Strymon Lex Rotary Strymon

Strymon Lex Rotary

The Lex Rotary from Strymon is a studio-class effects pedal that faithfully recreates the unmistakable sound of the world famous Leslie rotating speaker system. Strymon sound design labs have been filled with swirling, three-dimensional sounds, as they painstakingly analyzed the physics and mechanics behind these systems in order to mimic every nuance and detail of that classic tone.

With the Lex Rotary there are eight tweakable parameters which allow you to manipulate each element separately for a complete and accurately reproduced rotary system- Rotor Speed, Horn Level, Acceleration Time, Microphone Distance, Tube Drive & Saturation, Overall Volume Level, and more importantly, all the complex sonic interactions between these elements. A ridiculously powerful SHARC DSP utilizes every drop of processing power specifically for this one task.

Go from a maelstrom of dramatic, up-close, sweeping and swirling sounds, all the way to mellow, tranquil and calming undulations. All of this without a giant cabinet, microphone setup, and costly motor maintenance.

Soundclips of the Strymon Lex Rotary

Mellowed out

With the Mic Distance at maximum, the amplitude modulations are mellowed out. Adding a little more horn signal adds emphasis on the doppler reflections. The speed is varied to get the sense of the mechanical aspect that controls the motion.

Rotary Brake

This clips starts with the brake engaged, and then releases and re-engages the brake to show how naturally the system starts and stops. The system comes to rest at a ‘zero degrees’ angle for consistent and sonically optimum results.

Fat harmonics

Bringing the mic up close creates a high amplitude modulated signal from the horn. Rich, fat harmonics are created by moderately overdriving the preamp with the Preamp Drive control.

Classic Ballad

A jangly strat gets fattened up by driving the preamp and reducing the Horn Level slightly. Slow speed and medium Mic Distance settings combine to create a classic sound for ballads.

Maximum Drive

Maximum preamp drive with close-up miking creates heavy harmonic content with lots of amplitude modulation. A big stereo spread when spinning slowly, and a choppy tremolo-like effect at fast speeds.

Swirly Horn

Increasing the Horn Level adds emphasis on the high end. Minimum preamp drive creates a clean signal to get worked on by the rotating machinery.

Distant Miking

Distant miking with added Horn Level creates a nice watery effect. Minimum preamp drive keeps things clean.

Dramatic Stereo Sweep

Close miking with moderate Drive followed by maximum Drive. The growl is present along with the dramatic stereo sweep in slow speed and ‘choppy’ horn character at fast speed.

Clean Classic Rotary

Mic is moved back a little, minimum Preamp Drive for a clean classic rotary suitable for comping and grooving.

Mellowing Effect

The Mic is moved from up close to further back, and then even further away to demonstrate it’s ‘mellowing’ effect as it moves away from the rotary speaker.

Simple Progression

A simple progression with a classic rotary sound.

Mellow Revolver

Fast Rotor Speed is set to 9:00 for a medium rotational speed. Preamp Drive is reduced for a mellower and less growly tone. Horn Level is at a lower level for evened-out fluctuations. Slow/Fast switch is pressed at the :15 mark to slow the machine down. Slow/Fast is pressed again :23 to speed up the machine.

Rotating Drive

A moderate amount of Preamp Drive is employed here for a more tube-driven tone. Slow/Fast switch is pressed at various times to slow down and speed up the system.

Swirly

Preamp Drive is set to just above half to introduce in a good amount of tube drive and saturation. Horn Level is set in the middle for an evened-out sound.

Playing with Speed

Acceleration Time is set to the fastest setting for a rotating speaker system that quickly switches from fast speed to slow and back. The Slow/Fast switch is pressed at various times to generate complex rotary sounds that occur when the system is in transition between speeds.

Features and Specifications: