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Hauptwerk software

Hauptwerk Basic / Advanced

There are three versions of Hauptwerk:Free, Basic and Advanced.
The differences are here gedetailed in a table.
Hauptwerk Basic is equal to Advanced only:
  • With the Basic version you can max load 3 GB (for Free version: 1.5 GB) with samples. Do you have a big sample set (eg Kampen), you can with the Basic version only a part of the stops.
  • The polyphony (the amount of samples that can be played simultaneously, reverb counts also) is for Basic limited to 1024. For the big sample sets with a lot reverb (e.g. Kampen, Skinner, Zwolle, Metz) you need Hauptwerk Advanced when you want to play fast pieces with more than about 10-15 stops. Hint: Select for a 'tutti' only the most important principals, mixtures and reeds; don't select the more soft stops (strings and flutes).
  • No multi-channel audio output facilities.
  • No multi-monitor/multi-touchscreen support.
  • No MIDI output facilities
  • No user per-pipe real-time voicing facilities.
  • No wind supply model. You can easily hear the effect of the wind model on Chris Boss - Psalm 48 vers 6 Maestoso (recorded on Kampen Volume I).

Memory reduction for Sample Sets

 When you have less memory available than the sample set requires, Hauptwerk gives the following possibilities to load sample sets in less memory. In the right order (loss of sound quality):
  1. Use loss-less compression (default configuration)
  2. Use '16 bit' i.s.o. '24 bit' (default configuration).
  3. Use 'single attack'.
  4. Use 'single loops' i.s.o. 'multiple loops'.
  5. Don't load all stops.
  6. Use '14 bit' i.s.o. '16 bit'.
  7. Use 'single release sample'.
  8. Use mono i.s.o. stereo.

Organ noises

A nice feature are the organ noises, which made the sample sets ultra realistic. Here you can hear the noises of the sample set St. Georgenkirche - Silbermann. When you listen careful you can hear this noises:
  • Set wind motor on
  • Pull knobs
  • Tremulant motor
  • Spuck of pedal
  • Spuck of manual
It is possible to disable the organ noises.

My wish list for new Hauptwerk functionality
  1. Standard swellpedal for whole organ / easy volume adjustment.
    See also: Floating palette with preset output db.
  2. Build-in reverb.
    See also: Reverb in Hauptwerk.
  3. Possibility to resize/maximize the Hauptwerk screen.
    See also: Resizable screen and resize button enabled.
  4. Ask a name after a recording and the possibility to abort a recording without saving a file.
    See also: Can we name files before we record our own playing?.
  5. The possibility to enable/disable the sounds (wind engine, key, pedal, etc.) in real-time.
    See also: Enhancement requests for sample set producers.
  6. Better tremulant model, at this moment the tremulant is not very realistic, in my opinion.
    See also: Synchronous Sampled Tremulant Proposal.
  7. Possibility to record midi files direct from Hauptwerk.
    See also: Built-in MIDI Sequencer?.
  8. An 'Auto Save option' for automatically save the current Combination file after setting a preset.
    See also: Save configuration files while Hauptwerk is running.
  9. No limit of 8 instruments for 'Stand-by' organ (Organ menu).
    See also: Additional 'stand-by' organ slots, and associated 'short-cut.
  10. Automatically extended compass by Hauptwerk (not in graphics, only functional).
    See also: Best of all worlds for Sample Set design.

Registration possibilities
You can choose the stops on different ways:
1. Mouse Technically the easiest one, but less handy when you will change your registration during playing.
2. Organ keys of highest octave Most of digital organs have manuals of 5 octaves. Old organs, as in the example picture the Georgenkirche Silbermann, have often 4 octaves. You can configure Hauptwerk (On Forum: Hauptwerk Midi Input Switch "toggle mode") so you use the highest octave for changing the registers. Of course is this also possible for the pedal. One of the disadvantages is that you see only on the monitor which stops are chosen.
3. Keyboard You can configure Hauptwerk to couple each register to a key on your keyboard. The square keyboard on the picture found the user on Ebay.
4. Register stops on digital organ or midi console Many new digital organs gave also midi signals for registration stops. In Hauptwerk, these can be coupled with the stops. The disadvantage of this method is that you must change the names of the buttons when you load another sample set. This can, for example, be solved with exchangeable name strips.
5. (Selfmade) pull knobs This is the most realistic one when you try to simulate a mechanical pipe organ. Mostly you should make the midi switches by yourself. The disadvantage of this method is that you must change the names of the buttons when you load another sample set. This can, for example, be solved with exchangeable name strips.
6. Touch screen In my opinion, the most ideal method for Hauptwerk, it is very flexible: When you load another sample set, nothing is needed to change. For this feature, no configuration is needed in Hauptwerk, so it's technical very easy. The Touch screen must be solid mounted or have a robust stand else it wobbled when you touch registers with you fingers.

Playing / recording midi files
The input of Hauptwerk is midi, with:
  1. An organ/console via a midi-cable.
  2. A midi file (with extension .mid) via a software midi-cable.
For playing a .mid file you need:
  1. A software midi-cable. Free examples are: MidiYoke (no support of 64 bit XP/Vista) and LoopBE.
  2. A midi player for example: Notation Player (free, works also for 64 bit).
After installation of the software midi-cable you must configure in Hauptwerk the input midi channel (via General settings/MIDI input paths...) so Hauptwerk uses MidiYoke or LoopBE as input.
Start now the midi player and configure the midi output to MidiYoke or LoopBE.

Caution for LoopBE: On my system LoopBE is standard configured to Mute, you can disable this via the LoopBE icon on the Windows taskbar.

A midi file can contain 16 channels. It is not handy that there is no standardization for which channel is used for pedal and which for the manuals. Although you can change the channels in Hauptwerk (via General settings/MIDI input paths...), it is more handy to do this in the midi file. For that purpose you need a Midi sequencer. I don't know a free program that works also for Vista 64 bit. Tips are welcome!

For recording midi files of your self is no support in Hauptwerk, you can do that directly with a Midi sequencer.

Midi files for organ are on:
Sound Canvas Pipe Organ Project
klassieke-muziek-midi.startpagina.nl
J.S.Bach MIDI Orgel
MIDI-Organ.net
Classical Archives
Notation Software

Tips

Latency (delay between pressing a key and hear the sound)

Do you have a high latency? This can be caused by:
  1. The buffer size is too high. Adjust in "General settings | Audio outputs" the buffer size so low as possible, without distortion, for me it is 0512 (11 ms for 48 kHz).

  2. When you don't have a 'velocity-sensitive' console, set the checkbox "Disable midi velocity sensitivity" on (Organ Settings/General Options/2th tab).

  3. The sound card / midi interface is not fast.

Use the three highest keys for pushing combination presets

Fast registration can be a problem in Hauptwerk, because of that I found below mentioned solution.

A lot of electronic organs have 5 full octaves. Mostly of the Hauptwerk sample sets have a smaller compass. I use the highest 3 keys (on the swell keyboard) to activate the first 3 'combination presets'. So it's possible to do fast registration changes during playing a piece.

You can configure this easily in: General Settings | Switch (MIDI) inputs:
  1. Search in left column: Comb piston: general 01
  2. Set 'Event type' to: MIDI note on (all velocities)
  3. Set 'Input path' to: Keyboards: div 3 (Swell)
  4. Set 'Event number' to: 94
  5. Search in left column: Comb piston: general 02
  6. Set 'Event type' to: MIDI note on (all velocities)
  7. Set 'Input path' to: Keyboards: div 3 (Swell)
  8. Set 'Event number' to: 95
  9. Search in left column: Comb piston: general 03
  10. Set 'Event type' to: MIDI note on (all velocities)
  11. Set 'Input path' to: Keyboards: div 3 (Swell)
  12. Set 'Event number' to: 96
See beside the screen examples with the adjustments.



Sample set too large for memory

When a sample set is too big for the internal memory you must do memory reduction adjustments when you load the sample set the first time. Then it is possible that it's not possible to load all stops of the entire organ. When you want to use all the stops, you must load the sample set with different configurations (different stops selected). So it's possible to define multiple 'organs' on 1 sample set, e.g. 'Zwolle Hoofdwerk/Rugwerk/Pedaal' and 'Zwolle Bovenpositief/Borstwerk/Pedaal'.

You can do this on 2 ways:
  1. Copy the OrganDefinitionFile and change the 'Identification_Name' and the 'Identification_UniqueOrganID'. This tric is not possible for sample set which ODF's are protected for changes (e.g. sample sets of MilanDigitalAudio and OrganArtMedia). I describe this in detail on: Hint for Zwolle or other large sets.

  2. Start "Hauptwerk stand alone" for configuration A and "Hauptwerk for MIDI" for configuration B. The 'stand alone' and 'for MIDI' has no meaning concerning content, it only a possibility to use Hauptwerk with two different configurations.

Purchase hardware

A sound card and audio-equipment can you buy via eBay.nl.

Easy change of screen resolution

Not all sample sets uses the same screen resolution, for some it is 1280x960 (e.g. Kampen), for others it is 1024x768 (e.g. Freiberg).
Paul Haagsma gave me a good hint: Use the free tool Display changer for easily change the screen resolution. It works even with two screens.
I made two .bat scripts on my desktop:
  • ToBig.bat:
    reschange.exe -monitor="\\.\DISPLAY1" -width=1280 -height=960
    reschange.exe -monitor="\\.\DISPLAY2" -width=1280 -height=960
  • ToSmall.bat:
    reschange.exe -monitor="\\.\DISPLAY1" -width=1024 -height=768
    reschange.exe -monitor="\\.\DISPLAY2" -width=1024 -height=768

Photo Screensaver

Every evening I play organ as well, but obviously not the whole evening. Because the main drawback of Hauptwerk (it takes 1 minute to start your computer and 2 minutes to load a sample set) I switch my organ (computer) not always off. Although a TFT screen can not burn (I've heard of a specialist), I installed a screensaver that shows pictures. Of the hundreds (or thousands) of digital pictures we have made in recent years I have picked the 150 best. At first I just used the 'default photo screensaver' of Vista, with the following disadvantages:
  • It doesn't work on two screens.
  • Uses a lot of RAM memory.
  • The pictures are relative short showed, also when you configure it to 'slow'.
That's the reason why I use Random Photo Screensaver. I configured 15 seconds per photo, without animations, without clock, black background (only used when picture doesn't have the same ratio as the screen), without title, you see only the picture in full screen mode. Now there are two different pictures on both screens.

Step plan
  1. Buy the requirements: Midi Console (digital organ, keyboard or selfmade), Computer, Midi interface / Sound card (with midi cable) and Audio (e.g. head phone).
  2. Connect Midi cable between Computer and Midi Console.
  3. Connect head phone or speakers to sound card.
  4. Download Hauptwerk software from Hauptwerk downloads.
  5. Install Hauptwerk (see Hauptwerk User Guide).
  6. Download free trial sample set Oosterwijtwerd from Sample Set downloads.
  7. Install free sample set. Start Hauptwerk, choose 'File','Install organ, sample set, temperament or impulse resonsponse...'.
  8. Load the sample set. Start Hauptwerk, choose 'Organ','Load organ...', don't change options but click on 'OK'.
  9. Select the Holpijp 8. Try if you hear sound when click with the mouse on the organ manual on the screen. When that's not the case change then options in the 'General Settings','Audio outputs...' screen.
  10. Play on your organ, look on the screen if the buttons are pushed. When that's not the case than probably there is something wrong with the midi input settings. ('General Settings','General Options...' or 'Midi input paths...').
See the details on: Hauptwerk User Guide


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