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Are these leslie speakers?

H

Hexar

Member
Hi Guys,
I got a Baldwin Organ last weekend, I think it is a model 71, with 8 12AX7, 6 6BQ5 tubes.

Two of the main speakers are 12", but there is another 10" speaker that is facing down with a motor driving a chamber below the speaker.

I google'd a bit, and it seems that this is called "Leslie" speaker, but mine does not have the spinning horn set. Is mine still considered Leslie speaker? And what use for it?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/44032251@N02/4114963211/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/44032251@N02/4114963145/

The speaker number for the 12" speakers is A513-024925, so these were made by Becker?

Thanks!
 
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Yes, at least leslie style... It could be the actual brand too... Many were made with a tub like this that spun, changing the direction the sound came out giving the tremolo effect... These aren't near as sought after as the older versions with the spinning horns.
 
So this is all enclosed inside the organ enclosure itself - maybe underneath it (sort of)? I assume that this is not a whole separate upright-standing cabinet (That's what the bigger, more-sought-after Leslie cabinets look like). The best ones are the big wooden ones that were designed to go with Hammond B3's, C2's, etc.. Those are awesome for playing a guitar through. I really want Fender's version of the Leslie called the Vibratone (I can't remember for sure, but I think Harrison played a Vibratone on Cream's "Badge" - Or at least he or Clapton did - I used to know that stuff a lot better, but now it's a bit fuzzy). It's an extremely-cool sound. I want both a Vibratone AND a Leslie (The models are numbered rather than named).

Some Leslie-type speaker systems (Usually they were single units - not in pairs like your typical home speakers). There's nothing like the sound of an original Hammond B3 through a full-size Leslie. There's a guy in CT named Al Goff who is the absolute world authority on all things Hammond and Leslie. While I was at his shop, he showed me Gregg Allman's original Leslie cab that he used for all the old, classic Allman Brothers stuff (like "Fillmore East", "Eat A Peach", "Idlewild South", "Brothers And Sisters", .... all of it). He was the guy for Ray Charles, Paul Schaeffer, Chuck Leavell (the guy who played piano on the Allman Brothers' "Jessica"), and basically anyone who was famous for playing a Hammond B3. I've always loved that sound.
 
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That's quite an amp. I would assume it's a mono amp, but it's huge for a mono one. I wonder how it would sound paired-up with an identical one to use as a home audio setup.
 
Gang-Twanger said:
That's quite an amp. I would assume it's a mono amp, but it's huge for a mono one. I wonder how it would sound paired-up with an identical one to use as a home audio setup.
Click to expand...

that is my planning... although finding a second/matching one will be "hard"... :d
 
Can we see a picture of the whole thing (externally, so as to view the whole organ)?

That amp looks like it can put out some sound.
 
Gang-Twanger said:
Can we see a picture of the whole thing (externally, so as to view the whole organ)?

That amp looks like it can put out some sound.
Click to expand...

Sure, I will have to take some more pictures tonight after I get back home. The original owner told me that some of the tubes need replacing, and it takes 1 minute to warm up. So I did not bother to try it.
 
Gang-Twanger said:
" I really want Fender's version of the Leslie called the Vibratone (I can't remember for sure, but I think Harrison played a Vibratone on Cream's "Badge" - Or at least he or Clapton did - I used to know that stuff a lot better, but now it's a bit fuzzy). It's an extremely-cool sound. I want both a Vibratone AND a Leslie (The models are numbered rather than named)....."

I was given one of those old Vibratone cabinets by a nephew who found it in a closet of an apartment he had rented. I got it running mechanically but didn't have the foot switch to control it while you're playing guitar. While doing some research on it, I discovered that Pink Floyd used one on Dark Side of the Moon. Specifically, it is the part where there are some female voices that have have a warble as they hold some 'ahs'. Can't remember the track. What they did was run the vocals through a Vibratone cabinet and them mic'd it. It was later made famous by Stevie Ray Vaughn who used it on some of his 80s records.

The cabinet was originally designed to add the Leslie sound to a guitar and the cabinet has all the connections to hang it off a Fender amp - plug and play. You could even put two of them on either side of the stage for even more effects.

Prolly more than you wanted to know......and I play sax!

Cheers,

David
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The song was "Us And Them". I've played that on a Vibratone before. I also have a Vox 2x12 Valvetronix combo (the first Valvetronix series that came out) that has built-in digital effects, and it actually can do great Vibratone and Leslie sounds. The Vibratone has a slightly-different sound than a Leslie. It's really got it's own thing going. And it works way-better with guitars than a Leslie does. And it was indeed used on a lot of really-cool 60's and '70's classic rock songs.

God, I want a Vibratone so bad. I love that sound.
 
Gang-Twanger said:
The song was "Us And Them". I've played that on a Vibratone before. I also have a Vox 2x12 Valvetronix combo (the first Valvetronix series that came out) that has built-in digital effects, and it actually can do great Vibratone and Leslie sounds. The Vibratone has a slightly-different sound than a Leslie. It's really got it's own thing going. And it works way-better with guitars than a Leslie does. And it was indeed used on a lot of really-cool 60's and '70's classic rock songs.

God, I want a Vibratone so bad. I love that sound.
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Easier to travel with than a HUGE speaker.

http://www.hughes-and-kettner.com/products.php?mode=prod&id=14&hus=941a9bb11a908c17c2ad8f7156b9b687

It sounds really good too. Try one out you will not be disappointed.
 
i read that on dark side of the moon , gilmour used Yamaha's version of the rotating
speaker, driven by Hiwatt amps.
 
unless you intend to revoice the tube amp, and dump the speakers , you won't
do much but destroy a vintage musical instrument . those speakers will never
sound good with hifi . as a peter frampton style guitar amp , it would be cool, but thats
about it .

i'd suggest selling it and buying something you need.

musical instrument amps and speakers almost never sound good for stereo.
 
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Hexar said:
Thanks guys,
It is all in the back of the organ enclosure, I have not tried it yet. I am thinking to gut the organ (pity since the wood and everything is really good), and use the tubes/transformers.

Here is the chassis, how come the 2 OT are different? and the middle bigger OT has 4 6BQ5?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/44032251@N02/4115068633/
Click to expand...

...on the different size OPT's,I believe 1 powers the high scale the other the low. I had a Maggie mono amp like that. I asked the same question of a guy that restores tubed guitar amps....that's how he explained it to me. :yes:
 
Hexar said:
Thanks guys,
It is all in the back of the organ enclosure, I have not tried it yet. I am thinking to gut the organ (pity since the wood and everything is really good), and use the tubes/transformers.

Here is the chassis, how come the 2 OT are different? and the middle bigger OT has 4 6BQ5?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/44032251@N02/4115068633/
Click to expand...

Two seperate amplifiers. One for the two speakers mounted on the organ's faceplate and a smaller one for the Leslie-type speaker.
 
Do any of the rocker switches on the concole say "Leslie"? If it is a genuine Leslie spkr then there will be a switch marked with the name, otherwise it will just say tremelo or vibrato or something similar as Leslie is a copywrited company name. I used to have an old Lowery organ and it did have a genuine Leslie speaker allthough it was an 8" but it did have a paper label glued to it stating it was a Leslie and one of the speaker selectors stated as such. I gutted the organ as it eventually ceased to function and was just too much moola to rebuild but I did keep the Leslie assembly and am making it into a portable Leslie for when we play gigs. I just refuse to move the full sized Leslie from the studio.
 
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