Has anyone ever built themselves a rotating speaker?

stickyfiddle

As titled. 

I might be mad but I have access to a decent wood shop and I’m giving myself ideas. 

Gassage

A friend of mine is building a Maestro currently. Send me your number and I'll hook you both up

stickyfiddle

Gassage said:

A friend of mine is building a Maestro currently. Send me your number and I'll hook you both up

Maestro Rover?!  

Supportact

No but I have 'rehoused' one. It came out of an old Gulbransen organ that was sadly bound for the skip. It still had a built in Leslie speaker and I couldn't stand the idea of it getting scrapped so I removed it for use on its own. 

It wasn't too difficult because the body of the organ could come apart so you could take it out still in its 'frame', so I just had to build a box around it. I made a basic control panel by drilling an aluminium plate and attached components to that (jack input, on/off switch, speed switch, power input and switch). I wasn't confident about the electrics so an electrical engineer I knew at the time told me what to put on the control panel and then he finally wired it all up. 

It works fine and I've used it for recording,  and I feel good that it didn't get scrapped. It doesn't include an amplifier so you have to plug an amp in to drive it (I've got a little 5w head I use for the purpose.). Obviously I didn't have to build any of the rotating speaker mechanism which is the complicated bit. 

stickyfiddle

@gassage Obviously I'm being a knobhead  

I'd love to get in touch! Will ping you

Nerine

Ok. Silly question time. 

In a rotating speaker cabinet, or Leslie or whatever, what happens with all the wires? 

Edit:

The speakers are stationary and project into the top horns and bottom drum. 

That said, I’m sure I’ve seen speakers actually rotate on old school videos - not necessarily on Leslie cabs. 

stickyfiddle

@nerone I wondered the same thing until I looked into them in a lot more detail 

The Yamaha ones do have whizzy speakers in the top section. Those look like **great** fun

Supportact

Nerine said:

Ok. Silly question time. 

In a rotating speaker cabinet, or Leslie or whatever, what happens with all the wires? 

Edit:

The speakers are stationary and project into the top horns and bottom drum. 

That said, I’m sure I’ve seen speakers actually rotate on old school videos - not necessarily on Leslie cabs. 

Some of them have a stationary speaker and there's a kind of baffle that spins around to create the effect. 

Some do have an actual speaker that spins around though.  My one (which I mentioned above) is one of those. The wires plug in to a special socket which is where the speaker pivots round. The plug socket spins so the speaker wires stay put. You can see in this picture the drive belt and where the wires plug in:

Winny_Pooh

Wood shop will be the smallest part of the challenge. Cheaper in time & cost to buy an old Mesa or Yamaha. Maybe run a mini vent in stereo for a while and decide whether you actually like the sound That much. 

stickyfiddle

Winny_Pooh said:

Wood shop will be the smallest part of the challenge. Cheaper in time & cost to buy an old Mesa or Yamaha. Maybe run a mini vent in stereo for a while and decide whether you actually like the sound That much. 

I really like the sound - I’ve been running a Keeley since that launched, and more recently a Lex, and love the swirls 

But really it’s more about having a fun project as it is about needing the effect and needing to do it practically instead of with a small pedal 

Making stuff is good for the soul

steamabacus

I was watching TPS live VCQ yesterday. They had Seth lee Jones with them and he spoke about how he converted the smaller, underpowered and 'cheap as chips' Leslie (can't remember the model no) - basically, ripping out the top horn and amplifier and putting a light class D amp in it. [edit] It's the 21H.

1h 36m 26s of this video ...

monquixote

Everyones favourite Eurovision failure has done a few videos on them.

bennyg85

I have a Jennings PO1 I'm going to sell this year. The original speakers are long gone and I've never actually powered it up in fear of damaging it. Would be a great restoration project for someone with the space.

gretschthumper

I've thought about it - 3d printed drum + pwm controller & dc motor, probably 8" speaker to keep the size under control ... then my 3d printer conked and it went on the back burner

Reading this thread makes me think about reviving the idea ... wonder how else you could make the drum?

MartinB

gretschthumper said:

I've thought about it - 3d printed drum + pwm controller & dc motor, probably 8" speaker to keep the size under control ... then my 3d printer conked and it went on the back burner

Reading this thread makes me think about reviving the idea ... wonder how else you could make the drum?

The old single rotor internal version that was used in home organs use a moulded polystyrene drum, at the firmer end of the material but very light. And I think some of the standalone versions like the Fender Vibratone used the same. I wonder if a 3D printed material might be on the heavy side - I'd almost be inclined to try making the drum from something like a foam insulation board material stacked up to the necessary thickness with the scoop carved out, and perhaps something applied to the inside of the scoop to form a harder, more reflective surface. 

stickyfiddle

I've seen a lot of builds use some kind of foam for the drum. I wonder if you could do something with simple cardboard, though I agree 3D printing would be fun to explore, especially for a smaller build like a 6-8" version

gretschthumper

Foam insulation board - didn’t think of that, sounds like a good idea ... lighter is good. . . stick it onto a circle of thin mdf with a bearing & a pulley to a motor, put the whole thing in a box with a speaker on top and a slot in it.

Easy-peasy!

stickyfiddle

gretschthumper said:

Foam insulation board - didn’t think of that, sounds like a good idea ... lighter is good. . . stick it onto a circle of thin mdf with a bearing & a pulley to a motor, put the whole thing in a box with a speaker on top and a slot in it.

Easy-peasy!

Simple, right…?!?!?  

gretschthumper

stickyfiddle said:

gretschthumper said:

Foam insulation board - didn’t think of that, sounds like a good idea ... lighter is good. . . stick it onto a circle of thin mdf with a bearing & a pulley to a motor, put the whole thing in a box with a speaker on top and a slot in it.

Easy-peasy!

Simple, right…?!?!?  

Hehe ... you got me thinkin' now! 1200x450mm (75mm thick) pir insulated board is about 20 quid on ebay - 3 circles of that stacked glued and carve the chute/horn/whatever it's called .. already have plywood for the box & 8" guitar speaker ... buy small DC motor & pwm controller for varispeed, turn up pulleys on me lathe & sort a belt ...

Might actually work?

MikeP

I think any successful design surely needs to involve a bicycle?

gretschthumper

MikeP said:

I think any successful design surely needs to involve a bicycle?

Yes! Pedal powered, now we're talkin' ... you could even use the derailler gears for speeds!