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The internet tells the truth (ha) and one guy says this:
I think Jewel Akens' "The Birds and the Bees" was the first hit
record to feature an adapted Leslie on a guitar -- perhaps the first
non-organ use of any kind. Carol Kaye, ace studio bassist and
guitarist, played that track:
I remember when they put my guitar through the Leslie organ
speaker cabinet at Gold Star (they tried with another guitar player at
first but he couldn't trigger it very well, it didn't work good with
his way of picking, and so they gave it to me to try as my way of
picking is strong and even -- I was well-known for the strong playing
I did on guitar). How different that sound was.
And it was good for 2 hot recordings for Jewel Akens - "Birds And
The Bees" etc. which I played guitar through the Leslie. [Carol Kaye,
writing on spectropop.com, 03/05/99]
Aken's March 1965 hit was followed in June by the Beach Boys' "You're
So Good To Me" and in July by Gary Lewis and the Playboys' "Save Your
Heart For Me", both also featuring a guitar run through a Leslie
speaker. Since Carol Kaye played on many Beach Boys tracks, it seems
quite possible that both songs were Kaye's work. She also played on
some of the Playboys' sessions (though on bass, I think), so someone
else in the LA "Wrecking Crew" was probably behind the Leslie guitar
sound on that song. I think we can call Gold Star Studios the
birthplace of the Vibratone concept.
1967 saw the birth of the Fender/Leslie Vibratone speaker which was
used for mostly crap by the likes of Jefferson Airplane.
--- In , "obmosquito" <obmosquito@c...>
wrote:
> Actually, I kinda figured it might be a Leslie.
> I'll have to dig up some of my Superstocks stuff, cause I swear I've
heard Podolor use it
> before too.
> Thanks Ted.
>
> --- In , "spskins" <superchimp9@h...>
wrote:
> > I always hesitate to answer these things, since I'm a lowly drummer,
> > but I think what you're hearing is the revolving Leslie speaker that
> > the organ is going through.
> >
> > (Copied and Pasted): Named after it's ingenious inventor, Don Leslie.
> > While working on 3-D movies, he wanted a way to make the soundtrack
> > more three dimensional. Hammond had developed a rotating drum speaker,
> > but Leslie really developed and perfected it.
> >
> > Leslie did this by splitting the audio input in two. Sending the high
> > frequencies to a tweeter speaker and the low frequencies to the woofer
> > speaker. Both speakers in turn blast into a rotating horn. These two
> > horns are hooked to two-speed electric motors that rotate the horns in
> > opposite directions. The sound is sprayed around a 360 degree circle
> > giving the organ a tremolo effect. There is a slow speed and a fast
> > speed with a switch on the organ that the player can use to make the
> > speed change.
> >
> > If you listen closely, Carl's guitar has the same tone as it does
> > during the rest of the song. However, you are onto something as Carl
> > (or Barney Kessel, or Glen Campbell, or Tommy Tedesco, or Billy
> > Strange, or Jerry Cole, etc...) or whoever was playing guitar that day
> > in the studio) played guitar through a Leslie on more than a couple BB
> > songs. Check out the awesome "Let's Go Away For Awhile" instrumental
> > from Pet Sounds for some of it. It's a very cool sound even though
> > Ivan P. doesn't care for it. As far Richie Podolor and the Superstocks
> > go (the closest I could think of was "Balboa Island")- I think he used
> > some actual tremolo, it doesn't sound like a Leslie.
> >
> > Now all you real guitar players can rip me apart.
> > -Ted Pilgrim
> >
> > PS (Shameless plug) To hear another example of a guitar played through
> > a Leslie, check out "Rangoon" off of Creature Feature by Satan's
> > Pilgrims.
> >
> > --- In , "obmosquito" <obmosquito@c...>
> > wrote:
> > > Listen to the little guitar breaks in "I get around" by the BBs.
> > > Is that tremolo-like sound a guitar effect or is it just the fact
> > that the guitar is playing the
> > > same notes as the organ?
> > >
> > > It seems that I've heard Richie Podolor use the same effect before
> > on some Superstocks
> > > tunes (can't think of which ones at the moment).
> > >
> > > Anyway, it's a cool effect and I'm just curious. Anybody know?
> > >
> > > -Paul
