Professional organ sampling
Complete organs sampled efficiently and accurately by experienced specialist sound engineers.....and robots!
Sadly, there is a lot of plausible sounding pieces of 'received wisdom' when it comes to the approach to sampling pipe organs in particular. One of the most common mistakes made is not being a sufficient distance from the pipework when recording samples.
Much of this started with the early digital organs from the major manufacturers, where some even used specially sound deadened environments to record ranks of pipes, however this leads to a very artificial sounding result. This practice seems to be wide-spread in the recording of Virtual Pipe Organs today which is why they never really quite sound the same when 'reassembled'. Part of the reason for close proximity sampling is simply because the further away from the pipes you are, the greater the level of non-pipe speech noise significantly increases. Until very recently the technology and techniques to handle extreme de-noising without removing parts of the pipe speech were not sufficiently powerful or sophisticated enough to overcome this issue.
Our unique sample cleaning process uses the latest most advanced techniques to remove all noise other than the pipe speech, without damaging the timbre or sound artifacts in any way, leaving an acoustically dead pure sound sample. Unlike almost all other digital organ sample set producers, we do NOT artificially modify, over-correct or re-pitch the samples. Whilst it may seem a great idea to spend a lot of time (in some cases, years), getting every single sample perfectly corrected and pitched, this produces a very artificial thin sound which doesn't really reproduce the sound of the organ as a whole. Organs are not perfect, and we have found over the years that going against the temptation to use all manner of electronic corrections as is common practice, leaves us with a rich and authentic result, especially once the final acoustic of the building is applied. You are at liberty to adjust any pipes individually if you want to apply your own corrections or adjustments.
As well as recording the pipes, knocks, bangs and others sound artifacts of the organ, we also take equally accurate acoustic 'sound prints' of the building acoustics, which is brought back in at the end of the process to produce the final sound of the organ as recorded and in the acoustic environment it was designed to occupy.
- In most cases, we can provide this service, free-of-charge (within the UK)
- A typical rank of pipes can be recorded in 12-15 minutes, which also allows sampling runs to fit nicely between any noisy clock mechanisms or chimes the building may have on the quarter hour!
- No need to re-record each rank for different release samples, just the attack sample. This cuts the time to sample a full organ, significantly.
- Robotic automated key press ensures consistent pressure and speed of note press, which is especially important for tracker instruments where pipe speech can be affected by speed of key press.
- We use the latest professional sound recording and engineering technology and the highest quality microphones, not hand held samplers or devices aimed at consumer markets.
- You don't listen to the organ from the inside, so we don't sample it from the inside either!
- Due to the multi-purpose nature of many buildings which contain pipe organs, we are able to offer sampling services at unsociable hours, to minimize any inconvenience to you. You will barely know we have been there, and of course, all sampling is NON DESTRUCTIVE and only requires access to the organ console.
- This is a win-win. Others get to enjoy your instrument, and as a matter of policy, we donate to the organ fund for every copy of that organ sold, to help protect and preserve the instrument.
- Unlike almost all sample set producers, we are doing this to further the cause of the organ and try to support the pipe organs we sample, not to profiteer or make a few bucks for ourselves.
- We specialize in organ preservation (which is another reason we don't mess with samples), where the original pipe organ may be away for some time or lost altogether and have sampled a number of instruments which can now only be enjoyed in digital format. :(
- Once sampled, your organ can be left as original, but we also offer the possibility of rank extensions, 'borrows' and other mechanisms so you can create an alternative specification, or perhaps smaller practice instrument.
- We can have an accurate copy of your organ in a matter of weeks or a few months, naturally depending on size. This is unique to us, with most sample set producers taking many months and often years to get their instrument ready for release.
If you are interested in taking advantage of this unique service, please contact us at support@digitalvpo.com and we will be more than happy to give further details.
Try it today!
Doing a full evaluation of our software and the various organs is free and simple! Once you have registered an account with us, you will be able to download trial versions of our consumer software. No credit cards, no excessive gathering of personal information, risk free!
Try it today!