I'm in the process of doing the experiment of building a Hauptwerk organ. I'm using components from midiworks.ca, however somewhat customized. The idea is for a 4 manual instrument with stop tab control. I'll be building the stoptab blocks using existing electronic components. The pieces are on order now.
The biggest challenge was designing the stoptab layout. I'm experimenting with some non-traditional layouts which group principal choruses separate from the other flues in the manner that French style consoles do it. Of course, with programmability, it's easy to change if it doesn't work.
The secondary challenge was to make the cost tradeoffs. I was planning on building a system where many of the couplers were on lighted pistons rather than stoptabs, but in this case, the pistons from Midiworks were very much more expensive than lighted stoptabs, so I'm going to do the tabs instead.
Pictures to come as it is being built...
