Regensburg Dom (Rieger/Mathis IV/113) - new sample set

I am proud to release my new sample set - the Rieger/Mathis organ system in the Cathedral (Dom) of Regensburg, Germany.

For centuries, the cathedral did not have an adequate organ; King Ludwig I of Bavaria and the monument protection authorities forbade a visible installation in the church interior, as the organ would "disturb" the Gothic architecture. As a result, for a long time only a relatively small organ was placed out of sight behind the silver high altar, from where it could only sound a small part of the cathedral. The current choir organ from the Mathis company (1989, originally III/43, now II/33) was also placed behind the altar.
When Franz Josef Stoiber took over as cathedral organist in 1996, it quickly became clear that the cathedral could only be adequately served by a large organ. The north wall of the transept turned out to be the best location, but as the preservation order forbade fixing it to the wall, an organ suspended from the supporting walls of the so-called "donkey tower" (remnant of the Romanesque cathedral) was designed. With 80 stops and a weight of 37 tonnes, this is the largest suspended instrument. The access to the organ is a novelty: The organist reaches the mechanical console via a lift that disappears invisibly into the organ. A second electric console is located at the front of the choir. Both organs can be played from both.

Further information and order option you can get here (please click on the photo):

https://forestpipes.de/?page_id=901

Prof. Wolfgang Seifen has improvised a Symphony on the organ in a live concert, you can hear it there:
Allegro Vivace: https://youtu.be/0RFN4EmHr-Q
Scherzo: https://youtu.be/GHtiDHOKBjg
Adagio espressivo: https://youtu.be/_FqQN0qlwfw
Finale: https://youtu.be/qDnzJMtpgds

Until December 31st 2023 the sample set has an introductory price of 700,- EUR (incl. german VAT), the regular price will be 850,- EUR (incl. german VAT). For a small fee you can order a test version (HW V and higher) for 14 days without any restrictions. A HW4-version of the full sample set is available on request.

A special thanks to Prof. Franz Josef Stoiber, the organist who made possible the sampling, and to Olivia Nagioff and Steven Ades for the programming.

In addition our annual 2 for 1 occasion starts (until December 31st):
When you buy one of our big samplesets (Regensburg, Wesel, Sankt Arnual, Valley or Waldkirchen), you get one of our small sets (Bayr Weng or Walcker Mimbach) for free. Please note during the ordering process what sample set you want to have.

Really good news!
And let's be honest: the introductory price until 31 December is great! I particularly like the fact that VAT is not added on top. What a great thing!
So I'll be busy for the first time tonight!
Roman

Hello, can you tell how best to fit this beast into 57/58GB (64 GB minus HW, windows etc ...) ?
Anything better than 16 bit ?
or not loading tremulant ?
Pls advise. Tks.

Even though it is repeatedly claimed that 16 bit is significantly worse than 24 bit, I have never been able to hear a difference between the versions. So you can safely load the organ in 16 bit.

I tried with 20 bits, compressed, with all tremulants off (ie unloaded) : 1.3 GB left (out of 58 probably left from the 64G, with windows, chrome and HW loaded ...So it could be improved to 2 GB may be ...
(By the way download was pretty fast).
For whatever it is worth ...
Tks.

I tried with 20 bits, compressed, with all tremulants off (ie unloaded) : 1.3 GB left (out of 58 probably left from the 64G, with windows, chrome and HW loaded ...So it could be improved to 2 GB may be ...

Another option in such cases: Try to load the pedal stops with 16-bit. Here the noise is not so noticeable.

Musical greetings
Matthias



YouTube Channel Orgeljournal

Even though it is repeatedly claimed that 16 bit is significantly worse than 24 bit, I have never been able to hear a difference between the versions. So you can safely load the organ in 16 bit.

This is what a producer of HW sample sets writes? In fact, the difference between 16 and 24 bits is significant, this is a truism in audio engineering and a fact. If you don't actually hear that as a producer of sample sets, it raises questions.

As a final format, more than 16 bits are of no use to the human ear. In this respect, Thomas' statement is correct in my opinion. But the actual sample set is much more exciting. The reverberation in the church is gigantic! This organ really is a dream!
Roman

Roman, before you make such statements, it is advisable to read a few basics about 16/24 bit and background noise.
It's another matter if you love bathing in an acoustic sauce. Then the purchase criteria are very simple.

There are no real 24-bit samples anyway, because bits are always lost depending on the post-processing used. More important is the quality of the microphones, the audio interface and the microphone amplifiers it contains during recording. And, of course, the quality of the subsequent denoising. I use the Spectral Denoising from Izotope RX 10, but I wasn't satisfied with the default settings and had to make a lot of adjustments until the sound met my expectations. But, as I mentioned, bits fall by the wayside. If you now load an organ in 16 bits instead of 24 bits, you shouldn't hear any difference apart from a slightly higher background noise (which is equalised anyway when the blower is switched on). It is more important which audio hardware you use, a cheap Behringer interface will never work as well as an expensive one from RME.
And a word about the "bathtub": I positioned the microphones in Regensburg in such a way that fine details can be heard, but there is still enough space on the recording. If you prefer village church acoustics, you'll have to look elsewhere.

It is more important which audio hardware you use, a cheap Behringer interface will never work as well as an expensive one from RME.

(even the quality differences between audio interfaces / DACs are very often below the threshold of audibility)

I positioned the microphones in Regensburg in such a way that fine details can be heard, but there is still enough space on the recording. If you prefer village church acoustics, you'll have to look elsewhere.

The organ set already has spirit, it has to be said. A demo recording with just the front samples would be a great thing!

Musical greetings
Matthias



Orgeljournal (Digitalorgel-Newsticker)

What a great sounding set this is!

Have all the major big ones but this set surpasses them all.

Lots of body especially in the low and a well balanced rear.
Even my "critical" organ teacher, who only likes the real deal was very impressed.

Well done Thomas & team

Greetings Henk

Thank you for your kind words, Henk!

I wish you much pleasure with playing the organ.

This organ is a great success. Despite the generous acoustics, with which you have to learn to play, each stop is well differentiated. Forestpipes took great care in the recording. I'm more of a user of historical organs, but this one also has a soul, a spirit. It is a warm, generous instrument, by turns powerful or intimate. It's also very versatile. Thanks and bravo to Thomas and Forestpipes team for such an achievement