XP-200 Modulator

For this application, I run a Casio (don't laugh, it's cheap and can take a hell of a whoopin on the road) 61-key controller/synth to a Peavey Spectrum Organ midi module to a stereo PA system.  We only record demo's so no worries there. We're a live band - - dirty blues and rock-n-roll.  It's got a bit of a hiss when you stand by the mains, but nothing to bother the wedding/party/pub crowd. How does the one thing I ask of it (rotary speaker)perform?  Well, given what else is out there, pretty damn good. How do I know? First, I own a Hammond A-100 and a Leslie 145.  I've performed with an old Korg CX-3 and the 145, as well as with a combo-chopped 147 horn and 120 rotor. I finally got tired of lugging the Leslies around, and in some venues I had to mike them anyway, and that's sort of defeating the purpose of the mechanical rotation.  So I know what I'm listening for. I tried the Leslie effect on the Korg CX-3 (the cool drawbar organ that came out in '79.) Not good, goofy in fact. Then I tried an Alesis NanoVerb. It had the potential for being barely passable - - when the damn thing actually worked (the old "intermitent failure" thing that makes us all want to drink heavily.)  And much as I love my Peavey Spectrum Organ, the Leslie options there just don't get it either. The XP has mono in and Stereo outputs, which is essential to get the spaciousness critical for the rotary sound. It speeds up and slows down like the real deal, and you can kick it back down just as it's reaching full spin, which is one of my favorite little tricks with my 145. So, does the XP-200 sound "just like a Leslie?"  Of course not, you silly goose. Nothing does.  But . . . does it sound good enough to add the necessary vibe to what we're doing?  Yeah, close enough, and in fact pretty well. Especially in a live setting where there's lots of competing noise. I suppose you could go with the RPM-1 or the Hughes-Kettner set-up, neither of which I've heard , but which both get only mixed reviews, but now you're talking a couple of hundred bucks or more.  So for my money, give it the "9" and a pat on the back. And don't bother with any other settings.

Saturday was my first full on gig and it did just fine. Now, having said that, I should add that the first one of these that I bought on eBay had a dicey pedal, and didn't work, which would have cost $45 minimum to look at plus freight. No thanks. But, foo' that I am, I took that money and tried again, and Viola!, it works.  Time will tell, I guess.

Right off the bat, here, I'm a keyboardist first, and my favorite sound is a Hammond groove.  So I only ask for one thing out of this pedal: A decent - - not perfect, but decent - - rotary speaker emulation. That's all. So my review will be limited to that one oh-so-evasive criterion. Was it easy? Yup. Locate patch number 5. Toe it up for fast, down for slow.  Cool.

When I e-mailed for repair info (didn't have the warranty because I wasn't the original buyer) they were real nice. Didn't mean I'd get any breaks on the cost, but, hey, at least they were friendly and didn't try to BS me.

So to my Hammondy friends with bad backs and no roadies, I say go for it on this puppy. They go cheap on eBay and I even saw one at Guitar Center used for about $65. That's not bad, even for a one-trick pony (and having read the other reviews I'm assuming this is in fact just a one-act steed.) Be Jimmy Smith, Greg Rolie, or a Gospel Moaner. Team this with a Peavey or even the Hammond patch on your synth, and I think you'll be surprised. Groove on.

Not bad sound quality for most of the effects, although I'm still toying with it a bit...

Seems to be in working order and only the Pwr Supply went bad when I tried it at the Music shop...

This pedal is easy to use but one can't adjust the volume of the patches which is totally lame... 

Very helpful in telling me that there was no way to adjust the volume of the presets but they did get back to me in a timely manner both via phone and e-mail...

Not bad, if the damn patches were all the same volume... Other than that I'm satisfied...  Almost impossible to use in a live situation due to the volume issue...