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The Leslie speaker is a combined amplifier and loudspeaker that modifies the sound of an electric musical instrument by rotating a baffle chamber ( drum) in front of the loudspeaker. 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. Some models have two speed settings, known as Chorus effect 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 organ or theatre organ, and discovered that baffles rotating along the axis of the speaker cone gave the best 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, beginning 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, becoming popular with 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 . These include the Uni-Vibe, the Neo Ventilator, and Hammond-Suzuki's own simulator in a box.
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 on the speaker.
Leslie manufactured the speaker to work with other organs besides Hammond, including Wurlitzer organ, 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.
The only control common to all Leslie speakers is a dial that controls the master volume. This is normally set up once and then left, since the organ's expression pedal normally controls the volume. Leslie recommended playing the organ at full volume with all organ stop (drawbars) pulled out and adjusting the volume just before distortion occurs. However, the distorted sound of an overdriven vacuum tube amplifier can be a desirable sound, to the extent that modern Leslie simulators have an explicit "overdrive" setting.
Control of a Leslie speaker is normally catered for by an external two way switch, between two settings marked "chorale" and "tremolo". The switch is mounted onto the controlling instrument, so the player can easily switch settings. Some earlier models were limited to "off" and "tremolo", and some later models had all three settings. The switch can be used while notes are being played, and the sound of changing between the two settings is part of the characteristic sound. On both settings, the treble horn rotates slightly faster than the bass woofer; about 50 revolutions per minute (rpm) for "chorale" and 400 rpm for "tremolo", compared to the woofer's 40 rpm and 340 rpm respectively.
Unlike most popular music amplifiers, that use to connect to instruments, Leslie speakers use an Amphenol connector to interface directly to an organ via a console connector. The type and design of the connector depends on the organ and model of Leslie speaker.
Older models that used tube power amplifiers use a variety of six-pin connectors, while later models use nine-pin connectors. In all cases, for a single organ – Leslie configuration, the mains power, audio and control signals are all carried on the connector, and the design of the pin layouts varies between organs and speakers. Care is taken when attempting to service them since an incorrectly or poorly wired cable can cause permanent damage to the organ or speaker, or result in electrocution. It is also possible to connect multiple Leslie speakers to a single organ, by using a power relay that provides the necessary AC current.
A separate device, known as the combo preamp, is necessary to connect a vintage Leslie to another instrument such as a guitar. This combines a separate AC input and line level input onto a single Amphenol connector, and provide a footswitch to select between the speeds of the Leslie. Modern products such as the Trek II UC-1A allow any instrument with a phone jack connection to use a variety of Leslie speakers.
Modern Leslie speakers have 11-pin interfaces that are safer to service, as the mains power is carried separately using standard IEC mains connectors. The Hammond-Suzuki Leslie 2101 also includes line in and line out jacks, so a combo preamp is no longer required. Its settings can also be controlled via MIDI.
The next models Leslie produced were the 21H and the 22H, which had a cabinet in a similar styling to the better known 122, with the same dimensions and louvres. They were powered by a 40 watt tube amplifier.
The 147 is the "universal" version of the 122, designed for many organs, and has a different amplifier input and motor speed control, but is otherwise identical. The signal input is unbalanced, allowing a simpler connection to organs that have a built-in speaker system, such as the Hammond A100, or a Wurlitzer. The motor speed switching uses a separate AC power signal, rather than the Direct current voltage control of the 122. In operation, the noticeable differences between the 122 and the 147 are the 122's lower susceptibility to induced noise, and a delay between operation of the speed control and the actual change in speed. As with the 122 and 142, the 145 is identical to the 147, except that it is housed in a cabinet, and thus slightly easier to move. As with the 122, Hammond-Suzuki manufactures a modern replacement, the 147A. The model X-77, released in 1968, was designed to accompany Hammond's new tonewheel / transistor organ, the X-66. It contained seven different tab controls and six speakers. It has a completely different interface from other Leslies, using a 12-pin amphenol connector.
The Pro-Line series was durable and fault-tolerant, with many models lasting for years. However, because they used solid-state amplifiers, they are not as highly regarded as the older tube-based Leslies, because they lack the characteristic sound when the amp is overdriven.
The smallest Leslie is the Model 16, made in 1970. It has a Fender-like speaker body and a rotating foam dispersion block. It was built for guitarists, portable, and had "Leslie" written on the front. It contained just a single 10-inch speaker, and was designed to be powered by an external amplifier, and contained an additional output for an extension speaker. Control of the speaker was via two switches, one of which controlled the speed and one switched the rotors on and off. It was also released later as the Fender Vibratone.
Much of the Leslie's unique tone is due to the fact that the system is at least partially enclosed, whereby linear louvres along the sides and front of the unit can vent the sound from within the box after the sound has bounced around inside, mellowing it. The crossover is deliberately set to 800 Hz to give the optimum balance between the horn and the drum, and is considered an integral part of the speaker. The tone is also affected by the wood used. Tone differences, due to cost cutting using particle board for speaker and rotor shelves instead of the previous plywood, are evident in the Leslie's sound. The thinner ply of the top of the cabinet adds a certain resonance as well. Like an acoustic instrument, a Leslie's tone is uniquely defined by its cabinet design and construction, the amplifier, crossover and speakers used, and the motors—not merely by the spinning of rotors.
Miking a Leslie is also important in a recording studio, as the choice and positioning of microphones determines the overall recorded sound. A popular recommendation is two Shure SM57s on the horn and a Sennheiser MD 421 on the drum. Recording Magazine's Dave Martin suggests a similar setup, with various microphone models used as stereo pairs on the horn but using an Electro-Voice RE20 on the drum instead. Keith Emerson recorded his Leslie using a single mic each on the horn and the drum, but with the covers removed.
Most modern keyboards that emulate the Hammond organ also include a Leslie simulator, including Hammond's own XK-3c and the Nord Electro. However, there is still a market for standalone simulators. Hughes & Kettner's Rotosphere has received good reviews for accurately producing the sound of a Leslie speaker with a tube amplifier. The Neo Ventilator has been particularly praised for its accuracy in emulating the sound of a Leslie. Sound on Sounds Mark Ashfield described it as "quite simply the best Leslie speaker simulator to date", while a Keyboard Magazine reviewer was "blown away by how authentic the Ventilator sounds". In 2013, Hammond-Suzuki started manufacturing their own Leslie simulator in a effects unit.
Although "She Rides with Me" was not a hit record, Leslie-processed sounds soon became a prominent feature of psychedelic music. The Beatles first recorded with a Leslie in June 1965 when George Harrison was overdubbing one of his lead guitar parts on "It's Only Love". According to author Andy Babiuk, the band's "Tomorrow Never Knows" (1966) marked the first time that a vocal was recorded using a microphone wired directly into the input of a Leslie, after John Lennon had asked for his voice to sound "as though I'm the Dalai Lama singing from the highest mountain top". They went on to use a Leslie throughout the sessions for Revolver in 1966.
The Beatles inspired others to use the speaker. Harrison played through a Leslie in his guest appearance on Cream's song "Badge" (1969), and Richard Wright used a similar setup when recording with Pink Floyd.
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