Silver Octopus Studios
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Silver Octopus Studios
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2nd. February 2012 Can't believe that it has been well over a month since I posted anything here. Christmas and New Year have been and gone and already we are into the second month. It has been rather busy what with the house sale and everything else. Half way through the month we had a lot of heavy rain and winds again which thanks to my work last year did not back up and flood anything but unfortunately it did wash out the foundations of the main pier on the main bridge (the other bridge was fine). This resulted in the whole pier dropping several inches. although the main part of the bridge is OK ish, we have taken the decision to refrain from driving across it just in case it does go since it would be rather difficult to extract a car from the house side in the event of a total collapse. Most of the month seems to have been spent filling out the normal questionaires about this and that from the buyers solicitors, sorting out radon testers, surveyors and hosting the buyers plus a whole crowd of extras to come and measure up, weigh up the place and so on. Bonham's have been to pick up a fair amount of stuff for auction and we have got rid of a fair amount of lesser stuff through Ebay all of which has filled the days (as if they needed filling any more). Currently, the plans are that we will be out of here by the end of February so there is still much to do including finding a suitable house to rent for the time being. Otherwise, initial work on the samples (both to complete the 80 / 100 and for the new projects) is going well and the results are definitely going to be unlike anything heard on HW before. Richard came down at the beginning of the week to have another look at the main instrument in detail and contribute his thoughts. Previously, he had not been over impressed since he had only heard it from the body of the church but his opinion has changed somewhat on a close-up encounter. Greg Abrahams will be putting his four manual with all the speakers into his own church in Gloucestershire for several months where people will be able to come and try out the 80 and probably the 100 as well in a proper church environment. More and more enquiries are coming in from churches wishing to consider a HW installation either complete or as an addition to existing pipes. Although our approach towards things isn't ideal for home installations (which is why the Studio Series was designed by Neil), it is becoming clear to many that our standard approach is really the only answer for churches or for really serious players. Facsimile or wet instruments are fun in the home and are a very valid aspect of HW along with accurate historical representations of typical instruments and their acoustics but with very few exceptions, they are not the answer for a serious church environment. I firmly believe that the next year or so will see a firm swing away from the home environment and much more being done in the way of church installations as more instruments are completed. Once Martin finishes the convolution reverberation side of HW then this will also carry across into the home market. Fortunately, we resisted the temptation to make a fast buck during the last few years by producing wet sampled organs and stuck to our original "mission statement" to produce instruments that sounded like real pipes no matter what environment they were in and in this we are years ahead of pretty much everyone else in the field. Sadly real pipes or extremely accurate counterfeit samples do not always sound good in the home as a general rule and rely on a larger space to be acceptable. For a long time I have believed that the differences between home and church instruments demands an entirely different approach in order to be successful which is something that the toaster manufacturers have rarely taken on board. Hence, Neil's production of an entirely different type of sound in the Studio Series which was designed for the home or non reverberant building as opposed to our Standard Series instruments. Where we are really ahead of anyone else is that with our sample techniques and production we can produce instruments to cater for all types of environment. Certainly, Martin's eventual convolution features will provide a superb addition to HW which might seem to make Neil's current efforts short lived but what Neil does goes well beyond merely providing wet versions of our sample sets. Apart from the fact that he can make our sample sets accurately model the acoustic of any reverberant building, his work extends to being able to place a particular stop or parts of a stop anywhere within a physical space as well as being able to negate the type of phasing effects which are the bane of any digital organ. Finally, Graham has mastered the art of producing brilliant graphics which in many cases are vastly superior to most of the others that are available. His future graphics currently under development will take this another step further. Thus as a company, after many, many years of development and experimentation (often getting it wrong) and often seeming to take a "back seat", we are now in an unique position to be able to provide an unrivalled facility for the production of pipeless instruments to suit any situation. In addition, our various associates can handle the physical side of things in the shape of consoles, speaker set-ups, "faux" casework, wiring or indeed anything else needed for a successful installation. Exciting times ahead. 22nd. December 2011 Neil arrived at our "facility" last Friday night having completed a "further nonsense" course in Stafford. Saturday saw us visiting a couple of local churches where I have already sampled and the afternoon proved to be quite enlightening. The first which is the small single manual mentioned previously, was found by Neil (as has been the case with both Graham and Richard) to be a thoroughly musical and lovely gem. As Neil remarked; he found it hard to believe that he could be listening to a full 8,4,2 Diapason chorus from within two feet and still find it pleasant. Needless to say he was impressed and later comparisons on what has already been rough prepared confirm that the HW results are pretty much identical to the original and retain the fidelity of the same. Next came the slightly larger instrument down the road which Richard had not been impressed with and Graham had remarked was nice but lost everything once past the steps. Neil agreed that there was nothing past the steps but observed that the sound was not what he had been expecting out of such a small instrument - almost a cathedral sound when heard from the right position. Some of the individual stops are exquisite and overall, the instrument is another gem. As we were about to leave we bumped into both the choirmaster and vicar and the ensuing conversations brought to light that due to the heavy action and the inability of the instrument to get "past the footlights" and other problems had led them to consider replacing the whole thing with a toaster. There is nothing wrong with the instrument per se except that yes, it is heavy, yes, it can't get past the footlights and that it is missing a few luxuries more conducive to a largish parish church. Nothing that 100k + wouldn't solve if they could justify it ! It would seem to me that this is an ideal opportunity for an HW installation whereby the existing fine organ can be duplicated via HW (with additions), whilst solving the problems of touch, projection etc. At the same time they can retain the original usable instrument for direct comparison and possible complete refurbishment and modification at a later juncture. Things will progress from here......Now that WOULD be a virtual organ and an unique installation. Sunday saw us traipsing over to the local cathedral for the remains of evensong. Apart from an exceptionally boring and interminable sermon, we had hoped to be duly impressed by the Father Willis / Harrison four manual. It's a beautiful cathedral, the organ case is very attractive and the specification and provenance promises at least something. Quite frankly, it failed to leave any lasting impression as to being anything special whatsoever. There are cathedrals, churches and halls where there is at least something that one would wish to emulate or which have "that" particular sound somewhere but it just sounded like a moderately large four manual. There is nothing about it that would make me wish to sample it or indeed even play it. I may be wrong and a closer examination might negate the above observations but I doubt it. Monday was a little different with a trip into the wilds and a visit to a very interesting parish church. Although we were unable to get to play the instrument at such short notice, it possesses a fine oak case and a respectable specification, albeit not overlarge. I did play it about 30 years ago and I have a feeling that I supplied them with the bottom octave of pipes of their pedal Trombone. it may indeed prove to be a fine instrument but what sets it apart is that it has a relatively new and visually striking Fanfare Trumpet with burnished and flared copper resonators. The stop is based on an old Harrison rank completely revoiced and rebuilt by Rogers of Leeds. Once access is granted if it is, it may prove to be a blarty, boy racer, car klaxon rank or it may prove to be just what we are looking for. We shall have to see but it looks promising. Whether the rest of the instrument is valid also remains to be seen. Thus, Neil returned northwards to the bleak wastes on the Tuesday and arrived safely. I continue onwards with the completion of the 80 and 100 and the initial workings for the magical and unique new series. Judging by the feedback so far, what we will produce is going to be utterly unlike HW or anyone else has ever heard before ! 9th. December 2011 The last week has been spent going over the new samples and producing rough, playable stops. Apart from cutting up the individual notes and applying a rough tune, loop and end marker via Martin's Stop Preparation software. No noise reduction or replacement / editing of bad notes has been attempted. So far the results have exceeded expectations and already I know that potentially, I have some of the finest samples that I have ever taken. The Principals are mellow and unforced, the Flutes are characterful, the Strings have just the right amount of bite and the reeds have splash and character. Providing I can remove the noise where it is obtrusive, balance, voice and blend the stops correctly, I have no doubt that the resulting sample set will be one of the very best available from anyone. Even as it stands, it is the first time that I have ever been able to say that I have found the sound that I have been looking for all of these years. What is more remarkable is that the samples have come from instruments that most people would turn up their noses at because they are too small or too limited. Certainly, they would not figure highly on a list of particularly desirable instruments to play. If just one stop possesses a quality that sets it apart, then it will have been worth sampling and often this can be the case. I remember old George Sixsmith remarking about a smallish instrument that he looked after by Renn which whilst pleasant, had nothing to recommend it as such however, it did have the finest Open Wood 16' that he had ever heard on any instrument anywhere in the world. Neil and Graham have already heard some of the roughs as demos and both are excited at the prospects. The whole project marks a move away from trying to emulate any particular builder or any particular organ and should produce an instrument and instruments which will have their own stamp albeit a very unique one. It's a brave step and it may not work but how many times have we played an instrument and commented that it was wonderful but it would be even better if it had Joe Bloggs style strings or Bill Smith reeds etc. Hopefully we will fulfill that desiderata. Finally, news has reached us that an offer for the house has been made and accepted from our TV presenter. All of our hard work and expense has not been in vain and we have increased the value of the estate considerably. It's just such a criminal shame that the equity company will get 50% thanks to the idiocy of my father. But, 50% of something is better than 50% of nowt ! 5th. December 2011 Following Graham's departure on the Monday, Tuesday saw me sampling the whole of the Bishop / Daniels instrument mentioned in the last entry. Despite rain and gale force winds, I managed to get every stop done before darkness fell. The initial results proved to be quite exciting and the next few days were spent getting up some "roughs" to see what could be made of the material. There really is some fine stuff amongst what was sampled and it is quite different to anything sampled before for the most part. However, there are a couple of stops which will go towards the completion of the 100 and 80 Standard series after treatment. Jenny arrived back earlier than expected from Devon since her stepfather had seen fit to release himself from hospital with his new hip well before he should have. Saturday saw me freezing my feet and hands off grabbing the local Prosser. Further research into exactly who Prosser of Westminster actually was has revealed that he was an ex Bevington man who set up on his own and built organs many of which were supplied to musical instrument shops for installation under the shop's name. there are still quite a few extant instruments around the country and most of them seem to be single manual instruments of a similar disposition and design. Who is to know whether he made his own pipework or called upon his old employers or others for stock - stranger things have occurred. What is certain is that the tonal quality of his work was quite exceptional and possesses a typical country church "Olde English" quality which is exactly what I am looking for. The 80 and 100 continue to near official completion and some of the recently sampled instruments will allow them to be completed. however, I now have a wealth of excellent stops with a different character to the big romantic builders and which will definitely form the basis of the next project which is to produce an unique instrument combining the fire and excitement of the big romantic builders together with the mellow and musical sonority of the old English post reformation organ. So why is it that no British organ builder did this ? Well, there are a number of factors: the likes of Green, Bishop, Elliot etc. did not have the advantage (nor the desire to achieve the same results) of the higher pressures available to the "industrial revolution" builders. By the time the Edwardian stodge instruments had come into vogue, most of the truly melodic builders had all but disappeared. These were eventually followed by the likes of Hope Jones and others and eventually culminated in the revolution brought about by my old teacher Ralph Downes at the Festival Hall. From there on there was a complete move towards a northern European ideal which sadly resulted in the destruction of many fine instruments and equally was unable until quite recently to achieve the same result as its Continental cousins. Romantic organs were looked upon as being passe and "peashooters" as Graham calls them, became the desirable sine qua non. It was an enlightened time and the likes of Grant Degens and Bradbeer, John Norman, Mander and others contributed much though some of it was in retrospect, erroneous, misunderstood and misjudged. Many of the modern pipe organ builders of today are trying to redress the balance and both quasi Romantic instruments and more enlightened European School organs are being built. Some are eminently successful others not so. The beauty of Hauptwerk from our point of view is the ability to be able to experiment and create an instrument which does not require the physical manufacture of ranks of pipes (and the expense therein) which might have to be scrapped because they don't work out as expected. It is a very different task to make a rank more or less powerful, to rescale it etc. when working with pipes where many changes are irreversible than it is to make a simple adjustment within HW. It is also relatively easy task to remodel and regulate mixtures, alter attacks and so on. It is a pity that HW is seen by many as a rich man's toy on one side and a rather unimportant challenge to the traditional pipe organ builder on the other. Its use as an archival record is undisputed but it has also a far wider use both for churches unable to afford the real thing and for the unbiased organ builder who should welcome it as a very valuable tool to be used in the improvement and understanding of existing or new pipe organs. 28th. November 2011 Graham arrived Friday from the snowy wastes of the North and ensconced himself happily for a long weekend. Shortly before he arrived, my new soundcard for the beast PC and a handheld wav recorder arrived. The former was installed without problem since I have an older version and know what is what. The latter looked terribly complex and had a huge owners manual but in reality proved to be really simple to set up and use. Saturday saw the arrival of Jason mid morning having flown in from Syria and whistle stopped before flying out to the Sudan. Really nice bloke who amused us with tales of his recent exploits in Libya where he had lost his temper with some kid firing an AK47 at all and sundry and despite shouts to keep down by the protecting posse of marines, stood up and shouted at the kid to stop whilst throwing books at him. With this sort of behaviour, we hope that he will live long enough to complete the sale of the house ! After he had left Graham and I went up to the local church to have a look at the very nice Prosser and like Richard, he agreed that it was indeed, very sweet. This was followed by a visit to another local village where we ran through the rather more comprehensive two manual. Richard had been rather disapponted but then he had listened from the body of the church. Graham agreed that past the sanctuary steps the instrument lost everything but up close it was really rather nice. Managed to use the new gizmo to grab the Trumpet from the Great and moved on to the next town. This proved to be a fat church rather than tall and lanky but like many, much smaller when inside. The two manual turned out to be a Forster and Andrews with some lovely stuff so a return visit will be in order to grab a few stops here and there. Sunday saw the departure of Madame to visit her mother in the sunny English Riviera and Graham and myself toddled off to Wells. St Cuthberts was shut but we ambled around the cathedral before driving up to Priddy, across to Nunney to see the castle and thence into Frome to have a gander. From thereon it was home to a quiet night in where i was able to get the Trumpet from Saturday up and running. Both of us agreed that it really is a very nice Trumpet so I will grab the rest of the organ sometime later this week I hope. I am dead chuffed with the new recorder and the results are well beyond expectations. Midday saw the departure of Graham back to "oop Noorf" leaving me to carry on with editing and rough preparation of some of the most recent samples. 15th. November 2011 Frenetic last few days, sandwiching sample editing / development with selling the house. I am pleased to say that we now have a firm offer from the TV personality (together with the monies in place for completion as and when we are ready. We have saved close on 20k in estate agents fees and whilst we might have obtained a few shekels more if we had put it on the open market, the estate agents fees would have taken a considerable chunk out of that extra and we would have been plagued by sightseers. Of course, it will be sad to leave this most beautiful arboretum and move to temporary and less salubrious accommodation but it had to be done. Within reason, when all is said and done at some time in the future we should be able to move into a decent property and grounds pretty much anywhere in the world. My recent sample foray has resulted so far in some potentially superb stops despite only being roughs at the moment. Certainly, I think that I will be able to complete the remaining stops for the 100 including the two mixtures (currently one shot samples) with separate rank versions. I might even be able to create a huge Grand Chorus mixture as found in Liverpool Anglican and St. George's Hall. I think that I have found another acceptable Tuba for the Choir and some extra / better replacement strings. As regards the other ranks, they represent the beginnings of future sets. The stops possess a totally different sound to those of Willis (and are indeed superior in tonal and musical quality). Since much of the pipework sampled is early English, it has that mellow and singing quality that just doesn't exist in a Willis. This is certainly not to decry what Henry Willis did and he still remains one of the greatest organ builders that ever lived but his instruments were very much designed with a specific purpose in mind which changed organ building to a considerable extent. Many of the former instruments in our cathedrals and large churches etc. were just too lacking in ability to fill the buildings that they were in and were replaced by the brasher and more suitable Willis formula. However, it came at a cost and although many people welcomed the changes, many more were disappointed that the harmonious and gentle, unforced sounds of previous generations had been lost. To a similar but lesser extent, this applied in other countries such as France where the old French sound of Couperin, Daquin etc. were somewhat overshadowed by the new instruments of Cavaille Coll. There is a place for all of the different directions taken by builders (even those of Hope Jones) and each has its place in our organ history as well as its particular strengths and weaknesses. The beauty of HW is that each particular genre of sound and design is available from one instrument and subject to future new sample sets, not only by us but by others, all tastes can be catered for. Our future itinerary is to produce an instrument(s) for HW based on recreating this earlier sound as well as creating a new genre of instrument(s) whereby the best of the best combines into something where every stop can be lived with individually yet combine into a cohesive whole. Our techniques - currently years ahead of anyone else, will allow us to do this. Hopefully, our combined skills will enable it all to be successful. 11th. November 2011 Aand Pliis remebuur to exeet der vehicle wit de chip caardt.......... Ah well, back in old Bliny after five days in Holland - If Neil can go to Berlin, then I can go on a W.I. course relating to Syrian rodent confitures and the odd tulip thrown in. The going was a total nightmare in that we arrived at Tesco's to find that they had no petrol and that if this was the case locally, we would be running on fumes. Fortunately, the Murco garage some ten miles up the road had petrol. Rather than go the way that common sense dictated, we followed the signs for the airport and ended up in Bristol on the ring road. If a light could be red, it was. If there was some prat in front, they were. By the time we arrived at the airport I decided that any future career in playing a musical instrument was totally unlikely having chewed of my fingers to the armpits. Fortunately, we were allowed in front of a couple at the car park and also fortunately, we were flying by KLM who unlike RyanAir are quite lenient about slightly late arrivals. Remarkably quick and pleasant flight into Schipoll which had grown exponentially in 30 years followed by the train into the Central Station. Hadn't a clue about the rights and wrongs of the trams so we ended up getting a freebee to the hotel. once settled it was a long walk into town past the Concertgebouw, Rijks Museum etc. Laterz, "Er indoors" dragged me into the red light district (which I had never seen apart from fleetingly on a boat tour thirty years ago) and insisted on waving back to all the women in the windows which was somewhat disconcerting. This was followed eventually by an equally long walk back to the hotel. Sunday, we expected everything to be closed as indeed it was at our end of town but the Bloemmarkt and shops in that area were well open so we spent the day trundling around what they euphemistically refer to as the "Entertainment area" - in reality, just shops and restaurants. We did go into the Nieuew Kerk and saw the organ behind its closed doors. Monday, we took the train out to Haarlem which I had previously visited some years back on a Sunday and found closed. At last, I was able to see perhaps the most famous organ in the world in the flesh - certainly the most photographed. As luck would have it, someone was either having a lesson or was practicing for a concert so we were able to hear what the organ sounds like. What can one say ? Fabulous acoustics, a tonal quality that is just different and all that it is cracked up to be. Truly an emotional experience in the flesh regardless of what music music might be played. Haarlem itself proved to be much larger than I remembered and was really a very pleasant town. The carillon was playing all afternoon and in itself was an equally magical experience. Sadly, we couldn't find the concert hall with its Cavaille Coll. The remaining couple of days were spent ambling around the city but we did not visit too many museums since everything is so expensive. When one has to pay up to 14 quid each to get into every museum, one tends to get a bit choosy as to what one does indeed visit. especially when added to coffee at 4 or 5 quid and a beer at 7 or 8 quid a shot. OK, we were in the city and we were in tourist areas but then if we weren't, what would be the point in going in the first place. The botanical gardens were definitely worth the entrance fee but we certainly balked at paying 80 quid each for poor seats just to see Swan Lake regardless as to what might have been the experience. Finally, we left for the airport via a much less stressful journey and returned to the calm of Somerset. So, yes, as always, a trip to foreign climes is an adventure and a different environment and as always is wonderful. It's a lovely city with tremendous charm but I doubt that we are likely to return except through necessity or accident. Highlights included the tram driver who took the wrong turning and had to take us half way around the city before he was back on track together with my first visit to a proper coffee shop which resulted in some interesting observations as to the place in society of the likes of Macdonalds (cow killing bastards) etc. etc. etc. Our return saw a firm offer from the TV personality on the house so we shall have to see where things go from hereon. The garden looks absolutely gorgeous with the trees at the right autumn colour despite last weeks floods which did not affect us. Obviously our work on the river etc. has paid off. 3rd. November 2011 So far this week is proving to be equally busy with the initial trials of the samples taken last week to see if they are going to be worthwhile using. Recording an organ for samples is absolutely no guarantee that any stops will be suitable for inclusion into a Hauptwerk instrument (and it doesn't matter how good or famous the organ is). Likewise, an instrument which may not have any particular pedigree or fame can provide end results that are astonishing - even on occasion where the instrument is not in the best condition. One just doesn't know until one tries. Otherwise, the week has been so far taken up with preparations to visit the Isle of Man next week, estate agents, building repairs and so on. The new super beast computer arrived today and so far it seems to work without any problems. It's the first time in many, many years that I have actually had one made and configured elsewhere rather than building my own. Meanwhile, Greg MacAusland has released his "walk through" of the imminent (and eminent) Father Willis 70 stop Studio Series and the HW forum has an entry and discussion to this effect under "Hauptwerk instruments". Many thanks are due to Greg who has taken a lot of effort to create his "video". As Graham has pointed out, this opens up an entirely new way of presenting sample sets to the public whereby not only is there a time limited demo available for people to try before buying but also a thorough demonstration of a particular instrument. I'm afraid that I can't take any credit for this at all since it has all come about via Neil and Greg's input and suggestion. Hopefully, those that might have doubted the validity of our approach both in terms of the dry and wet sets in the past, will realise that we have been on the right track all along although it's taken a long time to get there (several years in fact). It is only because of our initial and unswaying belief in what we were doing being the right approach coupled to the ongoing support from pipe organ builders and other respected organists and organ lovers that we didn't give up years ago and take the easier and more lucrative path available to us. We are very lucky as a company to have people involved who each bring their own unique strengths and capabilities into the equation. Constantly improving technology and the improvements in Hauptwerk itself by Martin Dyde are finally coalescing into an end concept that will hopefully bring HW even further into the mainstream. Sadly, Hauptwerk is still seen by far too many as a rather complex toy for keen computer buffs and home use rather than a more than valid instrument for use in churches either as a stand alone or as an addition to real pipes. There is still a long way to go before Hauptwerk reaches an equal footing with off the peg toasters in terms of installation and ease of use but considering it is merely a pre-teen in comparison to those adults, it has made phenomenal strides in a very short time. 30th. October 2011 The last week has been quite busy. Monday saw me driving up to Gloucestershire through nightmare traffic especially around Bath which once I had arrived ended up with a superb meal in a local pub (quite up to the standards of a high class restaurant). A relatively early start on the Wednesday saw us travelling northwards on a gorgeous day to see the newly completed Harrison and its 40k Tuba. Lovely church and a not unpleasant instrument but in view of the fact that it sounds and plays almost exactly as it did before 1/4 million pounds was spent on it rather makes one wonder where the money went. The brand new Tuba was , well, a Tuba though perhaps worthy of sampling as another voice for the future. We saw the very fine 4 manual in another church but didn't get to play it but that certainly would most likely be worth sampling in the future. Then finally to the three manual Nicholson of 1882. Now this was rather more interesting and despite its rather poor condition, it possessed a musical quality that is rarely heard in most instruments. Whatever BIOS might say about reeds being weak in the treble etc. etc. it was still a superb instrument. In the limited time that I had, I was able to sample the IV Mixture, the Cornopean and Clarion on the Swell and the 12th. and 15th. on the Great for initial consideration as to whether the whole instrument is worth sampling. The main problem was copious amounts of dirt, a few broken reeds and a rather noisy and unregulated tracker / Barker lever action. We returned for a late pizza at the ever excellent ASK. Thursday was taken up with sampling the Bishop (please do not misconstrue) which proved to be a gem and having had the benefit of a recent clean and repair was as good as it is going to get. Some excellent samples were taken. This was followed by another smaller and otherwise non descript instrument which has recently been rebuilt. A vast improvement on the original but what sets it apart is the beautiful Hill Open and a very pleasant Stopped Diapason. Unfortunately time did not allow the sampling of the small Father Willis which remains untouched and has been commented on by Richard Seal (formerly many years at Salisbury) as being exactly like Salisbury used to be like. This instrument will be sampled at a later date. I returned in the evening to Somerset after another fine meal at the first pub which we had eaten at on Monday. Friday and Saturday were spent just sorting normal things out such as banking and shopping . Today (Sunday) we were visited by our next door but one neighbour (ie: about 1/4 mile away) who is a world renowned photographer, together with a well known TV / newspaper journalist and presenter who has had her eye on our house for some years and is most interested in buying. She proved to be very pleasant and enthusiastic and has obviously fallen in love with the place, as long as she can persuade her husband. We shall have to see but failing that, our neighbour knows a fair few other wealthy people who might also be interested. Finally, a late visit to my mother found her in not the best shape and still very confused with the firm belief that my father is still alive and around somewhere. Hopefully she will bounce back in the next week or so. Otherwise Neil reports that the Beta tester of the 70 is being exceptionally well received and as has been pointed out, will be the first and ONLY complete large Willis organ available for the present. 22nd. October 2011 Typical of HW and sample sets, prognostications of dates for releases are rarely achieved by most parties even with the best will in the world. Any look at posts on the HW forum will show that we are not alone in this respect. Neil had expected to have the 70 and 80 stop Studio series models out some time ago and I am still completing the 80 and 100 stop Standard series models. In the case of the former, release of the 70 is pretty imminent. In the case of the latter, I am still being held up by just a few stops which I am not yet happy with but I do hope to have the 80 and 100 out on official release before Christmas Things might have been a bit faster from my point of view if my father hadn't died which resulted in me taking over the considerable responsibilities of the estate etc. Neil sent me a couple of short recordings of the same piece of music played on identical registration one of which was on the 70 and the other on an already released library from another producer. Apart from the fact that Neil's recording did not have any expression included for the moment, the comparison was uncanny with negligible tonal difference between either. The really noticeable difference was in the clarity of the 70 recording in comparison to the other which was cloudy. This shows that we can only be on the right track to produce a library which will definitely "turn a few ears" and hopefully, will confirm that our approach produces superior results overall. One remark that has already been made by a third party is that it is our attention to detail that stands out. In some ways, the fact that we have produced what we are producing is remarkable given the original sources of some of the samples but perhaps more remarkable is the fact that with these samples we can create organs that sound pretty much exactly like their real life counterparts would sound like and from any standpoint. Our considerable advantage is that we can actually change the basic samples to do this whereas this is not possible with a wet recorded facsimile instrument. The other advantage is that the original basic samples will blend or can be edited to blend in with real pipes or indeed, stand alone in a new acoustical environment and sound right. Having been involved with HW almost from the outset, I have never swayed from my original beliefs and whilst it might have been tempting to cater for a considerable majority of HW users and produce facsimile instruments (and thus possibly, larger amounts of sales), I have remained steadfast in my objectives. only time will tell but I feel that there will be a considerable swing towards our way of doing things especially when decent convolution reverberation becomes more commonplace and widely accepted. * * * * * This week saw the arrival of my new microphone boom stand in time for next week when I depart on my travels for a few days to catch some more samples. I knew it was going to be big but I am totally gob-smacked at just how big it has turned out to be. From ground level, I can now place microphones in excess of 7 metres which is going to make such a difference. It will of course not be used where access to the inside of the organ is not a problem but in many instruments the windchests are high up and the pipe work directly behind the display pipes. it has always been very difficult to capture the closest pipes to the facade accurately short of poking a boom out in between the feet of the display pipes which is often both risky in terms of damaging internal pipes as well as complex in terms of securing the boom adequately. hopefully this new stand will improve matters. So, next week I am sampling three instruments as well as going to weigh up the possibilities and logistics of sampling a further three. Without giving away too much all the latter three are by well known builders and one of them is by Harrison and Harrison. The former three are also all by well known builders and whilst not huge, each possesses stops of remarkable individual beauty which stand out as being particularly fine even when compared to other organs from the same builders. Finally, my new computer arrives shortly and will possess a specification which will allow me to play any sample set currently in existence with room in the future to accommodate even bigger sets. 16th. September 2011 Having settled back down to getting ready for autumn and winter, there are lots of projects on the horizon. The house is getting closer to being put on the market and a little more time can be spent on completing the 80 and 100. Neil is getting very close to releasing the 70 and 80 stop Studio series models which should certainly give not a few people something to think about and maybe cause some of them to rethink their own plans. Despite all of the continuing excitement over other libraries - in one case that continuing excitement seems to be continuing for a considerable time - Neil has gone on quietly putting the finishing touches to the 70 and 80 which will mark them out as offering something well over whatever else is currently on the market. Such features on a wet sample set as the first English Vox Humana with tremmed samples. both 32' reeds and flues, a comprehensive String section on the Solo, independent ranked mixtures and all of the other requisites and above of a full spec. four manual concert / cathedral organ will be available. Rather than produce a four manual with a load of prepared for stops, we chose to take the route of providing several models of different sizes - each complete in their own specifications which will culminate in the 100 stop (and maybe the 125 stop). In addition, due to our design concepts which do not suffer the restraints of kow-towing to an existing facsimile, all of our instruments can be altered to a considerable degree. in the case of the Standard sets this is very flexible indeed but even the Studio sets can be customised; subject to Neil receiving due recompense for the large amount of extra work involved. The next set of libraries based on a different tonal desiderata and which are currently at the pre-planning stage will be developed on what we have been working on for the past several years and should be very much easier and speedier to complete. 31st. August 2011 We returned from a 15 day trip onto the Continent on Friday last. The cost of the ferry direct to Spain seemed somewhat high so we chose instead to go via Le Havre in France. Whilst it's very pleasant to travel through France, the country has become so outrageously expensive that the seemingly high cost of going directly to Bilbao or Santander doesn't seem so bad after all. One always forgets how huge a country France is and certainly, driving on the East side, the countryside isn't the most inspiring on earth although the villages and towns can be very attractive. With petrol at up to 2 euros a litre and outrageously expensive food and drink, the thought of further outlandish costs of the Peages made us take the lesser roads. We stopped at Sees for a coffee and wandered into the cathedral where the organ could only be a Cavaille-Coll judging by the casework and this proved to be exactly what it was. After a couple of nights in France we crossed over at the Col de Pierre St. Martin dropping down to Isaba in Spain and thence on to Sanguesa where we received a tremendous welcome from many of my old friends. it was then onwards gradually to Galicia which I hadn't managed to achieve when I lived there. Galicia isn't unattractive especially on the coast but lacks the majesty and beauty of the Picos and further Eastwards. churches are very few and far between. We ended up in Lugo with it's fabulous walls (second only to Avila) but the cathedral was inaccessible due to restoration works. Our route took us gradually back through the Picos to Potes and Santillana del Mar before a day in Pays Vasco with a visit to the Sanctuario de Loyala (closed). Much of the Basque country remains as unattractive as I remember it with beautiful mountains marred by run down and dirty valleys with much industry. Of course there are beautiful parts but the ugly is never more than a couple of kilometres down the valley in many cases. It was refreshing to get back into Navarra. Our last night in Spain was just on the border and the first village we reached in France had an interesting church and organ (Mahler). seems that there are a considerable amount of worthwhile instruments on this side of the Pyrennees which might merit further research in the future. Thence it was the horrendous drive back across France with a final night at Mont St Michel before catching the ferry back to England. I haven't changed my mind about Spain and still find it is the place that I would most wish to live in (depending on where). Apart from the outrageous costs of France, Jenny found that she really liked the country and its people which she didn't expect but has definitely fallen in love with Spain and its people and general way of life. Now I must really crack on with finishing the 80 and 100 for release since there are several interesting projects coming up shortly and now that the house and garden are in better shape, I will be able to devote more time to them. 27th. June 2011 It's been a fairly noisy weekend from Friday onwards although today was much quieter. Although Worthy Farm is about 3 miles away as the crow flies and there is a hill in between, we could still hear the "boom, boom" of the drums and for some of the louder bands (assumedly U2) we could also hear a distinct bass line and vocals to the extent that one or two tunes were recognisable. I would imagine that it would have been quite awful for residents who live closer. What am I writing about ? Glastonbury of course. Apart from yesterday afternoon and today where the weather was gorgeous, I would imagine that the experience for those that attended would have been quite foul regardless of whether one likes pop music or not. I've roughed it from time to time on campsites etc. but I really don't think that I could stand the environment in Pilton. Otherwise, lots of muddy wellington wearing individuals in the local Tesco's but far less traffic than we had expected. We have had loads of helicopters passing over ferrying pop-stars and personalities into the site which really is huge - the same size as a small city. The tremendous amount of work that we have had to put in to get this place habitable and the grounds under control as much as possible leaves us with being able to see some light at the end of the tunnel. With any luck finally, I may be able to get back into sorting out HW and the sample sets on a full time basis as well as getting on with the other planned projects which have had to be put on hold for the last several months. The insurance company have finally agreed that the damage to the wall was caused by impact and not other causes so that is going to save a considerable amount of money. As they say, things can only get better. 14th. June 2011 The creation of a pre official release of the Standard 80 with a custom specification for a customer in Australia where the full resources of the 4 manual spec were to be controlled from 3 manuals has taken a little while and proved to be an interesting challenge to work out. It's all up and running now. Since there are other customers who may be in the same position without the benefit (or luxury) of a fourth manual, this alternative spec will be included when the 80 and 100 are officially released. Otherwise, the garden is generally looking very good and much work has been undertaken by Jenny and myself which has included the construction of about 30 steps to avoid people slipping in the mud and breaking their necks should they take the steep route into the woodland walk as opposed to the more gentle but longer route. some of the house has been decorated and is looking brighter and definitely cleaner. There has also been a bit of plumbing and electricals done. The collapsed wall remains a problem in that the insurance company is trying to escape paying out, citing roots, branches and frost as the cause of collapse rather than the collision by a tractor or whatever. Geoff the stonemason is wonderful and has done a superb job so far and we have saved a considerable amount by "quarrying our own stone from the grounds. In sorting things out we have discovered a 17th / 18th century icehouse which is in the process of being excavated and restored. Originally I thought it was a badger set (an overspill of the tenement blocks of badger city further up the hill) but initial excavations showed the classic construction of a country ice house. We visited the Royal Bath and West Show last week which was pleasant although hot. they were lucky since as soon as it was finished, it's done little else but rain and gone cold. Picture the ideal sojourn (but for the fact that it's in England) with all the wild life.........The cute little badgers (no hedgehogs because badgers hunt them) the fluffy little wabbits traipsing around, and the darling little Bambi delicately ambling through the dappled woodland together with all of the other little creatures - amphibians, reptiles, insects, birds etc. as I have mentioned before. Picture a gorgeous garden with an orchard, kitchen garden, specimen trees, and formal beds with several hundred roses about to bloom........... The lickle wabbits have been munching in the kitchen garden and digging holes in the beds but the real disaster has been that one day we had the roses, fruit etc. and next day we didn't ! If we lived elsewhere one might suspect the neighbours from hell had done it but every single rose, every single fruit and much else disappeared overnight. Who was responsible ??? Darling little Bambi that's who. No warning of one or two here and there and the time to take steps, no, the bastard stuffed itself on every single one in a few hours. We're heartbroken. I can cope with bugs, fungus the odd bird and even the odd mole etc. but that bloody deer and those wabbits take the biscuit A shotgun licence is in order I think. 25th. May 2011 Another month gone by and very little further work has been done on the 80 and 100. With the good weather and 4 acres of grounds to sort out, I'm afraid that I have rather let the sample side of things take a back burner over the last few months. There is just so much to do in the house and gardens and having spent the last several years cooped up doing nothing but samples - not really going out, not being out in the fresh air and not doing any exercise to speak of, I feel that the break will do me good both in terms of my health and also being able to approach the final completion of the 80 and 100 with a less jaded ear. I do have other projects lined up for the future and some of them are very exciting instruments but for the moment, to some extent, my priorities are getting the house and gardens in order for sale. 28th. April 2011 The disks for the 50 arrived today so they are now ready for ordering via the Paypal button on the relevant page. I haven't heard it myself yet but graham reports that it take the 40 into the next sphere with a a few valuable extra that aren't available on the 40. Otherwise, our little hatchlings are doing very well but have had to be moved into the conservatory for a little bit more light and warmth. For full details of the story at the moment, see the Hauptwerk website entry under General Discussion and "A very magical Easter" Bets of all is watching them dive and swim under water (in the bath) they are so fast, graceful and streamlined. otherwise, they want to eat everything and anything and they drink enough water to float a battleship. One of the sires (one assumes) has had his beak put out of joint because the river is now shallower in some parts and deeper and faster in others since I have spent time cleaning and dredging it of all sorts of detritus. It now flows properly and runs crystal clear. Some pretty large trout can now be seen at various points in its course. otherwise, the garden and woods are beginning to look lovely and we even found some St George's Mushrooms (Tricholoma Gambosum) on St. George's Day - i haven't eaten any yet but intend to do so shortly. Otherwise, it's been non stop in the grounds whilst we have had the most brilliant weather. 19th. April 2011 Ah, Easter approaches and my hopes of getting the 80 and 100 finalised intime for it look to be unlikely. Actually, the 80 is complete and so is the 100 apart from one 2' String stop on the Solo. However, I want ALL of the mixtures to be separate ranks and the remaining 15:19:22 for the Great and the 17:19:22 for the Swell are still not right or completed to my satisfaction - both the 80 and 100 require these whereas the 2' String is only for the 100. Likewise there is a secondary Tuba on the Choir division of the 100 which exists but I am not over-pleased with at the moment so it requires a bit more work. Of course, I could release both straightaway (substituting another stop for the two missing or indeed, counting the two percussions as making up the total and leaving the two mixtures as multiple rank samples) however, I don't like offering a short cut to what will be very much better when all is really complete. Good to see that Neil is progressing well and he will shortly have the 80 and 100 as they stand so that he can get on with the larger models of the Studio Series. Hopefully by the time he has got as far as the 80, all of the stops will be complete for both series. in fact, Neil may not need the last 2 stops since he has been creating one or two ranks himself such as a Cor Anglais and French Horn which may end up being preferable. 31st. March 2011 Too much to do and too little time to do it in. How can anyone ever be bored ? The nice weather pushed me into the woods and garden to tackle some of the clearance tasks which are absolutely essential before Mother Nature takes over and the place becomes like the Sleeping Beauty forest. I stink of wild garlic having strimmed 2 out of 4 acres. The garlic will come back and will die down but hopefully I have caught the brambles and nettles early enough to be able to keep them under control. Then there is the river which needed some clearance to prevent any flooding as far as is possible if the worst comes to the worst. There has been a slight cock up over numbers for the various Studio sets which were erroneously supplied by Brett and would seem to conflict with some other existing sets. Not our fault and unfortunately, poor old Neil will have to sort it out. Hopefully apart from the extra work for Neil the only real changes for customers will amount to new files for the ODF rather than a complete remanufacture of all the sets sold so far. I have noted (also mentionedon the forum) that there are no graphic representations of the existing studio sets and this is solely down to the fact that under Win 7 Ultimate 64, my version of Frontpage crashes when trying to attach the hyperlink to the picture. Don't know why but it means that everything has to be transferred to another computer to avoid this before transferring back to this one for upload to the website. in common with Neil, I have spent another day at the dentist (hopefully the last for some time and today's visit was a repair to a broken tooth as a hopeful alternative to a complete crown. Last week was a tooth out and the completion of some root canal work. now thta we have a little rain, I hope to complete the 80 and 100 stop separate mixtures and the remaining 2' Strin for the Solo on the 100 so that I can release them both before Easter. IT should all have been done several months ago but my fathers death and all of the ensuing problems have delayed things considerably. however, the completion of the 80 and 100 is not forgotten and will complete in due course. Sadly 7 day weeks of 12 to 16 hours a day are quite draining and as I noted above, there are not enough hours in the day. Having to argue with insurance companies over claims regarding damage to the wall, negotiating for windows, sorting out all the other myriad of problems caused by neglect over many years all need to be addressed. Finally, later today we have one of the bods from the BBC Antiques Roadshow Coming for the day to weigh things up - should be interesting. 23rd. March 2011 Nearly a week gone by since I returned from Gloucestershire and still little opportunity to get down to completing the 80 and 100 Standard sets. Considerable time was spent sorting out the printing of the previously manufactured DVD's on the new printer which is excellent. Apart from that there have been some rather pressing problems to attend to including repairs to plastering, flashing, a complex plumbing job, a fairly awkward wiring job and some further tree surgery to prevent a later cataclysm. It's not that I'm too mean to get somebody in it's just that judging by the standard of much of the work that has been carried out here over the years, most of it is utterly shoddy and some is dangerous. Discovering that cables running in the roof space of the mill office had either been gnawed or abraded to such an extent that a nasty overheating and ensuing fire were imminent absolutely necessitated that immediate action be taken. On the subject of gnawing, our rat problem which was getting to be serious, resulted in 4 traps and poison. All the poison went and something like 20 rats were executed in a week ! Although they were country rats as opposed to town rats, they still carry Leptospirosis (Weil's disease) and were getting at everything they could in the garage and outbuildings and just had to be eradicated. The other wildlife is welcome for the most part though with at least half a dozen badger sets, there is a considerable amount of excavation and you would not believe the size or quantity of badger shit lurking for the unwary foot in the woods. The moles don't cause much problem so far, the deer aren't attacking the trees yet, the otters aren't in evidence (not that they cause any harm at all except to the odd trout in the river) and the kingfishers have yet to make their appearance. The ducks are very greedy and tend to knock on the door at least twice a day, demanding food we are tied between feeding them out of sympathy to feeding them so that they get fattened up (I really enjoy a good roast mallard). The squirrels rob everything for the other birds and the foxes are absolutely enormous though they don't tend to come up for hand feeding as they used to each evening. however, they are as bold as brass and saunter up and down the drive at any time of day or night. The pheasants drop by occasionally especially if there is a shoot on. The crows are however, a bloody nuisance cawing all day and all night - don't crows sleep ? Sadly it's a fair sized property and whilst it is essential to get it ready for sale and requires a hell of a lot of work after years of neglect, I really must get back to my sampling work even if there aren't enough hours in the day. 15th. & 16th. March 2011 I arrived late afternoon to find Master Derrett ensconced between the wall and the back of the swell box of the Bishop and everything on show (the organ, not Paul). All pipework had been removed apart from about 8 front pipes. The action looked to be in very good condition albeit in need of some regulation and was very neat in layout. Likewise the pipework apart from one or two Oboe pipes slightly dented bass boots wasn't bad. Quite fascinating the discoveries made as it was taken to pieces. Firstly that it was most likely originally a one manual chamber organ and that the pipe work in the different divisions was of differing age and build. Suspicions are that the best of it could be quite old, possibly late 1700's or very early 1800's. Certainly the Great flutes are some of the finest that could be found in any instrument regardless of make and the diapason chorus is very beautiful. The Swell flues are of almost equal qaulity but the Oboe excels as a most gorgeous stop. In many ways, a small instrument of this quality possesses a certain magic that makes it preferable in playing to many much more comprehensive instruments. The whole instrument possesses that early English mellow, singing quality so often aspired to by generations of builders who came after. From the sampling point of view, it is ideal since it is very shallow and without having to get inside (there is no room anyway) it is possible to capture both close and semi-distant recordings with relative ease. The church is also in a very quiet village away from any main road. It is interesting that there is no possible way that anything apart from the Oboe being touched up, anything could have been tuned in eons despite the fact that the church was being charged something like 600 pounds a year for its upkeep. there were no signs whatsoever of any disturbance in the dust in the rest of the instrument. The only problem found so far is that the blower cabinet was full of asbestos. Since the bearings are on the way out, Paul will replace this and the old one removed by the shortest possible route out of the church and disposed of somehow. On to the St. James where RDS and myself spent a little time tuning one or two off notes on the Swell mixture and reeds. as usual these proved to be irksome since the pressure is uneven and the tuning changes from in tune to out just by drawing different stops so some compromise has to be made. We returned on the 16th. to check that they were still in as far as could be. I spent the rest of the day searching for a new CD printer which I eventually found in Cheltenham despite the traffic from the Races. I returned to Somerset on Wednesday afternoon. 14th. March 2011 THE 40 STOP STUDIO SERIES WILLIS IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR ORDERING We managed to get everything out of Tewkesbury and down to Somerset by the end of last week finally. thank God for the space in the mill office with all of my stuff on top of what is already here. Now there is the sorting and paring down of the amalgamation of two homes to undertake. However, I can't do too much since it will only be a matter of a few months before everything will have to be packed up again when the house is sold. There is just so much to do here to get things straight in addition to the normal work of HW sample sets. Unfortunately, the moving has delayed things for the 80 and 100 a little more than expected but work will start progressing in the next week and the little I have left to do should allow a release by Easter if not well before. In the meantime, Neil has completed the 40 stop and last night, I had the first opportunity to hear both it and the 24. Both sound very impressive and all congratulations and thanks to both Neil and to Graham for the work that they have put in are very much warranted. My only problem at the moment is that the printer refuses to print CD's and DVD's although it prints everything else as normal. Perhaps the moving upset it - whichever way unfortunately, I will have to get a new printer tomorrow so that I can send off all the disks to those who have ordered. I have to return to Tewkesbury tomorrow to pick up my mail before the rerouting kicks in and at the same time I'm going over to help with the dismantling of a very nice Bishop which is being cleaned and repaired. Once it's back in situ, it will be sampled. I have already played it and it is truly a beautiful instrument - albeit rather small. At the same time, I have to do a bit of regulation on the much larger instrument at Chipping Campden which has recently had a fair amount of work done on it. 17th. February 2011 THE 24 STOP STUDIO SERIES FATHER WILLIS IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR ORDERING. Further to my receiving the master copies from Neil and his announcement on the HW forum the 24 is available and the 40 will follow shortly. I, along with 'er indoors are in the process of making the move down to the house in Somerset since the constant traveling back and forth together with everything else is becoming ridiculous both in terms of time and cost. We have therefore decided to leave Gloucestershire. Although it will only be for six months or so whilst we get the house ready for sale, it will certainly be more peaceful down there together with the beautiful garden and trout stream flowing through the grounds and hopefully I will be able to get on with some further work on other sample sets. We shall have to see what transpires afterwards. Since I will have all of the facilities for producing and sending off disks down there, there will be no problem in fulfilling any of the orders that may come in though there might be a delay of a day or so whilst we move. 8th. February 2011 For the 80 and 100 models, one of the separate three rank Mixtures is close to completion and so far seems to produce a very fine effect. The remaining three rank Tierce Mixture is still proving to be a bind with some clashing harmonics in the bass (the middle seems fine and the last break is Quints and Unisons anyway so it is also fine). The remaining 2' String for the Solo has yet to be done but shouln't cause too many problems and that leaves just the second Tuba which although "there" is not quite what I have in mind. In the interim, Neil has posted two very nice demos on the Contrebombarde site. Both are beautifully played and nicely registered. Initially, I thought that they were demos of the 40 but in fact, they are still only the 24. I know that both pieces only use fairly small combinations but there seems to be a breadth in the sound which makes them seem to be from a much larger instrument - all of this exactly as it is out of the box without any extra reverb etc.. I am really looking forward to the 40 when I get to hear it and thence on to the even bigger spec. instruments. 7th. February 2011 The existing News page was getting to be a little slow to load and it was time for a clear out into the archives to join that of the past few years. Although, ostensibly a news page for noting down work in progress, since I don't subscribe to such sites as Facebook or Twitter, I have tended to use this page as an equivalent and it has contained much that really has little relevance to the sample sets we are producing. I know that a lot of people have enjoyed reading about the various trials and tribulations etc. of my life away from HW and our sample sets but I am going to attempt to limit this page in the future to news that is only pertinent to the organ, HW and our sample sets. |
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