help getting started

I am at the beginning stages of exploring Hauptwerk. I have got two midi keyboards (Cheetah and Rowland PC180A), and have two mouse like boxes that seem to convert from midi to USB. So far I have been exploring the free version of Hauptwerk, and notice St Annes seems to take very little of my available memory (I have 2 Gig). But the sound quality is poor with lots of crackling. Is this because the free version is low quality sound?

I can't get both keyboards to play together - as great and swell. Am I missing something?

What are the three buttons for on St Anne's console between Swell and Great keyboards directly to the left of the 'Set' button? I can't read the amudge of lettering but it looks like Ch on SW, Ch on Gt and CH on Ped. Theyt don't seem to do anything.

My next step is to build a midi pedal board. Is there a computer card that has 3 or more midi plugs on the backside so you can connect directly to the PC?
John Nicholson (North Wales)

But the sound quality is poor with lots of crackling. Is this because the free version is low quality sound?

Download and install the free ASIO4ALL (http://www.asio4all.com/) and select this as your audio driver in HW. This is probably all you need to remove the crackling.

I can't get both keyboards to play together - as great and swell. Am I missing something?

Do you know on what channel the keyboards send their MIDI-messages? By default, HW receives the messages for the Great on channel 2 and for the Swell on channel 3. You can change this in HW, but most certainly also on the keyboards.

[mdyde]

Hello John,

Briefly (since we don't provide formal support for the Free Edition, although hopefully others may be able to help you in more depth):

But the sound quality is poor with lots of crackling. Is this because the free version is low quality sound?

No - the Free Edition is capable of the same audio quality and performance as any of the licensed editions.

The quality of your audio interface and its drivers primarily determine audio performance.

We'd recommend ideally using a good-quality semi-pro/pro audio interface, e.g any of those we list in the prerequisites section in the user guide - on the Help menu in Hauptwerk, or on-line here:

http://www.hauptwerk.com/clientuploads/documentation/PDF/HauptwerkPrerequisites.pdf

E.g. the M-Audio 2496 is a popular and very low-cost PCI interface that gives good audio performance.

If you're using a PC (as opposed to Mac), make sure you have all Windows updates installed, the latest version of your PC's BIOS, and the latest manufacturer-supplied drivers for your audio interface, then make sure you select your audio interface's ASIO driver on the 'General settings | Audio outputs' screen in Hauptwerk.

The 'Quick-start: stand-alone' section in the user guide also covers those steps.

If you still have audio problems, have a look at this document, which covers troubleshooting common Windows/PC audio/performance problems:

http://www.hauptwerk.com/clientuploads/documentation/Tutorials/WindowsOptimizationsAndDiagnostics.pdf

What are the three buttons for on St Anne's console between Swell and Great keyboards directly to the left of the 'Set' button? I can't read the amudge of lettering but it looks like Ch on SW, Ch on Gt and CH on Ped. Theyt don't seem to do anything.

Their text is 'CR ON SW', 'CR ON GT', 'CR ON PED' from left to right. They determine whether the crescendo affects the corresponding divisions.

I can't get both keyboards to play together - as great and swell. Am I missing something?

The quick-start section in the user guide covers selecting the appropriate MIDI ports and channels for the virtual keyboards.

My next step is to build a midi pedal board. Is there a computer card that has 3 or more midi plugs on the backside so you can connect directly to the PC?

Have a look at the prerequisites section in the guide (above) - there are some multi-port MIDI interfaces we list there, e.g. the MOTU Microlite or M-Audio MIDISPORT 4x4 Anniversary Edition.

As far as determining the MIDI channels being output by your keyboards, if you are using a PC, download http://www.midiox.com.
(Works for 32 bit applications) If you are using a Mac, OSX has native "Midiox equivilent" via audio/midi setup. It's in your utilities folder. Also, a useful configuration (routing program) for a Mac is:http://midi-patchbay.mac.findmysoft.com/

Rgds,
Ed