Sat Aug 25, 2012 12:36 pm
My first real setup has been assembled two years ago, when I was still living in Abu Dhabi. I just had decided to go the Hauptwerk route, and still part of the temporary setup I had been using during the "trial" period was present. The Ikea Galant table used as console support made me speak about "office organ" by that time...
Although many elements have been changed since the beginning, the IT part didn't change much - Mac Mini, Motu Microlite for the Midi interface, and the gorgeous Motu UltraLite Mk3 Hybrid to handle the audio part.
Table support came later. The two feet pistons are not used for organ registration change purpose, but for MusicReader. Left piston to move forward, right one to come back one page. Not the most logical choice, but the most convenient one!
Actually the only screen used on my console is most often used to read the score.
When I moved to Dubai at the beginning of the year, one of my main concerns was where to place the organ. I chose an apartment with a large living room, looking for having a great sound at last.
Another view of the console
At last I could connect it to my home theater in a decent way. During my late days in Abu Dhabi, I had no other option but to have the console installed on the side of the living room where sound was completely unbalanced. I have it now in my back, as if playing on a reverse console. I bought a 20 m. / 60 ft. RCA cables to plug the organ into the amplifier.
I can have a direct comparison between CDs and SACDs of organ, and the Hauptwerk sound now. Same amplifier, same loudspeakers. Frankly speaking there is no difference, excepted maybe for St.Maximin. Due to the limited RAM I have in my Mini - 8 GB of which 5.1 can be used by Hauptwerk only - it has to be compressed thus giving a somewhat electronic sound. But Kampen or St. Michel-en-Thiérache are just jewels.
Next step - it may still need time - will be to replace the M-Audio keyboards. Most probably wooden Fatar ones, offering a stronger and more realistic touch. When I try to play pipe organs, I always find huge difficulty to adapt myself to the tracker touch they are offering.
Then the Mini will have to be replaced - most probably a Server version with RAM extended to 16 MB - unless the model available by that time will allow a 24 or 32 memory - and SSD.
Although many elements have been changed since the beginning, the IT part didn't change much - Mac Mini, Motu Microlite for the Midi interface, and the gorgeous Motu UltraLite Mk3 Hybrid to handle the audio part.
Table support came later. The two feet pistons are not used for organ registration change purpose, but for MusicReader. Left piston to move forward, right one to come back one page. Not the most logical choice, but the most convenient one!
Actually the only screen used on my console is most often used to read the score.
When I moved to Dubai at the beginning of the year, one of my main concerns was where to place the organ. I chose an apartment with a large living room, looking for having a great sound at last.
Another view of the console
At last I could connect it to my home theater in a decent way. During my late days in Abu Dhabi, I had no other option but to have the console installed on the side of the living room where sound was completely unbalanced. I have it now in my back, as if playing on a reverse console. I bought a 20 m. / 60 ft. RCA cables to plug the organ into the amplifier.
I can have a direct comparison between CDs and SACDs of organ, and the Hauptwerk sound now. Same amplifier, same loudspeakers. Frankly speaking there is no difference, excepted maybe for St.Maximin. Due to the limited RAM I have in my Mini - 8 GB of which 5.1 can be used by Hauptwerk only - it has to be compressed thus giving a somewhat electronic sound. But Kampen or St. Michel-en-Thiérache are just jewels.
Next step - it may still need time - will be to replace the M-Audio keyboards. Most probably wooden Fatar ones, offering a stronger and more realistic touch. When I try to play pipe organs, I always find huge difficulty to adapt myself to the tracker touch they are offering.
Then the Mini will have to be replaced - most probably a Server version with RAM extended to 16 MB - unless the model available by that time will allow a 24 or 32 memory - and SSD.
Last edited by pat17 on Fri Aug 02, 2013 8:12 am, edited 1 time in total.
). It also explains why the pedalboard I chose has parallel keys, like in all Continental European countries.