Setting startup default audio level

I temporarily (perhaps permanently, after consultation with my wife) have the audio output level control on the Audio/MIDI window linked to an expression pedal. I would love for it to come up at zero when Hauptwerk starts or is reset, to prevent any unfortunately volume surprises. But it comes up as 100. I right-clicked on it and tried to set the default, but the default is already set to zero and grayed out so I cannot adjust it anyway. Is there a way around this? Thanks!

Tim

[mdyde]

Hello Tim,

Whenever you load an organ, Hauptwerk's master volume slider will automatically default to whatever position it was in when you last unloaded that organ, i.e. its position is recalled automatically, and on a per-organ basis.

If that doesn't appear to be happening for you, then presumably your MIDI expression pedal is sending a message to move it (e.g. periodically).

I temporarily (perhaps permanently, after consultation with my wife) have the audio output level control on the Audio/MIDI window linked to an expression pedal. I would love for it to come up at zero when Hauptwerk starts or is reset, to prevent any unfortunately volume surprises.

If you have installed your organ properly, you should NEVER face any unfortunate volume surprises. In a previous post
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=15957
I discussed how to set the Volume Level (trim) to avoid any possility of audio overload. If the Organ (playing the fullest chords on the fullest registrations) is then too loud for your taste, just cut back a little further on the Audio Trim (see the User Manual page 130). Beyond this, I cannot see any reason why anybody would ever want the Organ to sound softer (weaker), but there is of course the Volume Slider available (same page of User Manual), which can be connected to an expression shoe for those who prefer to play Hauptwerk as if it were a Hammond Organ or some other inferior creature.

Starting out at Zero, so you cannot hear anything at all, even on Full Organ? Wouldn't it be better to just start out with a simple, quiet registration as your ears get used to hearing Organ Music once again, and then step up to something fuller?

Until I get a dedicated master volume control installed (working on it now) I have the Swell shoe configured as master volume, with the trim set so that at max volume (pedal down to max=100) on a Tutti, the volume is ear-shattering. This level of trim is necessary in order for very quiet stops that might be used in pp solos to be heard at reasonable volume. The difference in volume between a single quiet stop and Sfz is enormous. If I set the trim so that Tutti is merely quite loud, a single quiet stop is too soft to be enjoyable. I may re-voice the pipes to bring up their volume, but messing with the organ builder's decisions is a last resort. So I rely on the expression pedal master volume, raising it for very quiet stops and lowering it for big registrations to keep the volume at reasonable levels at both extremes. So when the master volume defaults to 100 at startup, if my wife happens to put on a big registration and forget to back off the expression pedal, that first chord is dramatic!

At max volume... on a Tutti, the volume is ear-shattering.

Then your Organ is not installed correctly. On my own set-up, using Headphones, I carefully AVOID any possiblity of sounds that are damaging to the hearing.

This level of trim is necessary in order for very quiet stops that might be used in pp solos to be heard at reasonable volume.... If I set the trim so that Tutti is merely quite loud, a single quiet stop is too soft to be enjoyable.

Then you must have a problem with your audio system. I've never heard of anybody else encountering this issue. Certainly on my Headphones, when Full Organ gives a pleasant roar, the softest stops are light and delicate... Just like on a Real Organ.

The difference in volume between a single quiet stop and Sfz is enormous.

Perhaps by using an Audio Compressor you could suitably reduce your Dynamic Range.

>> Perhaps by using an Audio Compressor you could suitably reduce your Dynamic Range. <<

That's a great idea, and I'll give it some thought. Thank you. I'd need three though, as I have six channels. Ultimately, the best solution is to have a handy master volume control (so my wife can practice with huge registrations but at reduced volume to save her ears) and train her to always begin with a small registration and the volume low.

Tim

Just a suggestion, but it might be safer for ears and speakers to set the trim as recommended so that full organ (a full registration suited to the organ's design, not necessarily "every stop except celestes and character reeds") plays at a convincingly strong but comfortable level for your room, and with no audio distortion. Damaging speakers is expensive, but ears more so.

Then just nudge up the levels of the quietest stops that vanish. Speakers, no matter how good, don't project a very soft sound very far into the room. In a church, that Dulciana or Dolce Flute is probably quite audible as long as nobody fidgets, but it's beneath the level where it would sound from the speakers unless you put your ear right on the grill. There's nothing wrong with boosting the level in rank voicing to compensate for your speakers and room and hearing.

It is kind of unnatural to expect to change the master volume slider on the fly. Organs just don't do that. If somebody is taking a nap, that might be useful as a courtesy, but practicing with overall volume changes that affect all ranks isn't part of any mainstream organ music. The swell pedal(s) only affect the enclosed divisions, and don't sound like a volume control.

Audio Compressor... That's a great idea, and I'll give it some thought. Thank you. I'd need three though

Three if by hardware, but perhaps only one if implemented by software inside an Audio Host (DAW), just running a separate instance for each pair of output channels.

I did not know such a thing was possible. If convenient some time, could you please give me a lead for where I can find more information? Even if I don't do it, I like to know about things like that.

Tim

Then just nudge up the levels of the quietest stops that vanish.

That's exactly what I did with the St. Anne; I increased almost every Swell rank to come closer to the Great. But I hate to mess with the gorgeous Rotterdam. I would not plan on changing master volume on the fly; I have it set that way right now as a temporary crutch, but as soon as I get a master volume set up I'll go back to the Swell pedal really being a Swell pedal. I just want a master volume control so I can match the circumstance. The computer controls are at an awkward position/distance, so just reaching up to move the slider on the screen is not a good option. Still, sometimes I want it all to hang out, and sometimes I/we want to play a thrilling full registration but at volume levels low enough that we don't damage our hearing.

I know that it's almost heresy to criticize pipe organs, but that's a real problem sometimes. The organ at my wife's teacher's sometime church is gigantic, and the console is almost directly in front of the pipe chamber. Even moderate registrations can leave the ears ringing, which is not good. So one of the huge advantages of our new Hauptwerk organ is that we can turn down the volume without having to do it with a small registration, yet still have thrilling volume when we are in the mood.

I did not know such a thing was possible. If convenient some time, could you please give me a lead for where I can find more information? Even if I don't do it, I like to know about things like that.

For an introduction to the world of the "Digital Audio Workstation", you could check that topic on Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_audio_workstation (and some of the links from there as appropriate).

Looking through the Hauptwerk User Manual, we see that HW fully supports Host Software such as Cubase, Sonar, Reaper, and Sibelius, as well as "the majority of other VST and Audio Unit hosts". Myself, I use a cute little Host called Cantabile.

On the Hauptwerk Website, there are some Tutorials about using this kind of Software with Hauptwerk.

To summarize, Hauptwerk can send its Audio Output (or can route its MIDI input or output) through its VST connection with the appropriate Host software. Doing this with MIDI would be used for various projects involving MIDI Sequencing. Doing this with Audio invites all kinds of Audio Processing (as well as possible Mixing with other Audio Sources, and other advanced projects).

For simple Audio Processing, some kind of Plug-In is linked inside the Host to process the Audio Output from Hauptwerk and then route it to wherever the Host is supposed to send it (eg to a Sound Card attached to the Computer).

The most common Audio Processing used with Hauptwerk would probably be some kind of Reverberation Unit, allowing a selected and adjustable Reverberation Effect to be processing the sound from Hauptwerk. I use this when playing the Clavi-Organum Sample Set... a very pleasant Sample Set, but it was recorded entirely dry. It also helps on a few other Sample Sets that were recorded with less Reverberation than I would prefer.

From the Article on WikiPedia:
"Some of the functions of these plugins include digital effects units which can modify a signal with distortion, resonators, equalizers, synthesizers, compressors, chorus, virtual amp, limiter, phaser, and flangers."

Quickly searching online for "Reaper audio compression", we find that an appropriate Plug-In is included with that Software. The other hosts should also either include it, or it should be readily available as an add-on, perhaps from a third party.

Use of an Audio Compressor with Organ Music is said to be nearly universal in the production of Commercial CD Recordings. But the purists of course decry this unwarranted distortion of the original sound. Hauptwerk allows the full Dynamic Range of an Organ to be portrayed much more accurately than on any Commercial CD. But if too much range turns out to be a problem, there are certainly remedies available.

Hoping that this is helpful and informative, and that in due course you will come to enjoy many of the features that a DAW makes possible!

Thank you for taking the time to post that long and detailed reply! I really appreciate it. This is such a wonderful supportive community. I'll do that research and print hard copies of everything to peruse at my leisure (I hate reading long things at a computer).

Tim

[mdyde]

Hello Tim,

If you did decide that you wanted to use software audio compression, then the instructions in the 'Using an AU/VST host to apply real-time reverb' section in the main Hauptwerk user guide (pages 183-184 in the current v4.2.1 version) would also be applicable (except that you would load a compressor plug-in the VST host, instead of a reverb plug-in).