Tabula Magna — MIDI Stop-Tab Unit for Hauptwerk

New product. Tabula Magna is a standalone, self-labelling stop-tab unit for virtual pipe organs — a table-top organ controller that gives Hauptwerk real physical stop tabs, with labels and colours that follow the loaded organ sample set.

Tabula Magna — 40 physical stop tabs with colour LCD labels for Hauptwerk

Tabula Magna is a flat box with an adjustable stand that sits next to the manual assembly, or in another suitable place. Several units can be used at once (typically 2 units, left and right). It presents 40 physical stop tabs and 5 display widgets, and connects to your computer with a USB cable. Hauptwerk sees it as a MIDI device — no driver, no configuration program, and no console rebuild.

A colour display sits behind the tab rails. It shows the stop names, colours and states that Hauptwerk sends over MIDI, so the labels are never fixed: load a different sample set and the tabs relabel and recolour themselves automatically.

Tabula Magna is a hardware add-on that gives organ software such as Hauptwerk real, physical stop tabs instead of a touchscreen or a mouse. It is the missing piece between a computer running a virtual pipe organ and the feel of a real organ: it makes stop selection convenient while you work comfortably with the individual organ sample sets. Labels and stop indication are kept perfectly in sync with Hauptwerk.

Why Tabula Magna

40 real stop tabs in 5 rows of 8, each labelled from Hauptwerk with its own status indication.
Labels and colours follow the respective organ sample sets — no printed cards, no stickers, no relabelling when you change organ.
One USB cable, no driver — class-compliant USB-MIDI, plug-and-play on Windows, macOS and Linux.
Configured from Hauptwerk itself — set it up once per sample set and it is remembered.
Hall-sensor keying — every tab is read contactlessly.
Smart drag — sweep a finger across a row to set several stops in one gesture.
5 panel widgets — a strip for sample-set names, crescendo, swell and similar read-outs.
No console rebuild — a standalone unit that sits behind the manuals of any setup.
The unit is housed in a solid, attractive beech frame.
We also offer a version for built-in installation in the console — without the wooden frame and stand.

Specifications

Stop tabs	40 (5 rows × 8), hall-sensor, contactless
Panel widgets	5
Display	Colour LCD behind the tab rail; labels and colours driven by the SysEx LCD32 protocol from Hauptwerk
Additional instructions	Additional instructions let you control the behaviour of the tabs, fonts, font size, etc. from Hauptwerk.
Connection	USB-MIDI (class-compliant, no driver)
MIDI binding	Note On/Off or NRPN, per tab, independently for input and output
Dimensions	415 × 275 × 80 mm
Weight	3.2 kg
Power supply	5 V DC, 5 A (external supply included)

How it works with Hauptwerk

Everything is configured once, in Hauptwerk, in four steps:

MIDI ports — enable the Tabula input and output ports.
Stop labels — send the stop names and colours to the unit's LCD32 displays.
Pairing the tabs — use Hauptwerk's auto-detect to bind each tab to its stop.
Outgoing MIDI — set what Hauptwerk sends back to light each tab's indication.

Because Hauptwerk stores all of this per sample set, loading a different organ relabels the tabs and reconfigures the unit automatically. A sample set can even send its own appearance settings — fonts, sizes and colours — so each organ carries its own look.

Video

▶️ Watch the short video (YouTube)

Documentation

📄 Tabula Magna User Manual (PDF)

Interested?

Tabula Magna is a completely new product. Contact us for pricing and availability, or to discuss how it fits your Hauptwerk setup.