I Need An Old Person! What Is This?

[DrPinto]

I came across this video and was wondering... what the heck is the brown box with the thing spinning in the top behind the keyboardist? Who makes it? You get a good view of it at 5:10.

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[JohnD]

Why, it's Leslie, a Leslie speaker, and it had two spinning parts, one in the bottom and the spinning horns on top.
Edit: Here is an explanation:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leslie_speaker
There also used to be as much voodoo with micing a Leslie as micing a snare drum. Such as one mic top and bottom, one mic bottom and two mics top (some times one with phase reversed) Mic the open back, Oh no, mic the louver side, better Doppler effect. Well, you get the idea.

 

[Footer]

Leslie 122 that is most likely being driven by a modified Hammond B3 (granted, that thing looks really close to a Fender Rhodes). You don't need an old person. You just need someone who has been around for just about any rock show ever. Any backline company worth their salt has 3 of each. Any stagehand that sees one roll in knows to be on the opposite side of stage when the case for that thing gets popped.

That speaker has done more for the sound of modern music then just about any other piece of gear. It is the one piece of backline gear that you can identify easily in any mix or recording. Hell, many guys even use them as guitar amps. Even with all the work companies like Nord have done to duplicate the sound of a leslie nothing beats actually hearing one at full volume. Granted, nord is really close to hitting the sound of a B3.

 

[Amiers]

To add further to the questIon. what do you guys think is sitting on top of the case. @ 5:14?

 

[JohnD]

Hammonds and Leslies are very popular in smaller churches who couldn't afford a pipe organ. It does make a joyful noise.
Here is a screen grab for @Amiers question:

 

[AudJ]

My dad has a b2 +perc and Leslie combo just sitting around. I grew up with that thing - bear to move around.

 

[FMEng]

Why, it's Leslie, a Leslie speaker, and it had two spinning parts, one in the bottom and the spinning horns on top.
Edit: Here is an explanation:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leslie_speaker
There also used to be as much voodoo with micing a Leslie as micing a snare drum. Such as one mic top and bottom, one mic bottom and two mics top (some times one with phase reversed) Mic the open back, Oh no, mic the louver side, better Doppler effect. Well, you get the idea.

And be sure to use a thick windsreen on the mic for the bottom, bass speaker. Quite a bit of air movement down there.

 

[AudJ]

To add further to the questIon. what do you guys think is sitting on top of the case. @ 5:14?

Hard to tell from the video - it could be almost anything. My dad used to hook up all kinds of gear to his setup. Might be for one of the other keyboards. Probably just dead weight to keep that thing from propelling itself into outer space!

 

[JohnD]

The electric piano he is playing looks like a Yamaha CP 70. The Hammond is on his left with what looks like a clavinet on top.

 

[Footer]

The electric piano he is playing looks like a Yamaha CP 70. The Hammond is on his left with what looks like a clavinet on top.

Nice call on the CP70. That thing looks like another back breaker. Have I mentioned lately I hate keyboards?

 

[JohnD]

How about the Hammond Porta B, it still had most of the weight and added finger smashing to the mix.
What I am curious about is what looks like a Wurlitzer console upstage, was that the stadium console?

 

[Lextech]

Nice call on the CP70. That thing looks like another back breaker. Have I mentioned lately I hate keyboards?

CP70s were bad not as bad as a real piano. They break down to two pieces. Bringing back memories of my youth....

 

[Robert]

CP70 two pieces and an easy load into the case. Still needed a piano tuner. Usually nice guys, but one that could do it under pressure was harder to fine. One who could do it during sound check was even better to find.
As to the object on the cabinet, I'm leaning toward a recording device.. Tascam, Nacamichi, Sony, or even a video recorder, cause it was a video tape of an opening act.

 

[DrPinto]

Thanks everybody for the info on this. This thing is too cool....I have to hear one of these in person! Does a Leslie speaker have any use in a theater, or is this only something that has to be used with an organ?

 

[JohnD]

It shouldn't be too hard to find one. Local smaller churches with an organist. Some really small churches have gone to a keyboard with midi tracks since they don't have an organist. Local music teachers who teach at home. College music departments. Just about any backline provider should have some.

 

[What Rigger?]

If you ever get Skynyrd in your venue, look out! The Leslie is just as loud as the guitar rigs (Gary's especially, if memory serves) running 5150 heads turned WAY up. Way, wayyyyyy up. It was indeed glorious!

 

[gafftaper]

Here's a video with everything you never wanted to know about how a Leslie works.

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[derekleffew]

And here's a visual graphical representation of the Doppler Effect:

Eeooowwwwwwwwwwwww.

 

[derekleffew]

Attentive viewers may have noticed this

during the musical segment on Colbert's Late Show premiere last night.

If you can't tell from the picture, upstage between Colbert and the chick is a Leslie 122 cabinet, connected to a Hammond B3 downstage played by Jon Batiste.

 

[TimmyP1955]

Not only do a lot of churches still use the B3 (or it's siblings) and Leslie, a lot of bands do as well - and not just old guys.