It is currently Fri Mar 29, 2024 6:41 am


Hauptwerk 4 to 7 Key Differences

A discussion forum for anything even marginally Hauptwerk-related.
  • Author
  • Message
Offline

sutherland

Member

  • Posts: 186
  • Joined: Fri Jan 12, 2007 11:50 am
  • Location: Scotland

Hauptwerk 4 to 7 Key Differences

PostFri Oct 28, 2022 10:03 am

I am still on HW4 Advanced Edition and have been trying to work out the key advantages of upgrading to HW7. I did ask the question of Hauptwerk support, but the response was wonderfully unenlightening.

The most helpful summary of version differences I could find was on Wikipedia along with the summaries on this forum.

So far, the most appealing feature for me appears to be that I'd get rid of the pesky dongle. But if any version 7 users here remember version 4, what in your experience would be the top benefits out of the accumulated changes of making the upgrade to version 7?

Thanks
Offline
User avatar

mdyde

Moderator

  • Posts: 15446
  • Joined: Fri Mar 14, 2003 1:19 pm
  • Location: UK

Re: Hauptwerk 4 to 7 Key Differences

PostFri Oct 28, 2022 10:23 am

Hello Philip,

Thanks very much for the interest in upgrading.

Just in case you weren't aware of it, the full lists of changes in each version are in the current (v7.0) release notice here:

https://www.hauptwerk.com/documentation/

There are a lot! There are separate sections in it for each version number. However, within any given version (especially for major versions, such as v5.0.0, v6.0.0 and v7.0.0) the most significant changes tend to be listed near the top of the changes section for that version.
Best regards, Martin.
Hauptwerk software designer/developer, Milan Digital Audio.
Offline

sutherland

Member

  • Posts: 186
  • Joined: Fri Jan 12, 2007 11:50 am
  • Location: Scotland

Re: Hauptwerk 4 to 7 Key Differences

PostFri Oct 28, 2022 10:36 am

Hello Martin,

Thanks for pointing me to that weighty document. I hadn't seen that, so I'll have a look through it, though I'd still be interested to know what any v7 users consider the standout benefits of going from version 4 to 7.

Philip
Offline

larason2

Member

  • Posts: 752
  • Joined: Thu Feb 04, 2016 9:32 pm

Re: Hauptwerk 4 to 7 Key Differences

PostFri Oct 28, 2022 10:42 am

The key differences for me are:

1. Audio Quality - Particularly from 5 to 6, I thought there was a big jump with the higher resolution audio and the more detailed wind model.

2. Convolution Reverb (from 4 to 5) - While I wouldn't add it to any organ that sounds good on its own, this is particularly useful for smaller/drier sets (at least in my opinion!). I've actually spent time looking into other "convolution reverb" and standard reverb options, and none of them has as many cathedral or church-like samples as Hauptwerk does, or the option to buy so many more.

3 Less bugs - Many version 4 users feel they don't have that many bugs, but I found I encountered them fairly frequently in 4, but rarely ever now in 7. To be fair though, my hardware that was running version 4 was at the maximum limit of feasibility (a Core 2 Duo with 4 GB of RAM). I've been on this forum since version 4, and back then, and upon the release of 5, I recall there was some discussion about bugs, but hardly any now.

4 Compatibility with newer operating systems - I'm a long term mac guy, and I actually upgraded to Catalina and got Hauptwerk 4 somehow running on it. That would have been impossible with versions post Catalina though, and Hauptwerk 4 on Catalina was giving me a lot of trouble (lots of permission error messages). Being able to run it on the most modern OS's and know that it will keep up in the future is a big plus for me.

That's mostly it for me. The iLok system was a bit tricky to set up at first, but I like that I can move to another computer with minimal headaches now. I bought an iLok key, but I haven't used it (I will if I ever need to set up a temporary Hauptwerk setup somewhere that internet is spotty). There are some quality of life features that were introduced, but I rarely use them, like setting default pistons for all your organs. The iLok system also protects you in the case of dongle theft, loss, or damage, which the old system didn't (Especially now, if something happens to one of those old HASP dongles, there's not much you can do). I also like supporting MDA, which has produced software that has been a very good thing in my life.

The main downside is that upgrading is tricky (making sure it's installed right, sorting out the iLok stuff, new stuff like downloading and installing the organ licensing package, downloading the V5 samples of all your organs, navigating the license upgrading process from V4 to V5), and can be very time consuming. It was worth it for me though!

P.S. Welcome back Martin!
Offline

sutherland

Member

  • Posts: 186
  • Joined: Fri Jan 12, 2007 11:50 am
  • Location: Scotland

Re: Hauptwerk 4 to 7 Key Differences

PostFri Oct 28, 2022 12:12 pm

Thank you for these highlights from your upgrade experience.

I'd certainly welcome less bugs, especially audio glitches, but I've got a hard time discerning if their source is HW4, Windows, or hardware. I'm thinking, however, of a fairly comprehensive upgrade, so not just HW but also the ageing Dell Precision in my organ console, which makes so much fan noise that the blower noise is redundant any of my sample sets.

I think it's at least 15 years since I ventured into HW, so I'm not put off by a 'tricky' upgrade process.
Offline
User avatar

mdyde

Moderator

  • Posts: 15446
  • Joined: Fri Mar 14, 2003 1:19 pm
  • Location: UK

Re: Hauptwerk 4 to 7 Key Differences

PostFri Oct 28, 2022 12:43 pm

Thanks, both.

Just to clarify -- to my knowledge, (except for a couple of very unlikely situations) there weren't actually any bugs in v4.2.1 that could cause audio glitches or stability problems (and there are still none that we're aware of in v7). Any audio glitches would be due to system performance/configuration issues (PC DPC latency, driver issues, Windows configuration issues, etc.). Getting PCs to work reliably for reliably for real-time low-latency audio performance can sometimes require some tweaking and perseverance, and especially so for something as demanding in terms of CPU, RAM, etc. resources as Hauptwerk.

To add to larason2's list, there were also quite a lot of combination system enhancements, user interface enhancements, MIDI enhancements, and much more powerful audio routing in v5/v6/v7 too.
Best regards, Martin.
Hauptwerk software designer/developer, Milan Digital Audio.
Offline
User avatar

JulianMoney-Kyrle

Member

  • Posts: 386
  • Joined: Tue Jun 19, 2007 6:23 pm
  • Location: Calne, Wiltshire, UK

Re: Hauptwerk 4 to 7 Key Differences

PostFri Oct 28, 2022 6:25 pm

I agree with all of this, and for me the improvement in audio is remarkable. However, there is one problem, which is the mixer (necessary if you wish to use more than one stereo pair of channels or to access convolution reverberation). It is very powerful but I still find the interface difficult despite having spent many hours trying to understand it. I have never used real-life mixers, so perhaps that would have provided me with useful background knowledge. Nevertheless, the HW mixer controls don't appear to resemble other software mixers that I have used, such as the one on my MOTU Microlite IV (which I also have trouble understanding). However, now that I have set it up I can route my audio more-or-less as I wish without having to think about it too hard.

The other changes to the interface are improvements which make everything else much quicker and easier, including setting up new sample sets.
Offline

B777Captain

Member

  • Posts: 925
  • Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2008 11:16 pm
  • Location: Las Vegas, Nevada USA

Re: Hauptwerk 4 to 7 Key Differences

PostSat Nov 26, 2022 10:27 pm

Three Words…

Sound, Sound and Sound!!!!!!

Pat
Pilot Southwest Airlines
Las Vegas, Nevada
Offline

sutherland

Member

  • Posts: 186
  • Joined: Fri Jan 12, 2007 11:50 am
  • Location: Scotland

Re: Hauptwerk 4 to 7 Key Differences

PostTue Dec 12, 2023 1:44 pm

At last, I've gone straight from 4 to 8. I've yet to explore the changes, but one thing I can say immediately, is that it's been a seamless transition with every sample set working just it did in version 4.

I've never had a Hauptwerk install go so smoothly.
Offline
User avatar

mdyde

Moderator

  • Posts: 15446
  • Joined: Fri Mar 14, 2003 1:19 pm
  • Location: UK

Re: Hauptwerk 4 to 7 Key Differences

PostTue Dec 12, 2023 2:27 pm

Excellent. Thanks very much, Philip. Hope you enjoy the new features.
Best regards, Martin.
Hauptwerk software designer/developer, Milan Digital Audio.

Return to General discussion

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 6 guests

cron