New B3-p, which leslie??

[b3madness]

Hi there,

I'm just wanting some advice on which Leslie would sound the best with the New B3-p? Just bought the B3-p, have it going through an old 722HL which belongs to my B3000. Not sure if an old 122/147(valve leslie) would sound better than the New 122xb/147 or do I get the 3300? The 3300 would probably suit best as I'm gigging with it but if the warmth/sound is not as good I'm prepared to cart the 122/147 around. The new mark11 of the 21 system is also available. Too many choices.....???? I use the pedalboard and play modern jazz. Any comments/thoughts would be appreciated.

Cheers

[Jim Alfredson]

I think you have several options. If you want to buy new, I'd go with either the Leslie 3300 or the new Leslie 21 mk II system. I saw Roger Smith with Tower of Power two years ago (sitting directly behind him backstage) and he had his B3-P running through two Leslie 21 systems (the originals, not the mk II). It sounded killer!

The new mk II has a tube preamp, like the 3300. If you put in a NOS (new old stock) RCA or other good brand tube (specifically a 12AT7 instead of the stock 12AX7), you can get very close to the 122 grunge with the 3300. I am assuming that the new 21 mkII has the same tube circuit as the 3300 (though I don't know that for sure) and is definitely more portable than the 3300.

You can hear my combination of the 3300 and my XK3 / XK Traditional System here:

[b3madness]

I think you have several options. If you want to buy new, I'd go with either the Leslie 3300 or the new Leslie 21 mk II system. I saw Roger Smith with Tower of Power two years ago (sitting directly behind him backstage) and he had his B3-P running through two Leslie 21 systems (the originals, not the mk II). It sounded killer!

The new mk II has a tube preamp, like the 3300. If you put in a NOS (new old stock) RCA or other good brand tube (specifically a 12AT7 instead of the stock 12AX7), you can get very close to the 122 grunge with the 3300. I am assuming that the new 21 mkII has the same tube circuit as the 3300 (though I don't know that for sure) and is definitely more portable than the 3300.

You can hear my combination of the 3300 and my XK3 / XK Traditional System here:

Thanks Jim,

Do you think the old are better sounding than the new? I'm happy to purchase which ever suits/sounds best with the b3-p. Will have a listen to your combo's mentioned. Thanks again, Nicole

[Jim Alfredson]

Old Leslies are like old Hammonds; they all sound different, even if they are the same model. You can get a Leslie 122 and it might sound great or it might sound like crap. It all depends on how it was maintained, how the tubes are, how the capacitors are, how the speakers are, etc.

The nice thing about new ones is that you know what you're getting. Also, the new ones interface more easily with the new Hammonds, utilizing the 11 pin connection. With the old ones, you need to use a converter box and that just adds one more thing in between that has the potential to break. When I used my 122 with the XK System, I had one of those converters boxes (from Hammond) and it started developing problems after a year on the road, at one point having a component failure that caused the speed switching not to work.

So with all that said... I would go new. Either the 3300 or the new 21 system.