steel guitar through a Leslie 122 and 18 (vibratone) demo

Ethan Shaw · Post by **Ethan Shaw** » 16 Feb 2024 7:39 am

Here's a video I made demonstrating what a guitar and steel guitar through a Leslie 122 and Leslie 18/Fender Vibratone sound like. I've loved that sound ever since I heard Curly Chalker use it. It's also interesting to hear the difference between the two. I hope y'all enjoy it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wz7KPE2m_h0

Will Houston · Post by **Will Houston** » 16 Feb 2024 3:28 pm

Good demo, thanks. Always loved that Leslie sound, that 122 is a bad boy.

Website · Post by **Brad Bechtel** » 17 Feb 2024 3:50 am

Nice job! I never knew I wanted one of these before.

Larry Dering · Post by **Larry Dering** » 17 Feb 2024 12:29 pm

Those are some cool sounds. I'm a big fan of the B3 Hammond tone and I am looking at some pedals to use in place of the real thing. Have you tried them and what was your experience?

Ethan Shaw · Post by **Ethan Shaw** » 20 Feb 2024 11:54 am

Thanks, y'all, I appreciate you watching! Larry, you can definitely get close with a pedal, especially in a live situation. I was able to get a boss rotary ensemble to sound very similar to a vibratone.

David Laveau · Post by **David Laveau** » 20 Feb 2024 8:42 pm

Larry Dering wrote:Those are some cool sounds. I'm a big fan of the B3 Hammond tone and I am looking at some pedals to use in place of the real thing. Have you tried them and what was your experience?

I'm a fan of the older/bigger Neo Ventilator,
but have heard folks like the smaller/newer one also

Worth looking into at least maybe - good luck on the journey

J D Sauser · Post by **J D Sauser** » 21 Feb 2024 10:27 am

I like both on the slow setting. But I wonder if it's worth the investment.
We have a B3 clone Organ, and found that by using TWO amps (L & R) the organ's built in "Leslie"-effect is GREAT (we use Nashville 400's), while it didn't impress at all with only one amp. I would like to think that a good Leslie effect with 2 Outputs ought to be able to do a good job with two amps too.

But sure, it never has the "vibe" and coolness of a big loud piece of wooden Real Estate the big ol' Leslies well are.

Cool!... J-D.

Ethan Shaw · Post by **Ethan Shaw** » 22 Feb 2024 9:55 am

JD, you're right: two amps definitely gets you closer, but you can't beat the real thing for the actual sound. Portability is a whole different story, though.

Larry Dering · Post by **Larry Dering** » 29 Feb 2024 5:15 pm

I've heard some cool tones from the Electro Harmonex stuff. Agreed 2 amps helps with the spread and tone of a B3. The real deal is awesome for sure.

Andrew Roblin · Post by **Andrew Roblin** » 2 Aug 2024 6:21 am

If you're on a budget, there's a cheap alternative.
Lots of organs with built-in Leslies are being discarded or given away.
You can pull the Leslie from the organ, then have a tech add a quarter-inch jack to it so you can connect your steel.
I did this and it worked fine for home use. To heighten the Leslie effect, I put a cardboard box with a opening over the whole thing.
Andrew Roblin
Cardboard Box Recording Studios