boynigel Posted March 28 Share Posted March 28 does anyone have any tips for getting a more convincing sound out of any of the Rotary/Leslie blocks, particularly at fast horn setttings? No matter what i do it always comes off sounding like a chorus pedal trying to mimic a rotary effect, at best. I have an H9 that does an "acceptable" rotary imitation, but i'd prefer not having to add an external pedal for the sake of one effect for one song. It probably doesn't help that i owned the Strymon Lex. Maybe the bar was simply set too high? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theElevators Posted March 28 Share Posted March 28 I like the sound of a dirty leslie... so I put it before the amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themetallikid Posted March 28 Share Posted March 28 I found Jason Sadites youtube video on his workaround to get a good sound works for me. Not sure how true it really is, but It gets me the sound I need. Also have seen some posts about not running it into a cab block as well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datacommando Posted March 28 Share Posted March 28 On 3/28/2023 at 10:20 PM, themetallikid said: Also have seen some posts about not running it into a cab block as well. ^^^^^THIS^^^^^ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boynigel Posted March 29 Author Share Posted March 29 On 3/28/2023 at 5:20 PM, themetallikid said: Also have seen some posts about not running it into a cab block as well. by default i don't use cab blocks because i use my LT into the effects loop return of my guitar amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waymda Posted March 29 Share Posted March 29 On 3/29/2023 at 11:24 AM, boynigel said: by default i don't use cab blocks because i use my LT into the effects loop return of my guitar amp. Well that will make it tricky, a leslie a speaker with a moving baffle and/or horn - so you're putting an emulated speaker into a real one. In addition, although not strickly stereo its an effect best perceived through binaural hearing (ie might as well be stereo) because of the movement of reflections in the space the speaker (cab) is in. That might explain your perception of it being more like a chorus. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boynigel Posted March 29 Author Share Posted March 29 On 3/29/2023 at 7:09 AM, waymda said: Well that will make it tricky, a leslie a speaker with a moving baffle and/or horn - so you're putting an emulated speaker into a real one right, and i get that. but the thing is, that's how i was doing it when i had the Strymon Lex which sounded phenomenal, and my H9 does a decent job too...although not quite as good as the Lex. I'm guessing that the Rotary effects are simply one of the weak effects of Helix. Nothing excels at everything, right? Maybe @craiganderton would have a suggestion/tip? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datacommando Posted March 29 Share Posted March 29 On 3/29/2023 at 1:38 PM, boynigel said: the Strymon Lex which sounded phenomenal… As you know the Strymon Lex was designed to produce that one specific effect, and it even has a cab filter for when it is not being run into a guitar amp and cab. Big clue - it’s tuned to that particular system. Your Helix does lots and lots of other stuff, but it is noted that if you want a Leslie Rotary speaker effect, you should not have it running into another cabinet. If you do it will sound more like a chorus pedal warbling - oh, guess what, that’s exactly what you have. Hope this helps/makes sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boynigel Posted March 29 Author Share Posted March 29 On 3/29/2023 at 8:57 AM, datacommando said: As you know the Strymon Lex was designed to produce that one specific effect right, which is why I won't fault the Helix, or the H9, for not being on the same playing field for that one specific effect. I knew it was a given that i'd never get the Helix version to sound that good, but figured i'd see if anyone had any hacks for getting at least a little closer. I'll probably just make do w/the Helix rotary for practices, and save schlepping the H9 just for gigs. we're too spoiled when we start bitching about having to schlep an extra pedal, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datacommando Posted March 29 Share Posted March 29 On 3/29/2023 at 6:44 PM, boynigel said: we're too spoiled when we start bitching about having to schlep an extra pedal, right? Yep, damn right. Plus you threw out an @craiganderton tag in an earlier post - if you had purchased his ebook on Helix (HINT!), you might have taken into consideration the fact you are actually running 4CM into a mono amp. Craig points out that all these Rotary FX are stereo. This was also mentioned in the post from @waymda, in an earlier post, stating that collapsing this down to mono is possibly contributing to the pseudo chorus effect. Ultimately, the general consensus of comments I have ever seen about the Helix Rotary FX, is it’s a speaker emulation, don’t run it into another speaker. Helix is a whole lot of stuff, but not absolute Nirvana. You’ve got the toys - stick ‘em in the FX loop - result eternal happiness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGW-Alberta Posted March 30 Share Posted March 30 I hear you. I also have a Strymon Lex and it's pretty tough to beat and like you I also have not been terribly impressed by the Helix rotary so I tend to use the UniVibe block instead. I know it's not quite the same thing and it too, like the rotary, is also not perfect but to my ears it does a little better and is close enough to get by on ... for now. I also have the H9 and I agree the rotary possibilities while being a little better than Helix are not as good as the Lex. There are actually a few things I have not yet found a way to achieve on Helix as well as I can with my stand alone pedals. Strymon Lex is one, Fulltone Deja-Vibe is another and EHX B9 is another one that is especially hard to duplicate with Helix, to the point I have stopped trying. I already use one of the four loops on Helix for 4CM and I keep thinking how much more versatile it would be if I put those three pedals in the other loops but then I think about the increase in stage footprint and the added complexity of the rig as regards set up and tear down so I just make do without them as best I can. It was kind of fortunate that the band I was in 6 years ago chose to stop doing a cover of Green Eyed Lady six months before I got Helix because without B9 I don't know how we would have accomplished that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z3albw1rr Posted March 30 Share Posted March 30 On 3/28/2023 at 3:18 PM, boynigel said: does anyone have any tips for getting a more convincing sound out of any of the Rotary/Leslie blocks, They've never been very good. I was messing with them last night again in fact. I was trying them before some drives rather than after and honestly... I kind of like them better that way. But they're still very much "not like what I hear on records". Since the rotaries tend to sound like a chorus emulating a rotating speaker, you're almost just as well off to use a chorus to emulate it! I find the chorus doesn't alter the overall tone so much. Have you tried the Legacy ones? IIRC they have a mix control where the stereo ones don't - or there's a balance between the horn and speaker, or some additional parameters that can help you dial in the sound a little more. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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