In the vast universe of modulation pedals, some of the best were invented decades ago. Sometime in the distant past, a clever player plugged his guitar into a Leslie speaker – an amp/speaker designed for use with Hammond-style organs – and was rewarded with some of the sweetest, airiest effects known to mankind. You’ve heard it on classics like the Beatles’ “Let It Be,” SRV’s “Cold Shot,” and Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun”; it’s a wobbling sound akin to a guitar amp dipped in a pool of water. Boss is now capturing that vibe with the RT-2 Rotary Ensemble.
If you’re not familiar with a Leslie cabinet, it’s a heavy wood box the size of a small chest freezer that houses a rotating treble horn and a spinning bass baffle that together effectively stir the sound they produce. The user/player can adjust the cones’ rotation speed, which equates to the “Speed” knob on a chorus, vibrato, phaser, or tremolo pedal.
The brand-new RT-2 is a blissfully simple unit; there are controls for Level, Drive (a bit of grit), and two concentric Speed knobs to simulate the Leslie’s two speakers. The Mode switch offers three flavors of Leslie – traditional, a more-spacious effect, and a modern variation. Additional toggles on the back allow further tweaking of the distortion and balance between the rotors. There’s also a virtual rotor display, adding a groovy psychedelic effect for visualizing the speed, as well as stereo inputs and outputs.
For that classic Leslie lushness, reduce the drive to taste and push the two speed knobs up fairly high. Suddenly you have that epic sound that graced albums by George Harrison, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Peter Frampton, and zillions more.
Instead of hauling around a backbreaking 130-pound Leslie cabinet, Boss gives you all the rotating speaker you’ll ever need with the RT-2. It’s a modulation pedal definitely worth checking out. – Pete Prown
This article originally appeared in VG’s January 2026 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
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