How to set up convolution reverb in Hauptwerk V Advanced Edition?
Prerequisites
In order to be able to use the built-in convolution reverb effect of Hauptwerk V and load different impulse responses to apply reverberation to sample sets, Hauptwerk version 5 (or higher) Advanced Edition is needed. Hauptwerk comes with its own impulse responses, but you can buy additional IR libraries from different vendors as well. Inspired Acoustics offers both a dedicated IR library and the impulse response of the space of the organ shipped with the Hauptwerk 5 version of the sample set.
Setting up a stereo convolution reverb in Hauptwerk V
In the following paragraphs, we’ll take a look at how to quickly add reverberation to a ‘dry’ or 'semi-dry' sample set, adjust its volume level as needed (dry-wet mix), and route it to the main output. In a later section, we’ll show how to set up a multiple speaker set-up using different impulse responses for a surround pair of speakers.
In this example we take a stereo sample set and apply a true stereo reverberation to the sound. This setup is best for headphones and to listening organ using loudspeakers in front of you. A 'true-stereo' impulse response is a four-channel impulse response representing a sound source with two source points that is spread out in space and a listener position in space in a two-channel configuration, such as two microphones in the space.
To achieve the best result using convolution reverberation, it is advised to use dry or relatively dry (semi-dry) sample sets and load them with the release samples truncated to 250 ms. This value works best for most of our sample sets, as shorter truncation would cut off the pipe stop transient and longer releases would result in having release-sample based reverberation in the sound, which needs to be removed for this type of reverberation.
In this example, we’re using Inspired Acoustics’ Scorzè Pipe Organ sample set, but the process is exactly the same for any other pipe organ sample set.
To load the organ with Release sample truncation option, choose Simulated dry, long decay (2’ C @250ms) for every rank.
After the organ is fully loaded, draw at least one stop so that you can hear how the reverb sounds as you play and adjust the settings.
To select and load an impulse response, go to General settings and select Audio mixer (for adding reverb, surround/3D sound, or multi-channel output) …
The following screen may look overly complicated at first, but you only need to adjust a few things to make everything work. First it will look like this:
Now let's see how to add an impulse response reverb to the main output.
On the left side of the Audio Mixer… window, click on Mstr mix bus 1 ‘Stereo mix 1 (main/recording)’ as it is already set-up as your main audio output. You can check or even change which audio output channels on your audio interface correspond to this master bus by looking at the right side of the window, where it says Audio output (device) channels(s). At the Channel(s) drop down list, you can see which one of the output channels on your audio device is the Mstr mix bus 1 ‘Stereo mix 1 (main/recording)’ routed to your devices' output. On our device it is Stereo: 0001/0002. You can choose a different output if necessary.
In our case, Mstr mix bus 1 ‘Stereo mix 1 (main/recording)’ is now routed to Stereo 0001/0002, which is what we want because those are the main output channels on our audio device. Since this setting was already provided by default, no further adjustment to the routing is necessary. The only thing we need to complete is selecting and applying an impulse response reverb file to this mix bus. To achieve this, find the section on the right side where it says Impulse response reverb.
Click on the Select button and a list of available (and previously installed) impulse response reverbs will show up. Select the one you wish to load and then click OK. Information about the selected impulse response will be shown in the Impulse response reverb section. Here you can adjust some aspects of that particular impulse response, for example the ratio it is mixed in with the ‘dry’ samples (Wet mix %) so you can set it to a higher value if you’d like to hear more of the reverberation effect, or set it to a lower value if you just want to hear a touch of reverberation but would like to keep the sounds relatively intact, close and direct (dry). You can also adjust the 'Reverb wet level adjust dB' to further change the volume of the reverberated (wet) sound if you wish.
Once you found your preferred impulse reverb and finalized its settings, click OK to close the Audio mixer (for adding reverb, surround/3D sound, or multi-channel output) … window.
You should now be able to hear the added reverberation while playing.
You can further tweak the level of reverberation as desired by using the Audio mixer, routing and voicing/panning settings panel. If it’s not already visible, go to View | Large floating control panels (for this organ) to make it appear.
The Mixer impulse response reverb wetness scalar % slider adjusts the overall wetness of the currently loaded organ. Note that setting this slider won’t change the value set in the Wet mix % box in the Audio mixer (for adding reverb…) window.
(Further detailed information on using impulse responses and audio routing can be found in the official Hauptwerk Installation and User Guide.)
Setting up a surround convolution reverb in Hauptwerk V
In this short description we’ll demonstrate how to quickly select and apply different impulse response reverb files to different speaker outputs.
This particular example takes a stereo sample set and produces 4 channels of surround output with dedicated reverberation for each channel using true stereo impulse responses for the front and for the rear. By repeating the steps described here, you can have as many perspective channels as you wish (for example 8, 10, 16, etc.) either using dedicated or the same impulse responses for each channel. You can also use these steps to route different stops to your individual speakers and apply reverb to them. To get a good compromise with sound quality and performance, you may not need to use different impulse responses for each of your speaker setup, but you can try and see what fits best to your setup. For typical surround configurations we recommend different front and rear impulse responses (IRs).
It is again recommended to load the organ with the release samples truncated to 250 ms. When loading the organ, choose Release sample truncation set to Simulated dry, long decay (2’ C @250ms) for every rank.
After the organ is fully loaded, draw at least one stop so that you can hear how applying the reverb would alter the sound as you play. To select and set-up an impulse response, go to General settings and select Audio mixer (for adding reverb, surround/3D sound, or multi-channel output) …
First, we need to set up mix buses and their routing to the output channels of your audio interface. Since in this example we want to create a surround setup - in our case that means two pairs of loudspeakers (front and rear) - we won’t need the default main/recording stereo bus to send audio to the audio device, but we will use a different routing.
On the left side of the audio mixer window, select Mxr prst 1: * Mstr mix bus 1 ‘Stereo mix 1 (main/recording)’.
On the right side, look for the Audio output (device) channels(s) section, and set the Channel(s) drop down list to . In practice, this means that this particular mix bus won’t be sending audio to the audio device. Next, we need to select the mix buses through which we actually want to send audio signals to the output channels. We’ll set up the front speakers first.
For this, on the left side, select Mxr prst 1: * Mstr mix bus 5 ‘Perspctv mix: outp persp 1 (front 1/main)’. These are predefined routing presets by Hauptwerk, which make our job a lot easier at setting up different audio routing configurations.
On the right side, find the Audio output (device) channels(s) section, and set the Channel(s) drop down list to Stereo: 0001/0002 [=>0001 / =>00002]. (The channels you select depend on your particular setup and audio interface.)
With this setting we have achieved that every audio that goes through the Perspctv mix: outp persp 1 (front 1/main) mix bus will be sent to output channels 1 and 2 on our audio interface.
Now, that audio is routed to the front speakers, we can select an impulse response reverb file for this output. For this, still on the Audio mixer (for adding reverb…) window, look for the Impulse response reverb section on the right side.
Click on the Select button, and a list of available (and previously installed) impulse response reverbs will show up. Select one and click OK.
Information about the selected impulse response will appear in the Impulse response reverb section. For the front speakers we selected an impulse response that was labeled as ‘Front’.
Setting up the front channels is done at this point. Next, we’ll set up the channel routing for the rear speakers.
In the Audio Mixer… window, on the left side, select Mxr prst 1: * Mstr mix bus 7 ‘Perspctv mix: outp persp 3 (rear 1/main)’.
On the right side, in the Audio output (device) channels(s) section, set the Channel(s) drop down list to Stereo: 0003/0004 [=>0003 / =>00004]. (The channels you select depend on your particular setup and audio interface.)
With this setting we have achieved that every audio that goes through the Perspctv mix: outp persp 3 (rear 1/main) mix bus will be sent to output channels 3 and 4 on our audio interface.
Now, we’ll select an impulse response reverb file that will affect the rear speakers. Click on the Select button in the Impulse response reverb section on the right side, and a list of available (and previously installed) impulse response reverbs will show up. Select one and click OK.
Information about the selected impulse response will appear in the Impulse response reverb section. For the rear or surround speakers we selected an impulse response that was labeled as ‘Rear’ in order to achieve the best and most authentically sounding listening experience. Naturally, you are free to mix and match any impulse response you’d like.
There’s one more step we need to do in order to hear the sounds we play in the rear speakers.
By default, organ ranks are muted on the Perspctv mix: outp persp 3 (rear 1/main) mix bus. To change this, go to Organ settings | Rank voicing and surround/3D/perspective panning …
On the Rank voicing and surround/3D/perspective panning… window select any or all ranks that you want to hear in the rear speakers, and from the Adjustment drop down list select the Perspective mix: source persp to output persp 3 (rear 1/main) (pct; retrigger) option.
Here we can set how loud we want each rank to be in the rear speakers. For this, move the MSTR slider on the left to set the volume level of the given rank(s). Click Close.
In case you are using a surround sample set with a built-in perspective control - like the Mannheim Pipe Organ Samples by IA for example - this is also how you can select and route different perspective ranks (Church/Organ) to different speaker outputs.
If the Audio Mixer… window is still open, click OK.
And that’s it. Now, you should be able to hear sounds coming out from both set of speakers with different impulse response reverbs applied to them.
You can further tweak or reduce the overall amount of reverberation if needed, through the Audio mixer, routing and voicing/panning settings. If it’s not already visible, go to View | Large floating control panels (for this organ).
The Mixer impulse response reverb wetness scalar % slider adjusts the overall wetness of the currently loaded organ. Note that setting this slider won’t change the value set for each impulse responses in the Wet mix % box in the Audio mixer (for adding reverb…) window.
(Further detailed information on using impulse responses and audio routing can be found in the official Hauptwerk Installation and User Guide.)