Neo Instruments Ventilator vs a real Leslie 122

[gladeasy]

Okay - it is C. So why is it so dang bright? Gotta' say I'm really impressed with the vent. B seemed too clean although with a bit of distortion (and a nice vibro-slap hit when changing speeds) I'm not sure I could tell the difference.

[gladeasy]

A sounds nothing like a 122 while B and C both sound very good. B seems a bit too clean even though C seems a lot brighter than my 122. I think I hear the clicks when changing speeds on C so - I'm going with that.

[shango02005]

Excellent comparison! I appreciate this video!

[mikoduciel]

Well it's nice to hear the ventilator in a good use but clearly, it doesn't compare with the Leslie 122.

It might be the best simulator on the market, though.

[theomegleyouhate]

"I'm not using the leslie sim in this because its horrible" - can't get more blunt than that hahaha

[Jyazz21]

Can you link me to where the info is on your website? It's not the easiest website to navigate.

[musicmaker85]

Okay, my guesses without looking at any comments below or going to your website.

A. XM2

B. Vent

C. Leslie

Now I'm looking at your website for the answers.

Well, I pretty much knew A was the XM2, but I was really not sure about which one was the Leslie and the Vent. They sounded almost identical and honestly, my answers for B and C were just lucky guesses.

[mrhammondfunker]

@musicmaker85 I you listen carefully you can hear the relais clicking on the 122

[tonespinner]

Could you use this with a tonewheel organ to get the "Leslie" effect when used with, say, a PR-40 (non rotary) tone cabinet? The hookup would be a challenge, obviously.

[tonespinner]

Could you use this with a tonewheel organ to get the "Leslie" effect when used with, say, a PR-40 (non rotary) tone cabinet? The hookup would be a challenge, obviously,

because the hammond uses multi pin (mine, five to six) connections and this unit uses standard phone jacks.

[tonespinner]

Could you use this with a tonewheel organ to get the "Leslie" effect when used with, say, a PR-40 (non rotary) tone cabinet? The hookup would be a challenge, obviously,

because the hammond uses multi pin (mine, five to six) connections and this unit uses standard phone jacks. thx in advance

[ledzurso]

hey Jim, great video. You sure know how to do a shootout. Have you any interest in the Strymon Lex? It looks fantastic

[profharp]

I LOVE IT!!

[dragongoff]

What I notice from watching this clip is that your playing differed when going through the sims vs. the 122. Its as if you played trying to fit within the pulses of the rotor spins on the sims. When you played through the 122, you relaxed not having to 2nd guess the 122's reaction.

[b3groover]

@dragongoff Well, that's interesting because I was not monitoring the other sims. All I was listening to while playing was the 122 in the room. The XM2 sim and the Ventilator were both going direct into the computer and I was not listening to them at all. I did the switch back and forth between all three in post-production.

[dragongoff]

@b3groover If that was the case, same banana, you were triggering off the 122 and what you played did not sync as well with the sims' rotation as you state you only heard the 122 while the sims were only being recored but not heard. I still find looped anything to affect the outcome vs analog's more variant nature. Had you played listening to the sims you would have played differently with similar results up against the 122. By post you mean when you cross-faded/spliced all 3 recordings?

[dragongoff]

@b3groover keeping in mind that when you play a Hammond/leslie setup, you need to hear what the leslie or sim in this case is doing and play along with it as it chorales, ramps up/down.

[b3groover]

@dragongoff Of course, but each of the three "Leslies" were being switched at the same time; the XM2, the Ventilator, and the real 122. And their ramp up / ramp down speeds, while not exact, were similar enough.

To clarify, I played the XK3, which triggered (via MIDI) the XM2. The Leslie speed button on the XK3 switched the XM2 Leslie sim, the Ventilator, and the 122 at the same time and I recorded all three at the same time as well. Afterwards, I crossfaded the audio from each source.

[dragongoff]

@b3groover Jim, I understand how you did it. In and of itself it was a worthwhile endeavor.You did a good job of recording, syncing to video. Great you have all that gear to do a real shootout. In an effort to push the technology along, as the makers of the sims monitor what guys like us say about them, making bare-bones comments is important to make sure the real thing's essence doesn't get lost down the line. A sim still has much less animation than a real leslie and it affects the playing.

[rikshaw223]

very good demo. A B & C i was glad my prefrance was right when i went to your website, i would have been very disapointed if i had got it wrong. i live in England (UK). where can i buy a neo ventilator.

[b3groover]

Yes, the XM2 is just the sound of the module. The raw sound of the XM2 is quite good and very similar to the XK3, however it doesn't have the ability to customize the digital "tonewheels", like the XK3.

[falafuel]

A sounds horrible. B sounds great. C sounds awesome

[TheMadMusicMan]

Great video. To be clear, the XM-2 is just the sound of the module right? Meaning the drawbar voices and the Leslie come from the XM-2, not the voice of the XK-3 and then the Leslie sim from the XM-2 right? I think Hammond clones just sound too thin in general...

[jmdodge]

Cool comparison, but I'm not sure if it felt fair - I could hear the ambience and sound of the room through the mics when the real leslie came in so clearly that it didn't feel like I even needed to pay attention to the finer points of the shootout - it was like, bam - there's the real thing, the real mics, the real room.

Maybe a follow up could mic a speaker cab with the sims instead of going direct to eliminate the room factor.

Great effort though, I enjoyed the demos and your playing!

[laborest]

Great comparison! I also got them all right. You should have also demonstrated the slow/fast switching with *each* of the models though.

[Dwetmaster]

I'm glad to see that I got all three answer right at first listen. The XK leslie definitely SUCKS!!!. I agree that aside from the room, the Ventilator if fairly truthful to the leslie. Nice Job...

[laissezfukd]

Organissimo is the tits! Thanks for the demo!

[gratefulslacker]

I went to your site and don't see the answer to which is which. Don't see anything in the comments either.

[styleomatic]

I just got a Ventilator. For guitar, it's the best I've had.

I used to use a Hughes and Kettner Rotosphere. The H&K has a wonderful leslie sound but it has 2 drawbacks: lotsa noise when the effect is engaged and it's large size takes up a too much real estate on the pedal board.

[marcoballa]

thanks again for another great video!

please feel free to take a look to my last two videos where I made a comparison between the Ventilator and a Pro3-X (rock sound!).

ciao from Italy

[mozgamble]

jim thanks for the comparison

good video - the XM2 didnt really rate for me and the real 122 had a lovely distortion and presence - where do we find the link for the 11 pin adaptor? Thanks for your efforts - was also playing in Norway myself at a different festival at the same time...

[MarshallAmpMan]

Tremendous playing...man I could listen to a whole album of just this...do you have a solo CD? keys only?

[MarshallAmpMan]

so is this better than a HK Rotosphere?

[wickedy081]

Yeah! Got it right! Ventilator is miles ahead of the XM2! So close to the 122 too

[gasttmdq]

i love your music jim, totaly

[Bobby1961D]

You always make the BEST Videos and You Play so Good Everything Sounds Great, Excellent Demo ....

[rotosphere2000]

Can't be any doubters now, the Vent nails it.

Only difference between it and the real deal ( as heard when mic'd up ) is the ( what Guido Kirsch wrote on your web-site )

Excellent demo, seamless cross-mixes were a great way to illustrate.

Really nice playing too.

[ankerk]

I dig the "I'd better be quiet so my mom doesn't hear" voice work. If this whole rock and roll thing don't work out for you, you got a future as a golf commentator....

:-P

[b3groover]

@ankerk More like "I'd be better be quiet so I don't wake up my sleeping kids." :)

[angie4josh]

@ankerk He's being quiet so he doesn't wake YOUR mom. She thinks his golf commentator voice is sexy anyway :-P

[blindsidedpoets]

Well now, for the difference in sound between the Leslie and the Ventilator, vs cost, replacability and portability, it seems the Ventilator is a winner imho. I am curious how you would compare it to a Boss RT-20?

[b3groover]

@blindsidedpoets I have not played with an RT-20 but those who have told me the Ventilator blows it completely out of the water.

[tvseal0001]

Also it sounds to me that the acceleration speed may have been a bit faster on the real leslie?

[b3groover]

@tvseal0001 Maybe, I didn't spend the time to compare them.

[tonewheeler1]

@tvseal0001- I think no two real Leslies are going to have the same exact acceleration speed on them. That's the beauty of each Leslie, they're all a little bit different with their own separate qualities.

[tvseal0001]

@tonewheeler1 Well I guess if he adjusted the acceleration on the Vent to be closer to that of the Leslie...maybe it would've been even more of a fair comparrison

[unriselyrical]

@tvseal0001 speed can be altered though?

[tvseal0001]

Haha guessed it right... The XM2 was an easy one...doesn't come close to the vent or the real lez. the real leslie sounds a bit tubier than the vent in this video (given that you may or may not have dialed any distortion on the vent)...but I have to say that for the big difference in weight and small difference in sound...the Neo Vent is where it's at. I've gotta get one!

[PhilMul]

Wow, they were all pretty close... but I think I like the"B" musician better. He was definately better than the musicians you used for "A and "C". LOL! Thanks for doing the demo Jim... as always, you are the man!

[dustypuppy]

They all sound great :)

You're such a marvelous player !