This is the latest evolution of our flat-pack continuo organ.
The instrument separates into 3 sections:

• The base which contains the computer, speakers, audio interface and power controller.
  • A USB-C connector on the side allows the connection of a touchscreen monitor
• The top contains a custom UHT keyboard and 6 ebony alternative draw stops
• The centre section folds flat, hence flat-pack

This unique design means that the instrument can be disassembled, and transported in an  estate car or SUV.

A single USB cable connects the top to the base making assembly and disassembly simple.

The keyboard is a UHT Series 40 with a 54 note compass, Grenadilla dual scored naturals and maple sharps.

It can be supplied with transit cases to protect the woodwork.

The top section has been designed with lightness in mind incorporating a simple but effective music desk that supports 3 angles.

A removable panel give access to volume and pitch controls.
Below the music desk is an aperture covered in acoustically cloth that reduces weight and permits sound egress.

Very pleased with the way this console turned out. It was built to very specific requirements.

• 4 custom UHT keyboards
  • Bone and Ebony to baroque dimensions 56 note compass
• French style console with integrated 15″ touch screens
• Adjustable music desk, in and out and up and down
• 30 note BDO pedalboard
• Custom expression pedal position indicators
• No thumb pistons, stepper control, gen can and set functions built into piston rails.
• Mac Studio Computer

Not a hybrid in the conventional sense, a combination of pipes and digital, but an instrument with a pipe organ console and Hauptwerk being used only for tone generation, Why?

The console was mobile, on a plinth with multiple connection points in a large hall. Putting the computer and audio interface in the console would require the line-outputs to be routed to the various connection points. There was no room in the console to accommodate the computer, audio interface and amplifiers, and even if there was, speaker outputs would have to be routed to the connection points.

The solution was to use Renatus Console Control in the console and use Ethernet. Console Control is primarily used for pipe organs and incorporates Ethernet transmission and combination action.

Hauptwerk is a terrific tone generator, however its combination action can be challenging, a desirable side effect of using Console Control is the console behaves like a British pipe organ:

• Independent Divisional and General memories
• Stepper that operates on Generals 1 to 8
  • The same Generals that can be transferred to SW toe pistons
  • Not a sequencer that starts with 0
• Memory lock, copy and paste
• Gens on Swell toes – even if the sample set doesn’t support it
• GT and PED combs combined – even if the sample set doesn’t support it
• Unison off – even if the sample set doesn’t support it
• Better LED displays
  • No current and queued and Combination Sets!
• Combinations can be saved to a USB thumb drive

A fundamental component was a Romsey OrganWorks Power Controller, synchronising console state with the remote equipment in the rack specifically managing PC startup and shutdown and amplifier power. Custom firmware was written to support this unique deployment topology.

The instrument is fantastic, Hauptwerk as a tone generator and Renatus Console Control providing the combination action and transmission, the best of both worlds!

Something a bit different, yes this is a Hauptwerk instrument, however it also uses Renatus’ Console Control System, Hauptwerk is just used for tone generation, Console Control manages everything else. Console Control is normally used in pipe organs, however it can also manage MIDI-capable digital tone generators.

This is an attractive solution as Hauptwerk’s combination action is slightly peculiar, especially for a British organist. This console has a stepper that behaves properly and separate, lockable divisional and general memory levels and much more.

The PC is an Intel NUC 12 Extreme i9 and the audio interface a Focusrite 18i20. Two touchscreen are mounted in drawers beneath the key shelf. Our Power Controller provides seamless, single-button start and stop.

Keyboards are UHT, golf-tee thumb pistons and HH-style “walnut whip” brass toe pistons.

Stop heads are removable.

Taylor drawstop solenoids and custom, removable stop heads.

Sublime Renatus craftsmanship!

The Winchester is our most popular console, most of them get built to RCO / AGO dimensions however, a few are built to BDO specifications.

This particular instrument was built to be portable, BDO is ideal for this as the console and pedalboard are more compact than their RCO alternative.

As we were going down the European route, the customer specified a Cavaille-Coll style music desk.

Black golf tee thumb pistons adorn the 56 note compass UHT keyboards. Again UHT did a fantastic job; European dimensions, Ebony dual-scored naturals with from R fronts, Oak 30 degree sharps with Mineral overlays.

The quality of Renatus’ craftsmanship is unsurpassed. Thanks Colin!

Some projects are just a bit special. We were asked to design and build a console for a new music room. We worked with the architects and contractors to fully integrate a Charterhouse Console into the newly built room.

The console was built in Maple, matching the furniture in the room, and the plinth was finished in the same material as the floor. A custom music desk with maple frame and floating Birds Eye Maple inner panels finish off the instrument.

The audio was all Genelec, absolutely amazing. It was installed and calibrated by the UK Genelec reseller. The audio was configured as 4 + 1 to work with Hauptwerk’s surround sound perspective mixing.

We installed a Focusrite 4i4 in the console along with a Mac Mini and used a Radial Catapult Mini to convert 4 balanced audio channels into a single Cat6 cable that ran into the structured cabling installed in the room – only 2 cables emerge from the console, power and Cat6.

As ever, Sebastian at UHT did a fantastic job on the keyboards, Grenadilla naturals, Maple sharps with Mineral caps.

The Charterhouse is a beautiful contemporary design, but it comes at a price, nowhere to place your cup of tea; a retractable cup holder and pencil tray were incorporated into the design.

We configured the Rotterdam sample set from Sonus Paradisi and it sounded amazing!

A contemporary piece of furniture, that’s how the customer described his new console.

From the picture above you will notice the total absence of any dangling cables behind the console. An i7 Intel NUC was mounted under the key-shelf on the treble side and a Focusrite Scarlett 4i4 on the bass-side. This elegant solution as all the monitor cabling remains within the console, power and a cat6 cable are the only cables that run through the rear legs and out of the console. 4 channels of balanced audio from the 4i4 run over the Cat6 cable.

The rest of the installation fairly conventional:

• Behringer B2031a monitors
• Presonus Temblor T10 subwoofer
• Iiyama T2252MSC touchscreens

Very elegant!

Every now and then we build an instrument that turns out to be a bit special, in this case, a Winchester Console with Walnut UHT keyboards. UHT make the best keyboards, their craftsmanship is unsurpassed.
Keyboard specification:

• UHT Series 40 Keyboard
• 61 note British dimensions
• Walnut double-scored naturals
• Walnut semi-circle cascades
• Oak sharps with 15 degree fronts
  

The console itself was well specified with 20 brass toe pistons, 63 thumb pistons and dual expression pedals with Oak shoes.

A Mac Mini did the hard work along with a pair of IIyama touchscreens.
A stunning instrument!

2 of the most common support question relate to Windows 10 audio and Hauptwerk 5 /6 audio routing. Internally we have created documents to support our customers, however I thought it may be useful to share them more widely.

The first document covers Windows 10 real-time audio optimisations. Hauptwerk is regularly blamed for audio glitches, however the root cause is almost always poor operating system configuration. The document linked below covers our recommended optimisations.
Win10-audio

Hauptwerk 5 brought some very powerful audio routing, however i can be quite intimidating! Most domestic Hauptwerk installations are 2 + 1 (2 main speaker and subwoofer – stereo) or 4 + 1 (2 X front and 2 X rear + subwoofer – surround sound). 2 + 1 is the default, however 4 + 1 requires additional configuration. The document below is a step-by-step guide to get 4 + 1 surround sound routing working.
Hauptwerk Perspective Mix Surround Sound

We don’t have many rules, but one of them is to never use touchscreens for permanent installations in a churches or schools. The reason is simple, it is not possible to secure Hauptwerk or access to the underlying operating system to prevent well-meaning or malicious tampering.

That said, below are some pictures of a mobile 3 manual touchscreen console we recently built and installed.

So why did we break our rules, we were working as a sub-contractor for another organ supplier and designed the console to their concept. The lower part of the console is very similar to the console we built for the Halle including the mobility modifications.
The top part of the console houses two 22″ ViewSonic touchscreens in landscape. Note that the monitors are angled in 2 planes 
A custom-built PC and Focusrite 18i20 were internally mounted. Our power controller was used to manage seamless one button start up and shutdown and to handle power sequencing for the audio.

Sample sets were Hereford, Friesach and Caen.