Dear friends,

As anticipated in the chat box, yesterday I spent the whole day at Viscount in Mondaino. I had a joyful and informative time with Viscount's technicians and could ask all the questions I had, including those you asked in the forum and that, so far, could not receive an answer. I could test the Opera 400 and see the opera 450. I will try to keep my report concise and with relevant information.

Voicing and alternative stops.

Each organ model includes several organ styles, now called "pipe sets". According to the models, 3 to 5 pipe sets are included. In addition, 3 to 5 free voicing slots are available. Contrary to the past, it is now possible to voice the standard pipe sets without copying and pasting them in the free slot. Furthermore, they cannot be erased; an easy factory default restore is available if something goes wrong with the voicing.

There are 5 (sometimes more) alternative stops available for each stop. Although this choice option might look smaller than the old instruments, this is not the case. So, if until now, for example, behind a Diapason 8, there was a list of 25 Diapasons (some of them sounding very similar), now the differentiation is more radical. However, let's consider that each diapason in the organ has five unique alternatives, and the organ has five diapasons. There will be a total of 25 diapasons available, which can be swapped from one division to another. And yes, I confirm the stops of the pedal cannot be moved to the manuals because now they only have 32 notes ;)

As anticipated in the official presentation, the editor now has many more features, and with the new algorithm, the modifications they can operate are more radical than before. Two features are worth mentioning that relate to the mixtures. The first concerns enhancing the sound presence of the octave and fifth ranks. By operating on this parameter, it is possible to make the fifths more prominent, or the octaves. The second parameter allows the detuning of the ranks of the mixtures. This makes a huge difference compared to the past. Along with the improved sonic rendering of the mixtures, one can achieve superb levels of realism by setting this parameter at will.

Another novelty related to the voicing is that all the parameters chosen within a pipe set are stored and recalled when the pipe set is selected. This also extends to the reverb setting. So, if you have chosen and tuned a different reverb for a baroque organ and a romantic one, they will be activated every time you recall the respective pipe set. Same for all the other parameters.

Swell Box: it includes now a filter to simulate the impact of closed shutters on the sound. It is possible to set the amout of volume reduction, respectively at -12, -18, and -24 dB. The volume behaviour is based on a curve (not linear) and includes the volume step that happens between the closed and slightly open shutters.

Finally, as you have already noticed, the stop tabs have been changed and here is a close shot:

IMG_5125.jpg - Bild entfernt (keine Rechte)

Here is some info for the organ nerds like me:

DANTE digital interface is in its final testing phase and will be released in some months. It will allow the routing of 28 channels (as for the analogue outputs) and operates at 48 kHz.

DSP: the boards are now incredibly smaller compared to the past (not surprisingly). All the DSP modules now boast 4 DSPs each, with a total of 5 (instead of 4) slots on the main board. I jokingly asked if there was enough power for Widor's 6th Finale, and they invited me to test the organ. It is now rock solid, with Tutti and octave couplers engaged.

As you also know, there are now two main woofers for the bass frequencies. Although they are smaller than the ones used before, now the pedal's low range of 32' flue is more responsive. This is because when very low frequencies are required (16Hz for the 32), the two woofers start to work jointly in phase.

New tweeters for the high frequencies, the old horn-loaded drivers have been abandoned, and new dome tweeters are in place for a smoother and more detailed sound.

The sound:

I tested the organ in a large room (for which the organ was not specifically voiced) and, therefore, could not assess the overall sonic performance. So I asked if I could make some recordings from the organ output (which I am not at liberty to share) because that is the only way I can assess the quality of the new sound. I recorded different stops singularly, and I could analyse them yesterday night. The general feeling is as if a heavy curtain has been lifted. The sound is now more precise and detailed, the response for the attack and release of flue and reed pipes is more realistic, and the response to the key velocity is now clearly perceivable and controllable. Several options are available for the lovers of tracker noises (I am not): trackers, Barker, electro-pneumatic, etc.

As far as I am concerned, I can foresee that my future will be filled with many hours of voicing and tuning, which is probably the best way I like to spend my time at the moment!

We discussed so many things yesterday, and for sure, I forgot something. Should this be the case, ask me and I will hopefully be able to answer.

Zitat von Tuba_Mirabilis im Beitrag #2

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Vielen Dank Paolo!
Hast Du die Schwellwirkung testen können (wieder nur Lautstärke oder nun doch mehr)?
LG Martin

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Zitat von Gemshorn im Beitrag #5

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Nun ist mir doch eine kleine Frage eingefallen, sie betrifft die neu designten Registerwippen: Kann man weiterhin die darin eingesenkten Plättchen auswechseln, um eine customisierte Disposition auch direkt am Instrument darstellen zu können?

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Zitat von Gemshorn im Beitrag #7

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Deine Argumentation ist für mich gut nachvollziehbar. Wünschenswert (ja, schon wieder ein Brief ans Christkind...) wäre, dass das Tausch-Prozedere vereinfacht worden wäre und nun weniger schmerzhaft für Finger und Nägel sei...

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If Kisselbach, in the next month, will take care of carefully voicing the instrument for the place it sits, you will be dramatically surprised by the definition and clarity of the sound that Physis Plus can produce. The instrument they show is small, so there is all the time to make a wonderful voicing work.

Zitat von ahlborn im Beitrag #14

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Thank you Paolo for this very important information!
Have you tried to see if the tracker touch is still based on key velocity or some other key position system? I mean, if you press the key for the first few millimetres, is the sound that comes out an unformed hiss (like on tracker organs..)?

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Zitat von ahlborn im Beitrag #14

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Regarding the mixtures, even with Physis 1 it is possible to bring out the fifths or octaves with the Character parameter (as Gemshorn rightly underlined), but in reality it is also possible to influence the tuning between the various ranks of the mixtures with the general parameter Ensemble.
If you try to insert a mixture without other stops, and modify the Ensemble parameter, you will see that the (aleatory) behavior of the tuning will be modified between the various mixture ranks.
However this is a general parameter which also influences the behavior of the other stops; I suppose that with Physis Plus the parameter is specific to mixtures and therefore offers greater customization.

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