Using Hauptwerk as a Box of Ranks

The Hauptwerk Virtual Pipe Organ application contains sample playing capabilities as well as organ relay capabilities. The graphical user interface (GUI), or 'what-you-see-on-the-screen', is part of the Hauptwerk relay - and shows the user the Console, Stops, and other controls for the organ. It is possible to by-pass the Hauptwerk GUI and relay and just access the samples using MIDI settings. In this way, Hauptwerk can be used as a 'box-of'-ranks'. Other relay systems, like Uniflex or jOrgan (or any other MIDI capable relay), can then be used to route the MIDI signals and 'play' the ranks.

The Theory Of How It Works

In simple terms, using Hauptwerk as a 'box-of-ranks' requires three things:

• 1. Another relay system.

  2. MIDI communication between that relay system and Hauptwerk.

  3. A Hauptwerk Sample Set with the Ranks configured for separate MIDI input.

The relay receives inputs from the manuals and Stops, and then sends MIDI Note On/Note Off commands to separate MIDI channels for each of the Ranks configured in the Relay. Those signals are routed through MIDI devices into Hauptwerk. Hauptwerk receives the MIDI commands for each Rank and plays back the sample associated with that MIDI Note.

MIDI Communication

In Windows, MIDI communication between the other relay system and Hauptwerk typically occurs using a virtual MIDI cable (a software-to-software MIDI connection). The virtual MIDI cable application that I recommend using is loopMIDI:

1. Go to http://www.tobias-erichsen.de/software/loopmidi.html and download the loopMIDI zip file.

2. Decompress the ZIP and then run the installer.

3. From the Start Menu, click on the loopMIDI application that you have just installed. The loopMIDI icon will now show on your windows toolbar.

4. Right click on the icon and select ‘Configure loopMIDI’. Click on the ‘+’ four times until you have four virtual MIDI ports (loopMIDI Port, loopMIDI Port 1, loopMIDI Port 2, and loopMIDI Port 3).

5. Right click on the loopMIDI icon again and select ‘Start minimized’ and ‘Autostart loopMIDI’ so that loopMIDI automatically starts each time you boot your computer.

This will create 4 virtual MIDI cables, with 16 MIDI channels each - giving a total of 64 MIDI channels to use. The following schematic shows an example of how the MIDI signals will be routed.

-> MIDI Loop (Channel 1) -> Hauptwerk Trumpet Rank

Relay -> MIDI Loop (Channel 2) -> Hauptwerk Tibia Rank

-> ..... to Chanel 16, etc.

-> MIDI Loop 1 (Channel 1) -> Hauptwerk Concert Flute Rank

Some users have external relays that are not software applications running on the same computer as Hauptwerk. In those instances hardware MIDI cables and Input/Output devices will be used. So instead of MIDI Loop (Channel 1), they would be using M-Audio Midisport A (Channel 1), and so on, for whatever MIDI devices were part of their system.

Hauptwerk Configuration

• 1. Start Hauptwerk and load the Sample Set that you want to configure as a 'box-of-ranks'.

  2. From the top Menu, click on Organ settings.

  3. Then in the Organ settings menu list click on Advanced MIDI applications .

  4. And then click on Direct MIDI Input/IOutput for Ranks/Pipes.

  5. The list of Ranks will now be displayed on the left side of the configuration panel, and the MIDI Input and Output tabs will display on the right side.

  6. Click on the Rank that you need to configure MIDI access to.

  7. In the MIDI input to control virtual rank box, configure the Input, MIDI IN port, and MIDI channel properties.

• 1. Repeat the previous step for each of the Ranks that you will be using with your other relay.

I suggest that you create a chart that shows each of the Ranks and what the MIDI In port and MIDI channel have been configured to. You will use this to configure the other relay.

Note - Some Sample Sets split a rank of pipe samples into more than one virtual Rank (for example, in the above screenshot we see non-trem, bass offset, and tremulant virtual ranks for each rank of pipes). Your MIDI configuration needs to allow for separate MIDI channels for the non-trem and tremulant samples of the rank.

Dealing with the Tremulant Switches and the Swell Pedals

The above configuration will only provide MIDI access to the samples. If you are configuring a Sample Set that does not have sampled tremulants (and therefore does not have a separate MIDI channel for the Tremulant version of the rank), then you will need to configure the Tremulant Switch from the Hauptwerk relay (the Tremulant Stops on the HW Console) to respond to MIDI signals being sent from your relay. You can use the auto-configure feature of Hauptwerk to configure these input messages, or use the manual configuration settings. Right click on the Tremulant Stop or Swell Pedal on the Hauptwerk Console and select the method of configuration that you need to use.

External Relay Configuration

Configure your external relay to use the MIDI Channels that you have configured in Hauptwerk for each of the Ranks that the relay controls. Your relay will take the note information from your manuals and physical (or virtual) console, and then route the Note On/ Note Off signals out to the MIDI Channels that Hauptwerk has been configured to respond to.