The non Rock'n'Roll bassist...

[zbd1960]

More photos and some sort vids of the sound testing - not me playing

 

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1hCs4C6m-TZsL4XBN6vBvpoypaSFvsoUV?usp=share_link

[Dad3353]

It will certainly scare the birds alright..! 

[zbd1960]

There was some interest in my new Hauptwerk organ and set-up at the NW Bass Petting Zoo yesterday, so I thought I'd write a bit more about it.

 

Over the last 25 years or so, various software developers have worked to create 'virtual pipe organs' using MIDI. In short, someone goes out and records every single pipe individually, including its reverb decay in the acoustic. You recreate the organ console in the software. Physically, you have MIDI keyboards and pedalboard. The stops of the organ are controlled either through touch screen, or (if you have plenty of money) you can have physical stop pistons that you pull out. When you press a key, the recorded sound is what you hear. The whole organ is loaded into RAM so that there is no lag. So, if you have 30 stops drawn, hitting one note means 30 sounds are simultaneously sounded for that one note. If you're playing four-note chords in each hand AND two pedals at the same time, then that 10 x 30, in this case, so 300 sounds to play... except it gets worse... Some stops are 'mixtures' so if you sound a note, it ALSO sounds a bunch of other harmonics of that note e.g 12th, 19th, 21st. Usually there are at least 3 harmonics sounded with a mixture, but 5 or 7 are common, especially with French 'cornet' stops. So, if you had a 5 mixture, those ten notes become 50 notes, sounding say the root, 12th, 15th, 17th, 19th, 21st.... of EVERY note you're playing.

 

This is part of what creates the complexity of organ sound - it's an analog mechanical synthesiser.

 

I decided a while ago that I wanted a major retirement activity (yes, I know I have lots of music already with cello, saxes, basses, viols...). I've never really been a keyboard player as I never had lessons. I bought a piano when I moved to Shropshire 25 years ago (a 1970s Yamaha upright). I had some lessons then, but not many. 

 

I've always been a fan of organ music. Sadly, the sound of many English organs is quite boring as they lack the reeds which add character to Dutch, French, and German organs for example. The English organ sounds specialises in creating a uniform sound across the main diapason/principal ranks. 

 

My organ was built by a guy who specialises in building bespoke Hauptwerk set-ups. I opted for a 'positiv' style case as it was going to be in the lounge and I wanted a 'nice' piece of furniture.

 

The main frame structure is solid English oak, as are the 'cheeks' of the manual stack, the organ bench seat, and the expression pedal tops. The pedalboard is recycled from a 60 year old organ and the pedals are solid maple. Some other parts are oak veneered MDF which has been painted so you see the wood grain.

 

The main large flat panels are painted MDF. They were primed and had three coats of paint. The speaker grill design was chosen by me from a sample of 500 designs. I opted for an Art Deco quasi Lutyens 'sunburst' design, rather than something more gothic/Victorian. That was cut by CNC machine. 

 

The screens are all Iyama - two 22" mounted vertically for the 'stop jambs' and a 24" in the music desk which can be used for PDFs of music (pages can be turned with one of the toe pistons). All touch-screen. 

 

There are 8 general pistons and 24 divisional pistons, 8 per manual. There are a further 8 pistons which can be defined and I've opted to make them pedal pistons. There is a 1,000 step sequencer. This is used for example to set-up a recital - you assign all your stop settings to values. For example, if I had a piece which needed 5 changes of stops then I could pre-program each set of stops and assign them to say sequencer steps 20, 21, 22, 23, and 24. As I need ot hcange registration, I just have to hit either one of the + thumb pistons, or the + toe piston to change to the next registration.

 

I kept the number of toe pistons down to five: three couplers and a + to advance the sequncer, and a page turn for the PDF on the music stand. Toe pistons are expensive items as they're about £50 each for nice brass ones.  I ruled out having a further 8 for the pedal divisional pistons.

 

If you have multiple users of an organ, you can assign ranges to specific players so that say Fred uses 100 - 199, Bill uses 200 - 299 etc.

 

Custom built computer has 128gb RAM and two 1tb SSD drives.

 

The sound output is to active Neumann studio monitors. A pair of KH310s inside the box, a pair of KH120s externally on stands, and a KH750 sub.

 

If you want to see the guy who built it getting excited over the first sounds out of it... this is a short 1 min video.

 

Finally, why didn't I just buy say a Johannus, Content, or Viscount off the shelf? Whilst some models are cheaper than what I've paid, most are significantly more expensive and even £25k ones are vinyl not real wood! Despite the cost of mine, the end result is a much superior cabinet and significantly better sound system than you'd get for a commercially available home system.

 

 

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/154ZAxxZ0N0JOuuf9byiSqP-uMdwtq7Xs/view?usp=share_link

  

[bass_dinger]

Just... "wow"!  What a fantastic setup. Thank you for sharing that. 

 

There was a time when I wanted a bass pedal board, and to fit some reed switches and a midi output unit.  However, I have neither the space, nor the talent, to take such a project forward. 

[80Hz]

Indeed wow, this is amazing stuff. I appreciate the care taken to integrate it into the room (I particularly like the design of the grille screens).

Nice little bit of Bach's Passacaglia in C minor at the end there, one of my all-time favourite pieces. One to practice!

 

Hope you enjoy it 😄

[zbd1960]

9 hours ago, bass_dinger said:

Just... "wow"!  What a fantastic setup. Thank you for sharing that. 

 

There was a time when I wanted a bass pedal board, and to fit some reed switches and a midi output unit.  However, I have neither the space, nor the talent, to take such a project forward. 

The pedal board has no wiring to connect it to the organ - just magnetic reed switches.