What is a midi organ?

A midi organ is an electronic or virtual organ that produces sound through a computer. The word ‘midi’ stands for ‘Musical Instrument Digital Interface’. It is a standard in electronic music, making it possible to communicate with instruments.

Buy a random keyboard in the store and it is most likely equipped with all kinds of instruments, such as a guitar, a drum kit and often an organ. You can probably hear that the sound of this organ doesn’t match the sound of a real pipe organ in a big church or concert hall.

Specialized midi organs are something else, such as the midi organs we make at Mixtuur. These organs are equipped with the Hauptwerk program, so you can download and play sample sets of hundreds of organs. The sound of each individual pipe of an organ is recorded. The sound comes close to the gigantic pipe organs in cathedrals. And that in your living room!

It is possible to build your own midi organ with a keyboard, the free version of Hauptwerk, a PC and headphones. That is a great way to discover Hauptwerk. However, if you want a fantastic experience, it’s smarter to invest a little more in a Mixtuur midi organ with excellent speakers (often six or seven speakers), a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), multiple keypads, pull registers and (optional) touchscreens. If you choose for a Mixtuur organ, you do not need any knowledge of computers.

Want to know more about midi organs or would you like to download our brochure? Take a look at the page on ‘home organs‘.