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Adding HW to older Viscount Symphonia model (1 reply)
You appear to be wanting to update your organ. You are going to struggle to find anything which has more than four manuals. I do not know (from memory) of any computer based pipe organ simulator (sampleset) which has five manuals.
The options for consideration are Hauptwerk, Grandorgue or my own eplayOrgan. I personally use all of them. Both HW and GO are rather old and based on the same software - they have both developed slightly differently but both can provide equally good sound. HW no longer has a free option so if you want to try it you are going to be laying out quite a lot of cash for software and computers. The other two are free. eplayOrgan is by far the most up to date but has less of the old fashioned features which many organists seem to like.
Whatever you choose I strongly recommend a Windows computer with at least 16GB of memory and a fast hard or solid state disk. All three options can work well with this. However for HW you will certainly need a lot more memory.
Feeding the sound output back into your Viscount organ's amplifiers may be a good idea but you should be aware that both HW and GO normally have only one stereo output. eplayOrgan has up to four stereo outputs.
Providing the midi output of your organ is working and produces a proper midi output (i.e. conforms to the current midi specs.) You just connect your midi output to a usb port on the computer using a midi to usb converter cable. Start your HW or GO software and begin configuration. Easier said than done as it is a significant task especially for the first time. AND has to be done again each time you want to play a different sampleset.
However with eplayOrgan you only need to select the organ you wish to play and the midi port before you can begin playing. Also it has several Viscount organs to choose from (but none with more than three manuals and also they may not work with your Viscount).
You can download eplayOrgan from https://midimusic.github.io
This site also has quite large archives of midi based organ music you can play.
That should be enough to get you thinking.
csw900
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Can anyone advise how best to upgrade, with HW or equivalent, an older Viscount model? I have a Viscount Symphonia (5-manual) in my home for practice use built during the 1990's which has older DS4 sampling technology by division. I've connected all 6 channel output signals to an external power mixer which combines them into one L/R stereo signal which plays through several stereo speakers and 2 large subs. The console has MIDI program change lighted rocking tablets for the operation of an external module, and these sounds may be stored on any manual or pedal pistons, but the organ's Owners Manual lacks instructions for connection of any 21st century MIDI devices or software. Besides MIDI In/Out/Thru the back of the console has separate audio input jacks for Choir, Swell, and Solo/Echo only. A small 3-position switch nearby allows the Solo/Echo audio input to shift to either "R -- L/Mix" or "Not Exp. Pedal "(?). Besides MIDI In, these are the only audio inputs the console has. Before any additional hardware or software is purchased for an upgrade, any advice would be greatly appreciated.