Residence Organ Mr. M. Eddy Gloucester.

“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.”