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Hauptwerk 4 released

PostPosted: Tue Apr 19, 2011 9:21 pm
by B. Milan
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The World's Most Advanced Virtual Pipe Organ x 4


We are proud to present Hauptwerk version 4 which is available immediately for
download from our main downloads page here:

http://www.hauptwerk.com/downloads/hauptwerk-downloads/


Here is a brief overview of some of Hauptwerk 4's key features

New and improved St. Anne's virtual organ

Hauptwerk 4 includes a completely new high quality version of the St. Anne's virtual organ. The organ was re-recorded from scratch during our visit to England in 2009. The new version features 24-bit 44.1kHz stereo samples (originally recorded in 32-bit 96kHz) consisting of multiple release samples, multiple loops, additional dual stop jamb console displays which are optimized for vertical screen displays as well as a complete tonal balancing of the entire organ. The St. Anne's organ is included in the Hauptwerk software download and will install automatically.

Redesigned User Interface

The entire user interface in Hauptwerk 4 has been redesigned from previous versions of Hauptwerk. Menu options, settings screens as well as all new graphical control panels and piston toolbars offer users a much more intuitive way to access Hauptwerk's main features.

MIDI Learn

MIDI learn offers a quick and easy set up for digital organ consoles without needing to know anything about MIDI or other complex MIDI settings. Simply right click on a virtual control then choose 'Auto-detect' and Hauptwerk will "listen" to your hardware MIDI messages and assign the proper settings.

Built-in MIDI Recorder/Player

Hauptwerk 4 comes with a native MIDI recorder allowing you to record your performances to MIDI files directly without the need for external MIDI sequencers. Even touch screens presses are captured to MIDI using Hauptwerk's special MIDI implementation allowing complete registrations to be recalled when playing back the recorded MIDI file. Using the Hauptwerk MIDI recorder allows users to share their recordings with other users that use the same instruments without the need for any special set up. Just load and play!

Powerful Combination System

Hauptwerk 4 has an enormously powerful and flexible, fully-programmable combination system that works for all virtual organs. There's a 999-frame fully random-access stepper, 20 'master generals', 60 'master scoped combinations', a 4-bank 31-stage master crescendo, and a basic set of common 'master couplers' that can complement the couplers a virtual organ has natively.

Mac and PC Audio Unit and VST Plug-in Links

Audio Unit and VST plug-in links for Mac and PC are now standard in Hauptwerk 4. The Hauptwerk 3 Windows VSTi has been replaced with a new 'Hauptwerk VST Link' for Windows and OS X and a 'Hauptwerk AU Link' for OS X. Hauptwerk itself runs outside of your VST/AU host/sequencer and you just load the 'Hauptwerk VST/AU Link' in your sequencer.

Console Zoom and Multiple Screen Orientation

You can view the virtual console screen(s) in full-screen mode and consoles automatically zoom to make most efficient use of the screen space available. Some sample sets (including St. Anne's) support multiple orientations for their virtual consoles, for example allowing you to display virtual stop jambs conveniently on touch-screens mounted in portrait-format.

Additional information

There are many more performance improvements and enhancements in addition to those listed above.

For a list of all new changes and updates please read the Release Notice. More in depth feature descriptions can be found in the Features Datasheet.

The Hauptwerk User Guide contains new tutorial-like steps which should allow a much easier means for understanding the features and controls. Please be sure to review the guide prior to requesting support and chances are you will find what you are looking for. We have also provided detailed step-by-step tutorials for using the new Hauptwerk AU/VST plug-in links with several of the most commonly used sequencer hosts including Logic Pro, Cubase, Sonar and Reaper.

New licenses and upgrades from earlier versions of Hauptwerk are now available through the Hauptwerk store. Please note new Hauptwerk 4 public installations now require a Public Installation License as detailed in the Hauptwerk End User License Agreement. For those who have a license for version 3 and are using Hauptwerk in a public installation we will offer the normal pricing for upgrades to version 4, only new Hauptwerk 4 licenses for public installations are required to purchase the Public Installation license type.

Important: Due to the volume of license updates we anticipate receiving please allow up to 24 hours for your license update to enable version 4. In most circumstances your update should be handled in a timely manner, usually within 30 minutes or less during normal business hours.

Also note that the downloads are fairly large due to the new St. Anne's organ which is included in the Hauptwerk installer. We have provided FTP download instructions on the downloads page in the event that you may not have the ability to download the installers through a normal browser. In the event that the main download server may seem slow due to many users downloading at once there is an alternate download site linked to directly below the main download button. Please only use one download site so as not to tie up the servers more than need be. All files have been downloaded by us and tested and are fully in tact. Should you have any issues accessing the files please try again later.

Note that once Hauptwerk 4 is installed it will uninstall Hauptwerk 3 (likewise Hauptwerk version 2 would be uninstalled although all of your settings and instruments will not be affected). Should you decide to evaluate version 4 prior to purchasing a license please be aware that if you would like to return to version 2/3 that you will need to completely uninstall version 4 and reinstall your previous version.

As always we thank you for your support, suggestions and patience while we have worked hard on bringing you this latest version of Hauptwerk, the world's most advanced virtual pipe organ...x4!

We hope you enjoy Hauptwerk 4 and all of the new features it offers!

Re: Hauptwerk 4 released

PostPosted: Wed Apr 20, 2011 4:41 am
by mdyde
Anybody who ordered a new Hauptwerk v3 licence or a v3 licence upgrade since 7 December 2010 qualifies for a free upgrade to Hauptwerk v4.

We'll be emailing all of those people soon (probably just after Easter, so as to try to spread the load a little to keep order processing and download times reasonable) but if you qualify for a free upgrade then there's no need to wait for that email.

If you qualify for a free upgrade (i.e. if you ordered a Hauptwerk v3 licence or Hauptwerk v3 licence upgrade since 7 December 2010) you can submit a licence update request file here:

http://www.hauptwerk.com/licenseupdates

... and we will then send you back a licence update to enable a Hauptwerk v4 licence on your USB key.

Once that's done you then just need to download and install the v4 software itself:

http://www.hauptwerk.com/downloads/hauptwerk-downloads/

We also plan to email all existing Hauptwerk users shortly after Easter to announce the availability of version 4.

Re: Hauptwerk 4 released

PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 7:47 am
by mdyde
To clarify the licence update process a bit further:

When sending us a licence update request to upgrade your licence to Hauptwerk version 4 ('File | Create a license update request file') you can either create the file with Hauptwerk v3 (before you've installed the v4 software) or with Hauptwerk v4 (after you've installed the v4 software) - either is fine. (But please only create the file once.)

Once we've received that file from you we'll then process your licence update request (by hand) and send you back a licence update file which you need to apply in Hauptwerk to enable the v4 licence on your USB key.

Again you can apply that file with Hauptwerk v3 (before you've installed the v4 software) or with Hauptwerk v4 (after you've installed the v4 software) - either is fine.

If you install the v4 software before applying the licence update to enable v4 on your USB key then Hauptwerk will temporarily revert to running in unlicensed (evaluation/Free Edition) mode, but it will still allow you to apply a licence update at any time to restore full licensed functionality.

Re: Hauptwerk 4 released

PostPosted: Thu Apr 28, 2011 7:08 am
by mdyde
Just a quick additional note:

When you first launch Hauptwerk v4, or first load any given organ in v4, a wizard will run which will ask you whether to reset (not migrate) your existing MIDI settings. By default those options to reset (not migrate) your MIDI settings are ticked. Although you can choose to keep your existing MIDI settings by simply unticking those options, in general we recommend resetting them since:

- Our experience has been that most people had at least some incorrect or spurious MIDI settings in Hauptwerk v3, which could potentially cause unexpected behaviour. Resetting them and auto-detecting them ensures that you have exactly the correct settings and no spurious ones.

- Keeping spurious settings will make Hauptwerk very slightly slower to launch and could very slightly reduce its performance. Again resetting them and auto-detecting them ensures that you have no spurious settings, giving best performance.

- The default v3 MIDI settings were configured to trigger the menu functions that v3 had. If you migrate those to v4 then you will still have your pistons configured to trigger only those v4 functions that also existed in v3. There are a *lot* of new functions in v4, so that isn't necessarily making the most efficient use of your MIDI pistons or giving you the best functionality that v4 can offer (although of course you can still reassign them manually after migrating).

- Resetting and auto-detecting allows you to assign your MIDI stops/pistons/etc. to each virtual organ's controls and Hauptwerk functions optimally, separately for each virtual organ, in a way that's most appropriate for its style, the functions it provides, and the functions that are most useful for it. Since the v3 MIDI settings were common to all organs, and most people didn't adjust mappings/assignments for different organs (the two-stage settings mapping process wasn't widely understood or used in v3), our experience was that most people didn't have their MIDI hardware configured optimally for each organ.

- Auto-detecting your MIDI settings is designed to be extremely quick after resetting them (right-click on a virtual control that you want to control from MIDI, select 'Auto-detect ...', repeat for the next, ...), taking only a very few minutes per organ and requiring no knowledge of MIDI.

But of course it's entirely up to everyone to choose whether to keep their v3 MIDI settings or reset them and auto-detect them for v4.