vamps too—lending a cool wobble that
didn’t obscure pick attack or string muting
dynamics. Faster settings benefitted less
from the two-amp setup, but still made
the simplest arpeggios and leads sound
larger than life. Interestingly, the pedal
often sounded best using the Key mode,
which made the signal brighter and more
defined—particularly at lower volumes.
If there’s any one mode in which the
Ventilator sounds less than completely natural in a room, it’s when the Distance knob
is set to zero. At these levels the Ventilator
gains intensity, but loses some of the sense
of dimension that is its greatest strength
in a live setting. In a recording environment, however—especially one with a dense
mix—the more intense pulses from the
close mic’d emulation can be a huge asset,
particularly if the Ventilator’s stereo output
is hard panned on a mixing desk.
The Verdict
At nearly 500 bones on the street, the
Ventilator is not cheap. Those who rarely
use rotary speaker sounds may be hard
pressed to justify the expense, no matter
how incredible the Ventilator sounds. But
if you tend to use phase or chorus effects
with any regularity, the Ventilator sounds
as organic as anything short of a real Leslie.
And if you’re a studio hound or a session
player who loves to keep a real knock-
’em-dead doozy in your bag of tricks, the
Ventilator can totally transform a song or
composition.
Rating:
Buy If...
you thirst for the unmistakable
sounds of a Leslie, but haven’t the
space to keep one or the dough to
acquire and maintain it.
Skip If...
your limited use of this modulation
effect won’t justify the expense.
Neo Instruments
Street $499
neo-instruments.de
or use a mobile device to download
audio clips of the pedal at
CLICKHere…
premierguitar.com/jul2011
BEYONDTHEXPECTED
Elite Small Luthiers
Handcrafted Instruments
Personal Attention To
Every Order
Instruments That Stand
The Test Of Time
Randy Lutz
Owner
JET
Earlewood
LsL
Saticoy
Infinity Guitars Houston, TX 281-759-4040
