Product: Motion Sound LP120 Low Pro
Price Paid: US $350
Submitted
09/23/2005
at
02:41pm
by
Dave
Ease of Use
:
10
1) Plug into AC outlet
2) Plug DIN cord (Midi cord) from Pro 3T to Low Pro
3) Set overall loudness (1-10)
4) Set Bass Boost (-5 to +5)
That's it.
Features
:
8
This is the Low Rotor Drum Assembly that connects to the MS Pro 3T. It has a real spinning drum that a 12" Eminence Beta Speaker fires into. Drum concept/design identical to a 147 Leslie. Receives its signal and speed instructions from the Pro 3T through the DIN cable. Mine is the older version which also has the "on" and "fast" indicator light (just like the 3T) and the "scratchable" surface. The newest ones have the bedliner spray on them, mine doesn't. By the way, the Low Pro is discontinued.
Features the following: 1) loudness control (independent of the pro 3t's own loudness control; 2) Bass Boost; 3) independent slow, fast, acceleration and deceleration knobs.
Drum spins in the opposite direction of the horn, just like a 147. The pro 3t's 12ax7 tube provides the warmth/grittiness sound which is transmitted to the low pro as a source signal. The crossover cutoff is the proper 800HZ just like the 147. the amplifier is 130 watt solid state, not tube. The low pro sits at about 21 inches high; coupled w/ the pro 3t they both sit about 29 inches high; 4 inches shorter than a 145 leslie; but 4 inches taller than the motion sound pro 145 (which sits too low in my opinion).
two big feature advantages of the lowpro/3t combination over the pro 145 that motion sound makes:
1) two pieces, one about 55 pounds and the other 27. makes it easier to transport. i put the 3t in my trunk and the low pro in the backseat.
2) for "smaller gigs" i use the pro 3t only; using the drum simulator (which in itself is good) of the pro 3T through my keyboard amp. cant do that w/ the pro145; it's all or nothing.
One disadvantage; pro 145 has a 70-watt horn; the pro 3T only has a 40 watt horn. sometimes in loud stage situations the horn gets lost in the stage volume mix (my ears are also shot, so that probably accounts for part of the problem). i'm sure the 70 watt horn would take care of the loudness issue, but this is a pro 3T problem, not a low pro problem. the 12" eminence on both the low pro and the Pro 145 are powered by the same 130 watt solid state amp, plenty of power, not an issue even at high stage volume.
Expressiveness/Sounds
:
9
Very realistic. Sounds great. I have a Hammond Porta-B. Sounds great w/ the Low Pro. Not identical to a 147 mainly due to one being a solid state amp and the other being tube driven and the 147 being in a 41" cabinet. The Low PRO also has a port on the back of the cabinet. If you move the speaker into a corner of a room and really crank it up, the fast rotation appears to spin slower as the volume goes up. I thought it was my imagination but realized that what is really happening is that I'm hearing a combination of the 12" firing into the drum (the rotation) as well as hearing the 12" bleed through the port (no rotation). The sound coming out of the port is bouncing off the wall and hitting my ears in a delay over the direct sound of the spinning drum. The blend of the two sounds makes the drum appear to spin slower. solution: move the motion sound away from the wall, this dramatically reduced the effect; i no longer even notice it. I also realized that no "simulator" can duplicate this phenomena. Kind of cool actually.
Nothing beats this other than a tube leslie. At about 80 pounds (including the pro 3t) it's a dream. very portable.
Low Pro vs. the Pro 3T drum simulator:
- Obviously the Low Pro sounds better, it's a real spinning drum
- Low Pro's sound comes out from all 4 sides of the cabinet where in
the simulator, it comes from the front of the keyboard amp only
- The doppler effect on the Low Pro is more pronounced in fast speed.
- The doppler effect on the simulator is more pronounced in slow
speed.
- I can't get the ramp-up time on the simulator to move slow to fast
as quickly as the low pro. I have the simulator ramp up on max,
the 3T still takes too long to ramp up in my opinion.
- I can get more deep bass out of the simulator than i can out of
the Low Pro however the Low Pro is much louder.
- The simulator on the 3T sounds very convincing. The Low Pro is a
notch above that especially at high volume when the sound starts
bouncing off of walls.
Reliability
:
10
just bought the Low Pro about 5 months ago used. Have had the Pro 3T for quite some time. No problems to date.
Customer Support
:
10
The Best. No shit. Wish everyone were as customer focused as they are. Spoke w/ the owner directly (he picks up the phone). He compares the motion sound's sound vs. a simulator ".. to a painting of a mountain vs. actually looking out the window and seeing the mountain...".
Overall Rating
:
10
This is my subjective opinion; if you own a real hammond, you should own a real leslie (tube leslie). If you own a clone, then you want the motion sound, not relying on the clones built-in leslie effect (although the CX3's simulator is damn good). They are portable and w/ the tube in the pro 3T, you get the warmth. You just cant duplicate the real spinning horn and drum and its bouncing effect off of walls.
Highly recommended.
