Which sample set?

Dear Forum members,

I would like to start my post by wishing you all a happy festive season.

I am upgrading my MacPro 2013 rams to 64GB and storage to 1TB.

I have enjoyed playing over the past years Metz, Mt. Carmel, Laeken, Trost, Paramount, St. Anne, and a number of free and CODM samples. They all sound great and suitable for most of the organ repertoire. But I would like to get a sample that sounds huge, a sound, if I may compare, similar to Notre Dame De Paris C.C. Chamade is an important element here to get the sound I am looking for and of course the number of stops. I have done lots of reading and listening to the various available sample sets and I found myself left with three options:
- Laurensker, Rotterdam
- PAB
- Esztergom
They all have nice Chamade and the tutti sounds very rich.

I am not sure if there are other samples that I missed and I should consider. I appreciate any recommendation or advice.

Many thanks and best regards,
Wadih

The PABudapest is very dry, you'll need to add artificial reverb, and it's an old sampleset.
On this opposit, Esztergom is very wet, great for big tutti but this could be a problem for more intimate pieces.
The big Rotterdam is polyvalent, from a few stops to a big powerfull tutii.
The sound is warm and bright, and you can adjust it with front and rear settings.
Don't hesitate to try the demo (there's a chamade inside ! )

What about the Caen extended version by Subbas32? (http://forum.hauptwerk.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=13254&start=180) It is a 4 channel set, so is this extension.

4(5) manuals, 100 stops + a few additional unifications, alternate and swichable chamades (Dom Bedos/CC), alternate and switchable Bombarde 32, 32 foot, 16 foot and 8 foot cornet decomposée 9 ranks and other unique features.

Screenshot of the extended 2.0 version (to be released soon): https://www.dropbox.com/s/te94x4l8sts5smj/ExtSimple2.bmp

The extension is only US $60 (includes $15 for dongle update) till the end of the year.

Yes I confirm, Caen with its extension is certainly the best sample you could find for HW, allowing to play absolutely everything with incredible accessories in the latest version available very soon (end of December).

The big Rotterdam... The sound is warm and bright...

I'll put my vote also for the Laurenskerk in Rotterdam (Marcussen 1973). Very flexible, wonderfully warm and bright, with exceptionally fine Chamades.

Hello Wadih,

I can't comment about the entire Esztergom sample set as I don't have it. However I did briefly install the demo, which shows that it's extremely wet. I'd only go for this one if you like playing slowly most of the time and aren't too fussed about precision and detail.

As has already been noted, the PAB is "old" as sample sets go. It impressed me at first, but in my view it's been eclipsed since. If you go for it, you'll need to use additional reverb to give it a "huge" sound. Use a reverb plug-in running through Reaper. Don't use the "Cathedral Reverb" loading option provided with the sample set as this is very memory-hungry and in my view doesn't sound good.

Of the three instruments you've mentioned, Rotterdam is I believe the clear winner. Due to RAM limitations of my computer I only run the front ranks, but that's still a fantastic sound. I would love to have a bigger computer purely to be able to load the full surround version of Rotterdam, and the new computer you are planning to purchase should be able to do it.

Try out the various demo versions, and listen to plenty of demo tracks from the suppliers' websites and from Contrebombarde Concert Hall. This will help significantly in making your choice.

Andrew

Rotterdam is a beautiful organ for baroque music but if you are looking for an instrument similar to Notre Dame De Paris C.C. (you wrote it in your first post), you will be very disappointed. All the attacks are too sharp for romantic music, the basses are not deep enough, the reeds are at the opposite of your request and there is only one string stop. Therefore why not a Cavaillé-Coll?

Agreed. My observations relate to the list of three. Caen is well worth your consideration.

Andrew

If you can only have one, my vote would go to Rotterdam. Imho, Rotterdam handles romantic music better than Caen or its extension handles baroque music, but it is strictly a question of taste and as they say, in a matter of taste, there is no right or wrong.
John

Dear All,

Allow me first of all to wish you a happy and successful new year.. I hope you all enjoyed the festive season with your loved ones.

I would like to thank you for your inputs and recommendations and for sharing your thoughts and experience.

As I was on leave with limited internet access and the forum went offline till 5 January, I was not able to read your posts till now. But while away, I did extensive hours of listening and comparing between Rotterdam, Esztorgom and Caen extended. PAB was eliminated, Caen extended did not convince me as it is a CDO (it's extended edition if I am not mistaking). This left me with two remaining choices, Rotterdam and Esztorgom.

After listening for hours over five days, Esztorhom won due to a number of reasons:

- I agree that Esztorgom reverberation can be annoying but on the other hand, it can be installed with different options of reverberation length from almost 0sec to full 10sec (natural) going through 1 or 2 or 3 ...etc sec. Having the Lexicon 400, I can load it with 3 sec reverberation and add or adjust using Lexicon.
- Another reason was the number of stops and the future upgrade: currently 91 stops and more to come in the future once the construction of the real instrument is over. Compared to Rotterdam, I gained more stops.
- The price was discounted and I chose the download instead of shipping because I have a high speed internet connectivity. By that I saved around $150 compared to box shipping and over $200 plus compared to Rotterdam.
- Since part of what we pay goes to support the extension of the instrument, I thought this would be another reason.
- This one has deeply touched me: while listening to the real instrument on You Tube, I came across a post, In memory of Istvan Baroti, the resident organist, who passed away back in 2014. During that time I watched several videos of him demonstrating the organ and I did not know he was dead at that time. It was a shock for me to know that.

I finished downloading the very large files (75 GB) I have also installed the Organ and played it out of the box loaded at 24 bit no compression real acoustic. A huge sound but requires lots of running and adjustment. I think I will spend the whole week next week to voice it and adjust it to my room and audio system.

I would like to thank you all for your replies and advices.

Best regards,
Wadih