Motion Sound Pro-145

Totally easy to use. Roll it in on its casters (included with product), plug in a universal AC computer-type cord, plug in your 1/4" cable, and you're ready to go.

There are trim pots, accessible from the front panel, that can be adjusted to change the acceleration/deceleration time and the speeds of the upper and lower rotors.

This is a Leslie speaker clone, with a few compromises compared to a Leslie, as well as a few advantages.

The main compromise is that it's a solid state amp, but has a 12AX7 tube pre-amp to emulate the all-tube Leslie. You can dial in the amount of tube gain you want, from just a little warmth all the way to heavy distortion. It can be a little harsh in the midrange compared to a Leslie, however this can be improved with the EQ knobs on the front panel. It has a spinning horn, like a Leslie, and a downward-firing woofer and a spinning baffle chamber for the lower rotor, just like a Leslie. The woofer is 12" compared to the Leslie's 15" - it pumps out the bass pretty well and for playing in combos with a bass player, you don't need more bass. If you kick bass for your organ trio, it might be fine or you might want to add a powered subwoofer.

The main advantage is portability. It weighs 65 lbs (compared to Leslie 150 lbs plus), has well-placed side handles and casters, so it's easily managed by one person. It's also considerably louder than a stock Leslie. You can't just compare wattage -- as we know that a 60-watt all-tube amp when cranked is a lot louder than a 120 watt solid state amp. But the MS-145 is definitely loud and will hold its own versus guitar bass and drums at your typical small club gig. If you need more volume, then you're probably playing a venue with a house sound system, and you can either go out direct to the house using the unit's 3 built-in mikes, or you can externally mike the upper and lower rotors (most people recommend the latter).

The sound is very close to that of a vintage Leslie. It's not perfect, but it's close. You get the warmth and creamy vibrato. For rock and blues where you're in the mix with drums, bass, and guitar, the sound is very close. And way better than the onboard Leslie sim found in many synths. For jazz organ trios and recording work, the subtle differences from a Leslie will be noticeable to organ aficionados, though perhaps not to most listeners. For me, it's a no-brainer to trade-off a bit of the tone for portability.

I haven't had it that long. These amps have moving parts, which are designed to be very durable, but still there are mechanics involved and mechanics can break down. Then again, they should be a lot less maintenance than a vintage Leslie from the 1950's.

I know someone whose Pro-145 horn driver blew out during normal use. And I demo'd one in a store that had a terrible buzz coming from the cabinet. But I haven't had these problems ... yet.

My guess is that you really have to "baby" this thing to keep it in good shape. I have an ATA flight case that I keep it in.

I emailed Motion Sound to ask some pre-purchase questions and got an email response back within 48 hours.

If the unit needs repair I think it may have to be shipped back to the factory -- I don't think there are authorized Motion Sound repair centers, but I could be wrong.

I'm very happy with this unit. A big improvement in the sound of my rig. I own a Motion Sound Pro-3Tm and the Pro-145 is a major step up.

They are not cheap - $1700 retail plus shipping, whereas you can get a vintage Leslie in excellent condition for less. One direct competitor is the Speakeasy Roadbox III, which weighs 94 lbs, retails for $2700, and lacks the spinning bass rotor, although fans of the Roadbox love its sound and feel it's comparable to having a spinning lower rotor because the crossover point is lower and so more frequencies are spun through the horn.

Just plug and play. To get it sounding just right you need to tweak the many adjustments available (a GOOD thing).

Light weight. Easy on the back.

Leslie, sans 100 pounds! Gives a sound almost like a Leslie 145.

Easy to adjust the parameters.

The low speaker is upgradable to an Eminance Delta 12LF for extra low end. This is only for those not playing a with a bass player.

Three built in mics (2 horn, one low end), with XLR line outs to the sound guy. OK

It is MUCH better than any simulator, but... what great sound. Its very close to a real 140 pound Leslie. Close enough for just about anybody.

The main unit never let me down. I have had it four years. Buy and extra stomp box with it, if you use it a lot. I had the fast/low button go out in a gig. This is nornal for us who are fast/slow nuts.

The "truck bed liner" finish is indestructable, unlike a real wooden Leslie that scars easily.

These guys are great.

Best thing out there for organ, except for those who really want to carry around an extra 100 pounds. If you area a purist and don't move it much... Leslie 122XB, but for most of us the PRO-145 is absolutely it.

The manual spells it all out. All the controls are on the front panel, and easy to use. There are enough controls that make a difference in your sound that it will take me a while to find the real right settings. Unlike the lowpro half of the pro3t/lowpro pair, the horn [>800hz] and drum [<800hz] accelerate/decelerate, slow, fast, are adjustable from the front panel, too. Just plug it in.

This is a leslie clone featuring an upper rotating horn with a MS1.2 driver and the 'black horn w/ diffusers, and a lower rotating drum that a Celestion Beta 12 woofer fires into. No shrillness playing an XK3 into the amp. It can direct out to another speaker, even another MS rotating amp, but I found the line out signal a little weak, so I turned up the KBR-M that I can use as a monitor. Sub-woofer out with a sub-volume knob. There are all kinds of controls, gain, pre-amp mode - inductive or resistive (I still have to figure that one out), volume, bass, midrange, treble, horn volume, high frequency cut, horn and drum speed controls - I think I got 'em all. Power light, fast rotor light, led lighted footswitch. It's covered with a black pick-up truck bed like polymer that is real tough, and tough looking. Removeable casters. I can pick this up and put it in my compact hatchback car. All hook-ups are balanced, trs. I also have a Motion Sound SW-15 powered subwoofer. There are insets at the top of the sub where the pro145 goes. Any concerns about the bottom end are taken care of.

This thing sounds great. It's loud and expressive - especially set up with the SW-15. The sub puts out a lot of bottom end. These two together have to be heard to be believed. The pro145 alone is great - I gigged with it last weekend and it shone. The pro145 and the sw-15 working together are really fine.

Too soon to tell, but it is very well made and designed. So far it has been very reliable. I have other MS gear and they have all been very reliable.

I have dealt with Motion Sound before, and their customer support is second to none. Where else can you talk to the musician/engineer who designed and built the product? They have been stellar, and they made me a fan for life. One of the factors in the purchase decision was how they treated me in the past, and how good the other amps of theirs I had are.

I have been playing a long time. If something happened to this guy, I'd get another in a minute. It is flexible, portable, tough and delivers as advertised. I am real happy with the purchase, and recommend this amp.

Connect your keyboard, plug the Pro-145, turn it on, adjust the volume and EQ's to whatever works best for you, and thats it. Changing the speed settings can be a little difficult giving they're done via trimpots, and the trimpots are not perfectly in line with the holes in the front.

True rotating horn and lower drum. You can adjust preamp volume as well as overall volume. Also available on the front panel are EQ settings and horn/sub balance. It does have a tube inside. Two 1/4" inputs, footswitch pedal for speed control (LED pedal included), and sub output. Also for those who would like to tweak the speed settings, separate trimpots for horn and lower rotor are available. Be careful with these things though. The knobs inside are plastic and get easily torn up with a screw driver. I've already scratched mine up real bad, and even broke one off completely. And just my luck, it was set in a position that I didn't want, so right now I'm stuck with it. My recommendation is get a flashlight, set it on something leveled with the trimpots. You'll be able to see alot better where your screw driver should be positioned. Also you'll be able to see when you can't turn the trimpot anymore. I didn't know so I kept turned and it just popped right off.

I've never heard a Leslie 147 model, but I use a C3 and a 122 model at church every week. The Roland VK-8 combined with the Pro-145, I'm telling you, it sounds just like the 122 and C3. Tube amp or not, this thing can sound just as good as any leslie, if not better. Now if its overdrive you're looking for, maybe Speakeasy's new road box leslie would be better for you. I've yet to encounter a leslie simulator that beats true rotating sound. The Roland VK-8 has one of the best internal sims out there, but it still lacks "that sound", just like every leslie sim.

Very dependable. Although some would disagree, the insides are built well enough to last if you don't try and do something that would cause them to break. I'm sure if it fell off a truck bed or something it would be okay. The outside is built to withstand falls, bumps, etc. I would definately use it in a gig. In fact we have a church event coming up in June and I plan to lug my VK-8 and Pro-145 out there. I doubt they plan on bringing out the C3 and leslie, that's just too much weight.

They seem pretty good. I have had to contact them once regarding a problem and I got an answer the same day. I've heard Motion Sound customer service is second to none. I believe it.

If getting an actual leslie speaker were still not possible, I'd definately buy the Pro-145 again. It's an excellent alternative. I've been playing organ about 4 years and piano about 7. I play gospel music so overdrive has never been needed in that situation. I love the sound the most. Like I said, tube amp or not, the Pro-145 is just plain awesome and knocks out the best of simulators. I don't really like the idea of having to work on it though. They say its low maintenance which is good, that means it'll probably be once in a blue moon. But they didn't separate the back panel like on a leslie. It's just one piece and requires you to take out ALL 19 screws. I thought I could get away with just having the 4 outer screws in, but something rattles at high volumes on certain bass notes. Now maybe you don't have to have all 19 screws in, but enough to stop the rattling. Also, some of the screws are a little hard to get undone. The upper horn motor assembly for instance. The 4 screws need a 1/4" wrench to unscrew them. Just be prepared to spend some time when you have to work on it.

Overall though, I love my Pro-145. I plan to use it for years and years to come. You will not regret buying it.

I purchased the MS pro-145 almost two years ago to avoid the sim factor for the clone I was playing. It was very easy to set up and use.

The effects are primarily related to eq and rotor speed acceleration and decceleration. The manual is clear and they are easy to adjust. To my ear the presets were fine.

I felt the sounds fell short of my expectations as even after adding a speakeasy preamp to warm then up this speaker, in comparison to the real deal leslie, sounded shrill when pushed and weak in the bottom end.

That said, it was by the real deal as far as having full the sound pour over the stage as only a real spining horn in a box can do.

I recently had someone over who pluged in the new XK3 and with it driving the pro-145 really sounded much better than my roland...so perhaps in all fairness to Motion Sound, maybe it wasn't the MS pro-145 but rather the instrument driving it.

Regardless, as good as this is in comparison to other sims, other MS products etc., as far as I can tell there is still nothing like the real deal Hammond organ and Leslie speaker, especially at higher volume

rock solid. you can depend on it and there is no backup needed...though you may want to carry an extra tube and know how to replace it.

The best

I have since sold the 145 since it fell short of my expectations in the sound category. However, I don't think anything but the real deal organ and leslie are going to do the trick for me and have since bought an A-100 and 147.

I have been playing 12 years and own an RD700 stage piano, Nord electro 2 and an a-100 w/ 147.

I liked the size and ease of transport. The thin sound at volume and weak bottom end was what I most disliked.

It is great compared to any other keyboard amp for playing an organ. I compared it to all of the other MS products, several of which I owned at one time or another as well as the typical keyboard amps, Roland, etc. This is far superior to all of them. I did not compare it to the newer MS full size leslie or the speakeasy roadbox. In fact I havenever heard either of those and am not sure where I would/could.

I wish it had a bigger bottom end speaker.

Motion sound has been an innovative co. filling a niche with thoughtful products. For example, I would like to try their 3D keyboard amp to see how it stacks up to this one since it can also be used with stage pianos etc....seems very versatile. Perhaps it has a fatter bottom end..or maybe MS will make one with a bigger bass speaker. I see that MS has added a sub to their line and maybe that is the answer for the likes of me.

So Easy! All right there on the front panel. The manual is simple to read and understand.

All the key components of a leslie including overdrive and you can balance the sound between the horn and the low rotor. Bass, treble, mids are all here for the tweeking.

The sound is unbelievable. I can't believe they made a real horn and a real low rotor in a 47 pound, three foot package.

No Problems. Definitely don't need a backup with this amp.

No Idea!

I would definitely buy it again. I have tried all sorts of leslie simulations out there, and none hold a candle to this one.

This thing is pretty easy to use. Most of the really important controls are recessed in a panel tweakable only with a jewelers screwdriver. From the factory, it's actually pretty well set. The manual is excellent, and easy to read.

If you're looking at this, you know what it is: a portable leslie (or reasonable facsimile thereof). It's small and lightweight (about 47 lbs and about the size of a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe). It produces realistic leslie tones and overdrive that sounds very convincing, especially in context.

If you push this thing hard, it will tend to get a little shrill. Warming it up with a Speakeasyvintagemusic.com preamp will help tame and improve the tones from this amp.

It's ruggedly built, and should be dependable, but I haven't had it long enough to make that call.

No experience with customer support.

I use a leslie primarily, but for those occasions where it's not practical, this is the answer. The Pro145 sounds way better than the Pro3t/LoPro combo, and beats the pants of any leslie sim out there, and I've owned and used them all.