Sharma loudspeaker

The Sharma loudspeaker was designed and manufactured in the UK in the 1960s and was in full production till the late 1970s. It came in various sizes and consisted of a wooden cabinet with rotating elements to create a cyclic doppler-shift effect in the sound ( a drum for the low frequencies and a pressure driven horn for the upper registers). It was designed to amplify electric organs such as the Hammond organ and was loosely based on the principles and design of the American Leslie speaker. However, the sound of the Sharma was never intended to reproduce the distinctive and somewhat restricting sound of the Leslie speaker, focusing instead on the later electronic organs Lowrey, Baldwin, Allen, etc. which had more accurate orchestral voicing which required a flatter frequency response from the amplifier chain. Many of the models incorporated several amplifier channels to allow direct connection to the larger organs, which also had this feature. Reed and string voices were never played through the rotating speakers, which were reserved for the 'Hammond-like' flute tones. The introduction of low-cost electronics which could emulate the rotating speaker sound brought forward the end of the era, with all the manufacturers of this type of equipment falling victim to decreasing sales.