Topic: Changing the volume of each manual independently?

Is it possible to assign different volumes per manual / pedal keyboard?

Re: Changing the volume of each manual independently?

I know you can set per-stop volume on a division and per-note volume on a stop, but I don't believe there is a divisional volume setting specifically at the moment.

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Re: Changing the volume of each manual independently?

On an actual pipe organ, this is accomplished via expression pedals/shoes which control shades, and those shades can vary the volume of sound the pipes can project out of the pipe chamber. Organteq simulates this using one pedal which controls the entire organ, as if all of the pipes were in one chamber with a set of shades.

There are various implementations of this in the real world—sometimes only the Swell division is under expression, or sometimes there are multiple expression pedals to control multiple divisions, for instance. There is no standard on pipe organs (nor should there be). On the Walker Technical organ at my church (a high-end digital), there are 2 expression pedals—one for Great/Choir/Pedal and one for Swell, but you can switch the former to control just the Choir and the Great & Pedal divisions become 'unenclosed'—meaning, the 'pipes' are not in a pipe chamber and are always at full volume (obviously there are no pipes on a fully digital organ, but emulating the behaviour of a real pipe organ is the goal).

It's kind of important to understand that idea, since VPO's (like Organteq) and digital organ consoles are meant to be pipe organ emulators and not simply synthesisers which produce organ sounds.

So to have each division controllable independently, ideally Organteq would need an expression pedal for each division (I've made that request to Modartt).

Last edited by rjsilva (19-06-2021 03:45)

Re: Changing the volume of each manual independently?

rjsilva wrote:

On an actual pipe organ, this is accomplished via expression pedals/shoes which control shades, and those shades can vary the volume of sound the pipes can project out of the pipe chamber. Organteq simulates this using one pedal which controls the entire organ, as if all of the pipes were in one chamber with a set of shades.

There are various implementations of this in the real world—sometimes only the Swell division is under expression, or sometimes there are multiple expression pedals to control multiple divisions, for instance. There is no standard on pipe organs (nor should there be). On the Walker Technical organ at my church (a high-end digital), there are 2 expression pedals—one for Great/Choir/Pedal and one for Swell, but you can switch the former to control just the Choir and the Great & Pedal divisions become 'unenclosed'—meaning, the 'pipes' are not in a pipe chamber and are always at full volume (obviously there are no pipes on a fully digital organ, but emulating the behaviour of a real pipe organ is the goal).

It's kind of important to understand that idea, since VPO's (like Organteq) and digital organ consoles are meant to be pipe organ emulators and not simply synthesisers which produce organ sounds.

So to have each division controllable independently, ideally Organteq would need an expression pedal for each division (I've made that request to Modartt).

Same here.

The swell mapping allows you to route more than 1 manual to the swell, but that's a single expression controller. ideally with this being a 3 manual, you'd add the choir manual as a separate expression controller. the problem is that if midi routing, it crosses over the expression midi value. You can't add a choir expression controller in the routings because it's classed as the expression control and it's assigned to the swell dynamic control. Organteq really needs to add an extra expression shoe not only to the GUI but also as an assign function.

If you consider a 4 manual console, depending on whether you have further divisions added, you'd have at least 4 assignable expression pedals, these being the crescendo at top of the chain, swell, choir and solo as the great is not an enclosed division, it is an open division. Although as this is a modelled instrument, nothing to stop adding the great as an expression control shoe to sometimes give the great a different character.

Blind Music Producer, Composer, pianist and Church Organist. Accessibility development specialist for MacOS. Developing a solution for blind organists to have an accessible digital organ solution.

Re: Changing the volume of each manual independently?

One fix which should be made available here is to allow multiple expression pedals to work as "Swells"

so, in a build I'm working on, using another software system, I have 4 expression pedals, 3 are as swells, 1 crescendo. The swells are assigned as Swell, Choir, Solo. The great doesn't need a swell as the great is very rarely enclosed.

Organteq does offer the 4 zones for swell control, but only as a single instance, I.E: recognises a single swell pedal only and not multiple expressions. so, we need the ability to assign more than 1 expression shoe for swells.

Blind Music Producer, Composer, pianist and Church Organist. Accessibility development specialist for MacOS. Developing a solution for blind organists to have an accessible digital organ solution.