How do you mic a leslie speaker ?

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bbeck

New member
I need to know how to mic a leslie speaker for live recording and studio and also should it be stereo or mono panned left or right. Are there any gospel engineers out there that could help me ?
 
bbeck said:
I need to know how to mic a leslie speaker for live recording and studio and also should it be stereo or mono panned left or right. Are there any gospel engineers out there that could help me ?
Click to expand...

A keyboard player that I worked with years ago used to put a SM 57 on each horn and panned them hard left and right for LIVE performances. I'd do the same for recording but I'd play with the pan to find out where it sits best in the mix.
 
7string said:
A keyboard player that I worked with years ago used to put a SM 57 on each horn and panned them hard left and right for LIVE performances. I'd do the same for recording but I'd play with the pan to find out where it sits best in the mix.
Click to expand...

Each horn? A Leslie has only one horn.

People do it different ways. The way I do it is mic the back of the Leslie, one mic on the tweeter and one on the woofer. Not so close that you hear the wind blowing. I use cardioid, not super- or hypercardiod, so that the mics hear the speaker coming around better. How close depends on your room and the sound you want.

I've tried recording the Leslie in stereo, but I get motion sickness when I listen back...
 
AGCurry said:
Each horn? A Leslie has only one horn.

People do it different ways. The way I do it is mic the back of the Leslie, one mic on the tweeter and one on the woofer. Not so close that you hear the wind blowing. I use cardioid, not super- or hypercardiod, so that the mics hear the speaker coming around better. How close depends on your room and the sound you want.

I've tried recording the Leslie in stereo, but I get motion sickness when I listen back...
Click to expand...
Ditto ..... except the sick part.
:)
 
I always use a single mic about 4' away from the cab about two thirds the height of the cab from the floor. I've used everything from a Shure 545 to AT4033's with great results. I find it easier to set it in a mix with a mono mic.
 
In general, people tend to put two mics on the horn, and one on the lows. The panning issue is definately a "to taste" thing.
 
Track Rat said:
I always use a single mic about 4' away from the cab about two thirds the height of the cab from the floor. I've used everything from a Shure 545 to AT4033's with great results. I find it easier to set it in a mix with a mono mic.
Click to expand...

Me too.................some guys disengage the bottom speaker so it will not rotate and mic the top. Do a google search for leslie and you will find some other options.
 
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AGCurry said:
Each horn? A Leslie has only one horn.

People do it different ways. The way I do it is mic the back of the Leslie, one mic on the tweeter and one on the woofer. Not so close that you hear the wind blowing. I use cardioid, not super- or hypercardiod, so that the mics hear the speaker coming around better. How close depends on your room and the sound you want.

I've tried recording the Leslie in stereo, but I get motion sickness when I listen back...
Click to expand...

His Leslie had a big horn on the bottom that rotated in the opposite direction of the smaller horn on top. Now I don't know if they've changed over the years but this was back in the late 70's / early 80's.
 
Well yeah .... I suppose technically the lower unit could be called a horn. It's actually a rotating woofer enclosure. The woofer fires down into the enclosure which spins so the opening is rotating.
 
The top rotor setup has two horns but one is a dumby just for a counter weight. Sound only comes out of one.
 
I borrowed my accordion player friend's Cordovox Leslie and amp.

Quite an interesting thing, but it sounds authentic!

Seems to be some kind of weird crossover. (Some?) Bass comes out of the amp while the rest comes out of the Leslie. It also has unusual grill positions for the speakers with no opening on the back.

Will be interesting to mic, but it sounds good, so hopefully I won't have a problem throwing some 57s on it.
 
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