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We are proud to announce our 2024 holiday sale, beginning Wednesday, Nov 27 and running through the end of the year. Use the code BF2024 at checkout to receive a discount of 22% on your purchases.

Winter Release

We’re also pleased to announce the upcoming (re)release of the 1966 Aeolian-Skinner op. 1458 at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Long Beach, California. This was one of the sets originally released by CLR, and we chose to withdraw it pending a complete redo of all of the noise reduction, using our vastly updated and improved techniques and quality control. We’re planning on having it released before the end of 2024.

The set was converted to V5 format when Hauptwerk switched to iLok, if you purchased a copy before the switch and then surrendered your old dongle/converted to v5, your old license should still be valid. We are offering an upgrade to the new version for $99. New customers can purchase for $199 ($175 during the introductory period)

Stoplist:

Note there are quite a few old Murray-Harris stops included, so it’s a bit more romantically inclined than your usual Aeolian-Skinner of that vintage.

2025 and Beyond

We’ve signed a contract to sample the iconic Rieger organ at Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Sampling is scheduled, and we hope to release the instrument in mid/late 2025. We’ve also just completed recording on a major long-term project, but you’ll have to wait a bit for more news on that, as we are finalizing some details. There will also likely be a couple of smaller projects released during 2025, among them the Blackinton Chapel organ from FUMC San Diego (sampled at the same time as the main organ in the Sanctuary)

We wish you all a wonderful and peaceful holiday season,

Jonathan and Charlie

20 years ago on June 10, 2004, I opened up pre-orders for the FBR Schantz for HW 1!

Honestly, I just wanted to try sampling and had a dream to (eventually) provide an eclectic 3m American Classic organ for HW that would fit under the 4gb memory limit.

I never really set out at first to make it a business – my initial goal was to make enough to buy a decent digital camera and have enough money to register for and attend the 2004 American Guild of Organists convention in Los Angeles. I did make that goal, and eventually exceeded it dramatically. I went on to update the FBR set for HW 2, and then in 2012 I released my second set, the Wangerin. 2016 saw the  St. Philip Schantz, and then in late 2018, Charlie Raasch and I combined our catalogs.

Since then, Charlie and I have sampled and released 14 more sample sets and revised and re-released 3 of his original sets. We’re working on the IV/110 Blackinton organ from First United Methodist in San Diego, California for release this summer, and still committed to releasing even more quality and iconic American HW samplesets in the future.

In celebration of our 20 years, we are having an anniversary sale  – celebrating 20 years with 20% off for 20 days (June 10-June30). Use the code 202020 at checkout to receive your discount.

Go HERE for a list of our current instruments.

Best wishes to all,

Jonathan Orwig and Charlie Raasch

 

It came to my attention in 2022 that the convent at Our Lady of Good Counsel in Makato, MN was closing, the sisters were all moving to a nearby retirement home together in Shakopee, and the property was slated to be put up for sale. Charlie and I both have a soft spot for preserving the sound of historic instruments in their natural surroundings, so I got in contact with Sister Lucille in the summer of 2022 to see if it might be possible to sample the historic 1877 Johnson organ and preserve the sound. After a number of emails and a trip down to see the organ and site, we came to an agreement. Once word spread around to the sisters, there was joy and excitement as they realized something of this special place would be preserved. I traveled down from the Twin Cities in early October on a Sunday afternoon, and began the 2-day process of sampling the instrument. I was struck by the unique beauty of the organ, especially the Johnson patent reeds (I’ve never heard anything like them!)

We sampled in 24-bit 96kHz, 4 perspectives – Direct (in the balcony, about 8-10 feet from the façade, 2 large-diaphragm cardioid condenser mics) Ambient (about the same distance from the pipes as the console, 2 flat-response omni condenser mics) Diffuse (at the foot of the altar steps – Sister Lucille’s “favorite spot” to hear the organ – 2 Earthworks QTC-1 omni condenser mics) and Remote (almost as far away as you can get from the organ, behind the altar in the chancel – the built-in mics of a Zoom H6). Impulse responses were captured in the gallery, the L and R transept galleries, and the chancel – a total of 12 separate files. The remote perspective proved inferior for a number of reasons (not the least the fact that the reverb at that point is so long that we had many overlapping notes), so we settled on the other 3 perspectives, which came out in amazing detail and clarity.

We are excited to share this instrument – it is a not just a vital historic document, but also an exciting instrument to play. While we can never completely and perfectly emulate the real thing, we think it is the best quality we’ve done so far.

Stop by HERE and see some further pictures, hear some demos and find links for purchase.

Jonathan Orwig and Charlie Raasch

We want to say “Congratulations” to Milan Digital Audio for 20 years of helping us all be the best we can be by enabling access to amazing instruments throughout the world from our own homes and studios.  In addition, we have been at this for 18 years!

To celebrate with their 20 years and our 18 years supporting the Hauptwerk community, we’re offering a very special price on a selection of our instruments.  This sale will run from August 1 – August 20.

The Immanuel Presbyterian Los Angeles organs are offered for the reduced price of USD349.  Normally USD429, this set includes three complete organs on the campus.
Sample recordings of the instruments can be found through the following links:
IV/62 1927 EM Skinner
III/37 1956 Schlicker
II/21 1977 Hradetsky

Follow this link for details on how to purchase.

We are offering a USD99 license for the First Lutheran Long Beach Zimmer III/47, normally USD149.  Sample recordings can be found here and here.

Follow this link for details on how to purchase.

Finally we are offering a USD299 license for the University of Redlands Casavant 1927 IV/73.  Sample recordings can be found here.

Follow this link for details on how to purchase.

Thank you for your continued support!
Jonathan Orwig, Charlie Raasch

Evensong Music