May 2008

Dan,
What’s the best way to mic a Leslie speaker? Are there different techniques for stage and studio?
—Bill

Bill,

Whenever you set out to mic anything, you have to consider what the microphone hears, versus what your ears hear. The amazing sound of a Leslie speaker is a complex blend of the Doppler effect combined with the reflections off of the walls of the room that the Leslie is placed in. A Leslie speaker’s spinning horn and rotor throw audio out in only one direction at a time, and as they spin the sound moves from one ear to another and back again. When you set out to mic this cabinet, you want to capture that effect and recreate it in your recording.

The most common method when miking a Leslie is to stick one microphone on the top horn and one on the bottom rotor. However, this is not the way we actually hear a Leslie. If you mic this way, the sound is heard loudest when the horn or rotor is pointing directly at the microphone, and then becomes very quiet when the horn or rotor is pointed in the opposite direction, which is contrary to the actual listener experience of the Leslie. This miking technique can create an exaggerated tremolo volume effect that may be unpleasant and unrealistic, and give the audience the impression that the Leslie is running at half speed. Instead, a great way to mic a Leslie, whether on stage or in the studio, is with four microphones: two on opposite sides of the cabinet, panned in stereo, set up at the top louvers, and two on opposite sides of the cabinet, panned in stereo, set up at the bottom louvers. Yes, this will require four mixer channels and four tracks for recording, but the end result will really capture the sonic depth of the speaker. Careful blending of the rotor bass mix and the treble horn mix will give a very professional, realistic result.

In classic wood Leslies, such as the 122, 147, or 145, and in every solid state Leslie I’ve encountered, the horn and rotor are not actually centered in the cabinet. Instead, they are both off on the left side (when facing the front of the cabinet) to make room for the amplifier and motors. Therefore, for best results, you’ll want to place two of the microphones in front of the cabinet, several inches to the left of center, and the other two microphones in back of the cabinet, lined up with the first set. It’s best if the back covers are on the Leslie to provide a consistent tone and volume for the front and back of the cabinet. Adjust the microphone trim on each mic channel for consistent volume between each pair of mics.

In a pinch you can use one microphone on the upper horn, as the upper horn’s tremolo effect is often less exaggerated with a single microphone. The lower rotor can sound pretty bad with a single mic, especially when the Leslie is in slow/chorale mode. Whenever possible, however, take the plunge and use all four mics!

When recording in the studio, it can be an effective technique to back the microphones away from the speaker cabinet somewhat to capture the Leslie reflections and room tone. In a live setting, you’ll want to have the mics very close to the cabinet to eliminate background noise.

Finally, since Leslies do not produce very high frequencies, almost any quality dynamic microphone can be used to mic a Leslie with great results!
—Dan

Hey Dan,

I’m having trouble sending sys-ex data to one of my keyboards. It’s an older digital keyboard and I’ve downloaded sys-ex files from the Internet. The keyboard usually receives about half the data and then fails. Any advice?
—Jim

Jim,

Sometimes your computer can send sys-ex data faster than the keyboard can process it. This is particularly common on older synths with slower CPUs. Don’t worry, though, as this is usually easy to remedy. 

The trick is to introduce pauses in the sys-ex stream. The goal is to slow down the transmission of MIDI sys-ex data to give your instrument a chance to process the sys-ex data it receives before the next block of information comes in. There are generally two ways to accomplish this. 

One method is to space out the sys-ex events in your sequencer by placing silence between groups of MIDI sys-ex messages. Every sequencer works differently, so check the manual to see if this is possible with your program.

The second method is to slow the speed of data transmission. Some sequencers with dedicated sys-ex recording and transmission features, and many dedicated sys-ex tools, allow you to set the speed of data transmission. If you slow down the speed a little, your sys-ex transfer should go through perfectly without overwhelming the synthesizer.

By the way, for Windows users, I often recommend the free Midi-Ox tool (www.midiox.com) which allows you to slow the speed of sys-ex data transmission.
—Dan

All levels of questions are welcome, and we promise to keep your surname and email address confidential. If you’d like to ask Mike questions, send an email entitled “Ask Mike” to muso4hire@earthlink.net.