Best affordable Leslie/vibe?

I like my BBE Soul Vibe. The Cool Cat is decent as well but I prefer the jack/ knob placement of the BBE. The newer edition has way nicer paint/ knobs now as well. I have the old graphics with the cool dude on the front and replaced the silver knobs with chicken head knobs so I can adjust them w/ my feet.

 

I have a "Rocky Road" and updated to a "Line 6 Roto Machine".

I also have a Cool Cat, but it's a "Vibe" pedal not a rotary type.

For the price the Line 6 is pretty decent. They aren't made anymore but they show up used on Ebay.

I bought a Destination Rotation pedal used, but had to send it back to the manufacturer to be checked out. Haven't been able to compare it to the others yet.

 

Oops I thought that he wanted a vibe pedal as per the title of the thread.

 

Thread title is confusing to me, as Leslie
and vibe are two different things.

 

If he wants a Leslie sim the Behringer does a great job for the price.

I used one for a gig where we were opening for another band and I happened to be set up right in front of their keyboard player's real Leslie cabinet.

After our set, a couple of guitar player friends (assuming I had been using the Leslie they saw behind me) said "sounded great when the Leslie kicked in - you really can't beat the sound of a real Leslie". They were totally fooled.

To be honest, it's not that close (I probably wouldn't use it to record with) and there are better sims out there but you'd have to pay a LOT more to get one that was significantly better.

 

For a fast Leslie, just about any Chorus pedal will do it.

 

Cheap Univibe = Moen Shaky Jimi

 

since Leslie and vibe aren't the same thing, I'll discuss leslie:

The Rocky Road IS INDEED quite good- AFTER a very simple mod. (if anyone wants the mod, PM me or email me).

I thought the Behringer was awful, and the Line 6 was just ok (I think they have discontinued this pedal anyway?)

Today, your best best would probably be the Tech21 RotoChoir... not expensive, alot of people like it (I don't, but I've owned several high-dollar leslie pedals), but "good" and "affordable", the Tech21 is probably your best bet.

But I'll tell you- after the mod, the tonal quality of the Rocky Road can go toe-to-toe with Rotosim, Rotoshpere, and any other leslie sim out there. No joke. It's not real tweakable, it is what it is, but if you like what it is, it's really good. I'm not selling mine (and I have a Rotosphere). The only downside is, for live use, the footswitches are too close together. Otherwise, the little bugger rocks.

Leslie pedals I have owned:

Rotosphere
Behringer Rotary Machine
Line 6 Roto-Machine
Option5 Destination Rotation 2
DLS Rotosim
Strymon LEX
Rocky Road (modded)
Rotosphere (again... and I'm keeping this one)

 

Dayum, GAS for one of those little Rocky Roads now... what does the mod do, exactly?

 

The RR has a built-in volume and gain jump, making it sound crappy even with the gain control turned down. It also makes it noisy. The mod, which 1 resistor and 1 capacitor, fix that. Brings it down to unity volume, and makes the gain range start at 0.


check it:

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/stomp-box/574-any-thoughts-dano-rocky-road.html

 

i have an obsolete Korg AX1G that does an awesome leslie sim

no foolin, it's great for those "Green Onions" and "Hillbillies from Outer Space" moments

these things can be had for next to nothing

 

especially in combination with a tremolo

 

The Boss RT-20 does both rotary (Leslie) and vibe, although the rotary sound is better than the vibe and when you switch between the two sounds various knobs (sometimes just the Balance) need to be twiddled.
Most rotary pedals have a pronounced midrange, which is technically accurate, because that's what real Leslies sound like. The Boss has a bit less of this often un-tweakable flavor, as you can adjust the balance between the horn and the woofer. It's really just a tone control, but nice to have.

 

The $100 price point is tough for a Leslie. The Behringer may be your best bet for a full-featured sim, but beware: the only way to change speed is to hold the stomp switch for 2 seconds. For me, that's a deal-breaker; I like to change speed to accentuate phrases.

OTOH, I don't know of any sub-$100 full-featured Leslie sim that's any better, so...

If you want just a fast Leslie sound, a chorus will get you into the ballpark.

If you want a good slow Leslie sound, consider the EHX Stereo Electric Mistress (actually ~$120, so not quite in the target price range). This has both a flanger and a chorus; mixing a bit of both at a slow speed does a really decent job of capturing the throb and grind of a slow Leslie.

Of course the same pedal can also do a fast Leslie (more chorus, more speed, less flanger).

 

Cool! Thanks for the link! I think I'll grab one if I see them around for cheap, I'm still not paying 55$ for one

 

Having owned the Tech21 Rotochoir, I do not recommend it.
Having tried quite a few Leslie sims, if you're going to spend
229.00 on a Tech21, spend 100.00 more and get the DLS
Rotosim. It is extremely tweakable. And it sounds great.

As to vibe, I'd just find a used VDL Micro-Vibe. No modding
required.

 

The Dano and Line 6 are both great value.

 

Hardwire TR-7

3 tremolo's
Leslie
Vibe
Vibrato

 

I won't endorse any vibe pedals under $100. IMO the best deal out there is the Source Audio Orbital Modulator for $170. 17 modulation effects, 9 tweakable parameters, 2 saved presets, tap tempo, optional external control & all effects sound great. Save your money & get this one.