What is a digital organ?

A digital or electronic organ is an instrument that tries to simulate the sound of a pipe organ as realistically as possible.

Digital organs first appeared in the nineties of the last century, but at first didn’t sound as good as classical pipe organs. Major steps have been taken in recent decades and you can’t hear the difference between a good digital organ and a ‘real’ organ. Of course, a digital organ does not smell like age-old wood, such as a classic pipe organ. Some purists love the feeling of an old organ, but there are also many organ lovers who have switched to new digital organs. They say: once you’ve tried one, you don’t want to go back.

Especially for individuals, a digital organ is very suitable as home organ. The great advantage of a digital organ compared to a classical organ is that a digital organ is cheaper and takes up less space.

In 2002 a new computer program – Hauptwerk – appeared. With Hauptwerk it is possible to load samples of famous organs. “The sound of the organ is recorder pipe by pipe”, explains organist Pieter de Ruijter on his Dutch website. “There is enough variation, for instance short and long samples of each pipe and recordings with and without tremulant. Any unevenness would be maintained, so that the pipe organ sounds just like in real life.” De Ruijter calls Hauptwerk “a fantastic experience, if the owner has an excellent sound system”.

At Mixtuur we build organs with a simplified version of Hauptwerk and with the standard version of Hauptwerk. Our digital organs have a superior sound compared to the rest of the market. Most of our organs have six or seven speakers, which gives a majestic sound. You decide on what organs you want to play. Regularly new organs are made available that you can download (free or paid).

We see a new movement: each year more churches are choosing Hauptwerk. A church with an aging pipe organ, but with a limited budget or limited space for expansion, can choose for a digital organ. Why would a church community invest tens of thousands of dollars or pounds in an organ with six or eight stops, while a digital organ is cheaper and has more stops and possibilities? Take a look at our page ‘Church organs‘ or visit one of the churches with a digital organ.

Tip: download our free brochure with more information about our digital organs.