I have the pleasure to introduce the Ernest M. Skinner, op. 497 sample set for Hauptwerk. The organ was built in 1924 and it is installed in the Temple Emanu-El, San Francisco. An example of the E.M.Skinner fine organ design in the twenties.
The organ has 4 manuals and a pedal (incl. 32' Contrebombarde). The organ's main divisions are located in chambers surrounding the main altar. An echo division is located in a separate chamber at the back of the room. When built, the organ contained 58 ranks. Not much can be tracked reliably about its history, but a few facts are known: In 1926, Skinner himself changed two stops, swapping the Swell Gamba for an Aeoline, and replacing the Gross Bourdon on the Solo for a Flauto Mirabilis. Sometime in the 1960s, the organ was rebuilt and enlarged by Swain & Kates. In 1993, a new console was supplied by Schoenstein. Over its history, the instrument has grown to almost 90 ranks and 88 sounding stops.
The sample set can be used in Hauptwerk version 4.2 and higher, it will work equally well in Hauptwerk 5, 6, or 7. the Advanced version is necessary due to the size of the virtual instrument. It is available in a surround (6-channels) format.
The vol. 1 of the Skinner, op. 497 sample set is given for free to everyone. It cannot be called a "demo" sample set properly, because it features an instrument of 41 speaking stops on 4 manuals and pedal. The disposition of this free sample set was chosen carefuly to make the result similar to existing smaller Skinner organs. It is, therefore, a stand-alone Skinner organ on its own.
Everyone is invited to download and use this vol. 1, and then, perhaps, upgrade to the full Skinner opus 497 by acquiring also the vol. 2. More details are found on the web pages dedicated to this sample set.
The organ has 4 manuals and a pedal (incl. 32' Contrebombarde). The organ's main divisions are located in chambers surrounding the main altar. An echo division is located in a separate chamber at the back of the room. When built, the organ contained 58 ranks. Not much can be tracked reliably about its history, but a few facts are known: In 1926, Skinner himself changed two stops, swapping the Swell Gamba for an Aeoline, and replacing the Gross Bourdon on the Solo for a Flauto Mirabilis. Sometime in the 1960s, the organ was rebuilt and enlarged by Swain & Kates. In 1993, a new console was supplied by Schoenstein. Over its history, the instrument has grown to almost 90 ranks and 88 sounding stops.
The sample set can be used in Hauptwerk version 4.2 and higher, it will work equally well in Hauptwerk 5, 6, or 7. the Advanced version is necessary due to the size of the virtual instrument. It is available in a surround (6-channels) format.
The vol. 1 of the Skinner, op. 497 sample set is given for free to everyone. It cannot be called a "demo" sample set properly, because it features an instrument of 41 speaking stops on 4 manuals and pedal. The disposition of this free sample set was chosen carefuly to make the result similar to existing smaller Skinner organs. It is, therefore, a stand-alone Skinner organ on its own.
Everyone is invited to download and use this vol. 1, and then, perhaps, upgrade to the full Skinner opus 497 by acquiring also the vol. 2. More details are found on the web pages dedicated to this sample set.