Grungy Digital Tonewheels (was Re[3]: What means

[Don Tillman]

   Date: Fri, 31 May 1996 10:19:39 -0400
   From: Bob.Schrum at harpercollins.com

   I'm not sure anyone on the Hammond list would really know, since the 
   tonewheel generator, to most, is just that thing that makes the 
   organ's sound unique, but are not sure why.   I'm sure the gear ratios 
   are exactly equal to the frequency ratios between semitones in an 
   equal tempered scale.  The MK50240 dividers are definitely just 
   approximations. 

They're *both* approximations.  Think about what equal-tempered means!

   Another factor in the Hammond sound was the fact that the generator 
   was wired to the rest of the organ through a fat bundle of unshielded 
   wire.  This caused a little of all 91 tonewheel's signals to leak into 
   the audio, even though one key may have been pressed.  

I don't think this is significant.  Remember the impedances are mighty
low. 

There was some magnetic leakage from neighboring tone wheels, but that
was solved by rearranging the order of the generators to a circle of
fifths.

  -- Don