The Fender Vibratone is a rotary speaker cabinet that Fender produced from 1967 to 1972, licensed from an original rotary-speaker design by inventor Don Leslie and based on the Leslie Model 1612. Premier Guitar has called it among the most successful derivatives of the Leslie 163. Instead of a full-size Leslie organ speaker, it puts a single 10-inch speaker behind a rotating 15-inch foam drum, giving guitar players the swirling rotary sound from a smaller, easier-to-carry box2.
A Leslie 16 derivative in a Fender cabinet
Don Leslie's rotary speakers were built for organs, and Fender's version was set up for guitar work. BOSS Articles describes the Leslie Model 16 as virtually identical in design to the Fender Vibratone1, and GuitarPlayer's Dave Hunter explains that Fender licensed the design from Leslie himself. The result, in his words, was aimed squarely at guitarists:
"The result was a sound that lived in the guitar's midrange band and emanated via a more portable and user-friendly unit"
The cabinet was finished in black Tolex, as on the Leslie Model 16 it was based on2. Both of the Vaughan brothers used the Fender Vibratone, according to Guitar World5.
The speaker and the foot switch
The Vibratone houses a 10-inch Jensen speaker positioned behind a rotating 15-inch styrofoam baffle, spun by a motorized rotor1. Because there is no amplifier inside, your guitar amp's output drives the cabinet, and the foot switch routes the signal.
The two-button foot switch does two jobs2:
- Changes between the cabinet's slow (chorale) and fast (tremolo) speeds
- Switches the amp's signal between its internal speaker and the Vibratone speaker
At the slow chorale speed the rotating drum produces a lush, chorus-like swirl; the fast tremolo speed gives a tighter vibrato pulse12.
What replaced it and what it influenced
Fender no longer makes the Vibratone, and the original cabinets now change hands as vintage gear. For players who want the sound without a 70-pound cabinet, the maker's own history of rotary effects points to pedal-based alternatives such as the Boss RT-20 Rotary Ensemble1, and Fender itself later launched The Pinwheel, a rotary speaker emulator pedal21. Other rotary pedals in the same field include the Neo Instruments Ventilator3 and the Strymon Lex Rotary.
Videos
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Questions
Does the Fender Vibratone need an external amp?
Yes. The Vibratone is a speaker cabinet only, with no amplifier of its own. Dave Hunter, writing for GuitarPlayer, notes that it required the use of an external amplifier, and that the cabinet contained only a single 10-inch speaker firing forward into a rotating 15-inch foam drum. Your amp's output drives the Vibratone, and the two-button foot switch routes the amp's signal between the amp's own speaker and the Vibratone.
How much does a Fender Vibratone weigh?
GuitarPlayer's Dave Hunter describes the Vibratone as a 70-pound box measuring 29 x 21 x 15 inches. That is lighter than a full-size Leslie setup, which is part of why Fender's version was pitched as a more portable and user-friendly unit for guitarists.
What is the difference between chorale and tremolo speeds?
The Vibratone's two-button foot switch changes between the cabinet's slow speed, called chorale, and its fast speed, called tremolo. At the slow chorale setting the rotating drum produces a lush, chorus-like swirl, while the faster tremolo setting gives a tighter vibrato pulse.
Is the Fender Vibratone a real Leslie?
It is a Leslie design built under license. GuitarPlayer reports that Fender licensed the Vibratone from an original rotary-speaker design by inventor Don Leslie, and BOSS Articles describes it as a guitar-friendly rotary speaker cabinet based on the Leslie Model 16. Guitar.com calls it a Leslie made by the brand from 1967 to 1972.
How long did Fender make the Vibratone?
Fender began producing the Vibratone in 1967, according to BOSS Articles, and Guitar.com gives the production run as 1967 to 1972.
Sources (5)
- Whirled Class: From Spinning Speaker Cabs to the RT-2 Rotary Ensemble, BOSS Articles (articles.boss.info), 2025-07-17
- The Fender Vibratone Brought Acid-Tinged Sonics to Recordings by Jimi Hendrix, the Byrds, Cream, Pink Floyd, Todd Rundgren and Stevie Ray Vaughan, GuitarPlayer (Future), 2023-05-23
- Neo Instruments Ventilator Rotary Pedal Review, Premier Guitar, 2011-06-14
- Fender launches six new pedals, Guitar.com, 2019-03-22
- Everything you need to know about modulation pedals, Guitar World, 2025-01-08
