Electro-Harmonix has announced its new Lester G and Lester K stereo rotary-speaker cabinet pedals.
The Lester G was designed for guitarists and includes a dedicated compressor that maximizes the rotary speaker effect on guitar. The more compact Lester K was created for the keyboard player who wants to enhance the quality of organ type sounds on their instruments.
Both feature Volume, Drive, Slow, Fast, Balance and Speed/Brake controls. Volume adjusts the pedal’s output level while 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 that sets the rate at which it transitions between Fast and Slow modes and can be adjusted from almost instant to a very gradual ramp up or down. The pedal also features an expression pedal input so a player can manually manipulate acceleration/deceleration via a standard EXP pedal.
The Lester G’s compressor is what makes it unique and contains Attack, Sustain and Squash controls. As the Attack knob is turned up the attack time of the compressor increases resulting in a more noticeable initial transient when a note is plucked. Sustain adjusts the amount of compression and at fully CCW the compression effect is bypassed. A pushbutton selects between Normal and Squash with the Squash setting yielding a higher compression ratio and a more dramatic effect.
EHX President and Founder, Mike Matthews, stated: “The Lester G is the ultimate rotary speaker effect. 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.”
Get The Pick Newsletter
All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!
Both the Lester G and K feature stereo inputs/outputs and come equipped with EHX9.6DC 200mA power supplies. The Lester G has a U.S. List Price of $298.70 while the Lester K is $237.40. The Lester G and K are available now.
Below, check out demo videos of the Lester G (top) and Lester K (bottom).
Guitar World’s 2016 Winter NAMM Show Coverage
Check out the NAMM 2016 section of GuitarWorld.com to keep up with our latest gear gear announcements, photos and videos. You also might want to consider following Guitar World via Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, because that's where most of the gear pics will be posted during show hours.
Since 1980, Guitar World has been the ultimate resource for guitarists. Whether you want to learn the techniques employed by your guitar heroes, read about their latest projects or simply need to know which guitar is the right one to buy, Guitar World is the place to look.
