What's a rotary speaker worth these days?

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zebra50

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 4, 2004
Messages
2,943
Location
York, UK
I've just been asked to make an offer on a rotary speaker in good working order. I think it is a sharma.

It would be a nice, fun thing to have at the studio, but I've no idea what these things are worth, or if they have any resale value. Don't want to insult the guy as he's a good client.

Any ideas?

:thumb:
 
Real leslies of some variety still comand decent dollars
it would seem , in fact anything you could call " vintage " might
ebay for silly money , sorry i have no numbers for you but they
weren't as popular as wah wahs so not as many in circulation
but it is a sound you just can't do any other way .
if it's working and has all the parts it may be a good investment
especialy if it is a name brand , good luck
 
I used to have a Yamaha RA-200 (as used by David Gilmour in the '70s). It was a very good sounding rotary speaker, but they really don't go for much. I can actually buy my old one back for $150. I also recently saw one on ebay for $200 and it didn't sell.

The clip doesn't really capture how nice they sound, but:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=C26sb-kDH5s
 
I bought a Leslie model 18 rotary speaker a few years back for $50 - essentially a no-horn/no-amp version of a Leslie, with the woofer baffle rotating along a horizontal axis instead of vertical. I think the Fender Vibrotone is the same thing, which (IIRC) is what Stevie Ray Vaughan used for his cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Little Wing".

Mind you for 50 bucks it came with no speaker, no footswitch, and needed all the tolex replaced :roll: That said, I have seen the Model 18 rotary speaker assemblies (ie, just the motor and rotating baffle mounted on a piece of plywood) advertised on ebay for similar prices and not sell. Maybe DIY possibilities?
 
Thanks for the comments. I looked on ebay history too and it seems like they often don't sell - I think probably the postage / shipping often outweighs the value.

If the guy wants to sell because he needs the space, then I may let him store it at the studio. :wink:
 
guess you're right , if the shipping weren't much i'd grab one
want that , it don't come easy , or bad finger no matter what sound
 
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