# NEO Instruments VENTILATOR pedal.......best Leslie sim yet !!!!!



## faracaster (Mar 9, 2006)

l have no clips yet...but I have done 6-8 gigs and same number of rehearsals with this pedal.
I am soooooo happy everytime I step on it. It just really sounds like a Leslie. Yes pricey ($500)...but if you want the best in this particular effect. You are wasting your money on other pedals IMO (I know, I have). Love the design also. The recessed controls make a lot of sense, it's not very big and I can clearly see by the LEDS what is going on with the pedal.
And to everyone's point, it's the slow speed that is the litmus test. The rotating slow speed is completely convincing. There is no doubt you are using a Leslie.
Where as some other Leslie sim pedals on the slow speed are a bit phase shiftery or chorusy the Neo is most definitely...a LESLIE !!!!
The controls are well voiced and you have everything you need at your fingertips to adjust to your taste. I prefer to hear a little more horn than rotor and that is entirely do-able in an instant. Love the distance control, I find I am tweeking this from song to song. The more to the left, the "closer the mic" is to the horn and you get that swirling grinding tone more in your face.
There is some attributes to using the keyboard setting (as opposed to the guitar setting) while it does bring in a Leslie amp sim.....it is not bad by any means. It just ups the authenticity of playing a guitar into a Leslie. In all I use the guitar setting most of the time, but use the Keyboard setting for an even deeper effect. Don't disregard this simply because it says...keyboard.
As for the brake stopping at a random place....not an issue for me. And not a issue for my B3 player either.
It is a Stereo OUT only unit. And if you play (or record) with two amps, you are in for a treat. HOLY MOLY !!!! Now that is bliss !!!!
I am a leslie nut. LOVE that effect on a guitar have owned all these......
Korg (what ever that was called), Hughes and Kettner Rotosphere, Line 6 MM4, Eventide Mod Factor, Digitech EX7, Option 5 Destination Rotation, Boss RT 20, Prior to the Neo Ventilator, my fav was the BOSS. The Option 5 was pretty good too. But the rest....were definitely NOT doing it for me.
One other telling thing (and this is a biggie as far as authenticity is concerned), Craig the B3 player in my band has tried ALL the pedals named above. He grabs them off my board and checks them out by himself. Never liked any of them. But he bought and is using the Neo live now. As is Dr. Lonnie Smith. Now THERE is a ringing endorsement !!!! 
In conclusion, I have to say when I compare this pedal to a real Leslie....the real thing wins hands down. There is NOTHING that will replace the size and sheer physicality of two spinning speakers. It's just physics. You can play through a Leslie and have the sound moving from side to side around you or play through a 1x12 amp blowing into your pant leg. There is no FAIR comparison. HOWEVER....if you don't have a road crew to lift a Leslie in and out of gigs....this Neo pedal can get you damn close, and you can put it in your pocket.

Neo Instruments / Ventilator - Details


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## Sneaky (Feb 14, 2006)

Thanks for the review Pete. I've been meaning to pick one of these up since selling my Foxrox TZF. It did a very good leslie sim. I don't use leslie sounds with guitar that much but I'm planning on picking up a Nord or some other type of keyboard soon to cop the B3 sounds. I think this might be pefect.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

I have a Tone Core Roto-Machine and a Vibratone cab. In mono, the Roto-Machine is pleasant, though not inspiring. In stereo, though, it pretty much nails the Vibratone sound, and is the sort of thing one is reluctant to turn off.


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## dwagar (Mar 6, 2006)

my backup sim is a Motion Sound Pro 3T. I haven't tried a Ventilator, but my gut feeling is I'd still prefer a real spinning horn.

The Ventilator is getting huge good reviews on the organ forums from what I've seen.


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## Guest (Jun 15, 2010)

Gorgeous industrial design on that. I want to touch it.


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## zurn (Oct 21, 2009)

Found a demo, sounds great!

[video=youtube;pIfCwo3aD-0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIfCwo3aD-0[/video]

And another 

[video=youtube;2Ff2xCYwAtA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ff2xCYwAtA[/video]


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## faracaster (Mar 9, 2006)

iaresee said:


> Gorgeous industrial design on that. I want to touch it.


That's those Germans. Always designing perfectly.


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## Rugburn (Jan 14, 2009)

I'm thinking if it's good enough for Lonnie Smith, than it's good enough for the rest of us.

Shawn.


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## gtone (Nov 1, 2009)

Nice pedal, BTW. I'm inspired to build a Leslie style rotating speaker cab now. As I have quite a few things floating around my shop already and some experience building cabs, I think I can do this project for about $250. Pedal would be far more practical for playing out, but this will only be used in my rehearsal/recording space methinks. Hmmm.....


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## Sparrow (Jul 27, 2006)

just wondering where you purchased your Ventilator?

thanks


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## faracaster (Mar 9, 2006)

Sparrow said:


> just wondering where you purchased your Ventilator?
> 
> thanks


I got it from Ken Hall in Kingston. But I think Cosmos will have a couple come early August


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## Sparrow (Jul 27, 2006)

thanks kindly for the info


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

The Boss and Digitech simulators they put in multi-effects pedals pretty much suck. It's got to be the most difficult FX to design. This Ventilator intrigues me. Anyone heard of any issues with it?

Peace, Mooh.


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