Electro-Harmonix Lester K Stereo Rotary Speaker

The Electro-Harmonix Lester K Stereo Rotary Speaker is a pedal that emulates a rotating speaker, the effect behind the classic Leslie cabinet sound familiar from organ and keyboard rigs. Electro-Harmonix calls it a "Stereo Rotary Speaker Emulator" and describes its effect as "lush rotary speaker emulation," with the classic speed-up and slow-down behavior of a real rotary speaker. In the UK it was listed at £139, a price that reflects what it leaves out compared with its sibling, the guitar-focused Lester G Deluxe: the Lester K does without the Lester G's onboard compressor and drive circuitry¹².

Controls

The Lester K keeps its panel simple, with three knobs:

The separate SLOW and FAST knobs mirror the two speeds of an original rotary speaker. Guitar Interactive Magazine's Jonathan Graham, in the maker's press release, explained that "Slow and Fast let the player set the speed of the rotating speaker effect when emulating the original's 'chorale' or 'tremolo' settings"³. Switching between the two gives the classic rotary speaker speed up and down that Electro-Harmonix lists as a feature of the pedal¹.

Mono and stereo use

The pedal is built around stereo, but it does not require a stereo setup. Electro-Harmonix states that the Lester K "can be used with either mono or stereo inputs," and that its stereo outputs provide "a lush, realistic sound with either stereo or mono inputs"¹. The input jacks are labeled MONO/L and R¹. On the output side, the MONO/L and R jacks can be connected "to two separate amps or inputs on a mixing board," which is how the full stereo spread of the rotating speaker effect is heard¹. A keyboard player running a mono signal into a single amp can still use the pedal; a stereo rig or a pair of mixer channels gets the wider effect.

Lester K versus Lester G

Electro-Harmonix offers the Lester K alongside the Lester G Deluxe as a pair of rotary speaker emulation pedals. The split between them is by instrument: gearnews.com reported that "the Lester K model is designed for keyboards," while the Lester G serves guitar players⁴. Guitar World likewise described "the more compact Lester K" as the one "created for the keyboard player"⁵. The two also differ in circuitry: the Lester K lacks the Lester G's onboard compressor and drive circuitry, and in the UK it was listed at £139².

The Lester G also carries features the Lester K leaves out. MusicRadar's review of the Lester G notes that "You can get the Lester K Stereo Rotary Speaker (£139) without these features," referring to the Lester G's onboard compressor and drive circuitry². In other words, the Lester K is the leaner of the two: the rotary emulation, the speed controls and the volume, without compression or drive on board. A player who wants those built in would look at the Lester G; a player who already has compression and drive covered elsewhere loses nothing by the omission.

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