wet vs dry samples

(this is probably getting offtopic ... )

That's interesting about the dual swell... In our church, the organ has 2 swell options, open the top shutters and / or open the front shutters.

I would love to create a Hauptwerk sample using this organ, as I enjoy playing on it - it's a fully computerized 3-manual console (there is about 8 wires or so running from the console to the chest), and in total I think it is just shy of 30 ranks. The church itself is a concrete floor, wooden ceiling, low wooden benches, so the acoustics are fairly good (well, nothing like a cathedral of course, it only seats 450). Be nice to practice on the same organ at home that you end up playing in church.

But that leads me to another question (probably best in separate post), what is the feasibility of a "hybrid" organ? Build off the strong foundation that we already have (especially the 16' and 8' ranks), but then add a hauptwerk system on top of that? There are 5 or more free stops on the choir manual, seems like it's just begging to be filled with some additional ranks and since there isn't a whole lot of room left in the organ itself for more pipes, seems like hauptwerk would be the way to go (I'm thinking lighter ranks, like a cornet, or something else that can more accurately be played back through a speaker (16's probably wouldn't work). I'm worried about keeping the 2 systems in tune though, as the real organ will "sink" when it's cold inside, whereas I'm sure the hauptwerk ranks wouldn't...

OK. I still like the ambience of the St. Georges sample set.

]This afternoon I went back and played several sampled organs that had more reverb, such as St Annes and FBR, and found that I always come back to St Georges as the sound that I like to hear. While I like the Silver Octopus samples, with them being absolutely dry, the sound reminds me of an electronic organ. Ken Bales did a good job of editing the samples, so that they sound natural, and not too dry.

Be nice to practice on the same organ at home that you end up playing in church.

You're right, it is nice to practice on an organ like you play at church. The Casavant in my church is 70 ranks, nothing borrowed (even the quintaton in the pedal is a separate rank from the great quintaton - on the other side of the chancel) but it was built the same year as St Georges, and its design is very similar. With a little tweaking of a Lexicon MX200, I am able to approximate the acoustic of our church. It is an ideal situation for me! Now with Ken's upgrade and provision for dual touchscreens, practicing is even more effective.

Roy

Check this topic: http://forum.hauptwerk.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=6110.

Discussion about keeping H/W in tune with real pipes.

Rgds,
Ed