Hauptwerk Organ Pipe Organ Retrofit

A Schantz pipe organ console was used as the core for a Hauptwerk Virtual Organ. Keyboards were replaced, touch-screen monitors installed, extra manual, thumb pistons and toe pistons installed. Eight-core computer, 32GB RAM. Over 20 sample sets installed.

[@TheProsaicCult]

you should be so proud of yourself and what a great thing you have done here. it's just wonderful.

[@SternDrive]

Wonderful set up ! Now, we want to hear it.

[@tubamaxima187]

Hello SternDrive. Try TubaMaxima or TubaMaxima1 on KZbin. I have posted several videos of me demonstrating my set up. At the time of the videos, Hauptwerk was Version IV. Now it is up to Version IX. It is far more complicated than Version IV but there are some worthwhile improvements. Hauptwerk is an amazing software. I have nothing but high praise for it despite it's complexity.

[@mercifromYah]

Wow. My dream organ! 4 manuals, Presets, Pistons & Toe studs for a 1,000 combinations. 20 organs loaded.

[@tubamaxima187]

very inexpensive,too.

[@taylorharvey9669]

Thanks, SO much for this delightful and interesting video of your fine VPO set up...looking forward to hearing this wonderful instrument...Blessings, Taylor Harvey

[@taylorharvey9669]

Just came back to this video to watch...Love it more and more....Thanks, again for doing this video..

[@rossbaker7621]

Hi and congrats on your VPO build. I also have built a four manual organ from an old 1970 vintage Allen console. Not as pretty and well finished as yours but works well I'm using Hauptwerk plus the Paramount 450 series Best wished from Australia.

[@tubamaxima187]

Hi Ross from Down Under. Thanks for your nice comment. Interesting choice of your console (1970 Allen). I actually converted a Rodgers (I think a 1969 or 1970) myself but settled on the Schantz as seen in the above video because it gave me greater flexibility with the computer monitors rather than a fixed number of stops. However the consoles with real moveabe stops make for a better real-time experience than computer monitors. Its a tough choice, for sure. The consoles of that era were very well built and used double acting stop action magnets rather than fixed stops that light up. My 1970 Rodgers sounded horrible (for the time it was state of the art) but a Hauptwerk conversion breathed new life into it. Amazing. I would like to see some pictures of your console if that is possible.I love the Paramount 450 theater organ but doesn't that require an external reverb (which I don't have) to make it sound more realistic ?

[@rossbaker7621]

Hello again This organ build project was undertaken with my 15 year old son and was a home school project. It went through several rebuilds, does it ever end, starting as a two manual Allen console and now extended to 4 manuals. I have 30 lighted pistons set for divisional pistons plus 24 membrane piston switched mounted under the keyboards, 20 of these are the general pistons and 4 set as toe buttons. Don’t have any of those at this stage.Plus 44 stop tabs on the stop rail. Cabinet has been extended upwards, a bit rough and ready not such a nice job as yours, but very functional. I had lot of issues with the old Allen keyboards which really needed replacing. I did this very economically using 4 Roland A-800 Pro keyboards. These work very well and also provide the double touch functionality used with the Paramount 450. I have also added top right of cabinet a Behringer Reverb Unit. This brought the organ alive. I’m also using Presonus Midi/Audion Box and the HP4 Headphone Amp. This allows me to split the output signal from the Behringer Reverb to both my external home theatre audio system and the headphone HP4 unit. Listening and practising using the headphones is like sitting in a cathedral or concert hall. While I play a lot of musical and light classical music, I also enjoy classic organ music and use the basic Hauptwerk Organ for this. Maybe one day when funds permit, I get a larger classic organ to add. Jos from UPS systems in USA supplied all my encoder boards and has been super helpful throughout the build. We often exchange MIDI files as I enjoy listening to my VTPO being played well by others. I’ve attached a couple of pics, hope you get these OK through this KZbin reply. Kind regards from Aus Ross Baker IMG_0465.jpg IMG_0446.JPG

[@johnferguson8993]

A fabulous setup, thanks for sharing.

[@fnersch3367]

Wonderful setup. I wish I had the ability to do that. I have a mint Rodgers 22D (built in 1964) that I'd like to digitize.

[@robertglass4414]

Not hard to do.

[@profeluisegarcia]

¡Nice to meet...your superb organ, Antoni¡

[@pauloadrianosikorski]

Esse órgão é um sonho.

[@tubamaxima187]

I am willing to help you if that is what you want to do.

[@tubamaxima187]

To Doug Stern:If you go to KZbin and type in Tuba Maxima, you can hear the organ. The Boellman Chorale from Suite Gothique is a good example of the organ. Maybe also Widor Toccata from the 5th Symphony.

[@tubamaxima187]

Thank you Uncle Phil for your kind comments. To be honest with you, it really wasn't that difficult. If you are thinking of doing that for yourself, I can be helpful.

[@thewilliamtan]

Thank you so much. Could you tell me what size the headphone output ports on the Presonus HP4 are? Also, do you have two inputs going in? Where did you get the recommendations from Brett Milan? Is there a website?

[@tubamaxima187]

The PreSonus HP4 has the large headphone jacks ( 1/4" ???). I also have a few pairs of headphones with the small plugs so use an adapter. The PreSonus "sound card" has a MIDI IN and a MIDI OUT plus several output jacks. I tapped the HP4 headphone preamplifier into two of these outputs. Regarding headphone recommendations, Professor Helmut Maier of OrganArt Media (Sample Set Producer) stated that AKG701's were the best. He was correct. In the beginning (2007-8) of Hauptwerk when Bret Milan was more involved with customer service and created some sample sets, he was available for recommendations, etc. There is a website (Hauptwerk Forum) but Milan is unavailable. Hauptwerk producer, Martin Dyde, is extremely helpul to everyone.

[@BCSchmerker]

*Nice shoehorning job.* For my proposed build for OMS Japanese Christian Church, I'm already planning on at least a 76" wide console to provide for, in addition to two to three rows of toe studs to reverse couplers and engage and cancel Tuttis, two columns of staggered toe studs on each pedalboard flank (not possible with this 64" Schantz console) - the flank studs are intended to reverse Pedål stops - plus seven columns of drawknobs on each stopjamb (for the "hard" stops and couplers) and one row of rocker tablets above the top manual (for flexible stops and MIDI couplers). I plan on sticking to AGO specifications for all drawknob face, rocker tablet, and piston colors, plus label colors on all toe studs - faster familiarization for guest artists that way.

[@tubamaxima187]

I was able to dis-assemble the console into smaller parts that would fit through a standard door and that I could move myself. Using the Schantz console ( I believe the console was from the 1960's) was a cost saving factor. I got the entire console for $400, including bench and pedal-board. Converting from analog to digital was easier than I expected.

[@tubamaxima187]

Keeping the console original is nice. I made my Schantz console "modular", easy to break down. I have moved three times and relocated the console from one room to another. I can get the pieces through a 30" door.

[@mmaybrown]

What sample set is this?

[@tubamaxima187]

It was a custom 240 stop sample set. I no longer have it. Regrettably it was lost when I migrated to Version VII.

[@tubamaxima187]

If you want to listen to this organ(s), go to Tuba Maxima on KZbin and listen to the Boellman Chorale, and Widor Toccata.

[@hiteck007]

Very impressive setup there. I want to do the same with some scrubber Organ that has failed electronics but keyboards are good. Can Hauptwerk software work on a Linux system? And those digital scanning boards, where do you get those?

[@tubamaxima187]

contact me privately

[@tubamaxima187]

Yes LINUX will work. Contact Classic MIDI in Canada. I would recommend that if you get three or four keyboards, get one with the pistons and three with no pistons. I never use all of my pistons.

[@hiteck007]

Hi Tuba mate, hay I've made a few attempts at this too now and run into a few snaggs, I was wondering if you had the same issues. The first problem is a rather big Latency as they call it, I'm having a minimum of at least three quarters of a second delay from note press on the keyboard to actual sound, then there's the next issue of MIDI Channel choke when Bach is played, man it's just unplayable. The CPU Loading isn't that great. I don't know if I should cut my losses & Dump MIDI for a custom Parallel port scanner to elliminate channel choke because MIDI is basically a single channel serial port which doesn't cut it for complex musical pieces. What's your thoughts & experience on your machine?

[@tubamaxima187]

Hi HiTeck: I have to confess I am not a computer guru so adressing your issues is beyond my ability. If you are a member of the Hauptwerk Forum you may pose the question on that site and get an answer. The only sample set I have that has a latency issue (i.e. a slight delay from key press to sopund) is the large Esztergom. I would suggest that you reload your sample set rather than fiddle around with endless possibilities and go to the "Polyphony" section which is located on the drop down menu. If you reduce the polyphony (it depends on how large your organ sample set is) it may increase the speed or reduce the latency. I'm not even sure if that is your problem. How many GB of RAM do you have ? I had 32GB with my old 8 core MacPro but now I have a 2011 MacPro from IBuildMacs (talk to Jon, he's amazing) that he built for me that now has 12 cores (3.33 GHZ) and 96 GB RAM. It's supposed to be the fastest computer on the planet. I don't know if the latency issue has anything to do with RAM but my problem went away. I paid $2600 for the computer. I would NEVER buy another new Mac as they are all way too expensive. Apple is disgusting, four years ago my 8 core stopped working and Apple wouldn't even look at it since they said it was "vintage". After calling around I found out that the problem was simple, it was a bad RAM module. Apple was falling over themselves trying to sell me a new computer for $12,000. They disgust me.

[@hiteck007]

Well old mate, those computers are Mega computers. I know I started small with 4 Gb but on checking out memory usage after the sample set is loaded, it only used 800 Mb & the processor loading is about 25 - 30% but yes I do have on order the latest top of the line Udoo Bolt V8, it's the most powerful single board computer on the market & the thing will fit in the palm of my hand complete with an SSD drive & 32Gb ram with the ability to run 4 x 4K displays if you want along with all the other usual peripherals + an on board microcontroller. Thats my current plan to beef it up. I've only used old computers to prove the concept. I just hope this is the right direction. When it all turns up I'll let you know so everyone else can see if it was a good idea or not.

[@tubamaxima187]

I'm not sure what computing power your computer has. Before I upgraded my 2008 MacPro dual-quad core ( 8 cores) to the present MacPro 12 core, the only sample set that gave me a latency problem was the giant Esztergom sample set which I rarely used. All my other sample sets were fine. The 12 core handles everything instantaneously. The 12 core Mac Pro was a used 2010 computer that has worked flawlessly for eight years of constant use.

[@hiteck007]

@@tubamaxima187 Ahhh good to know, I got a guide line to work with now. I have a new 24 core, 32 Gb ultra high speed ram built for the job now, though haven't spent much time on the MIDI side of this for some time. Having dramas with getting sample sets to load properly. the organ software works fine with the basic sample set included but nothing else so far. Anyway more work needed at the moment.

[@tubamaxima187]

I am completely inept when it comes to computers. Your latency problem is probably due to your processor being overloaded with too many stops. Do you get a delay from one or two stops ? There is a polyphony adjustment (number of pipes simultaneously playing) that can be lowered. See if that works.

[@edasadmin1]

Hello "Tuba Maxima", could you please share the complete description of the PC that you use? Thank you very much

[@tubamaxima187]

contact me privately

[@tubamaxima187]

The original computer was a 2007 MacPro dual-quad core (eight cores) at 3.00GHZ speed with 16GB (later up graded to 32GB). This computer is 99% of anything that you will ever use. You can purchase these computers for IBuildMacs in California. Brett Milan highly recommends Mac computers (very important) over PC's. I made the mistake of using a Hewlett Packard PC in another organ and it was plagued with audio problems. It was terrible. I ended up replacing it with a Mac and instantly the problems went away. PC's only have an advantage because they are cheaper than Macs but IBulidMacs can offer an eight-core MacPro Dual quad core with 32GB ram for around $800. I replaced the MacPro with a 12 core Mac Pro (3.33GHZ) and 96GB RAM but it is unnecessary. I still have the eight core just in case my 12 core dies.

[@tubamaxima187]

Initially the computer was a 2008 vintage MacPro with 8 cores (dual-quad core) and 16 GB of RAM at the recommendation of Brett Milan. The computer was extremely reliable for extended daily use for six years (from 2008 to 2014) when one RAM strip went bad. Apple was not helpful at all in resolving my computer problem. A third party vendor (Other World Computing) was nice enough to help me diagnose my problem which just required one of the eight RAM modules to be replaced. At that time I decided to purchase another computer as a back up since I couldn't rely on Apple for any help. I obtained a 2010 (mint condition) 12 core (dual -six core) with 96 GB of RAM which is what I am presently using. Although many Hauptwerk owners are using PC's, I am cautious of them because they have a reputation of not being as reliable. I am sure many Hauptwerk owners will disagree with me.

[@tubamaxima187]

Hello edasadmin: The computer is a 2008 MacPro. At the time of the video it was a 2008 MacPro Dual-Quad core (eight cores) and 32GB of RAM. There are four hard drive slots with 2TB hard drives in them. In 2016 I upgraded the computer to a 2011 MacPro 12 -core (two-6 core processors) to future-proof it for the huge sample sets that would eventually be released. It has 96GB of RAM. I bought the computers used. Mac's are very reliable.

[@michaelschantz6708]

Thank you for this very informative presentation. I am purchasing a Hauptwerk VPO at this time. BTW, the name Schantz is pronounced "shontz". FYI, I am not closely related to the firm's principals, just share the same name. Again, thanks.

[@tubamaxima187]

I suppose you could be misled by the title. Probably it should read Hauptwerk retrofit into pipe organ console. But everyone knows what I meant. The Schantz keyboards were plastic covered. They haven't used ivory since the early 1900's, everything you mention is unimportant.

[@praestant8]

Tuba Maxima That’s incorrect. Ivory went out of regular production in the 1970’s. Lots of things tend to be labeled as “unimportant” by the ignorant.

[@jrzzrj]

so clever...

[@tubamaxima187]

The AKG’s sell for $500.

[@OrganNLou]

Pronounced "Shonts" not Shants but great video

[@praestant8]

A bit misleading in the title. Ok, it s a Schantz console shell, but there is not pipe organ being retrofitted. I hope the original Schantz keyboards weren't ivory. What a loss that would have been.

[@tubamaxima187]

Most people know what I meant. Ivory has been illegal for half a century.

[@praestant8]

Tuba Maxima Not quite. Actually it is available in limited quantities these days thru special sources.

[@keithcitizen4855]

@@tubamaxima187correct 40 odd years since ivory ban . My organ building boss had to stop ordering ivory fittings, ivory " lables" were last available ivory items invoiced from Laughkuff supplier.