Hauptwerk on a budget: 2018 Update

Just bringing you up to speed on the current status of my budget-conscious Hauptwerk practice organ.
Sample sets in the video:
MDA St. Eucaire Caville-Coll, www.milandigit...
Piotr Grabowski Friesach Eisenbarth, piotrgrabowski....

[@james.flores]

The man cave. A bar and an organ. What else could a man possibly need? 😂😂😂👌

[@johnferguson4089]

A beautiful instrument, lovely full and rich sound.made on a budget.

[@Jack-eo5fn]

Unbelievable sound, full and rich, yet every stop is textured and elegantly detailed. Just wow.

[@myke49]

Thank-you for introducing me to Hauptwerk back when you first put up your first organ. I built a similar one at the time and have been having a great time with Hauptwerk ever since. Mike in Australia.

[@halm8422]

Look at pictures of organ venues. See how the pipeworks are overhead, almost? Here's a suggestion: Construct a speaker bridge over the top of the console. Get the speakers up, up, up! Experiment with different levels of speakers so the virtual manuals occur in different locations. Do not be afraid to run high power to the audio chain. Years ago a design called the "sweet sixteen" put sixteen five inch speakers in one cabinet, and the results were phenomenal. It sounds like the pedalworks are getting some interference with the mids, so that's a good place to start.

[@riqued.7074]

Man the sound of this set is amazing. Really nice.

[@taylorharvey9669]

Patrick...I'm so happy that I "ran across" this video...I say BRAVO to you!! I love your setup and the organs sound remarkable...Best wishes with your "beast-in-the-mancave"...Blessings, Patrick!! (please do more videos)

[@elizabethboydston1404]

OMG -- as someone who is working with a parish from the bottom up-- I had found you several months ago. And gave my priest a 5 year plan. However, we are now moving to a chapel, and whelp ----using you as an example -- I AM SO HOPING TO RAISE MONEY FOR SOMETHING LIKE THIS. I have asked for night vision goggles from Santa for several years now-- but now I ask for stuff to build a virtual organ. Thank you, so much good information!!!!

[@James_Bowie]

Sounds great! Love the brick on the NAD amp.

[@ardsonneveld]

Dude that Adagio for Strings piece sounded lovely. Thanks for sharing.

[@HaroldRutila]

Sounds great! I'm going to look into getting a setup like this. Thanks for the video.

[@SecretsofOrganPlaying]

I love when people assemble their own customized Hauptwerk setups!

[@cliftoncameron5632]

Thank you for sharing this. Amazing and Inspiring.

[@richardkallio3868]

Sounds amazing! (I see your “pipes” in the background, LOL!)

[@jordanburrill7182]

Ni Patrick! Very nice! Personally, I (as a builder/player), would be unable to restrain myself from moving the speakers around to find a more life-like acoustical spread, even in a basement.

[@daltonrun]

Very nice! I just stumbled on your site and I am impressed! I am hitting the subscribe button after I hit enter,.

[@hymanlipschitzmd6101]

Hello Patrick! A worthwhile upgrade in both software and hardware. The small portion of the Widor you included on the video demonstrates some very decent audio overhead with respect to dynamic range. Once again may I recommend speaker placement upgrades? With what you now have, invest in some ordinary cinderblocks, (albeit with folded towels under the speaker cabinets) and firstly, get the studio monitors up off the console table! Then, with other blocks, get the 15-inchers off the floor: Turn them upside down to get the drivers higher, and then mount on cinderblocks. You will be amazed at the difference in response. You have done so well. Your keyboard skills are tempered with your teacher, of course, and your performance envelope should be a paralleled development. Many hauptwerk aficionados use stereo headphones, letting the software tailor the acoustic performance, but there's nothing like a roomful of music, right? One day treat yourself to a visit to France and hear St. Surplice and Notre Dame de Paris. Best, best wishes.

[@mjstow]

Man cave! That's the best I've seen!

[@mackadresse6095]

Great job, you made me discover something here!

[@aricmkmkm]

I love your guilmant !

[@RhoneMelero]

Very beautiful your Hauptwerk setup.

[@pythonboi9755]

Cesar Silva my dad owns hauptwerk

[@charpnatl]

Now this is a cool basement!

[@mrlazli]

Wish I had one with such an awesome setup

[@dariussala6377]

Superb setup and sound. I'm starting to build my own setup and I wanted to ask you about the multi channel speaker. You have 6 main speakers and do you connect them with xlr into a controller or? I'll have a deeper dive into this and Hope to find a soloution. You can suggest one as well. Thanks.

[@backtoschool1611]

Is [this] how organists practice at home?? I wish I could do that!!

[@MsrAlaindeFerrier]

Astounding

[@moisessol3471]

Very nice setup! can you tell us what is the table you are using to setup your keyboards and speakers?

[@jrzzrj]

👍.....Tremendous playing and sound......How many years did you take organ lessons and at what age did you start? And lastly....is daily practice a must to keep in good playing shape? thanks JRZ

[@PatrickTorsell]

Thanks! I started at age 8, and took private lessons for about 5 years. Beyond that I'm primarily self-taught; though I had some very good mentors along the way. As for daily practice... as a general rule, yes, it's a must, especially if you're really trying to improve your skills. But I admit I don't always have the time to practice daily!

[@byronjonesb.e.m496]

Thank you a very good demonstration

[@samrodian919]

You said at the end about getting a "Full sized pedalboard" what is not full sized about yours? How many notes do you have on it ? It looks at least to be a 30 note CCC-F . I would have thought that the cost of a 32 note taking it up to G would be very expensive for just 2 extra notes unless the your repertoire actually calls for it in more than a couple of pieces lol . As a retired ex pipe organ builder I am very impressed with your set up. It sounds amazing.

[@PatrickTorsell]

The pedalboard in that setup was an Allen "princess" pedalboard. It was 32 notes, but about 20% smaller (in the physical dimensions sense) than AGO spec, so it could be tricky to pedal accurately, and practice on that pedalboard didn't always translate well to AGO or BDO instruments. I have since purchased a full AGO console to replace the hardware in this video. Thanks for watching!

[@mmaybrown]

I bought three of the Behringer UMX610 keyboards for hauptwerk. Could you tell me how you decased the keyboards and what are yout measurements are for your homemade cheeks?

[@miked5487]

Impressive setup dude.. Im trying to get this to work in reaper

[@Savin97]

That Platoon soundtrack caught me completely off guard

[@PatrickTorsell]

Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber. It's a beautiful composition which, due to its haunting and emotional character, shows up in quite a handful of movie scores.

[@jrzzrj]

👍....good setup...great sound...terrific playing.....So...what's new now?

[@Dieje]

Incredible

[@victorpercy-jarrett8981]

Patrick I am back... Great to see the upgrades and on going improvements.. Since then requested getting this fanatic program, how and where to aquire or purchase ? I do have a number of keyboards that are fully capable and ready to be assigned for this project. Let me know the info to aquire this set up will monitor for your reply

[@travisjohnson7202]

Did you find the action of these Behringer keybeds comfortable? For example, was it easy to play chords with a mixture of white and black keys?

[@Organplayer1947]

Very nice work..the system and the playing!! Yes...the pedal can be an issue in that it needs MIDI. Cost effective builds are as you've done: Princess 32 note pedal is smaller but works...as you've said. MIDIkits offers controllers...k/b and pedal. There are others. I wired an Arduino chip for my pedal controller...but it is a kludge! Oh...the PISTONS are often lacking in virtual systems. I again wired Arduino ...and have 25 pistons per division. I do have touchscreens which work for 'piston' or stop control however. And my 4 shoes are Arduino connects along with toe studs. SO in my case the PISTONS were the 'biggie;. Of course cost wise: The Haupwerk s/w sample sets will set one back some bucks but there are FREE sets available. My most aggravating VTPO issue: the KLUDGE!! Oh...I have a FLAT 25 note pedal as my console is based on a modified KAWAI SR7. I went super cheap at the outset. But the console will accommodate the Princess pedal board. Nice of you to share your build! Blessings to you and family!!

[@igorkalinenkovcrimean8313]

Браво Умелец! Идея хорошая и звук достойный! Ещё бы третью клавиатуру и вижу место даже для неё есть! Сам примерно так же хочу сделать, только используя Nord C2D вместо midi!

[@tedbabbitt7108]

Where did you get the swell pedal and how did you get it to connect to USB with the computer?

[@PatrickTorsell]

It was given to me by a friend. It's just a simple potentiometer, so I soldered it in place of one of the built-in pots on one of the UMX keybards

[@EmeraldPixelGamingEPG]

Hi there, I was wondering, how do you remove the plastic cheeks and insert the keyboards into wooden cheeks? What would need to be done to keep them upright, or do they have something under them which keeps them up? Special Thanks

[@jakedu950]

Totally agree on the man or whatever cave!

[@johndavies8946]

Great setup and man cave and some excellent playing, thanks ( A NAD 3140 for $15? Good work :) I have an old NAD 3020 for my synths and it's very good )

[@elizabethboydston1404]

And WIDOR? Who the heck can do that from one's basement?????

[@user-pz2ms8qn3c]

beautiful :)

[@BenAtTheTube]

The sound is really beautiful on my headphones. Which of course has nothing to do with your amplifier/speaker system! You described the software you are using, but in this video there is no mention of the computer you are running it on. How much computer do I need to run a good Hauptwerk sample playing organ?

[@BenAtTheTube]

Thanks, I think I found this information in your earlier video at kzbin.info/www/bejne/i4jTo4uuo9Klj68 I think my computer should be able to do it!

[@germanshepherdlover2613]

Could I play the Hauptwerk samples on my Korg Kronos with the software? Sounds great

[@germanshepherdlover2613]

@@Organintetnational wow thanks, I will try that. Do you think that Hauptwerk will ever release a hardware pipe organ module? Waldorf have the Streichfett analogue string synthesizer in a module. Those pipe organ sounds with all stops open is goosebump material, amazing!

[@germanshepherdlover2613]

@@Organintetnational Yes I've ordered the Streichfett, I'm a stringer (synth string lover) and a piano player. I am not really an organist, the only pipe organ sound I like is with all stops open. I have only ever had two keyboards that could do it convincingly, a Nord Electro 5D and a Kurzweil. Other keyboards try to mimic the pipe organ sound very poorly and it sounds cheesy. Kurzweil PC3X was the only keyboard I have owned that did every sound very well except for the old piano samples and horrible action, that, along with over 25 kg weight is why I got rid of it. I don't like what Kurzweil has on offer at the moment, I would buy a Kronos before a Forte. I really don't want to rely on my computer for sounds, I am a bit old school and like my sounds in the keyboard or in a hardware module.

[@germanshepherdlover2613]

@@Organintetnational that Tutti pipe organ on the Yamaha PSRS is really nice. I was going to get a Yamaha MODX6 but I don't know if I can get organ sounds like that for it. I have a Korg Krome as my main controller and my piano is a Kawai ES8. The Yamaha PSRS is pretty good though, but I prefer the Yamaha MODX.

[@ronaldpierre9017]

Hi, i really like your project, i have an old allen, do you think i can use the pedalboard as a midi controller?

[@josephbrandtner7713]

What keyboards and how much did they cost?

[@mrlazli]

Behringer UMX 610

[@Richard-vq7ud]

Is there a Hauptwerk specialist out there who could set one up for me? I have an Ahlborn Galanti with Galanti with a custom set of Conn pipes. I am not computor savvy enough to attempt it.

[@levimatheri7682]

What's your MIDI/USB interface? Mine keeps getting stuck notes

[@PatrickTorsell]

It's actually an internal PCI card, M-Audio Delta 1010-LT. Unfortunately it's out of production, but some still show up on eBay.

[@micheal49]

Which keyboards do you have? Where did you get them?

[@mrlazli]

Behringer UMX 610

[@bovibina]

Please what's the name of the piece in 7:09

[@PatrickTorsell]

It's the opening motif of David German's "Festive Trumpet Tune"

[@gsten2116]

You sound like David letterman.

[@khadijahsimon4859]

whats the name of the last piece you play?

[@PatrickTorsell]

It's the Finale from Widor's 6th symphony

[@pythonboi9755]

My dad owns the company my name is Alex Milan he is Brett Milan and he is the ceo of hauptwerk

[@theunheardprophet4315]

Python Boi97 So what?

[@NinoNiemanThe1st]

@@theunheardprophet4315 So what? Milan is a company famous within the Hauptwerk community. They make many great organs for Hauptwerk, I'd be proud to mention he's my old man, given the fame his dad's company has in creating virtual organs from famous churches/organs. That's what!

[@theunheardprophet4315]

Nino Nieman He did not put any work into the fact that he is the son of such a man. Thus, he is not something special for being so and shall not think that he deserves attention solely for that. Brett, on the other hand, deserves the respect for what he gave to our community. Milan might and should be proud of his father but he shouldn't think that he is remarkable just for being his son. That's like earning credit for an other man's work. Thats what.

[@NinoNiemanThe1st]

​@@theunheardprophet4315 LOL did you use an English legal translator? "I act ad litem for Mssrs. Milan, and your comment shall be held to be irrelevant, and the aforementioned pronouncement is, inter alia, of no effect"

[@theunheardprophet4315]

Nino Nieman English is my 5th language and I just tried to put my thoughts together, okay? Ad hominem is the lowest tier of response so if you do not have anything to say or do not have any more arguments then please, just shut up.

[@DavidSmith-sb2ix]

If I could find someone dumb enough I would trade them the 5 rank Moller at the church I play for for a setup like this. I don't think anybody would go for that.

[@jeffwhite4227]

I'd say put this in along WITH the Moller - there surely is the capability to link the pipes in to the software, I'd think.

[@DavidSmith-sb2ix]

@@jeffwhite4227 I'd love that because the current organ does have a nice sound for its size. The problem is the parish, 252 years old, is planning to close soon and sell the church. Because the building has so little land, limited facilities and no parking lot I can't imagine another congregation wanting it. The organ could very well wind up scrapped.