Leslie! Respect my Organ!

Roland VK-09 OrganA couple months ago I found a 1981 Roland VK-09 organ on Craigslist for a decent price so I figured I’d scoop it up. It has a unique sound, to be sure.  You’ll be hearing more of it in the months to come!

Boss RT-20 Rotary EnsembleNow, of course, I really want to try working with a Leslie simulator. The VK-09′s built-in ensemble effect is nice, but not as pronounced (deep) as I would like.  I was considering the Boss RT-20 Rotary Ensemble Dual Pedal, which seems, as I have now learned, to have fallen out of fashion. It is considered by many to be more of a guitar-oriented processor. Organists instead seem to prefer the uber-expensive Neo Ventilator, supposedly designed by the guy who created the Access Virus, who apparently also hasn’t updated his company’s web site in two years. Supposedly this little box is the holy grail of Leslie speaker sims. Neo has two products: the Neo VentilatorVentilator (at roughly $500), and the Mini Vent For Organ (at roughly $400). Contrast this to $200 for the Boss. Ugh. I only paid $200 for the organ!

My buddy Tomasz just told me he actually has a vintage Leslie speaker. Maybe I’ll see if we can get that working instead.

Meanwhile I came across this most excellent Leslie resource: