Rotary Speaker Emulators

The most famous rotating speaker, the Leslie, generated a distinctive fluctuation in volume and in pitch. Emulations like the Shin-ei Uni-vibe were based on a phaser to achieve a similar effect. In fact, the Uni-vibe’s creator Fumio Mieda said its inspiration was not the Leslie, but the sound of radio signals being modulated in the atmosphere. In any case, players regarded it as a workable replacement for the rotating speaker.

TG Recommends

NEO MINI VENT II

The Neo Mini Vent II is spartan almost to a fault. Designed for keyboard players, it only has two controls, bypass and speed. It can be run in mono and stereo, and sounds best in the latter mode. The reason to consider it for your own ’board is simple: it’s a convincing replica of a Leslie, with pitch and volume modulation and an elegant simplicity.

Bestfor Fantastically authentic sounds

STRYMON LEX

The Strymon Lex is every bit as authentic as the Neo, but also gives you control over several parameters. However, while control of mic distance, horn level and the speed of the rotor in ‘fast’ mode are nice to have, they’re not essential once set. The one control that you will definitely use is the preamp drive, for dialling in extra saturation.

Bestfor Deeper control options

Also Try

TC Electronic Vibraclone

For the price, a decent vintage-voiced, mono digital rotary speaker emulator.

EHX Lester K Rotary Speaker Emulator

A great stereo emulation of the rotary sound, with more controls than most players would need.

Jim Dunlop Rotovibe

Mono Uni-vibe emulation and expression control, all in the same unit.