☕ My Hauptwerk Organ Setup | My Console Modifications

In this video I explain what modifications I've made to my Hauptwerk organ in an attempt to improve my own mini Cathedral! I also discuss the future modifications I'd like to make, the limitations I currently have.
01:01 | Matching virtual and real stop heads
02:39 | One console, many organs.... what about divisionals?!
03:30 | Not enough stops or buttons? Launchpad to the rescue!
05:29 | Adding a cheap Chinese toe piston
06:36 | Drilling and moving toe pistons
07:52 | Mysterious blank screen = genius modification
08:29 | The organ bench, my carpet and my high heels
09:23 | A sensitive pedalboard
10:17 | The internal Viscount speakers and amplifiers
10:45 | Future modifications - 4th manual!!!!
15:45 | Console lighting
16:59 | Swell pedals need to fight back
Link to the FREE Austrian organ (Friesach)
► piotrgrabowski.pl/friesach/
All the music in this video was played on my Hauptwerk organ by me.
I hope you enjoyed this behind the scenes video!
I rely entirely on your generous donations. Please support to the BEAUTY in SOUND channel to ensure I can continue giving these organ recitals and concerts:
► / beautyinsound
► www.paypal.me/RichardMcVeigh
BEAUTY in SOUND (BiS) specialises in choral and organ music, but there are lots of other types of music available on the channel.
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Love,
Richard x
- Owner of BEAUTY in SOUND
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Disclaimer and reuse:
This video was created by Richard McVeigh for BEAUTY in SOUND. Any re-uploads of my videos will be removed from and by KZbin at my request. Many hours of work and thought goes into the videos on BEAUTY in SOUND, and I would ask that you respect this and not reuse my own content.

[@beautyinsound]

Hi everyone! I hope you find this video useful, and I hope it give you some ideas about what YOU can do with your console. Please let me know what else you think I should do! 😀 01:01 | Matching virtual and real stop heads 02:39 | One console, many organs.... what about divisionals?! 03:30 | Not enough stops or buttons? Launchpad to the rescue! 05:29 | Adding a cheap Chinese toe piston 06:36 | Drilling and moving toe pistons 07:52 | Mysterious blank screen = genius modification 08:29 | The organ bench, my carpet and my high heels 09:23 | A sensitive pedalboard 10:17 | The internal Viscount speakers and amplifiers 10:45 | Future modifications - 4th manual!!!! 15:45 | Console lighting 16:59 | Swell pedals need to fight back

[@tom7601]

How you interact with your kitty tells me all I need to know. Very enjoyable to watch. Oh, the organ's great too. :-)

[@Psalmenwegede]

Thank you Queen Nala and her sidekick!

[@mdh318]

Thank you, Queen Nala and her sidekick! I love seeing the intersection of music and technology.

[@Operatunity]

This is FASCINATING to see! I love the behind the scenes look. You are the MAN and I’ve enjoyed watching your videos the past 5 months. You’ve inspired me to create my own channel for freelance musicians :-) thanks so much!

[@LangeJWT]

Thank you Queen Nala and her sidekick. I enjoyed this video and it helps me to understand why your organ is the way it is.

[@photonatjag]

Thank you Queen Nala and her sidekick

[@parisoncourt]

Nice Job Richard love the techy stuff I shall look forward to more.

[@DJPtenor]

Thank you Queen Nala and her sidekick! I found this video very appealing to my “nerd” side. I’m a singer with some low-level organist abilities, which I’ve only recently begun to resurrect. Your explanations of your setup add to my factual understanding of organs. Your channel is a recent find for me, as well as learning of your association with Mander organs. I have been granted the privilege of practicing (after decades away from the organ bench) on New York City’s Mander at St. Ignatius. I’m humbled to play this magnificent instrument. I’m looking forward to future videos from you!

[@bluefunkybassman]

Brilliant and very interesting video, Richard. Thank you, Queen Nala and her sidekick 🙂

[@leonofferman3716]

I truly enjoy your videos. Thanks for giving me ideas.

[@barrydelahaye356]

Thank you so much for your playing,I cannot emphasise how much I enjoy your hymn tunes on Sundays. Thanks also to your wife you keeps you supplied with the music.. and also a supply of socks,!,,l Keep well.Barry

[@brutusiacobus]

Thank you Queen Nala and your sidekick!

[@namelessone3339]

Thank you Queen Nala and her sidekick! This explains a lot of what I was wondering when I left the chat message last Sunday, 12 July.

[@minimvsuk]

Thank you Queen Nala and her sidekick! 😁

[@RobertJohnson-je6tx]

Love your bench raising method. I used it all the time in churches at which I would play. Always kept the blocks in my truck if need for a funeral or wedding playing a strange organ.

[@thomasdastillung4097]

Amazing console man !

[@petebaron-krieger4659]

Richard, again a very educational and informative video. Really gives a deeper appreciation for the recitals & hymn sings! I am not an organist so I cant share thoughts or advice, but certainly will continue to share with friends to LIKE & SUBSCRIBE! Thanks for sharing your gifts!!🙏🏻😎

[@musicadulcis1496]

Thank you Queen Nala and her sidekick.

[@VoxAngelica8]

Nice setup

[@youpenter]

I just love your furry love in your web post. Cat's are just the best friends and the love shows.

[@TimothyCampbellCA]

Ok, here it goes, but only because you asked... 'Thank you Queen Nala and her sidekick' In all seriousness, I love your setup! I hope to one day have a similar one

[@dougalderdice6796]

Thank you Queen Nala and her sidekick! Lots of great suggestions, though no one has mentioned making use of your buddy at H&H ... seems like they might have some interesting bits in their back room that you could make use of, like stop jambs, keyboards, or heck even a complete four-manual console pulled from somewhere ... though I suppose it probably won't have MIDI in it ... ;)

[@plindblom]

Thank you for this video! Would be interesting to have a tech video on the midi capabilities of your Viscount and how you have set it up with Hauptwerk, like mapping the sequencer, toe studs, swell ped, stops etc. For instance, I dont think my Viscount is sending midi for the gen/div or sequence+ at the moment(?)

[@rafaelcobos2470]

As a new organ player (accompanist for church) i really like these 'behind the scenes' videos, it helps me understand what i need to learn

[@parrotlover9035]

I thoroughly enjoy your music, am a happy subscriber and have been wondering about your setup. Thanks for sharing. Have you considered replacing the drawknob panels with touch screens? I did that with a Viscount Grand Opera. They fit the spaces exactly, all I needed was a 1/8 inch thick strip of wood along the bottom of the screens. I upgraded from a laptop by putting a small PC into the console, tucked away on a shelf under the manuals. I believe the internal speakers were in the way, but they came out easily. I also replaced the vertical panel above the keyboards and centered a drawer with a compact keyboard for the PC - painted the panel flat black and it matches the touch screens. I use a wireless mouse. Thanks for giving me the idea to put a sequencer piston in place of the "great" and never-used expression shoe. It's fun seeing how other Hauptwerkians set their organs up.

[@ColinHarvey78]

Thank you to queen Nala and her sidekick. Such a gorgeous cat. Interesting to hear the mods to the pedalboard - I wish I’d done that when I had my Viscount console. In those days Hauptwerk wasn’t quite there. Know what you mean about the swell pedals too. How do you find the touch of the keyboards? I found the Viscount keys different to every other manufacturer - but I rather liked them! Keep up the great work 👍

[@jeffwhite4227]

I'm thinking of getting a Hauptwerk organ, but I need something light, small foot print, and AGO standard. I've got two vendors I'm looking at here in America. Very interesting video!

[@robbrown9543]

If you have a crescendo pedal, ignore my suggestion. On my 2/64 Allen, I've able to switch the great expression to a crescendo function while assigning great expression to the swell pedal But I have to admit that the crescendo is rarely, if ever used...

[@bendirval3612]

Would love to see the technical version of this. I'm planning on doing a MIDI conversion of a (much less nice) organ myself.

[@Jake_Broer]

You mentioned having the solo being on the same manual as the choir. The grand organ at the cathedral I sing at has 4 manuals, with the choir and positive sharing the bottom manual. As you said, it does mean you don't get to use the 2 divisions separately but at the same time, but you rarely use them at the same time, in my short experience playing the organ.

[@EmpyreanSasarai]

Thank you Queen Nala and her sidekick! Is it possible to build a kind of DIY version of a console on a budget?

[@NormanYoungMusic]

I use two launchpads as my organ is a 2 manual Johannus, and I created a template to print onto OHP transparencies for each organ. I have up to to 128 potential stops, and I programmed 4 of the console buttons to control the virtual keyboards, switching to one of 4 keyboard arrangements, and, of course, the launch pad is programmed to send any of the divisions to any other keyboard. It works really well, but I wish HW5 gave more control over the launchpad colours rather than bright/low of same colour as an example.

[@valsyoutube3331]

As far as lighting up the music desk, I would like to suggest that you have a track light on your ceiling strategically positioned above you. Track lighting gives you the flexibility of moving the light fixtures around for optimum illumination. With specific types of canned lighting fixtures, you can aim the light in such a way as to illuminate the music exactly as narrowly or broadly as you want without having any shadows. I would suggest getting LED lighting in the 5000K spectrum. Start with two cans, one above your right shoulder and one above your left. You could even try one directly over your head (positioned slightly in front of your head) in the center. The goal is to get a narrow beam of light between you and the music so that your body is not casting any shadows.

[@daviddaigh3346]

Thank you Queen Nala & her sidekick! Being totally non-tech savvy, this video gave me high anxiety!🤪

[@beautyinsound]

Oooh second place!

[@daviddaigh3346]

BEAUTY in SOUND Story of my life...always the runner up!😆

[@ezra3111]

I have a 2 manual organ running hauptwerk. When playing a 3 or 4 manual organ I run both of the manuals as a floating divisional. To change which manual is being controlled I use the pistons below that manual. You lose 3 or 4 pistons per manual (not a problem with your launchpad) but once set up it's super easy to use.

[@stevemann9821]

I use this same solution with my two manual console. Since virtually all registration changes I make while playing are done by just incrementing the sequencer, (perhaps I'm lazy but I see a lot of professionals doing it too) so I found I was rarely using the divisional pistons anyway. Being something of a geek I was able to modify the organ definition files of the organs I play so that the states of the floating divisions are saved in each sequencer stage and are recalled automatically along with stop and coupler changes as I increment the sequencer.

[@timcooney3600]

Very helpful information, thank you! I’m just beginning my hauptwerk journey. Just two midi keyboards right now, but looking for a console. Any ideas you might have in that area would be appreciated!

[@Richard-vq7ud]

I love that kitty

[@pj1473]

If there is an option to use 'unison-off,' the possibility to assign the fourth division to the Swell would be appealing. It would enable the coupling of the Sw to Gt or Ch, whilst the fourth division is playable on the Swell

[@andrewmorley77]

I’m really enjoying all your videos and concerts Richard. Can I ask how you record the audio for your concerts. Do you have a separate computer with an audio interface and software to record onto or can you do something nifty from Hauptwerk onto recording software on the one computer?

[@raphaelelvish2430]

Just found your channel I so want to get one of these organs but don’t have the cash wish I could help you get a better computer I can suggest a desktop possibly amd. Love your vids

[@rgkd1951]

The Launchpad Mini is 18cm square and 15 mm deep - would it fit lying flat in the space you have under the left stop-jamb for an extra 64 stops?

[@finntv4280]

People who dislikes this video is a pianist.

[@PaulL66]

Could you possibly put a touchscreen above one of the stop jambs? Granted, it would be an awkward reach. And it would add to the space-ship factor. But maybe if you put your (solo?) divisionals on the novation, it would prevent you from having to reach for the touchscreen too often. Oh, "Thank you Queen Nala and her sidekick."

[@oscarrook]

How about three ventils? - Choir on I, Great on II, Swell on III - controlled by a second launchpad in a small drawer under the stop jambs. Stops from these divisions would only sound on their "home" keyboard when their ventil is engaged. However, any stop drawn would be immediately available via the couplers so, for example, if the ventils were off, you could have the Great reeds on the Pedals, the principal chorus of the Choir being played alone on II, the big Solo reed on III, and the full Swell on I. Not a likely setup...but you get the idea. C-C used ventils extensively on his large instruments and they work brilliantly once you get your head around the idea. This launchpad could also control the stops for the Solo division and any additional ranks from the Choir, Great and Swell not currently controlled by drawstops.

[@beautyinsound]

Cheers Oscar, I’m already thinking along these lines and am convinced that I’ll resolve the issue through use of Launchpads. A fellow viewer suggested incorporating drawers underneath each side of the organ which I can push away when not using them. This I think is an excellent idea, along with what you’re suggesting!

[@socialite1283]

Solution to getting a 4th manual on a 3 manual console? Buy a 5 manual console. That will fix all the issues you've mentioned, and give you more room for stops, and give you room for a touch screen that can be shut away when not in use. :)

[@beautyinsound]

Haha 5 manuals! I’m getting a 4 manual one in a few months which’ll probably just about so 😊

[@nikkeisimmer8795]

Richard, I think your cat just hijacked your video. 😁 🤣

[@rossmorrow3013]

If you’re friendly with H & H ask advice on fitting 4th manual, I certainly don’t know that much about console design; and not as much as you do, but I think the manuals as they get higher they tilt slightly, I’m sure you are no doubt aware of some of the organs across the pond which are to be polite “interesting” ? Why not remove the stop jambs you already have and replace them with touchscreens, or have a chat with Renatus who build wonderful consoles. Yours truly, ross

[@ajs8525]

Have you tried assigning the 6 "ventils" on the right under the music desk to be departmental couplers thereby immediately gaining 6 more stops?

[@beautyinsound]

That’s actually a really excellent idea! I’ve just tried it and they do send a midi signal so I could use them. They don’t cancel with general cancel though so I’d have to be careful with them!

[@acornproductions]

Hi Richard, I'm really enjoying your videos, particularly the Sunday afternoon hymns. Just wondering: what is the difference between "next" - the function you've assigned to the black toe stud and "advance" the function you've assigned to the tuti toe stud ?

[@mdcollins1984]

I was wondering about that as well!

[@DellAnderson]

before you keep drilling holes in your beautiful console perhaps you could consider attachments in areas that do not show such as under the console keyboard side cheeks. you could securely attach some sort of outrigger arm there out of sight which protrudes forward and then attach a clamp style monitor stand to it to hold your touch screen add-ons. if you were really ingenious you could make it swing out of the way for easy ingress and egress from the organ bench. yes it would be a little Tesla but short of calling in the woodworkers I'm not sure what else you have as options.

[@beautyinsound]

No more drilling or DIY required for this console - the new console will be here soon enough 😊

[@piter_sk]

I cant play these organs for so long, nothing is better than pure mechanical wooden keyboard on real organ... I wish to get into the church soon (corona) to play there :)

[@paulmorrison6141]

Perhaps you could mount the current launchpad, and a future 2nd launchpad in little drawers under the stop jams. Then they're hidden when not in use.

[@beautyinsound]

An EXCELLENT idea Paul! I’ll bear this in mind for a future DIY bodge-job...

[@andrewmorley77]

The wonderful Reiger in St. Giles, Edinburgh has this for the sequencer. Really neat and keeps it out of the way.

[@mikemolto5983]

Hallo Richard, sorry, I have found this video AFTER I have seen the one with your 4 manual console. But I still would like to know, whow you build the big one? ;-)

[@beautyinsound]

Hi Mike, there are some videos about my new organ in this playlist: kzbin.info/aero/PL7xm8Mh472-f1JAKHg7Oeo-22Biu6MXzX

[@MarcA711]

What are your six organs you have on Haptwerk? Rotterdam of course, what else? I visited Paris and heard the organs of Notre Dame and Saint Suplice. When I was in London, I was at Mass in Westminster Cathedral so that was beautiful too.

[@billv8938]

Richard, replacing the lights in your draw knobs is easily done. There is a thread on the Organ Forum that addresses this. I am sure one of the techies there can tell you what bulb you need. I found mine from a source in Germany which sold them at a very reasonable cost. YMMV Here is a link to the forum thread: organforum.com/forums/forum/electronic-organs-midi/classic-church-electronic-organs/47874-a-cautionary-tale Good luck to you.

[@patmeaden]

You could just remove the drawknob jambs and install some launch pads or touchscreens in their place

[@robertetherington614]

Hello queen nala and side Kik Why not remove both stop jams and put in the same space to fit two flat touch screens built in then you could have all the stops virtual but still look like the instrument, you can get them from 10” in 1” steps in size so you could get one to fit the gap give or take 1/2” I found your video very interesting as I am getting a Allan Historique 3G and want to run Hauptwerk on it using its midi conections , it’s like the dark arts so I found your video very interesting thank you for making it

[@beautyinsound]

I like traditional-looking consoles and would never forfeit my physical stops. Having two touch screens is not an option for me as I don’t like them in find them inappropriate for my playing requirements. I’d rather struggle through than lose my current stops.

[@Rollinglenn]

Regrettably, I firmly believe you need to replace the lovely, but failing stop jambs with touch screens. Why on earth would a fellow traditionalist like you suggest this? One reason: this would permit full access to ALL of each sample sets' stops. Each different organ jamb would appear as on the actual console - helpful familiarity for when you again play live on those actual instruments. I'm sure you will someday! Reliability is a strong second reason; third is flexibility as relates to the various sample sets you rotate between. There are some very fine minimal LED adjustable music rack lamps available on line that would not get in your way. May I recommend a dimmer for any that you purchase? Beyond that, I like the idea of "firming up" your pedalboard and swell shoes. I have found most electronic organs to have extremely light & loose controls. Also, LED "puck" lights - look like hockey pucks might serve well to light the Pedalboard - again with dimmers. Regarding your organ bench height adjusters: I am 6'-2" tall with an actual extra inch of length between knee and ankle. Early on in my studies I would place hymnbooks under the corners of the bench. I've found that 1" to 1-¼" works great for me without my upper legs being jammed under the Choir manual. Organ shoes with 1" heels are a must! I even have had flexible "cowboy boots" with pointed toes and 1-¼" tall heels that worked surprisingly well - they would work well for you when wearing your Stetson! Best wishes on getting that bigger computer - 128 GB of RAM is a good investment. Cheerio from across the pond!

[@CHEVILLY100]

LAUKHUFF keyboards!!!!

[@Richard-vq7ud]

Is there anyone out there near San Antonio TX who would be able to put together a Hauptwerk for me? I have an Alborn Galanti that is connected to a custom set of Conn pipes. I tried hooking up Grand Orgue but it had a delay so it did not work. I am not computor savvy enough to do this. I really wish i could have Hauptwerk so much.

[@RobertJohnson-je6tx]

Love these instructive videos, but would you mind turning the background music off. It is very distracting.

[@biogons14]

Hi Richard. I want to tell you what I have done with my Viscount V90 to control the Hauptwerk console. You can search for biogon in contrebombarde: www.contrebombarde.com/concerthall/user/4142 First of all I must tell you that I I don't want to lose the possibility of directly playing my V90 and the sound modules that I have; for study I don't feel like going around turning on the PC, starting Hauptwerk, installing the organ and touching the screen. The solution of controlling the stops by changing the covers, or using the touch-pad does not seem good to me because it would only be useful if you use a single HW sample set. I have moved the music stand of the V90 15cm to the left and I have placed an Asus 22 " touch screen secondary to the PC. I use the V90's amp too, but I still use the great woofer it has. I have wired the output of the mid-highpass filter to the external speakers above my head through a switch. I use an external car amplifier and another pair of speakers for the rear channels. The V90 is more modern than your Viscount and I use the V90's "PREV" and "NEXT" buttons to go PREV or NEXT the HW combination or directly access the 6 direct combinations on the V90. Simply record the combinations (1) to (6) in the last bank of the Viscount only with the activation of MIDI on the three keyboards and the pedal and a “PROGRAM CHANGE” code from 1 to 6. Then in the “Organ” menu. settings ”and“ MIDI / Key triggers… ”of HW assign“ Registration stepper: trigger xx1 ”to xx6 the code“ program change ”that you defined in the Viscount for each combination of that bank. The same for “Cancel” and “Trem” of each keyboard. In your case, what I would do is through a program such as “MIDI-OX”, read on the PC the MIDI implementation codes that your Viscount sends when you press the buttons of each combination and assign them in HW. I have a selector switch with which I can select the REVERB of the (Viscount), the one of the sound module (MOTU) or the HW organ, which gives me a lot of flexibility. I have no intention of installing HW5 and reconfiguring everything; I do not need it. What is unforgivable is that they stop supporting the HW4 dongles. I love your cat.

[@DJPtenor]

Thank you Queen Nala and her sidekick! I found this video very appealing to my “nerd” side. I’m a singer with some low-level organist abilities, which I’ve only recently begun to resurrect. Your explanations of your setup add to my factual understanding of organs. Your channel is a recent find for me, as well as learning of your association with Mander organs. I have been granted the privilege of practicing (after decades away from the organ bench) on New York City’s Mander at St. Ignatius. I’m humbled to play this magnificent instrument. I’m looking forward to future videos from you!

[@budsadler400]

Thank you Queen Nala and her sidekick!

[@stevenlester2606]

Thank you Queen Nala and her sidekick!

[@BillLund]

Thank you Queen Nala and her sidekick!

[@fclpjg]

Thank you Queen Nala and her sidekick!

[@sueabood3372]

Thank you Queen Nala and her sidekick!

[@christopherdew2355]

Thank you Queen Nala and her sidekick!

[@kurtsnider3859]

Thank you Queen Nala and her sidekick!

[@kamczak89]

Thank you Queen Nala and her sidekick!

[@beautyinsound]

You win!