Hiwatt Thoughts

[Bradley Young]

John,
 
I knew that the larger drivers are static mounted (I play in a Pentecostal church, so Hammond + Leslie is de rigueur), but I wondered what the rotating horn would sound like with a guitar.  Does he actually use the vibrato?
 
This is giving me really bad ideas.  Showing up at church with my own Leslie might provoke an arms race.  (cue maniacal laughter)  
 
Brad

[lbpesq]

Brad:
 
You might want to check out Motion Sound.  They make a series of modern smaller Leslie like rotating speaker amps.  The Sidewinder AR112 is specifically made for guitar.  It has the rotating drum around the speaker - foot controllable with a choice of two setable speeds and you can also set the rise time - how quickly it accelerates.  Comes with an internal mike so you can run it through the P.A. no problem.  All of their amps and cabs are smaller and more convenient than original Leslies.  I recently picked up a used AR112.  Pretty cool.  Here's a link to their web site:
 
http://www.motion-sound.com/
 
Bill, tgo

[David Houck]

Actually, I believe it is the case that the most popular Leslie cabs for rock use had rotating horns and rotating bass speakers.  Source.

[David Houck]

I just finished reading the Leslie article that I cited in the above post.  It's pretty interesting reading.  The article dates from 1981; so there's probably better information elsewhere on the web.  But it's still a nice read.  One highlight - how to get the sound on Born To Be Wild.

[lbpesq]

If you read the article carefully, neither the horn or bass speaker actually rotates.  The horn feeds a sound tube on one side while there is a dummy sound tube on the other side for balance as the unit spins.  The actual horn is in the middle in the bottom facing up into the sound tube.  Similarly, the bass speaker itself doesn't rotate, it fires into a rotating chamber - the same system used on the Motion Sound.  By the way, a check of the Motion Sound site shows they recently came out with a 2x12 cab with rotating chamber that attaches as an extension speaker to your amp. I'll  be checking this one out.  They also used to make a 1x12 extension rotating cab, the SR-112.  samash.com still has these for $449.
 
Bill, tgo

[811952]

The Leslie thread-hijack has moved to here: http://club.alembic.com/Images/449/26621.html?1143394117,
 and I asked Beeson about Hiwatts amps last night, to which he replied he hasn't seen a decent used Hiwatt anything in years.  Sorry to bear the bad news.  
 
John

[kmh364]

Jon:
 
Did you get one yet? Inquiring minds wanna know!  
 
Cheers,
 
Kevin

[ox_junior]

I wish I'd seen this thread when it was first started.
 
Johnathan - it really depends on how close you absolutely want/need/have to get to, say, Pete Townshend's tone (I assume that's what you're going after - either him or Gilmour).  And, of course, how much you're willing to spend.
 
I can tell you that my guitarist has the new Pete Townshend signature series Hiwatt.  Using the right guitar at the right settings, yes - it absolutely sounds exactly like Pete's old tone (assuming you have a similar attack, etc.).  
 
This might muck things up a bit but if you're a true PT aficionado and are in a situation like us (tribute band striving to get everything right), then yeah - the extra grand is worth it if you have it.
 
If not....your friends have given you some other options.
 
Watch e-bay for SOUND CITY gear too - the same makers as Hiwatt, just a different nameplate.
 
Cheers and good luck!  Mike

[jalevinemd]

Mike,
 
I've been waiting for you to chime in. Thought about e-mailing you off site, but life gets busy. I'm not looking for EXACT PT or DG tone...just a basic platform to get me in the right direction with them as well as others. I use quite a few effects. So, for me, that extra $1000 might not be worth it.
 
Kevin,
 
Haven't taken the plunge. I'm still debating. If I can't find a vintage Hiwatt in the condition I want, I'll probably go with the Reeves.
 
Regards,
 
Jonathan