When Pink Floyd started using the Leslie speaker for Gilmour’s guitar — and how it shaped Meddle and Dark Side

Gilmour didn’t start using a Leslie speaker until around 1970, when the band was moving away from the psychedelic pop of Atom Heart Mother and toward something more spacious. A Leslie 145 cabinet – originally designed for Hammond organs – became his go‑to for that slow, watery rotation effect.

On Meddle, the Leslie is all over “Echoes,” especially the clean arpeggios that shimmer and swirl without any obvious stereo panning. The rotating speaker creates a natural phasing and Doppler shift – the sound seems to move in three dimensions, which fits the album’s underwater atmosphere.

By Dark Side of the Moon, the Leslie was essential for the airy, floating guitar parts in “Breathe” and the long sustain in “Time.” It gave Gilmour that warm, organ‑like pulse that normal amps couldn’t produce. The combination of a fuzz pedal (like the Big Muff) into a Leslie cabinet became a signature sound: distorted but smooth, intense yet breathing.

The rotating speaker trick wasn’t unique to Floyd, but Gilmour’s dead‑simple rig made it iconic. He often miked both the rotating horn and the stationary bass rotor, blending the moving and stationary signals for extra depth. That simple choice helped define the band’s cosmic, atmospheric identity.