Tonewheel Set for B4

With the B4 Tonewheel Set Vintage Collection, you can make a B4 sound like a B3 that is sparkling-fresh from the factory, or like it was more than 100 years old. You can even replace the B3-modeled tonewheels with those of a Vox Continental (soft, hard, or mix), a Farfisa Compact, or a harmonium to give your B4 a totally new character. Requires the full B4 with update 1.1 (update available free online).

Vox Continental

The classic British Vox Continental organs were played by many of the great bands in the sixties and seventies such as The Doors, The Animals and The Monkees. NI has extracted the tones from the Vox Continental and converted them into B4 Tonewheel data to change the B4 into the classic transistor combo organ. Choose from 3 Vox tonewheel sets: soft, hard, and mix, which faithfully correspond to the different tone sounds of the original Vox.

Farfisa

The highly collectible Farfisa Compact was played by Pink Floyd, Jean-Michel Jarre, and Blondie. Included on this CD are 2 tonewheel sets, one with the Farfisa's tone booster switch activated and one with it off.

Indian Harmonium

For something a bit unusual NI took an Indian Harmonium and converted its reed sound into a B4 tonewheel set. With just one or 2 drawbars pulled out and lots of pumping on the expression pedal, the B4 sounds quite close to a real harmonium. With more drawbars, vibrato-chorus, and the rotator turned on, it's something else!

Master Tune

Classic tonewheel organs are limited to a fixed tuning, since the tonewheels run at a fixed synchronous speed that cannot be changed. The only way to change the master tuning is to change the transmission ratios in the tonewheel generator. That's completely impractical in hardware but easily achieved with the B4's replaceable tonewheel generator. It includes B3 classic tonewheel sets in versions tuned to 436Hz, 444Hz, 448Hz, and 452Hz to complement the standard 440Hz tuning.

Altering

The filter capacitor in Hammond tonewheel generators deteriorate with age, which over time leads to an increase in leakage and rattle in the basic tone sound. Native Instruments found a way to artificially age the tonewheel sound. They can also run the process backwards to rejuvenate the tonewheels. To simulate B3 organs with different degrees of aging they offer tonewheel sets with varying amounts of purity or dirt:

B3 classic”well matured

B3 clean”good condition

B3 pure”better than on day one

B3 dirty”excessive aging

B3 filthy”very crunchy

B3 trash”far beyond repair

New tonewheels with one click

After the installation of the new tonewheel set you'll find all new tonewheels in the preset menu of the B4. Simply select the one you like and start playing. Included are 24 new drawbar settings which highlight the sound potential of the Vox and Farfisa.