Are you kidding me! I have no idea why two people dislike this. This young man has taken left-over, used, bits and pieces and creates an "Instrument which has the capability of mimicking great organs of the world... PLUS he has the musical skills to perform. AND then he has carpentry skills. I guess there are two people who can't recognize creativity or perhaps are from another universe. GREAT PERFORMANCE YOUNG MAN... and great creation.
well $1800 is still a lot of money fro most people. if I can buy a cheap Casio 61 note keyboard with a thousand sounds for 100+ bucks why cant i buy a 2 manual keyboard and pedals with a few good organ sounds for under $1000
Hi Kent - there is a full 32-note pedalboard, and you can see part of it in the bottom-right of the video. It was sourced from an old Allen organ, and midified for use with Hauptwerk.
Micky - those sub-$100 Casio keyboards are made of extremely cheap an non-durable components. The action feels unrealistic, and the midi-based sound is even less realistic (read:dreadful). A classical organist hoping to learn or practice Baroque, Romantic, or modern organ compositions cannot settle for that kind of piss-poor quality of touch and sound and hope to master the literature and the art of playing the organ. The technology and quality required to imitate a real organ is simply more expensive than that. The $1,800 setup shown here is less than a tenth the cost of a comparable big-brand digital organ, and--while it doesn't come in as pretty a package--it sounds better than most digital organs in the
you dont have to be such a technical snob. a good musician can make a crappy instrument sound good. if a music company produced an affordable organ that was not "perfect" but did the job, it would encourage a lot more people to learn the instrument.the extraordinarily high price is one of the many reasons why people who would want to learn to play the instrument dont.
surfing you tube and have only just found this. Awesome and incredible just not describe how m y mind has been blown away. I am now researching everything i can to build my own. wow i am so impressed.
as a retired Episc. priest who served in mostly smaller congregations for nearly 37 years, some with no instrument at all, how I wish we could have had Hauptwerk...for a smaller congregation especially with limited financial resources i think this software development is amazing. Although I'm not an organist, I have a good 'ear' for music---the sound is quite amazing. Well done!
Thanks for showing off your skills! I am studying up on this to see about getting a similar set-up for me at my home. Great music, great playing, and clever resourcefulness are always appreciated. Post more!
Thank-you for this upload. I was so impressed some four years ago that I built myself a similar instrument. I have spent the 50 years since I left school wanting an organ of some sort. I started building my VPO on 1st December 2013 and it has grown from one manual and no pedals to three 61 note manuals and a 25 note pedalboard salvaged from a Conn organ which I converted to midi. Second hand organ bits are a bit rare here in Australia so when I saw the Conn for sale for $50 I grabbed it. Sadly I had to dump the rest as I was about the move house and could not take it with me. My organ uses the same keyboards for the Choir and Great and another brand for the Swell. I am using a Mac mini to run the software. I started with the basic version but eventually saved up and bought the full version. I am using JBL powered speakers similar to yours with their subwoofer which makes a Bourdon 16 foot pipe really purr. I started like you using the free samples but ended up buying the small Grosshartsmansdorf Silberman instrument from Pipe Loops and later the Hereford 67 stop Cathedral Organ. These are both "wet" samples with recorded reverberation and do not need additional processing. Initially I used the output from the Mac but I quickly bought a small Focusrite Scarlett USB soundcard and balanced professional audio cables which eliminated hums and buzzes. I also like theatre organs. I started with the free Barton 312 which is really nice for a free sample but after listening to others on contrebombarde.com I bought the Paramount series from 310 (free) to 450 and the 341. These are "dry" samples so I initially used sortware reverb but it had too many delays and other problems for real time playing so I bought a simple mixing desk which has built in effects including a range of reverbs which work well with the Paramount organs. Thanks again for your original post. It showed me that I could at last have the organ I always wanted.
Seat-of-the-pants moxie ADDED to Yankee ingenuity always wins out. Congratulations. i'm sold! This sounds as good or better than the instrument a former neighbor built in his attic above the garage.
great demo, setup and sound....as a hauptizer myself, i have come to vastly appreciated the next to the real thing pipe organ on a shoestring budget..... joeroberts
Nicely engineered and it sound much more expensive than what one would think. I build speakers for two channel HI FI and those commercial monitors are fine products.
Late 2013 I found this post. It inspired me to create a similar instrument. I used similar keyboards and a pair of active JBL monitors but I added a JBL subwoofer as well. My pedalboard and bench came from an old CONN organ and I used midi parts from Midi Boutique in Bulgaria as well as a Roland UMX-1 interface. I am using a Mac Midi to which I have added 16 Gigs of memory. I started using the Basic (free) version of Hauptwerk but when I could afford it, I bought the Advanced version. Like you I experimented with free Demo samples but eventually I bought a small Silbermann sample from Pipeloops. More recently I bought the full Willis Hereford Cathedral organ sample and very recently - thanks to the website called Contrabombarde.com I discovered Theatre Organs and have bought the Paramount 450 series and the 341. All this took about a year and has cost me about $4000. All thanks to your post here. Thank-you very much for inspiring me. I have wanted an organ since I left school more than 47 years ago. I am now retired and my new organ has been a wonderful retirement toy.
Very nicely done video. I've been working up for a Grandorgue setup. Grandorgue is a free version of Hawptwerk. I am very happy with the sample sets that they have and honestly better than paying money. Right now, I also have 2 casio keyboards. One which has midi and one that doesn't. I also use 2 expression pedals for crescendo and swell and 3 "toe studs." The 3 toe studs are sustain pedals. It may not be beautiful, may not be professional, but it works. I also have it hooked up to a massive audio system. I am currently in the process of buying a pedalboard.
Loved the first & last organs. The French one was a little too busy (heavy) for me. I run a 12ch surround setup, would love to hear this organ thru it. 😎👍
Well that demo was something I really appreciated. The keyboards look like my favourite wine with icecream! And the specialist furniture supporting what I guess is a touch computer screen is classic and must be worth a fortune. But, to be serious, you play very well and have built a wonderful instrument. A thought occurs to me though:- would the large speakers from on top of the organ give a better bass feeling placed on the floor? I have been working up courage to start a Hauptwerk project for a long time and went for ready made organs. Technics GA3, then Orla GT900, last week a Wersi Verona with the Orla as part exchange. I didn't like the Verona: it was a bit dirty: the touch screen needed a good prodding to activate: a loose metal plate to the side: and most importantly, the bass sound could not produce theatre organ or church organ sound. Hope I am not rambling on too long. So next week the Wersi supplier is going to replace it with a Roland Atelier AT80 SL. Fingers crossed. Anyway, this is the most interesting account of a Hauptwerk build I have seen / heard; also you play extremely well; thankyou and God Bless you and your family.
me again....i was hoping for more videos of your music...i see you are using the jorgensen or the pieta hauptwerk program (two of my favorites)....take care....JR
And I use a laptop with Win 7 64bit 6G ram and a ghetto blaster that has bass boost for my 16' sound. I did spend some dough to get the Mt.Carmel/Skinner sample set, thus the dongle usage is necessary. Congrats !
Congratulations ! a wonderfully put together tour.Classy playing too,you're too modest ! I'm also looking forward to putting together a Hauptwerk system,you seem to swarm all over it,no doubt much trial & error ? Keep up the good work. Warmest Regards from N. Wales....Brian Gulland
Thanks, Brian! I'm definitely quite familiar with Hauptwerk. I did a large installation for a seminary here in the states, which gave me the opportunity to get to know the software well. Good luck with your project!
I like your musical "church" lovely dog. Thank you for sharing your video and recorded through Mic I supposed, so giving a clearer acoustical idea. Cheers.
I was once a pro bump skier, and my friend Joey Cordeau came up at Sugarbush. I'm looking into midifying a pedal board, and could not find your polish source...do you have any hints for pedalboard midi hardware?
Cool video, Iv been wanting to setup a Hauptwerk Console, but their pedal-board is like 1500$, How or can you make a video on how to midi up a pedal-board, and any specific requirement on what kind of board you need, I seen em on ebay for cheap.
I love the St. Annes organ. Not the best example of Brindley & Foster's work but a good one. I am biased as we have a Brindley & and Foster in our Church. It's beautiful
Can you please tell me how you joined the two keyboards? I need the information for a friend of mine who plays the organ and likes your setup very much!
You need a 3 channel MIDI mixer to connect cables for two manuals and pedal. Check EBay. Easier if you have 3 manual console then you need MIDI to usb connector.
Thanks, Benjamin! Here is my order from midi-hardware.com to midify the pedalboard: 1x MRG3 - DIN onboard x1 1x BBSP - 150cm cable x1 2x RibbonTail - 100cm x2
Hi, Very nice playing! Nice rig too. I have an old non midi Conn 720 at present. I've been thinking about picking up a used midi ready Allen or something to use with Hauptwerk but first I have been trying out the program on my Casio Privia piano. One thing I have noticed is a very slight latency (delay) from the time you press the key and the note sounds. I am using the free program with the St. Anne's Moseley. Have you experienced this? I want to resolve this before I spend money on any kind of console. Thanks!
Hi Cody - that is Theodore Dubois' Toccata in G Major. Brilliant piece of music, and tons of fun to play. It has that "perpetual motion" sense to it... it just keeps on rolling along! Sheet music at conquest.imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/c/cd/IMSLP129884-WIMA.8445-Dubois_Toccata.pdf
Hi Braam. Glad the video was helpful. Re: St. Anne's... it's just not my taste in instruments. I tend to be a big fan of the French Symphonic school of organbuilding, followed by German Baroque. The stodgy English sound just isn't my thing. Maybe if I were to revoice it with the advanced version of Hauptwerk, it would be ok. But as-is, it's not of interest to me. That said, many organists really enjoy it. So don't rule it out... give it a fair chance and see if it suits your tastes. Hope your Hauptwerk project comes together for you!
Excellent video! Do the Behringer monitors connect directly to the Delta 1010LT or is there an additional amp involved? I'm not too well-versed in audio so pardon my ignorance.
Can you explain in detail how the pieces of hardware are connected together? How are the 2 keyboards connected to the computer? Do you use a separate MIDI interface?
Hi there ! =) So I have 2 Keyboards in home and I want to use both. To use it i need more than an midi cabble ? I think 1800$ were a good investiment ! Gratz!
I really want to build something like this. Even less would be fine...just one register. I'm just tired of practicing organ on my weighted digital piano. I don't see how you rigged the pedals for midi, though. What hardware did you use?
Hi Patrick! I found the video very interesting because I would also like to make a Hauptwerk at home. I have a question about the software: what did you use? a free or purchased version? thanks and congratulations again for the execution of the songs!
I was using the free version at the time. I have since upgraded to the full advanced public performance license which better suits my needs now. But for basic practice, the free version works fine.
What are the dimensions, the "footprint of this organ set up. Would love to DIY a similar instrument for my home. Have Space limitations especially for depth.
Nice job dude, I build enclosures as a hobby and me personally I wouldnt spend money on studio speakers I'd buy midwoofers, tweeters, and multiple 18" subwoofers and build enclosures for all of em then place separate amplifiers to each
What resources did you use to learn how to do midi setup, and how to convert the pedalboard? I'm looking to build my own unit, but trying to learn about audio setup seems really daunting. What audio and/or midi interface did you choose and why, and how did you learn to set it up with the computer? Were you just able to connect the two keyboards and pedalboard straight into the computer? How did you program the memory switches on the keyboard to set stop combinations? If you could give any guidance as to where someone might look to learn enough about audio to set up something like this, it would be MUCH appreciated. :-) Thanks
Hi Lee, I had extensive IT/electronics/audio experience prior to this project, so a lot of it came naturally. But there are a ton of great threads and lots of good info at the Hauptwerk forum online, which is a great place to start. For my setup, the keyboards are USB, so basically plug'n'play. The pedalboard required some work to wire it up to a midi encoder, and then configure the encoder. Setting up switches, etc. is very simple, and can be done right in Hauptwerk from setup menus. But as I said, the Hauptwerk forum is a great place to start. And the full Hauptwerk manual is available online as well, and contains lots of insight into configuring the software.
Concerning your pedal MIDI electronics from Roman Sowa in Poland, how long did it take to get delivery after it was shipped? ... and did you use USPS? By the way, your video was a great inspiration and I'm on my way to creating a budget Hauptwerk organ also.
Hi. I've loved pipe organ music for decades, and I would LOVE to build a home pipe organ using Hauptwerk. I have to start from scratch; I don't have an electric organ or anything (except speakers). I read some articles on how to set it up, but they weren't too helpful and I'm overwhelmed. Is there any step-by-step set up document somewhere? Can I use any kind of electric organ? By the way, you play so well. You sound amazing.
Emiko Helmuth I've been working on my Hauptwerk setup and found a lot of great step by step information from this site: search hauptwerk experience randall mullin.
Very cool! I've been considering what to do about having a practice organ at home. Maybe the Hauptwerk option is best. I have not felt good about what I've seen on ebay, and new organs are far too expensive, not to mention poor resale value and slow turnover. I hate to imagine myself dead and my wife stuck with an expensive instrument she couldn't sell. If I decide to take on this new project, where to I start?
You ever get to Aspen? I'm putting together a Hauptwerk instrument for a local concert hall here. You sound like an accomplished organist. Do you have a church gig?
Haven't spent much time in Aspen, but it's not far (at least in the Summer; but it's a bit of a drive when 82 is closed). Sounds like a great project. I'd be interested to learn more. I'm currently organist for a Catholic (Traditional Latin Mass) parish in the Denver area. Prior to that I was an organist for a seminary in Nebraska (while studying there for two years) where I built a 3-manual Hauptwerk instrument built around the full Caen sample set. It's in a chapel with a 3.5-4 second reverb decay... incredible sound! Before my two years in the seminary, I was Choirmaster and Principle Organist for a parish in Vermont.
OK, for you and the youTube world. Thought you might be interested in knowing that I'm working on a very large Hauptwerk instrument. Guess I shouldn't say more about it here. I wanted to extend an invitation on one of your ski holidays to come here. The Hauptwerk organ won't be ready tip summer, but there are a surprising number of real pipe organs that you might enjoy playing. The biggest is a very robust 2x30 Wicks I talked a church into in 1999. There is also a 2x23 neo-baroque Moller from 1961, a 2x15 Zimmer and Sons (2011) and a little 2x7 Lyon & Healy tracker from about 1900. I know you'd be welcome as a guest artist at the Wicks if you were here on a Sunday. Also James Welch will be performing a recital on it on Monday January 27. You can respond privately if you want.
Very nice demo, indeed! I, too, am using the mini-Marcussen and wonder if you could share with me the registration that you used for the Widor? It sounded perfect for the piece.
I actually used the St. Etienne Cavaille-Coll (Caen, FR) demo from Sonus Paradisi on the Widor. I can try to piece together the registration I used if you're still interested.
bushmogulmaster Sorry, yes it was the Caen, I believe. I have that one, as well, but I've not used it nearly as much as the Marcussen. If you can find any spare time, I'd love to know the registration that you used for both. You have an ear (or training!) that I don't seem to have for the best registration. Thanks!
The Marcussen is definitely more versatile than the Caen demo, but for the French pieces, you can't beat the Cavaille-Coll sound. Anyway... I'm pulling up the Caen now to see if I still have a registration saved for the Widor VI. Will let you know...
Christian Moreau Okay, so I no longer had the registration I used in the video as a preset. But I just played around and I basically use all of the resources of the demo for the opening of the Allegro. It would be: GT: 8' Harmonic Flute 8' Gambe 8' Bourdon 8' Montre 4' Prestant 16' Bombarde 8' Trompette SW: 8' Diapason 4' Flute 2 2/3' Nazard 2' Octave 8' Hautbois Pos: 8' Salicional 8' Flute (Cor De Nuit) Ped: 16' Contrebasse 8' Flute 16' Bombarde Ventils/Couplers: SW-GT POS-GT GT-PED All Reeds On SW-SW 16' GT-GT 16' possible, but sounds muddy since the demo doesn't have mixtures to balance it out
bushmogulmaster I'm sure you're right. I think the reason I've dropped off trying to use the Caen is that I'm just not sure how to properly use the ventils. Unfortunately, at this point, my console far outshines my ability, but I am taking lessons, again. Have you considered the Behringer midi foot controller? I used it for quite awhile until I bought proper expression pedals from Classic. It not only has the two expression pedals, but ten foot switches that can be used as toe pistons, and the price can't be beat. www.amazon.com/Behringer-FCB1010-Controller-Expression-Pedals/dp/B000CZ0RK6
jaydlytning I'd love to do magnet-action drawknobs, but that's out of my price range. I'll probably add stop tabs in banks of 8 or 16 from midiworks.ca as I can afford them. Unless something comes up on eBay that I can wire up to a midi controller........ I'm always keeping my eyes open!
I find the work that you have done here very informative and certainly demonstrates the possibilities. One comment I have is that you have not included the cost of Hauptwerk itself and the cost of the samplesets. This would push the total cost significantly above the $1800 mark.
As I explained in the video, I was using the free version of Hauptwerk with free trial (partial) samplesets and composite samplesets. So the total cost was, in fact, $1,800.
How do you “midi-fy” the pedal board? Is it overly complicated? I would love to build one of these, but the pedalboard seems to be the only thing really holding me back. Thanks!
Hi Jacob - it's not overly complicated, but it does assume some basic electrical/electronic know-how. The pedalboard I bought already had contacts at each pedal (it was from an old Allen organ), so I just had to wire it up to the appropriate connectors on a midi controller. I got the midi controller from www.midi-hardware.com/index.php?section=products&R2=EUR&grp=0.
The pedalboard is from an older Allen organ (I bought it on eBay). It is a "princess" pedalboard, which means it's a little smaller than a standard AGO pedalboard. I had to wire it to a midi encoder (from Roman Sowa) in order for it to communicate with Hauptwerk.
bushmogulmaster Too bad you could not have gotten a full AGO Allen pedalboard. I have run across several, and would have gladly given you one! I have an Allen full AGO pedalboard on my virtual organ, which is a 3/22 theater organ. You can drop Allen components off a cliff, and they will still work! As for stops, go to local dealers that may be scrapping OLD Allen analogs when they do new installs. The console parts will still work great. A portion of my SAMS actions are Allen. 50 years old, still work like new.
Love your playing. What was the name of the piece you played starting at T=2:30 ( ua-cam.com/video/UWprXxnmrYM/v-deo.html ). I'd like to learn that someday.
Does anyone understand the Hauptwerk license for the free version? It seems to restrict use to private only, which I would assume means you can't use it in a UA-cam video unless you are critiquing it or demonstrating something about it like here (fair use doctrine)? I see similar copyright license restrictions on paid and free sample sets. Yet there are a LOT of UA-cam videos featuring Hauptwerk free and paid sets. What's the deal here, anyone know?
I think you are vastly misunderstanding their reasoning for a "free" license. If anything, they want people posting videos to youtube. It's free advertising. It isn't as though youtube somehow provides a means to remotely play a Hauptwerk organ in a commercial way, nobody is selling access to their HW setup on youtube, or using youtube to copy Hauptwerk software, etc. etc. etc. Maybe they would have a problem if someone posted a video of every note of every sampled stop being played individually...nobody in their right mind is going to do that. And as far as I know, no organist in the world is charging to view or listen to their Hauptwerk performances in "real life", and certainly not on youtube, either. In fact, it's hard to say what their basis for "commercial" is - most of the world's organs are in decidedly non-commercial (we hope) churches. In fact if you look at digital organs, generally, hardly any albums have been commercially recorded on them that weren't promotional products for companies like Rodgers or Allen. Cameron Carpenter's latest release on his own custom organ is probably the single exception since Virgil Fox. Frankly, Hauptwerk should be so lucky as to have someone 'commercially' exploit their product in that way. What they are really trying to avoid is someone trying to become "Joe Schmoe's Digital Organ Company" using Hauptwerk internally without having it licensed for that use.
Interesting video here! Yes, you have some pretty good sound here. I noticed you mentioned about not having a swell pedal. Fortunately, a volume pedal that has MIDI output can be programmed in Hauptwerk to function as a true crescendo pedal or a true swell pedal. I managed to program mine to function as a crescendo pedal. If both of your keyboards have a volume pedal input, you can probably program both of these, one as a crescendo pedal, and the other as a swell pedal. May God's peace be with you--in the name of Jesus! From John Nozum, a fellow organist
Im using hauptwerk with electone elb 01, is there any others way, make sound from hauptwer not only from laptop? can the sound out from electone speaker? thx
I use an external USB "soundcard" Mine is a two channel Focusrite Scarlett. You plug it in to the computer via a USB port and then in the computers setup you switch the output of sound to the new device. You also do this in Hauptwerk. I then use a pair of powered studio monitors connected to the Focusrite using professional ballanced cables. The results are great. The device costs about $200 in Australia but should be quite a bit cheaper if you are in the US. Initially I used to take sound from the computer through the headphone socket but this does not work well.
Thomas Stoysich Well, she'll be needing an upgrade as soon as I can afford the full version of Hauptwerk and some bigger sample sets, but as it stands now: AMD Athlon X4 750K Quad Core 3.4ghz CPU 8gb DDR3 (Crucial Ballistix) 64gb ADATA SATA SSD
Hello bushmogulmaster - Congrats on your Hauptwerk installation, it sounds great. I am looking at expanding the limited instrument at the church where I am organist, but that's not why I'm writing. The first piece you play (in G) is not actually the BWV 592 (which is a transcription by Bach of a piece by Ernst). I wonder if you remember what it is? I'd love to know.
Hi - the BWV592 comment was in response to the following question from another user: "+ohadoma prince: what's the name of the second piece u played(Bach)". He was referring to the second sample demonstration, and you'll find the 592 at 8:15 in the video. The first piece, however, was Theodore Dubois' Toccata in G Major, a grand a fun piece that has the sort of "perpetual motion" feel to it.
Thanks so much for replying, I obviously didn't read carefully enough. I was pretty sure I knew all my Bach and didn't recognize it. No wonder! Well one G Major is pretty much like another, right? Thanks again it's a wonderful piece.
Ikyds, It takes real dedication, and many hours of learning to master your eyes, mind, and fingers. I've been playing for 37 years, and though I love to play, enjoying myself very much, there are still many times when I'm not satisfied with the results.
Are you kidding me! I have no idea why two people dislike this. This young man has taken left-over, used, bits and pieces and creates an "Instrument which has the capability of mimicking great organs of the world... PLUS he has the musical skills to perform. AND then he has carpentry skills. I guess there are two people who can't recognize creativity or perhaps are from another universe. GREAT PERFORMANCE YOUNG MAN... and great creation.
well $1800 is still a lot of money fro most people. if I can buy a cheap Casio 61 note keyboard with a thousand sounds for 100+ bucks why cant i buy a 2 manual keyboard and pedals with a few good organ sounds for under $1000
Hi Kent - there is a full 32-note pedalboard, and you can see part of it in the bottom-right of the video. It was sourced from an old Allen organ, and midified for use with Hauptwerk.
Micky - those sub-$100 Casio keyboards are made of extremely cheap an non-durable components. The action feels unrealistic, and the midi-based sound is even less realistic (read:dreadful). A classical organist hoping to learn or practice Baroque, Romantic, or modern organ compositions cannot settle for that kind of piss-poor quality of touch and sound and hope to master the literature and the art of playing the organ. The technology and quality required to imitate a real organ is simply more expensive than that. The $1,800 setup shown here is less than a tenth the cost of a comparable big-brand digital organ, and--while it doesn't come in as pretty a package--it sounds better than most digital organs in the
you dont have to be such a technical snob. a good musician can make a crappy instrument sound good. if a music company produced an affordable organ that was not "perfect" but did the job, it would encourage a lot more people to learn the instrument.the extraordinarily high price is one of the many reasons why people who would want to learn to play the instrument dont.
I was referring to bushmogulmaster, not you Kent. anyway, correct grammar is meaningless if the person understands your message
surfing you tube and have only just found this. Awesome and incredible just not describe how m y mind has been blown away. I am now researching everything i can to build my own. wow i am so impressed.
Thank you! What a grand sound! Keep going! You are on the right path!
as a retired Episc. priest who served in mostly smaller congregations for nearly 37 years, some with no instrument at all, how I wish we could have had Hauptwerk...for a smaller congregation especially with limited financial resources i think this software development is amazing. Although I'm not an organist, I have a good 'ear' for music---the sound is quite amazing. Well done!
Thank you putting this out. It’s a struggle to get the true organ sound, and no all in one keyboard can offer that. Keep playing!
I am most impressed with this setup. You are also very accomplished as an organist and I wish you well with your project
I love this! It sounds great. It’s inspiring to see that it’s possible to do this on a budget!
Marvelous! I wouldn't have believed it had I not seen and heard it. I bow to your prowess.
Great demo - love that sound, you play well, too! Thanks!
Thanks for showing off your skills! I am studying up on this to see about getting a similar set-up for me at my home. Great music, great playing, and clever resourcefulness are always appreciated. Post more!
Thank-you for this upload. I was so impressed some four years ago that I built myself a similar instrument. I have spent the 50 years since I left school wanting an organ of some sort. I started building my VPO on 1st December 2013 and it has grown from one manual and no pedals to three 61 note manuals and a 25 note pedalboard salvaged from a Conn organ which I converted to midi. Second hand organ bits are a bit rare here in Australia so when I saw the Conn for sale for $50 I grabbed it. Sadly I had to dump the rest as I was about the move house and could not take it with me.
My organ uses the same keyboards for the Choir and Great and another brand for the Swell. I am using a Mac mini to run the software. I started with the basic version but eventually saved up and bought the full version.
I am using JBL powered speakers similar to yours with their subwoofer which makes a Bourdon 16 foot pipe really purr.
I started like you using the free samples but ended up buying the small Grosshartsmansdorf Silberman instrument from Pipe Loops and later the Hereford 67 stop Cathedral Organ. These are both "wet" samples with recorded reverberation and do not need additional processing.
Initially I used the output from the Mac but I quickly bought a small Focusrite Scarlett USB soundcard and balanced professional audio cables which eliminated hums and buzzes.
I also like theatre organs. I started with the free Barton 312 which is really nice for a free sample but after listening to others on contrebombarde.com I bought the Paramount series from 310 (free) to 450 and the 341. These are "dry" samples so I initially used sortware reverb but it had too many delays and other problems for real time playing so I bought a simple mixing desk which has built in effects including a range of reverbs which work well with the Paramount organs.
Thanks again for your original post. It showed me that I could at last have the organ I always wanted.
Seat-of-the-pants moxie ADDED to Yankee ingenuity always wins out. Congratulations. i'm sold!
This sounds as good or better than the instrument a former neighbor built in his attic above the garage.
great demo, setup and sound....as a hauptizer myself, i have come to vastly appreciated the next to the real thing pipe organ on a shoestring budget.....
joeroberts
Could anyone provide me with the titles of pieces that were played here? Especially at the beginning and at 5:10
Nicely engineered and it sound much more expensive than what one would think. I build speakers for two channel HI FI and those commercial monitors are fine products.
Late 2013 I found this post. It inspired me to create a similar instrument. I used similar keyboards and a pair of active JBL monitors but I added a JBL subwoofer as well. My pedalboard and bench came from an old CONN organ and I used midi parts from Midi Boutique in Bulgaria as well as a Roland UMX-1 interface. I am using a Mac Midi to which I have added 16 Gigs of memory. I started using the Basic (free) version of Hauptwerk but when I could afford it, I bought the Advanced version. Like you I experimented with free Demo samples but eventually I bought a small Silbermann sample from Pipeloops. More recently I bought the full Willis Hereford Cathedral organ sample and very recently - thanks to the website called Contrabombarde.com I discovered Theatre Organs and have bought the Paramount 450 series and the 341. All this took about a year and has cost me about $4000. All thanks to your post here. Thank-you very much for inspiring me. I have wanted an organ since I left school more than 47 years ago. I am now retired and my new organ has been a wonderful retirement toy.
Very nicely done video. I've been working up for a Grandorgue setup. Grandorgue is a free version of Hawptwerk. I am very happy with the sample sets that they have and honestly better than paying money. Right now, I also have 2 casio keyboards. One which has midi and one that doesn't. I also use 2 expression pedals for crescendo and swell and 3 "toe studs." The 3 toe studs are sustain pedals. It may not be beautiful, may not be professional, but it works. I also have it hooked up to a massive audio system. I am currently in the process of buying a pedalboard.
This sounds fabulous.
I would love to speak with you further regarding your opinions on how to start to build an organ such as yours. The sound is incredible.
Great, I admire your enthusiasm and I like your dog :-)
Any chance you can update this by making a new video detailing how you built this and run it so newbs like myself could attempt a home organ?
There is always someone who finds fault. Always. I think this is fabulous!
Loved the first & last organs. The French one was a little too busy (heavy) for me. I run a 12ch surround setup, would love to hear this organ thru it. 😎👍
Great! Thanks for sharing! Look forward to trying to do something like this in the future!
Wonderful guy. I'm jealous; wish I were that skilled and could be that creative.
That is so cool. Thanks for sharing. I do have the demo organ but most of my stuff is rather, well, take a look at my setup. It takes up a whole room.
Well that demo was something I really appreciated. The keyboards look like my favourite wine with icecream! And the specialist furniture supporting what I guess is a touch computer screen is classic and must be worth a fortune.
But, to be serious, you play very well and have built a wonderful instrument.
A thought occurs to me though:- would the large speakers from on top of the organ give a better bass feeling placed on the floor?
I have been working up courage to start a Hauptwerk project for a long time and went for ready made organs.
Technics GA3, then Orla GT900, last week a Wersi Verona with the Orla as part exchange.
I didn't like the Verona: it was a bit dirty: the touch screen needed a good prodding to activate: a loose metal plate to the side: and most importantly, the bass sound could not produce theatre organ or church organ sound.
Hope I am not rambling on too long.
So next week the Wersi supplier is going to replace it with a Roland Atelier AT80 SL.
Fingers crossed.
Anyway, this is the most interesting account of a Hauptwerk build I have seen / heard; also you play extremely well; thankyou and God Bless you and your family.
me again....i was hoping for more videos of your music...i see you are using the jorgensen or the pieta hauptwerk program (two of my favorites)....take care....JR
And I use a laptop with Win 7 64bit 6G ram and a ghetto blaster that has bass boost for my 16' sound. I did spend some dough to get the Mt.Carmel/Skinner sample set, thus the dongle usage is necessary. Congrats !
Wow! This sounds so good! I'm looking for an organ for home practice as well. Would you give me more details how to make it??
Congratulations ! a wonderfully put together tour.Classy playing too,you're too modest ! I'm also looking forward to putting together a Hauptwerk system,you seem to swarm all over it,no doubt much trial & error ? Keep up the good work. Warmest Regards from N. Wales....Brian Gulland
Thanks, Brian! I'm definitely quite familiar with Hauptwerk. I did a large installation for a seminary here in the states, which gave me the opportunity to get to know the software well. Good luck with your project!
I like it and the dog likes it. Enough said, accept, I want one!
I like your musical "church" lovely dog. Thank you for sharing your video and recorded through Mic I supposed, so giving a clearer acoustical idea. Cheers.
I was once a pro bump skier, and my friend Joey Cordeau came up at Sugarbush. I'm looking into midifying a pedal board, and could not find your polish source...do you have any hints for pedalboard midi hardware?
Cool video, Iv been wanting to setup a Hauptwerk Console, but their pedal-board is like 1500$, How or can you make a video on how to midi up a pedal-board, and any specific requirement on what kind of board you need, I seen em on ebay for cheap.
I love the St. Annes organ. Not the best example of Brindley & Foster's work but a good one. I am biased as we have a Brindley & and Foster in our Church. It's beautiful
Can you please tell me how you joined the two keyboards? I need the information for a friend of mine who plays the organ and likes your setup very much!
You need a 3 channel MIDI mixer to connect cables for two manuals and pedal. Check EBay. Easier if you have 3 manual console then you need MIDI to usb connector.
I must obtain this pipe organ to my collection of music sounds for playing to the Glory of GOD.
How can I install it on my PC? I've been trying, but I coudn't finish the instalation. Please, help me!
Very impressive! Can you post the model numbers of the MIDI hardware you bought from Roman Sawa?
Thanks, Benjamin! Here is my order from midi-hardware.com to midify the pedalboard:
1x MRG3
- DIN onboard x1
1x BBSP
- 150cm cable x1
2x RibbonTail
- 100cm x2
Hi,
Very nice playing! Nice rig too. I have an old non midi Conn 720 at present. I've been thinking about picking up a used midi ready Allen or something to use with Hauptwerk but first I have been trying out the program on my Casio Privia piano. One thing I have noticed is a very slight latency (delay) from the time you press the key and the note sounds. I am using the free program with the St. Anne's Moseley. Have you experienced this? I want to resolve this before I spend money on any kind of console. Thanks!
What is the name of the piece played at 2:44???
I love it and want to learn it!
Hi Cody - that is Theodore Dubois' Toccata in G Major. Brilliant piece of music, and tons of fun to play. It has that "perpetual motion" sense to it... it just keeps on rolling along! Sheet music at conquest.imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/c/cd/IMSLP129884-WIMA.8445-Dubois_Toccata.pdf
Thank you for your video! I'm just starting my own project and it was very helpful! If I may ask though why do you not like the St Anne's?
Hi Braam. Glad the video was helpful. Re: St. Anne's... it's just not my taste in instruments. I tend to be a big fan of the French Symphonic school of organbuilding, followed by German Baroque. The stodgy English sound just isn't my thing. Maybe if I were to revoice it with the advanced version of Hauptwerk, it would be ok. But as-is, it's not of interest to me. That said, many organists really enjoy it. So don't rule it out... give it a fair chance and see if it suits your tastes. Hope your Hauptwerk project comes together for you!
I see! Thank you!
Excellent video! Do the Behringer monitors connect directly to the Delta 1010LT or is there an additional amp involved? I'm not too well-versed in audio so pardon my ignorance.
Can you explain in detail how the pieces of hardware are connected together? How are the 2 keyboards connected to the computer? Do you use a separate MIDI interface?
Organ keys are slightly narrower than piano, aren't they? Does this difference matter when practicing on a piano-sized keyboard?
What is the name of the free software that you use? I don't mean Hauptwerk but the other one that you said.
Hi there ! =) So I have 2 Keyboards in home and I want to use both. To use it i need more than an midi cabble ? I think 1800$ were a good investiment ! Gratz!
Hello, the software you use is the HAUPTWER 4 (basic version)?
How much did you pay?
The sound is beautiful, thank you for your reply, cordially, loic
I really want to build something like this. Even less would be fine...just one register. I'm just tired of practicing organ on my weighted digital piano. I don't see how you rigged the pedals for midi, though. What hardware did you use?
Hi Patrick! I found the video very interesting because I would also like to make a Hauptwerk at home.
I have a question about the software: what did you use? a free or purchased version?
thanks and congratulations again for the execution of the songs!
I was using the free version at the time. I have since upgraded to the full advanced public performance license which better suits my needs now. But for basic practice, the free version works fine.
@@PatrickTorsell Thank you! Your information was very helpful!
What are the dimensions, the "footprint of this organ set up. Would love to DIY a similar instrument for my home. Have Space limitations especially for depth.
Nice post! Very tempting setup.
Nice job dude, I build enclosures as a hobby and me personally I wouldnt spend money on studio speakers I'd buy midwoofers, tweeters, and multiple 18" subwoofers and build enclosures for all of em then place separate amplifiers to each
What resources did you use to learn how to do midi setup, and how to convert the pedalboard? I'm looking to build my own unit, but trying to learn about audio setup seems really daunting. What audio and/or midi interface did you choose and why, and how did you learn to set it up with the computer? Were you just able to connect the two keyboards and pedalboard straight into the computer? How did you program the memory switches on the keyboard to set stop combinations? If you could give any guidance as to where someone might look to learn enough about audio to set up something like this, it would be MUCH appreciated. :-) Thanks
Hi Lee,
I had extensive IT/electronics/audio experience prior to this project, so a lot of it came naturally. But there are a ton of great threads and lots of good info at the Hauptwerk forum online, which is a great place to start. For my setup, the keyboards are USB, so basically plug'n'play. The pedalboard required some work to wire it up to a midi encoder, and then configure the encoder. Setting up switches, etc. is very simple, and can be done right in Hauptwerk from setup menus. But as I said, the Hauptwerk forum is a great place to start. And the full Hauptwerk manual is available online as well, and contains lots of insight into configuring the software.
Concerning your pedal MIDI electronics from Roman Sowa in Poland, how long did it take to get delivery after it was shipped? ... and did you use USPS?
By the way, your video was a great inspiration and I'm on my way to creating a budget Hauptwerk organ also.
Hi Patrick, Can you be more specific about the Cavaillé-Coll sample set you are using ? Where did you get it ? The price for it ?Thanks.
This instrument has a very nice sound. ( And you look great in your jeans!)
ohadoma prince It's the first page of the first movement of Bach's concerto in G major, BWV592.
Hi. I've loved pipe organ music for decades, and I would LOVE to build a home pipe organ using Hauptwerk. I have to start from scratch; I don't have an electric organ or anything (except speakers). I read some articles on how to set it up, but they weren't too helpful and I'm overwhelmed. Is there any step-by-step set up document somewhere? Can I use any kind of electric organ? By the way, you play so well. You sound amazing.
Emiko Helmuth I've been working on my Hauptwerk setup and found a lot of great step by step information from this site: search hauptwerk experience randall mullin.
steverabb Thank you for the link. I've found this also, but it seems to be a bit pricy? www.martindigitalorgans.com/hauptwerk-diy-kit.html
Very cool! I've been considering what to do about having a practice organ at home. Maybe the Hauptwerk option is best. I have not felt good about what I've seen on ebay, and new organs are far too expensive, not to mention poor resale value and slow turnover. I hate to imagine myself dead and my wife stuck with an expensive instrument she couldn't sell. If I decide to take on this new project, where to I start?
You ever get to Aspen? I'm putting together a Hauptwerk instrument for a local concert hall here. You sound like an accomplished organist. Do you have a church gig?
Haven't spent much time in Aspen, but it's not far (at least in the Summer; but it's a bit of a drive when 82 is closed). Sounds like a great project. I'd be interested to learn more.
I'm currently organist for a Catholic (Traditional Latin Mass) parish in the Denver area. Prior to that I was an organist for a seminary in Nebraska (while studying there for two years) where I built a 3-manual Hauptwerk instrument built around the full Caen sample set. It's in a chapel with a 3.5-4 second reverb decay... incredible sound! Before my two years in the seminary, I was Choirmaster and Principle Organist for a parish in Vermont.
bushmogulmaster I was going to respond privately but you're locked. I've got to run, but I'll send you a response later or tomorrow.
OK, for you and the youTube world. Thought you might be interested in knowing that I'm working on a very large Hauptwerk instrument. Guess I shouldn't say more about it here. I wanted to extend an invitation on one of your ski holidays to come here. The Hauptwerk organ won't be ready tip summer, but there are a surprising number of real pipe organs that you might enjoy playing. The biggest is a very robust 2x30 Wicks I talked a church into in 1999. There is also a 2x23 neo-baroque Moller from 1961, a 2x15 Zimmer and Sons (2011) and a little 2x7 Lyon & Healy tracker from about 1900. I know you'd be welcome as a guest artist at the Wicks if you were here on a Sunday. Also James Welch will be performing a recital on it on Monday January 27. You can respond privately if you want.
Very nice demo, indeed! I, too, am using the mini-Marcussen and wonder if you could share with me the registration that you used for the Widor? It sounded perfect for the piece.
I actually used the St. Etienne Cavaille-Coll (Caen, FR) demo from Sonus Paradisi on the Widor. I can try to piece together the registration I used if you're still interested.
bushmogulmaster Sorry, yes it was the Caen, I believe. I have that one, as well, but I've not used it nearly as much as the Marcussen. If you can find any spare time, I'd love to know the registration that you used for both. You have an ear (or training!) that I don't seem to have for the best registration. Thanks!
The Marcussen is definitely more versatile than the Caen demo, but for the French pieces, you can't beat the Cavaille-Coll sound. Anyway... I'm pulling up the Caen now to see if I still have a registration saved for the Widor VI. Will let you know...
Christian Moreau Okay, so I no longer had the registration I used in the video as a preset. But I just played around and I basically use all of the resources of the demo for the opening of the Allegro. It would be:
GT:
8' Harmonic Flute
8' Gambe
8' Bourdon
8' Montre
4' Prestant
16' Bombarde
8' Trompette
SW:
8' Diapason
4' Flute
2 2/3' Nazard
2' Octave
8' Hautbois
Pos:
8' Salicional
8' Flute (Cor De Nuit)
Ped:
16' Contrebasse
8' Flute
16' Bombarde
Ventils/Couplers:
SW-GT
POS-GT
GT-PED
All Reeds On
SW-SW 16'
GT-GT 16' possible, but sounds muddy since the demo doesn't have mixtures to balance it out
bushmogulmaster I'm sure you're right. I think the reason I've dropped off trying to use the Caen is that I'm just not sure how to properly use the ventils. Unfortunately, at this point, my console far outshines my ability, but I am taking lessons, again. Have you considered the Behringer midi foot controller? I used it for quite awhile until I bought proper expression pedals from Classic. It not only has the two expression pedals, but ten foot switches that can be used as toe pistons, and the price can't be beat. www.amazon.com/Behringer-FCB1010-Controller-Expression-Pedals/dp/B000CZ0RK6
how are the speakers connected to the computer? do you have a USB audio interface or sound card, or are you using onboard sound?
Where can i get those componentes of the price list? I live in México city. Thanks you so much!
is there a way to build this system for an existing church organ?
Thank you very much for the video. Can you please help me out on building the same organ? Kindly help
Awesome job! How do you plan on adding stop controls?
jaydlytning I'd love to do magnet-action drawknobs, but that's out of my price range. I'll probably add stop tabs in banks of 8 or 16 from midiworks.ca as I can afford them. Unless something comes up on eBay that I can wire up to a midi controller........ I'm always keeping my eyes open!
good morning, just one question, what is the pedalboard that you use?, thanks
I find the work that you have done here very informative and certainly demonstrates the possibilities. One comment I have is that you have not included the cost of Hauptwerk itself and the cost of the samplesets. This would push the total cost significantly above the $1800 mark.
As I explained in the video, I was using the free version of Hauptwerk with free trial (partial) samplesets and composite samplesets. So the total cost was, in fact, $1,800.
What software other than Hauptwerk do you need to run it?
If you dont have pedals can you get pedal up to a keyboard?
AWESOME SOUND MOGULMASTER
Hauptwerk is all you need...if you don't have a pedal board you can assign a keyboard to "Be" the pedals.
Were can I buy in Mexico.
whats the sample set used here?
How do you “midi-fy” the pedal board? Is it overly complicated? I would love to build one of these, but the pedalboard seems to be the only thing really holding me back.
Thanks!
Hi Jacob - it's not overly complicated, but it does assume some basic electrical/electronic know-how. The pedalboard I bought already had contacts at each pedal (it was from an old Allen organ), so I just had to wire it up to the appropriate connectors on a midi controller. I got the midi controller from www.midi-hardware.com/index.php?section=products&R2=EUR&grp=0.
how to add reverb in hauptwerk?
how much the pedal board?
Hi! Where did you buy you pedal-board? What type is it? I could not understand it so well in the video.Thanks!
The pedalboard is from an older Allen organ (I bought it on eBay). It is a "princess" pedalboard, which means it's a little smaller than a standard AGO pedalboard. I had to wire it to a midi encoder (from Roman Sowa) in order for it to communicate with Hauptwerk.
bushmogulmaster Too bad you could not have gotten a full AGO Allen pedalboard. I have run across several, and would have gladly given you one! I have an Allen full AGO pedalboard on my virtual organ, which is a 3/22 theater organ. You can drop Allen components off a cliff, and they will still work! As for stops, go to local dealers that may be scrapping OLD Allen analogs when they do new installs. The console parts will still work great. A portion of my SAMS actions are Allen. 50 years old, still work like new.
Love your playing. What was the name of the piece you played starting at T=2:30 ( ua-cam.com/video/UWprXxnmrYM/v-deo.html ). I'd like to learn that someday.
Ah, found it on another site, sounds like Toccata in g Majeur - T. Dubois
Does anyone understand the Hauptwerk license for the free version? It seems to restrict use to private only, which I would assume means you can't use it in a UA-cam video unless you are critiquing it or demonstrating something about it like here (fair use doctrine)? I see similar copyright license restrictions on paid and free sample sets. Yet there are a LOT of UA-cam videos featuring Hauptwerk free and paid sets. What's the deal here, anyone know?
I think you are vastly misunderstanding their reasoning for a "free" license. If anything, they want people posting videos to youtube. It's free advertising. It isn't as though youtube somehow provides a means to remotely play a Hauptwerk organ in a commercial way, nobody is selling access to their HW setup on youtube, or using youtube to copy Hauptwerk software, etc. etc. etc. Maybe they would have a problem if someone posted a video of every note of every sampled stop being played individually...nobody in their right mind is going to do that.
And as far as I know, no organist in the world is charging to view or listen to their Hauptwerk performances in "real life", and certainly not on youtube, either. In fact, it's hard to say what their basis for "commercial" is - most of the world's organs are in decidedly non-commercial (we hope) churches. In fact if you look at digital organs, generally, hardly any albums have been commercially recorded on them that weren't promotional products for companies like Rodgers or Allen. Cameron Carpenter's latest release on his own custom organ is probably the single exception since Virgil Fox. Frankly, Hauptwerk should be so lucky as to have someone 'commercially' exploit their product in that way. What they are really trying to avoid is someone trying to become "Joe Schmoe's Digital Organ Company" using Hauptwerk internally without having it licensed for that use.
LOVE IT!!
what's the name of the second piece u played(Bach)
Love it well done indeed
Which keyboards are you using?
All the details are given at the end of the video! 9:35
That is amazing!
Interesting video here! Yes, you have some pretty good sound here.
I noticed you mentioned about not having a swell pedal. Fortunately, a volume pedal that has MIDI output can be programmed in Hauptwerk to function as a true crescendo pedal or a true swell pedal. I managed to program mine to function as a crescendo pedal. If both of your keyboards have a volume pedal input, you can probably program both of these, one as a crescendo pedal, and the other as a swell pedal.
May God's peace be with you--in the name of Jesus!
From John Nozum, a fellow organist
Im using hauptwerk with electone elb 01, is there any others way, make sound from hauptwer not only from laptop? can the sound out from electone speaker? thx
I use an external USB "soundcard" Mine is a two channel Focusrite Scarlett. You plug it in to the computer via a USB port and then in the computers setup you switch the output of sound to the new device. You also do this in Hauptwerk. I then use a pair of powered studio monitors connected to the Focusrite using professional ballanced cables. The results are great. The device costs about $200 in Australia but should be quite a bit cheaper if you are in the US.
Initially I used to take sound from the computer through the headphone socket but this does not work well.
What are the specs on the computer that you built? Processor, Ram ect.?
Thomas Stoysich Well, she'll be needing an upgrade as soon as I can afford the full version of Hauptwerk and some bigger sample sets, but as it stands now:
AMD Athlon X4 750K Quad Core 3.4ghz CPU
8gb DDR3 (Crucial Ballistix)
64gb ADATA SATA SSD
Hello bushmogulmaster - Congrats on your Hauptwerk installation, it sounds great. I am looking at expanding the limited instrument at the church where I am organist, but that's not why I'm writing. The first piece you play (in G) is not actually the BWV 592 (which is a transcription by Bach of a piece by Ernst). I wonder if you remember what it is? I'd love to know.
Hi - the BWV592 comment was in response to the following question from another user: "+ohadoma prince: what's the name of the second piece u played(Bach)". He was referring to the second sample demonstration, and you'll find the 592 at 8:15 in the video.
The first piece, however, was Theodore Dubois' Toccata in G Major, a grand a fun piece that has the sort of "perpetual motion" feel to it.
Thanks so much for replying, I obviously didn't read carefully enough. I was pretty sure I knew all my Bach and didn't recognize it. No wonder! Well one G Major is pretty much like another, right? Thanks again it's a wonderful piece.
Sound close to pipe organ in the Church. Too good for a electronic instrument
How many hours to learn to play like you do? Forgive my ignorance!
5000 hrs
Ikyds, It takes real dedication, and many hours of learning to master your eyes, mind, and fingers. I've been playing for 37 years, and though I love to play, enjoying myself very much, there are still many times when I'm not satisfied with the results.
I want to do EXACTLY THIS.
Only today a 65% discount on popular organ sample sets !
Our site is listed on UA-cam
Love it!
Awesome. Cheers!
Wonderful
How did you stack the keyboards?
I just set the swell atop the great, and put a few books under the back! I've since built some primitive key cheeks to hold things together.
bushmogulmaster Thanks
How did you connect the pedalboard with keyboards?
Bach 4'' I wired the pedalboard into a midi control from midi-hardware.com
One suggestion, turn the speakers away from you. Let their sound bounce off one or two surfaces before it hits you. Will take the edge off the sound.
Beautiful..
Your dog doesn't seem too impressed. I think he wants walkies.
I think he's enjoying the music. Because mine (my dog) walks away when I start making lots of mistakes on the piano 😂
He's enjoying the Bach :-)
Thanks!