How to use ToneWheels?

[Patrice]

Could someone explain the use of this new module?

[rcmusic]

it's a oscillator module. With this one you are able to emulate organ sound, especially Hammond B3 type of sound. just make simple connection: oscillator to an output and test it, you'll understand

[Patrice]

I began whith a few of the new factory presets using it but with other oscillators so I didn't really grasped the ToneWheels role.
Used as a stand-alone oscillator, it is now clear. Thanks for the tip.

So the ToneWheels produces a kind of elementary additive synthesis.

The Wikipedia article about Hammond organ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammond_organ) provides an explanation for all parameters except the Hardness. If my ears don't betray me, the Hardness is a low pass filter.

[Philippe]

"Hardness" is a soft asymetrical saturation - a bit like the distortion you get with a triode vacuum tube -  applied to the drawbars outputs. It gives a more or less "dirty" sound. When turned clockwise, the saturation adds harmonics to the sound which may make you think that this setting acts as a LP filter.

[Patrice]

OK.
Did this exist on the Hammond Organ or is it an Arturia bonus?

[rcmusic]

i think this did not exist on the B3 itself.  searching the web i read that  a drive effect (little distorsion) was made using the leslie (because it has vavles in its conception).

[slammah2012]

Actually.... the B3 does have a tube amp before any signal gets sent to a leslie....
You have the tone wheel amp, the scanner amp, percussion amp, and the Volume pedal amplifier prior to any leslie amplifier....... key click was not controlled as it was a convenient result of 9 switches making staggered contact for each key...(1 per harmonic/fundemental)