Electro-Harmonix has released two stereo rotary-speaker cabinet pedals: the Lester G and Lester K.
“The Lester G is the ultimate rotary speaker effect,” said Mike Matthews, EHX president and founder. “The Lester K is great for keyboards and, if a guitarist already owns a compressor, they can also use the Lester K to get really close to the Lester G.”
The Lester G was designed for guitarists and includes a dedicated compressor that maximizes the rotary speaker effect on guitar, EHX said. The Lester K is more compact and was created for keyboard players who want to enhance the quality of organ-type sounds.
Both pedals feature volume, drive, slow, fast, balance and speed/brake controls.
EHX Lester G and Lester K
- Volume adjusts the pedal’s output level
- Drive controls the amount of overdrive that re-creates the tone of an overdriven rotary-speaker cabinet’s tube amplifier.
- Slow and Fast let the player set the speed of the rotating speaker effect when emulating the original’s “chorale” or “tremolo” settings. In their center positions they reproduce the typical rate of a real rotary speaker cabinet.
- Balance regulates the blend between the pedal’s low-frequency rotor and high-frequency horn. A silent footswitch labeled Speed/Brake lets the player switch between Fast and Slow modes. When the footswitch is depressed for ½ second the pedal enters Brake mode and decelerates to a stop.
The Lester G includes an additional acceleration control, which sets the rate at which it transitions between fast and slow modes and can be adjusted from almost instant to a gradual ramp up or down. It also features an expression pedal input so a player can manually manipulate acceleration/deceleration via a standard EXP pedal, EXH said.
The compressor is what makes the Lester G, unique, EHX said, and contains attack, sustain and squash controls. Turning up the attack knob results in a more noticeable initial transient when a note is plucked. Sustain adjusts the amount of compression. A pushbutton selects between normal and squash, with the Squash setting yielding a higher compression ratio and a more dramatic effect, EHX said.
Both pedals feature stereo inputs/outputs and come equipped with EHX9.6DC 200mA power supplies.
Electro-Harmonix