Testimonials

“I wanted to create the “look and feel” of an English cathedral organ, including moving draw stops, and a comprehensive specification, using Hauptwerk technology, in a console suitable for a home setting. Through working with Wyvern Organs, I was able to realise my vision, including optional voicings for English cathedral, French Cavaillé-Coll and Dutch baroque. The result is thoroughly uplifting musically and acoustically and a pleasure to play. It is also a most attractive piece of furniture in the home.”

Dear Graham,

My sincere thanks for the exceptionally high standard of instrument and installation of the new Wyvern Concerto 354 at Plymouth Cathedral.

The console and large audio system is beautifully crafted and everything functions perfectly. The care and skill employed by Lyndon and Paul during the installation and voicing was very apparent and very appreciated.

Our paths first crossed in 1980, and I have lost count of the number of times Wyvern have supplied organs to churches, both in London and in the West Country over the past four decades where I have had some involvement, but I do clearly recall that each one has been of the best possible quality, backed up by superb customer service and after sales.

Naturally the most important consideration with any organ is how it sounds, and how things have improved in that regard over the last 42 years! The Concerto 354 is beyond excellent, giving a warm, authentic English sound that will fill the Cathedral with music for many years to come. My personal thanks to you and all the team at Wyvern.

At St Thomas we are delighted with the Wyvern Cantata 226 organ that was installed in 2017 by Wyvern Church Organs. The installation was very neat and the positioning of the new speakers in the rafters at the back if the church with small speakers in the chancel has given a balanced, rounded and clear sound, while also being mellow so is easy on the ear even at louder volumes. From the original planning, enhancing of the spec to include a 32 note pedalboard, through to installation and voicing, every aspect went very smoothly. I would recommend this model and Wyvern Church Organs who have been excellent throughout”.

I believe the organ sounds truly extraordinary – and many would find it very difficult to guess it was pipeless musical instrument: a great achievement. We now have an instrument worthy of its own very special qualities, and I hope (and am sure) that the music now possible on it will give inspiration and show beauty to all.
D’arcy Trinkwon (International recitalist and organist)

The main purpose of this letter is to record my total satisfaction at the quite extraordinary instrument that you have built. My thanks for an organ of astounding performance which is going to become even more remarkable as I get down to serious work and learn all that it can do, though I think if I live to be a hundred I will not exhaust the possibilities.

Thank you for dropping everything and coming down to sort out the problem. This once again demonstrates that the care and attention that Wyvern give to their customers is of the highest standard – nothing is too much trouble.

I am really delighted with the instrument. The realism of the individual pipe sounds is truly amazing and the wealth and variety of the combinations is immensely satisfying to listen to. I have scarcely been able to leave the instrument since you left.

Once again, I’d like to convey my appreciation of all you and the team did to welcome me. Your best selling points were your modesty, yet quiet assurance, as well, of course, as the excellent quality of your instruments. It was also much appreciated that you refrained from comparisons with competitors. I further appreciate all you did to keep costs to a minimum. The Concerto has been an excellent choice for me! Thank-you so much.”

Having played some Bach on the German Baroque voicing, there is some wonderful similarity to the sound of North German Organs (some dating back to Bach’s day) which I have on a couple of DVDs where the organs are played by John Scott Whiteley (ex York Minster). Fabulous sound! – Bach as it would have sounded when he wrote it! I really am chuffed with the 346.

Dear Graham …Thank you for all your help along the way, particularly coming over when the scaffold was up, arranging storage of the instrument and the good advice that you gave in the early days of enquiries. You’ve been very generous with your time and I think everyone is going to be very pleased with the result.

“We are more than pleased with the new organ. It makes beautiful music that fills the huge Basilica, it greatly enriches our liturgies, and I have no doubt that it gives fitting glory and praise to God. Congratulations and thanks to all concerned.”

I must admit that on being told I was to play a “pipeless” organ, I was a bit dubious. I started with Ave-Verum by Mozart and the celestes on the Swell are the most perfect I’ve ever heard. I still get a tremendous feeling of amazement and pride each time I play it. From now on, I’m going to recommend Wyvern at every chance I get.

You supplied me with an instrument in June 2015 and, after reading the testimonials page, I thought that I would like to give some customer feedback.

After much careful planning, in 2015 I took delivery of a bespoke instrument with a relatively modest specification of thirty four speaking stops and three manuals. Quality of touch, tone, etc. was the essential priority, rather than the number of stops. Although the specification is mainly my own, Wyvern were able to provide good professional advice regarding stops and voicing. The quality of manufacture is excellent. It has an excellent quality key and pedal touch. The sound quality of each stop is also excellent, whether played individually or in ensembles or larger combinations. It is used for practice, composing and arranging, and I am very pleased with it. I have owned Wyvern instruments for over thirty years, this being my third, and highly recommend this company.

Dear Paul and Lyndon,

I want to thank you for yesterday’s visit and say it was an absolute pleasure to have you here. I enjoyed watching you both at work and hearing the results. The sub unit certainly adds ‘gravity’ to the overall sound! I’m really looking forward to exploring the different tonal colours and will be making an effort to improve my playing.

I do hope your journeys home to Kent and Hampshire were smooth and stress free.

Sincere thanks and best wishes to you both,

When I had my first chance to play the Wyvern Sonata last weekend I was absolutely amazed! The Sonata is just so beautiful to play (and tremendously realistic.) It feels very like playing a well made Continental mechanical-action instrument. Everyone who has seen it cannot praise it enough!

I would like you to know that the Wyvern organ has been a great success. I have enjoyed playing it and the congregation have appreciated the support and lead that it gives to their singing. It has proved an admirable answer to our needs. I am grateful to you for your help in giving me and then the congregation the opportunity to try the organ out and for supplying an instrument so well suited to he purpose.

During all of my dealings with Wyvern, not once did anyone ever try to “sell” us an organ. We were offered advice and had instruments demonstrated to us and advised of other installations to visit. On visiting Hook Parish Church, my father, an organist for over 60 years was convinced that we were hearing the defunct pipe organ, only to be told that actually you are hearing a digital organ with its speakers concealed behind the existing organ pipes.

I must take this opportunity to say how impressed I am with the organ. It really is an organist’s organ, a delight to play and a pleasure to listen to.

“I had for some years a 2 manual instrument which had served its purpose as a home practice instrument but it had none of the modern playing aids nor was its tonal aspects anything to get excited about either. Having now moved house I wanted a 3 manual instrument that would not only be a suitable practice organ but would also be a substantial instrument in its own right and one that I would thoroughly enjoy playing.

So where do you start? Having come from the world of purchasing I knew that making a decision for something this complex was going to take some months and a lot of market research. If you are not careful and thorough in your approach, you can easily be swept away on a wave of initial enthusiasm for what might appear, at first sight, to look and sound to be ” exactly what you are looking for”.

I spent some 4 months visiting various organ manufacturers, which included those using both Real Time Computing systems, and the alternative now widely used, Sampled Sound method. I was particularly keen to have an instrument that was as near as possible to the true pipe organ sound and decided to proceed with the sampled sound method of tone production.

The next hurdle was whether any of the “standard production” type instruments were going to meet my requirements. These instruments are quite impressive and reasonably priced but whilst they have some facility to make adjustments, these are somewhat limited. The Wyvern WPX Custom Build instruments on the other hand, which as the name suggests, allows you not only to design your own specification but has the advantage of extensive adjustments that in effect, mimic those that would be applicable to a pipe organ.

The organ in Gloucester Cathedral had always impressed me for its extensive range of tonal colours and not least its fiery reeds. I wanted an eclectic instrument ideally modelled on the Gloucester organ, which I knew was going to be something of a challenge. Wyvern were most enthusiastic and agreed to produce a 3 manual, 48 stop instrument which as you will see from the specification enables a tremendous freedom of musical expression. The swell and pedal reeds are French, the great reeds English and the positive is German Classical. There is also the Posaune for those big romantic moments!!

What Wyvern has delivered is nothing short of a miracle. The magnificent oak console that adorns my living room is extremely comfortable to play, as indeed is the key action with slight top resistance. There are also external speakers for the positive and pedal departments and the 32′ Contra Bombarde has to be heard to be believed!

Electronic organs have come a very long way these days but if you are thinking of buying one then do spend several months researching the market or, just simply talk to Wyvern who will not just try and sell you an organ but will listen to what you are trying to achieve and work with you throughout the project.

I am very grateful to Wyvern for enabling me to have such a superb instrument, both in construction and for its outstanding tonal qualities. My thanks to all of the friendly team for their help and support throughout the project.”

Hi Graham

What can I say……I’m like a dog with two tails. Fantastic organ, I’m so pleased, thank you for giving me first refusal. The whole transaction has been a pleasure. Now I just need more lessons and practice. Thank you, Kind regards

The new Wyvern Theatre Organs are just what organ lovers have been waiting for. They represent a serious attempt at re-creating the thrilling sounds of the Wurlitzer Pipe Organ that graced our cinemas in the thirties and forties.

We are more than pleased with the new organ. It makes beautiful music that fills the huge Basilica, it greatly enriches our liturgies and I have no doubt that it gives a fitting glory and praise to God. Congratulations and thanks to all concerned.

I just wanted to say a huge thank you for “going the extra mile” and staying so late on Wednesday evening to finish off the additional voicing of the Cranleigh Prep School organ. It really does sound terrific, and I do appreciate the lengths you went to in order to make that happen!

“When our church started Looking for a replacement organ I was horrified at the prospect of not being able to repair or replace the existing pipe organ. I felt nothing could be as good – that is until I started my own Investigations into alternatives. I soon realised that in the present financial climate it would not be good stewardship to spend vast amounts on an instrument that very few would feel able to play in the future when there was a much more financially feasible alternative in a new state of the art electronic organ. When I heard the sorts of sounds it was possible to obtain from a modern Instrument I was amazed.

We elected to have the new Wyvern organ installed this year and I can say that we have never looked back since then. I am astounded at the variety and colour it is possible to achieve from this instrument and I derive great pleasure from practising at all times of the day. Already quite a few interested parties from neighbouring churches have been to see and hear for themselves and they have all been delighted with what they found. It Is indeed a wonderful aid to worship and I would defy anyone who did not know to be able to tell it was not a pipe organ – apart from the fact that on sight it would be obvious that you could not get the amount of stops from the space available. I should also say that I am delighted to help in any way with the positive promotion of Wyvern.”

I had a marvelous three hours playing the wonderful 3 manual organ of St Ninians Old Parish Church in Stirling. I was like a wee child with a new toy. Sadly I had to drag myself of the instrument as I had to go home, blast. Fabulous

“Our organ had long past its sell-by-date […] but how were we to go about choosing a new organ? However, the problem was resolved quite unexpectedly.

1 was invited to share a funeral service for a friend in the Church of Scotland, Taynuilt – a small village about twelve miles from Oban in Argyllshire. As the service proceeded, 1 became aware of the beautiful sound of the organ. As there were no pipes obvious, 1 realised that this must be one of the modern “electronic” organs. With such a wonderful pipe-organ tone, it would be ideal for our church. Speaking to the organist afterwards, she related how the organ was chosen. She, and another member of the parish, who is a talented musician, were delegated to investigate the most suitable organ for the church within the parish budget. They travelled extensively throughout Scotland, and both came to the decision that the best, and most realistic pipe-organ tone they had heard, was a digital Wyvern – and it was within their budget! This was good enough for me. Later 1 took my organist to Taynuilt, and she, likewise, was equally impressed.

When 1 phoned Wyvern, 1 was greeted by the very cheery and welcoming Scottish voice of the secretary, Annette. Graham Lord, a director, could not be more helpful, and forwarded all the necessary information. We arranged a date for him to visit St. Margaret’s, and 1 was greatly impressed by his sensitivity for the lovely interior of our church. The choir and organ are situated on a raised platform at the back of the church, and there was no obvious place for the loudspeakers. However, Graham came up with an excellent solution. He would build a cabinet to contain the speakers, weighing almost 5 cwts, and site them on a ledge to be built into the wall above the windows at the rear of the church. A local contractor attended to Grahams design, and angle irons were bolted firmly into strong Scottish granite, and the shelf fitted to receive the speakers. The operation of lifting the heavy speakers, about 30 feet up the scaffolding, went without a hitch, and the cabinet, fronted by real organ pipes to conceal the speakers, was safely in place. It is as though it was always part of church, and looks very natural and attractive.

The organ console is beautifully crafted in oak to fit in with the existing woodwork of the church, and, of course, the tonal quality of the organ is superb. Graham and his assistant took considerable time the following day, with the aid of their portable computer, to make the necessary adjustments to the digital components to ensure that the tone was correct for the building. 1 would defy anyone to distinguish the tone from a real pipe organ. It has been a great pleasure dealing with a family firm, who are so helpful and whose only aim is to ensure that their clients are satisfied. Never at any time was there any pressure put upon us to buy, for their only concern was to ensure that we were happy with our decision.

Our congregation is delighted with the new organ, and the quality of singing has definitely improved now that it is sustained by a true pipe-organ sound! 1 am sure our benefactors in heaven are equally pleased to know that their kindness and thoughtfulness has been such a great blessing to the parish.

With my renewed thanks for your help and advice, and also for your great patience in dealing with all my queries – and not forgetting your ever-helpful secretary, Annette.”

“I am absolutely delighted with the new organ and was pleased when you were able to attend the recital. To me and many others, the sound is indistinguishable from a first class pipe organ and its versatility in accompanying different forms of worship, invaluable. It is aesthetically a fine instrument to look at and blends in very well with the rest of the church furniture.

From the initial consultation with you to the completed installation, you and your father and colleagues were courteous, sensitive to our needs, helpful and very efficient. I would have no hesitation in recommending your Company to other churches looking for a truly magnificent replacement for an ageing pipe organ.

Dear Graham, many thanks for your note following your visit to Loxwood recently. I was playing there this morning. The instrument sounds fantastic now-just the right amount of reverb on which point you were absolutely right! Glad too to have the Trumpet stop head. Just the facade to do and it’s finished!! Thank you so much for all you have done – it’s a very fine instrument.

With very best wishes,

First I want to commend your determination in getting the instrument finished for the Dedication Service…. I also want to comment on the Wyvern portion of the organ. The console is magnificent, complete in every detail with unsurpassed woodwork. But, more importantly, the electronic components of this instrument some 34 stops, not only blend superbly with you very fine pipe-work, but stand alone as the best electronic voices I have ever heard. Not just the bass end, which all builders (including the super pure tracker builders) are currently using, but each and every stop from strings to mixtures to reeds, adds, blends, does it’s job in the way every organist has come to expect from the finest pipe organ. Wyvern bent over backwards to voice the instrument and adjust the stop list, and they have created an exceptional instrument.

Put simply, the instrument is a joy to play, to listen to, to behold, and the congregation here is overjoyed with the results of your work. You went the extra mile for St Paul’s and I commend you for it.

“Everyone loves the new organ. It has a beautiful sound. We are very happy with it.”

I would like to thank the staff of Wyvern for their excellent work installing the two organs. As one of our lads said, “very professional”. The organs have raised much favourable comment and we will be very pleased to recommend your company should anyone make enquiries.