Best way to change speeds on Rotary?

theblogjammers

Experienced
What's the easiest way to set up changing the rotary speed? Could I toggle between two different channels--do I need two Rotary blocks on two scenes? I know I could just use a pedal, but sort of like the toggle switch possibility.

Thanks, just getting started on my FM3 journey.
 
I would set up a control switch and attach it to the speed parameter. That allows you to do a gradual change from slow to fast and reverse.
This happens already with the Rotary block. There is a parameter for the ramping speed. So changing channels works great. Each channel can even have their own speed. Ramp up can be different than ramp down.

I also like to sometimes have the mix a bit higher on the slow speed, as well as some other differences between the two channels.
 
This happens already with the Rotary block. There is a parameter for the ramping speed. So changing channels works great. Each channel can even have their own speed. Ramp up can be different than ramp down.
Hmmm.... Might be worth a look. Hadn't thought about that variable - different ramp up/down times. Using a control switch currently, but it could just as easily be a channel toggle, and then a scene switch could automagically set the rotary to Chorale or Vibrato....
 
Just a tip for creating threads: make the post title a summary of your post.

A better title would have been:

easiest way to set up changing the rotary speed
The thread isn't about scenes and channels it's about Rotary speed.

On the actual topic you've already got good answers... But personally I use an expression pedal assigned to speed and setup for auto engage.
 
Just a tip for creating threads: make the post title a summary of your post.

A better title would have been:


The thread isn't about scenes and channels it's about Rotary speed.

On the actual topic you've already got good answers... But personally I use an expression pedal assigned to speed and setup for auto engage.

Changed title--thanks!
 
Did this and works great--thanks!
Cool... An expression pedal is a great way too. You can use 'Auto-Engage' to turn it on as soon as you move the pedal past the threshold (you can set it up for toe or heel down), and then have complete control over the speed, within a predetermined range. Then park the pedal, and it turns off.
 
I use an expression pedal for this. I have used a genuine leslie onstage, and of course it only has two speeds. But I love being able to manage the speed myself so that I can manage the rate manually. As noted above, use the ramp control to keep the rates from changing too abruptly.

That said, I have a few patches where I set an LFO to control the rate. This is because I am using the rotary as part of a big tone path, and I want to create movement in the audio field that is deliberately not aligned with the tempo; this makes it more organic sounding.
 
Normally, I'd like an expression pedal, but just toggling a switch is easier for me when singing--I love the ramp up and down of the rotary.
Technically, the real deal has a switch, Chorale - Brake - Vibrato, and inertia fights the speed change to create differing ramp up/down times for the horn and rotor, the interaction of which when switching speeds is a big, magical part of the Leslie sound.

They have a pair of 2-speed electric motors, each with a thin belt-drive pulley setup: one for the bass/low-mids rotor and one for the high-mids/treble horn. The horn piece looks like it has two horns pointing opposite ways, but one is just for balance, and does not project sound, so you get one direct blast of highs per revolution.
 
What's the easiest way to set up changing the rotary speed? Could I toggle between two different channels--do I need two Rotary blocks on two scenes? I know I could just use a pedal, but sort of like the toggle switch possibility.

Thanks, just getting started on my FM3 journey.
Similar to some responses, I use two channels on the Rotary block, one for Chorale (slow) and the other is for the Tremolo (fast), then I add a hold function to the Rotary block's bypass switch to toggle the two channels, so I can easily speed or slow the rotation.

The horn length parameter is very useful for increasing or decreasing the depth of the sound, more so than using the mix or level, at least to my ear. I bumped the length to 50% which I think sounds more like the leslies I've heard on stage with me; they have quite a pulse and that is important to make it obvious it's a leslie when it's rotating slowly. I also set the Stereo Spread to 75% because I like how it sounds with my dual monitors.

I'm in the process of setting up a per-preset switch override so in the presets where I have the rotary to add a brake, as that's an important part of the sound.

I've seen LFOs used to change the rotation speed in some presets, but the end result isn't very expressive. Leslie speed is used for expression, speeding up to add some additional tension, then slowed to relax it, or stopped (braked) to emphasize something, then released. Instead of an LFO, maybe an envelope follower that increases the speed when we play harder would be more useful. I haven't bothered to try it because switching channels with the hold function works well for me.
 
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I use channels on the block. With four options from slow to very fast. The block respects the ramp damping settings when you change channels.

If you look at one of my recently posted AFIII presets like Dad & Co in axe-change you’ll see exactly how I have my rotary block configured.
 
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