Zwolle Organ Model v.2 - screenshots, specifications

Features

The sample sets are available in wave format 48kHz/24bit. Hauptwerk v3.30 and higher supported for the Organ Definition Files. There are three very different sample sets derived from the audio material recorded in Zwolle. 

Zwolle Dry - no reverberation included. Mono, close-up-recorded samples were used, panned with the native Hauptwerk pipe positioning function. You will have to add your own reverb to get the "wet" organ sound. In this way you can move the instrument virtually into any desired environment (small church, large cathedral, concert hall...). Remember to adjust voicing to achieve well balanced organ sound matching different environments.

Zwolle Surround - original acoustics of the church captured including the rear audio channels. There are three release samples for each pipe (staccato, portato, long); 4 release samples are offered where necessary. While the traditional wet sample sets are composed of samples with 2 channels (left, right), the surround recording uses 4 independent channels for each virtual pipe (for each sample). Imagine standing in the church heading the organ. You hear the organ in front of you, but you also hear the reverberation of the church which is all around you, comming to your ears from all the directions. This is how the surround sample set is formed. The sound of the organ is captured by the "front" microphones, the church response by the "rear" microphones. 4 channels are extracted from the recording. Two channels are used to supply the sound of the organ for the front speakers, while the 2 other channels offer the diffused (reflected) sound comming to you from the church. You can use these two channels to feed your surround (rear) speakers. In this way, the realism of the reproduction is greately increased, since you may feel as being "inside" the sound field, experiencing not only left-right dimension of the sound, but also the front-back dimension. You hear the sound of the organ, but also the sound which returns to you from the church nave, all in perfect synchronization and localization. Please note, that at least 4 speakers are needed to reproduce the multi-channel audio. Remember to set up the Hauptwerk audio outputs well to accomodate the four channels. The ranks which are designed for the rear channels are marked with the word "rear".

Zwolle Wet - original reverberation icluded. O.R.T.F. stereo recording technique was used to capture the sound of the instrument. The microphone pair was placed about 10 meters in front of the organ. Multiple releases supported for each sample. The reverberation time is about 5 seconds. The wet version of the Zwolle Organ Model is a part of the Surround version, only that the rear portion of the audio is muted in the rank routing dialog box before loading the virtual organ.

See the screenshot about the rank audio output routing and its adjustments:

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Requirements

• Screen resolution of 1200x1024 px at least. For the dual stop jambs, two touch screens are recommended (left and right one).
• 3 GB of RAM - precisely 2.041 MB of RAM is needed for the Zwolle Dry, loaded in 16-bit, memory compression.
• 3.5 GB of RAM is needed for the Zwolle Wet, if loaded in 14 bits, first loop only and only default release sample (multirelease disabled).
• 8 GB of RAM for the Zwolle Wet, loaded in 16-bits, memory compression, full multiple releases, all loops.
• 14 GB of RAM for the Zwolle Surround - 16-bits, memory compression, full multiple releases, all loops.
• 24 GB of RAM recommended for loading the surround sample set in 20-bits. (if necessary, load the pedal ranks in 16-bit, leaving all the other stops in 20-bit depth, the RAM consumption will be then 22.9 GB)
• 28.5 GB of RAM needed to load the Surround version in 24-bit depth.
• polyphony of 3.000 voices recommended for the Zwolle Wet sample set, double the amount for the surround set. No special requirements on polyphony for the Zwolle Dry.

Specification

The complete stop list is available from different web page.

The original compass of the manuals is 4 full octaves (49 keys), the compass of the pedal is 27 keys (up to d). The virtual organ extends this in Hauptwerk: the compass of the manuals extends to 54 keys (up to f) and the pedal compass is extended to 30 tones (up to f).

Screenshots

console	belows	voicing

left jamb	right jamb

Temperaments

There are two different temperament templates supplied with the sample set. After the installation, these temperaments are to be found among other Hauptwerk tuning schemes in the Temperament menu.

• Equal, a = 491.6 Hz. This temperament is designed to provide the original organ tuning. Although there is the "original organ" temperament available directly from the Hauptwerk menu, I recommend using this special tuning chart, since it forces the samples to sound in tune.
• Meantone, a=491.6 Hz. Schnitger St. Jacobi tuning scheme was used to provide the template for this tuning, however, it was applied to the Zwolle "Chorton" setting. I strongly recommend using this meantone temperament with Zwolle sample sets, since only then the stops which include thirds (cimbels, tertianns, sesquialteras...) will sound as intended. Also, the plenum sound will be more compact and even the individual stops will acquire characteristic sound color which the equal temperament can never imitate.

Known issues

There are several known problems of the sample set, some of which are by design, others may be addressed in future updates.

• The use of the "original organ tuning": it is ready for use, but only for the original manual compass. The extension notes (high semitones on manuals and pedal) will sound wrong keys.
  The remedy: Please use only the original compass of the instrument when using the original organ tuning. For all other temperament charts, the tuning will be correct.
   
• pedal keys are locked permanently sounding when using the HW->Ped coupler in simultaneous conjunction with the reverse Ped->HW coupler. By engaging both couplers simultaneously you establish an eternal loop between the keys of the HW and the Pedal. The keys will sound permanently until a reset is pressed. The reverse Ped->HW coupler is not present on the real organ, it has been added virtually for those users who are unable to play the pedal. It has no other meaning in the sample set.
  The remedy: do not use both couplers together at the same time. There is hardly any real life scenario when these two couplers would be used simultaneously.