STARTING

This is not an official jOrgan website. It is one I have created at my own initiative, in order to share the good things which jOrgan provides with more people than seems to be happening, and to make it easier for them to discover these good things for themselves.

Throughout this website, I shall be assuming the use of Windows (unless I actually mention Linux or Mac), and users of those other systems will need to make their own appropriate changes to what is being said. I am also assuming that you remain connected to the internet while using this website.

One further matter. Some people will find my instructions too wordy, and will get very impatient. But I am being as inclusive as possible. I know from bitter experience that lots of computer instructions assumed a greater knowledge than I had at the time. There have been countless occasions when I have encountered ambiguity or inadequate instructions, and it has been very frustrating. I am very serious about covering all bases.

What follows is a carefully-worded guide to getting started with jOrgan, avoiding some of the things that can trap the unwary or the confused. However, there is the well-known statement, “A picture is worth a thousand words”, and so I have included mention of two other attempts aimed at doing much the same thing, but with an abundance of pictures. You may prefer to use them as alternatives or in addition.

I describe them HERE and HERE.

WHAT IS jORGAN?

jOrgan is a highly-developed computer program written by Sven Meier, designed to enable users to create or to play Virtual Pipe Organs of high quality. It is Open Source software, which means that it is free of cost to the user, and accessible to any programmer who may wish to develop it for their own particular purposes, and who has the ability to do so. In strictly technical terms, it is a specialized MIDI processor without actual sound generation capabilities, and so needs to be used along with some appropriate “sound engine”. For reasons of convenience, the Open Source software synthesizer “Fluidsynth”, designed to play standard (.sf2) soundfont files, is bundled along with the jOrgan download. It is probably the case that most jOrgan users choose to use Fluidsynth, but they are in fact free to use any alternative sound engines if they so choose.

The Java Realtime Environment program needs to be installed on any computer intended to be used with jOrgan. One outcome is that this allows jOrgan to have a very attractive and flexible Graphical User Interface, making its visual presentation ideal for users and developers of VPO's alike.

WHAT DO I NEED TO START?

As a bare minimum, you need a computer capable of running the program. This normally means a Personal Computer, although I believe that some enthusiasts may have jOrgan running on various tablets and so on. It can be run successfully even on a Raspberry Pi. jOrgan can be used on Windows computers (probably better to use nothing older than XP), on most Linux computers, and on most recent Mac computers (OS-X, macOS).

Ideally, you also need a MIDI keyboard to enable you to play it for yourself. 61 keys is the desirable size, matching modern organ requirements. If the keyboard has only a MIDI OUT socket, you will need a MIDI-to-USB cable or other interface to plug into a USB port on the computer. Many MIDI keyboards have USB output, and so can be plugged straight into the computer, using a standard USB cable. It is also desirable to have a good quality audio system plugged into the headphone socket of the computer or into some other audio output socket. The computer speakers will give a sound, but it will be unworthy of the quality of sound produced by jOrgan and other Virtual Pipe Organ programs.

jOrgan (and the other programs, I believe) have “virtual keyboards” which can be made to appear on the computer screen. You can use them to play one note at a time by clicking on the “keys” with a mouse, but although that is good for testing the program, you will soon tire of it. However, I believe that they all have inbuilt recorders on which you can play appropriate MIDI files, to hear the sound even if you lack the ability to play music for yourself.

WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW?

You do, of course, need to have a basic knowledge of how to use your computer. If you think you are lacking in that department, swallow your pride and ask family members or friends to show you what you need to know. You also need to know how to download the appropriate files from the internet and install or use them in your computer.

There are two main on-line sources of information about jOrgan: the “jOrgan – User Archive” and the “jOrgan InfoBase” (you can click on these to go to them directly). There is a second archive, now closed, called “jOrgan – Sound Archive”, which has never caught on. It may contain information which some people may find helpful, but unless you are driven by curiosity, you can probably afford to give it no further thought. These two archives are of the jOrgan-User Mailing List and the jOrgan-Sound Mailing List, hosted by the SourceForge people. There is also an online, read-only archive of jOrgan-User posts sent since July 2021. This is presented in a forum format, and is the most convenient way to view current Mailing List posts. It can be accessed HERE.

To register for the Mailing List, click HERE, and subscribe. This is your main source of help if you have problems running jOrgan to your satisfaction. If you do post with a problem, make sure that as well as outlining the problem, you give some basic details of what computer you are using, and what Operating System, and anything else you feel may be relevant. A bare complaint that you have no sound cannot be expected to get a reply from the number of users who are keen to help others have success.

The jOrgan InfoBase, mentioned above, is another thing again. It is actually a repository for “everything that needs to be known about jOrgan”. Its precursor, the jOrgan MediaWiki, was written in the first instance by Sven Meier, the creator of jOrgan (a genius, in my estimation), who has retired from further development of the project, after years of hard and very productive work, but is nonetheless still involved to a lesser extent, helping to keep jOrgan updated in line with developments in the Java and Fluidsynth programs, which jOrgan usually needs for its successful operation. You need to be warned that the jOrgan InfoBase is not easy to read in some places, so don't be put off. I find parts of it to be impenetrable, myself. But if you are someone just starting out, rather than an enthusiast wanting to create your own VPO or to push the boundaries of jOrgan in some direction or other, or simply wanting to satisfy your curiosity about jOrgan, you need to read very little in the jOrgan InfoBase, except for the list of available jOrgan VPO's - all free, of course.

INTRODUCTION TO DOWNLOADING

There are three things you have to download:

A version of jOrgan suitable for your computer.
A suitable version of the Java Realtime Environment program (“Java” explains the “j” in jOrgan). jOrgan will not work without it.
One or more actual VPO's which can be played using jOrgan.

A VPO suitable for jOrgan is a group of files, kept within a single folder, which is often called the disposition folder. Within it is a file with the extension “.disposition”, and that is the actual file to be loaded into jOrgan. The download is usually in the form of a “.zip” file, which needs to be unzipped before it can be used. The folder also typically contains a soundfont file, a jOrgan skin file, and sometimes a memory storage file, some MIDI files, and a file giving a description of the VPO and perhaps the pipe organ on which it is based.

Note that the version of Java you install is important. jOrgan version 3.20 will work with Java Version 6 (officially called Java 1.6), and with Version 8, but jOrgan 3.21 requires a Java Version in the range 7-10, and jOrgan 3.21.1 is needed for Java 11. Later versions of Java are not recommended at the moment. Also, the Java “bitness” (32-bit or 64-bit) needs to agree with the version of jOrgan you are using. Windows allows both 32-bit and 64-bit processes to run concurrently, but a 32-bit process cannot interact with a 64-bit process, and so Java 32-bit cannot load a 64-bit Fluidsynth (which is associated with the 64-bit version of jOrgan), and vice versa. To avoid complications, it is probably better not to have both versions of Java, 32-bit and 64-bit, installed. Also, you should have only the one version of jOrgan installed, unless you are very confident that you will not get into trouble.

In any event, before downloading jOrgan, you should check whether your computer already has Java installed. If the version does not suit what you plan to do with jOrgan, you should remedy that. The simplest way to do this checking is to search for “cmd” (no quotation marks), select Command Prompt, and type and enter “java -version”. Other ways are mentioned in the next section detailing the downloading of Java.

SPECIAL NOTE FOR LINUX AND MAC USERS:

Linux users should note that in their case the sound engine Fluidsynth may not already be installed, and so they need to see to that also. Check if it is already there. (For Windows and mac users, the jOrgan installer sees to this for them, and this is also the case for users of the Raspberry Pi.) For Linux users, the bitness of Java, Fluidsynth and jOrgan all has to agree with the bitness of the Linux version. For OS-X/macOS users, it will be 64-bit for everything.

The Fluidsynth project has been updated to Version 2, and a version of jOrgan (jOrgan 4.xx) has been compiled with Fluidsynth Version 2 included (but currently only for Windows or Linux users, and only in 64-bit).

For Windows users, which version of jOrgan should you use (32-bit or 64-bit)? It seems to work equally well with either. The only factor, really, is whether you plan to use some “additional” soundcard for your audio instead of simply the headphone socket of your computer, or whether you plan to use some other peripheral device for some other purpose, and those things REQUIRE either 32-bit or 64-bit operation. 32-bit processes are limited to use around 3 GB of RAM (Random Access Memory), so if you have a very large soundfont then you should use 64-bit.

My recommendation in the past for any Windows users who are only moderately experienced in computer use was to choose 32-bit. It may be that eventually you will wish to use the program JACK (JACK Audio Connection Kit) FOR WINDOWS in order to improve the reverberation by means of a third-party program. Jack for Windows is slightly easier to install in 32-bit than in 64-bit. However, things are moving in a 64-bit direction, and at the moment if you wish to use jOrgan 4.0 Beta 1, you must use 64-bit operation. For this and other reasons, my current recommendation is to install jOrgan (and Java) in 64-bit.

So Windows users need to make a choice between 32-bit or 64-bit. Don't get anxious about this: if for some reason you later find that the other would have been more suitable, it is a simple matter to uninstall programs and to install other versions, without any sort of harm. In general use, one has to do this at times anyway. If one suspects that a download has resulted in the file being corrupted (it does happen!) it is the only alternative one has.

DOWNLOADING AND INSTALLING

Java

I suggest that you do that first. As mentioned above, check to see if it is already on your computer, and if so, whether it is 32-bit or 64-bit. In addition to the Command Prompt method outlined above, a simple way is to bring up the “Uninstall List” and see if it is there. (For Windows versions up to Windows 7, click on the Windows Start icon in the bottom-left corner of the screen, then click on “Control Panel”. Click on “Uninstall”. For later versions, click on the Search icon and type in, “Control Panel”, and then click on “Uninstall”, or it may be possible simply to type in “Uninstall”.) Wait for all the programs to be listed, and look for Java or “jre”. If it is there, but it doesn't indicate whether it is 32-bit or 64-bit, you will need to look in the Program Files folder and the Program Files(x86) folder, which are both on the C: drive. 64-bit programs are usually kept in the first of those two folders, and 32-bit programs in the second. Make sure that you close the “Uninstall” window without uninstalling anything (unless, of course, you actually wish to).

If you need to download Java, click on this link:

https://www.java.com/en/download/manual.jsp

There you see three options for Windows. Numbers 2 and 3 are for a manual download, and you should choose one of those, so that Java does not automatically download a version you do not want.

If you want 32-bit Java, you should click on “Windows Offline”.

If you want 64-bit Java, you should click on “Windows Offline (64-bit)”.

After the download is finished, you will need to choose whether to Run or Save. I think it is a good idea usually to save it, so that it ends up in the Downloads folder. This means that if you want to install it a second time for some reason later on, it is easy to do so.

If after Windows has downloaded the file and saved it, it offers you the option of examining the file in the Downloads folder, you should do that. You then don't have to find it.

How do you find it (if you have to)? In Windows 7 (and possibly in other Windows versions) there are actually two separate Downloads folders! If the file is not in the first you examine, then you will have to look for it in the other. To find these folders, click on the Start icon in the bottom-left-hand corner of the screen and then on “Computer” or “My Computer” (for Windows 7) or the Files icon near the bottom-left-hand corner (for later Windows versions). At the top left of the screen you now see, there is a list under the heading, “Favourites”. Click on “Downloads” there, and in the file list look for the file you have just downloaded. If it is not there and so you have to find the other folder, click once more on the Start icon, and then click on “Computer” (or it may be “My Computer”). Double-click on “C:”. Then double-click on the “Downloads” folder.

The file you are looking for starts with “jre”. It then indicates the version, and finishes with the file extension “.exe”. You normally have to scroll down past any folders in the list until you get to the files.

To install Java on your computer, double-click on the file. Before doing this, you should first close your browser (Internet Explorer usually), and also any other programs which happen to be running. To finish the install, simply follow all the instructions.

For Mac or Linux users, I suggest that you use the Java download link given above, and then read the various “Instructions”, including all four in the case of Linux, before choosing which download. Note that if you have an old version of Ubuntu, it may still be 32-bit. So you need to establish what version of Ubuntu you have: 32 or 64-bit.

jOrgan

The download and installation of jOrgan can follow:

FOR WINDOWS USERS, note that if you have Java Version 11 installed, you must use jOrgan 3.21.1 . If you have Java Version 7 to 10 installed, jOrgan 3.21 is recommended, although 3.21.1 should be perfectly satisfactory. Java versions later than 11 are not advised at the moment.

If you want to use Fluidsynth Version 2 (which I recommend), this is available using jOrgan 4.0, but only in 64-bit (ignore the “Beta1” in the download file name). Some jOrgan users now prefer its reverberation sound to that of Fluidsynth version 1. I am certainly one of them.

Click on this link, and then on the jOrgan version you wish to use:

https://sourceforge.net/projects/jorgan/files/jorgan-installer/

After clicking on the version you require, you may be presented with two files. For 32-bit jOrgan, click on the one that ends with “-x86.exe”, and for 64-bit, click on the other one (ending with “-amd64.exe”, which you could have guessed). By the way, if you are a careful internet user who likes to do a CHECKSUM on your downloads, click on the appropriate “i” symbol for the information you need.

Follow basically the installation instructions which were given above for installing Java.

If you need to find the downloaded installation file, the file you are looking for in Downloads starts with “jOrgan”. It then indicates the version, and finishes with the file extension “.exe”. Double-click on the file and follow the instructions. Before doing this, you should first close your browser (Internet Explorer usually), and also any other programs which happen to be running. When you see the page, “Select Components”, leave all the squares ticked, and click on “Next”. The installation should follow without complications.

FOOTNOTE: The installation process will have placed a “jOrgan” folder within either the Program Files folder or the Program Files (x86) folder. As I have already mentioned in connection with the downloading and installing of Java, this gives you an easy check on what versions you have installed (32-bit or 64-bit), as 32-bit programs usually end up in the Program Files (x86) folder, and 64-bit programs end up in the Program Files folder.

FOR LINUX USERS, read what is said to Windows users above, down to the SourceForge link. Note that you need to have suitable versions of both Java and Fluidsynth installed on your computer, in order to use jOrgan.

Click on this link below, and then on the jOrgan version you wish to use:

https://sourceforge.net/projects/jorgan/files/jorgan-package/

Some Linux distributions now supply Java Version 11 for download, in which case it is necessary to use jOrgan 3.21.1 or 4.1. Similarly, some may be supplying Fluidsynth Version 2 in place of Version 1. In this case jOrgan 4.1 must be used, and can be downloaded as a .deb file from the above “jorgan-package” webpage. If you wish to use Fluidsynth Version 1 and jOrgan 3.20, or 3.21.1, there is no simple alternative but to uninstall Fluidsynth Version 2 and install Version 1. A suitable .deb file may be available for download from this link: https://mirror.aarnet.edu.au/debian/pool/main/f/fluidsynth/

Check first before uninstalling Fluidsynth 2!

FOR MAC USERS, read what is said to Windows users above, down to the SourceForge link. Note that you need to have a suitable version of Java installed on your computer, in order to use jOrgan. There is no need for you to do anything about Fluidsynth - it is already included in the jorgan-bundle. Click on this link, and then on the jOrgan version you wish to use:

https://sourceforge.net/projects/jorgan/files/jorgan-bundle/

(After downloading, drag the contained bundle to your application folder. Some of the instructions above for Windows users may be helpful.)

What is said to Linux users about Java Version 11 applies also to mac users. Read the details immediately above, in the Linux section.

FOR RASPBERRY Pi USERS

For the discontinued RPi 3B+ running 32-bit, click on this link:

https://jorgan.info/base/arch/mi/jorgan_3.21_armhf.deb

(Sorry, but this jOrgan version for the RPi is no longer being offered for download. If you must have it, register for the jOrgan-User Mailing List, send a post explaining your need, and someone may be able to email the file to you.)

For RPi 4 running 64-bit, click on this link and then on the .deb file: https://sourceforge.net/projects/jorgan/files/jorgan-rpi/4.1/

For RPi 5 running 64-bit, click on this link and then on the .deb file: https://sourceforge.net/projects/jorgan/files/jorgan-rpi/4.2

(These jOrgan versions for RPi install Fluidsynth Version 2.)

The downloaded .deb file can be found in the Raspberry Pi Downloads folder. To install jOrgan, double-click on the .deb file. Note that using Raspberry Pi is my main method for playing jOrgan VPO’s on my home console organ, and I have written a comprehensive tutorial on what is involved. (It is now somewhat outdated since RPi discontinued RPi 3). It can be consulted by clicking on this link, and you should do this and read the relevant section before trying to install jOrgan:

http://home.exetel.com.au/reimerorgans/ART/RPi_TUTORIAL.pdf

DOWNLOADING VPO'S

You don't have to do anything more about Java, but you will probably now want to run jOrgan. The installation should have placed a shortcut onto your Desktop, and double-clicking on this is the normal way to run jOrgan. But you then need to load it with one of the jOrgan VPO's, of which there are many available, all created by jOrgan enthusiasts, and available for free download online.

One of the files within the VPO zipped file possesses the file extension “.disposition”, but the other files are necessary as well. You will need to unzip it all into a single folder before it can be used. During that process, you will need to nominate where on your computer you want to place that single folder. You could, for example, simply put it on the Desktop, but that is not a very tidy thing to do.

With Windows, especially with anything later than XP, you should place that single folder into some computer location OTHER THAN a Program Files folder. This is for normal housekeeping reasons, connected with Microsoft's wish to maintain security/permissions protocols. Users of other systems will probably find a similar situation there. In Windows, My Documents is a good place, but it can really go into any “main” folder that you create yourself and place wherever you like (other than the exclusion I have mentioned). I warn you that installing jOrgan will have placed a “jOrgan” folder within either the Program Files folder or the Program Files (x86) folder. Within that jOrgan folder, there is actually a sub-folder called “dispositions”. That may tempt you to place your dispositions there, but you should not do that, for the reasons I have outlined in this paragraph.

To run jOrgan, you can double-click on the shortcut which the installation has placed on the Desktop, or you can double-click on a .disposition file, in which case it will open that disposition automatically. Note further that if you click on View and then on Configuration, you will be able to look for a setting which will have jOrgan open with the disposition last used. There is another setting which ensures that the Full Screen display comes up automatically.

To find the jOrgan VPO's, go to the jOrgan InfoBase page called “Shared Dispositions”, where you will find links to a number of websites. For your convenience, below are direct links to four VPO's which you may like to start with, as good examples of various types. I have suggested these four examples, because as far as I can see, they should all work for you first go, with no problems.

I suggest that at least with the first one you try, after you open it, and its console has shown up on the computer screen, you should try a few notes using the on-screen keyboard. If this is not showing at the bottom of the screen, click on View and then on Keyboard. It is likely that it will obscure some of the stops, and you can remedy that by using the scroll panel at the far right (click and drag down).

If you have a MIDI keyboard or a MIDI-equipped console, you will want to try the VPO with it connected. To do that, the simplest way is to use the Customizer (Click File, Customizer). For each department (Great, Swell, etc.) in turn, Open Customizer and select, using the scroll-down arrow at the right of the Device window, the actual MIDI input Device you are using. Click on "Record". Press on the bottom note of that department and then on the top note, and then click on "O.K." After completing this for each organ department, look at the windows at the right-hand side, and note that jOrgan has entered in for you the MIDI Channel numbers your manuals and pedals are sending messages on (Channel "1" will be indicated here as a "1" etc., and not as MIDI Channel 0), and also the MIDI note ranges for each keyboard. After clicking on "Next" twice, you should enter the actual MIDI device you are using into the "Device" window at the top, using the scroll-down arrow to access the correct entry. This should be done for the “Switches” view and also the “Continuous” (which you access by clicking on its Title tab. Click on “Next” and then on “Finish”.

If your physical console outputs MIDI messages when stop switches, pistons and swell pedals are operated, you will probably want jOrgan to respond to those messages . The steps you should take are covered in a footnote to my INSTRUCTIONS pdf file (click HERE).

If with the computer audio turned up as high as possible, you still find the volume inadequate, it is possible to increase it by adjusting the Fluidsynth Gain. This and other settings can be adjusted in the last window of the Customizer. Here is some guidance:

You may need to increase the Gain setting if the sound is too soft, or to reduce the Gain setting if you find that the sound is distorted (the maximum allowed is “1”). Also, you may find that you can improve the operation of this VPO in your particular computer by adjusting the Fluidsynth buffer size settings. Try increasing or decreasing the settings for buffer size or the number of buffers. Such changes to the buffer size should be made only by a factor of 2. Thus you may change “512” to “256” or “1024” etc. Click on Finish to enter the new settings, and Save the disposition (File, Save). Increasing the settings may improve the sound by eliminating unwanted crackles etc., but it may be at the expense of latency, where there is a noticeable delay between pressing the playing key and hearing the sound. Try to find a setting which satisfies you.

(Most of the above detail is taken from the body or the Footnotes of my INSTRUCTIONS pdf file.)

Paul Stratman's American Classic Organ

Paul is by far the most productive of the jOrgan VPO creators, and his large ACO is very popular amongst jOrgan users. It uses synthesized samples, but although it has a large number of stops, it still presents as a very small download. You may have only two manuals (or even only one), but you can still access all its manual stops by appropriate use of the couplers. However, this download gives you a choice of versions, and there is even a two-manual one!

Click HERE for download. To enlarge the image, click HERE.

Rick Whatson's Christie Theatre Organ

Rick has based this VPO on a three-manual theatre organ in Brisbane, Australia. He has made use of the excellent synthesized samples created by the late Bruce Miles. So it also is a very small download.

Click HERE for download. To enlarge the image, click HERE.

Paul Stratman's AEOLIAN-SKINNER Church Organ

This VPO uses recordings (3 per octave) made by Paul of an Aeolian-Skinner two-manual pipe organ in Kaukauna, Wisconsin, U.S.A., built in 1953 and restored and enlarged by Letourneau in 2013.

Click HERE for download. To enlarge the image, click HERE.

John Reimer's BALMAIN Church Organ

This is the first of my VPO's using recorded samples (6 per octave), created from recordings I made of a small two-manual pipe organ in a church in Sydney, Australia. The organ was built in 1871-1872 by the well-known U.K. firm of Hill, and was possibly the second of their instruments to be exported to N.S.W. The VPO gives a good demonstration of the high quality sounds which such programs can produce.

Click HERE for download. To enlarge the image, click HERE.

WHAT IF THEY DON'T WORK?

As already noted, I have selected these four VPO's because they should work. If you have followed all the download and installation instructions correctly, then that is what I expect.

If you strike problems, there are three sources of help on-line, before you feel the need to ask for help at the jOrgan Forum.

1. My INSTRUCTIONS pdf

This is a carefully-worded, very detailed and comprehensive document which gives trouble-shooting procedures along with lots of detail about using some of the jOrgan features, such as the Recorder and setting up Combination Piston details. There is also guidance on adjusting various settings. The document is indexed and bookmarked, making it easier to read and to access particular details. Although written for the BALMAIN VPO, it is applicable to any jOrgan disposition.

(Sorry, there are no graphics!).

Click HERE.

2. Rick Whatson's jOrgan v.3.20 Install Instructions

This document is very detailed, and even better, it is full of pictures!

It covers a lot of the ground my document covers, and probably mentions some points I didn't, so it is certainly worth consulting even if you have already worked through what I have advised. However, it assumes that you need to do it all in 64-bit. Also, it actually goes beyond what I cover. That is, it is intended for a bit more than merely starting with jOrgan. It covers, for example, the installation of the Fluidsynth backends, which I don't deal with until the ADDING page. And it even envisages the use of third party soundcards and multi-channel audio.

Click HERE for Rick’s website, from which the Instructions can be downloaded as a pdf file, along with other items of interest.

3. Bill Skees’ (encyclopaedic) Beginner's Guide to jOrgan

This is a set of four pdf files which although a bit out of date (last revision 2009, dealing with jOrgan 3.7), are extremely detailed and helpful, if a little daunting. Also, the pdf files are full of pictures. I find this huge work very inspiring, not only because Bill Skees was provoked by his experience with jOrgan to commit himself to the work of creating this huge source of information about jOrgan and about setting it up, adjusting it and using it; but also because it opens the eyes of the discerning reader to the almost unlimited world of musical creativity and enjoyment which jOrgan makes possible, and all at minimal cost!

Click HERE for Volume 1.

Click HERE for Volume 2.

Click HERE for Volume 3.

Click HERE for Volume 4.

jOrgan Forum

If you have not been able to solve your problems on your own by consulting the helps just mentioned, then you can consult the jOrgan–User Mailing List. In the past it was possible alternatively to go to the jOrgan-User Forum, provided by Nabble. However, Nabble withdrew their services in mid-July 2021, because of problems they were having. A read-only archive has been set up to enable interested persons to access most of the discussions carried out on the Mailing List. To take part in the discussions or to start one, you must subscribe to the Mailing List. Details can be found on the CONTACT page.

It is expected that the archive will continue until a replacement for Nabble, synchronized with the Mailing List, can be used.

The web address for the archive is:

https://jorgan.info/link.html

OTHER VPO’S

As mentioned above, many other VPO’s have been created by jOrgan users and are available for free download. Most of them have been developed using Windows, and like the four above, should work immediately “out of the box”. However, this will not be the case if you are using Linux or Mac computers, for you then have to change the audio driver entry in the Fluidsynth soundfont properties to match your system. And occasionally the creator may have inadvertently left some other setting which needs adjustment for your system (see Question 3 on F.A.Q. page).

Those VPO’s can usually be downloaded from the websites of the creators. Links to those website are provided on the “Shared Dispositions” page of the jOrgan InfoBase, as already mentioned. Click HERE.

WHAT IF I FIND THE SOUND DISAPPOINTING?

It will not surprise me if you find at least two aspects disappointing in your initial experience of jOrgan: the latency and the quality of the reverberation.

If you are using Windows, and especially if the CPU of your computer is not very fast, you may find a slight delay between playing the keys and hearing the sound. This is called “latency”. Good (or “low”) latency means a small or unnoticeable delay. In Windows versions after XP, the audio (dsound) has normally been handled in a less than ideal way, leading to a definite increase in latency. Microsoft has provided a work-around for this problem, which can be implemented by the user if desired. It is easy to implement this with jOrgan when using Fluidsynth as the sound engine, by adding a particular file (called a “Fluidsynth backend”) to a particular folder within the main jOrgan folder located in one of the Program Files folders. This process is described in the ADDING page of this website.

Organs usually need at least some noticeable reverberation so as to be heard to full advantage. The reverberation effect provided by Fluidsynth, although very adjustable by the jOrgan user, is regarded by some users as of unacceptable quality. I find it very satisfactory, and I suspect that some of the settings that are used (or perhaps even recommended!) are not appropriate. I do give my own suggestions in my INSTRUCTIONS pdf, accessible HERE.

One solution is to use external reverberation devices. But also, there are third-party computer programs which can be used along with jOrgan to provide alternative reverberation, some of which are both excellent and free. In most cases they require jOrgan to make use of the Fluidsynth backends mentioned in the previous paragraph. This matter also is addressed in the ADDING section.

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