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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

We are proud to announce the release of the 1893 J.W. Steere organ in the First Baptist Church of Owatonna, Minnesota. It has a long and interesting history – the organ was installed with funds donated by the famous Pillsbury family, and has served the church for nearly 130 years.

The instrument is a typical small parish instrument of that era, with plenty of 8′ tone, lots of options for color, and built sturdily to work and last with minimal maintenance. Also notable is the fact that the organ is mostly original and intact – it does have an electric blower, but one can still see the controls for the original water machine and there is still a stop knob to signal the bellows, hearkening back to the days of manual pumping.

The organ is still used for weekly services, and is in remarkably good condition considering its age. We sampled in 96kHz/24 bit, and downsampled to 48/24 after noise reduction was complete.

This continues our series of historic American organs – we are grateful to church organist Drew Meyer and the church board for allowing us to digitally preserve the sound of this organ for the future. Do note a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the sample set will go back to the church.

To order a copy of this historic organ go HERE

Introductory price $89, and includes a complimentary free organ – a small instrument on the Concordia University Irvine campus.  The instrument was a home organ which was donated to Concordia University and came to the university in 2019.  It sits in the university’s new Zhang Concert Hall.