compression driver and acoustic horn for treble. The audio emitted by the speakers is isolated inside an enclosure, aside from a number of outlets that lead towards either a rotating horn or drum. An electric motor rotates both horn and drum at a variable speed. The Leslie uses a dual horn; its symmetry is used for mechanical balance, however one of the horns is audibly blocked.