Makin Organs

15/05/2026

Makin Windermere 3-53D installed at St Brelades, Jersey
In June 2025 the organist from St Brelades Kevin Dean made a day trip to Church Organ World in Shaw to see Matthew on a Saturday. It was early days, but with so many issues with the pipe organ it was evident that Kevin liked what he heard when he played the Makin Derwent 4-68 D. The true Makin English sound was ideal, but the three manual Windermere 3-53 D that would best suit the needs of the church.

Following the production of a survey report, over the next few months a plan was developed with the able help of Church Warden Frank Walker OBE, and after much discussion and consideration of a plethora of options the order was placed in October. One change in the standard specification that Kevin decided upon was for a Cor Anglais 16’ on the Choir to replace the Vox Humana 8’ in the standard specification. The church also wanted a very dark oak polish on the instrument.

Just prior to the installation Kevin returned to Shaw to play what soon would be his instrument and was astonished at the quality of the instrument ‘out of the box’ and as such unvoiced. He commented to Keith “Your organs are an absolute credit to you and everyone at St Brelade’s can't wait for the installation.” Keith very much looks forward to seeing him again in Jersey and in particular seeing his reaction to the finished instrument.

John and Steve Bell had the delight of a few days in Jersey this week installing this lovely organ, in a rich dark oak colour matching the adjacent pews. Whilst they were there they visited several other Copeman Hart and Makin instruments to ensure they are all in tip-top condition. After John and Steve had completed their work, Kevin commented “Thanks again and the guys were brilliant today by the way.”

In early June, Ian Tracey and Keith will go to St Brelades to complete the voicing of this instrument which, following voicing on a note by note, stop by stop basis will more than likely be the best digital instrument on the island. More on that later!

30/04/2026

20/03/2026

Makin Rydal 2-25T Installed in St Christopher Pott Shrigley
David Garton will be delighted to be able to play the new Makin Rydal 2-25T at this church near Macclesfield in Cheshire which was installed by the team from ChurchOrganWorld earlier this week. This instrument replaces an old Makin organ which had become a little temperamental and whilst it could be repaired, it was time to upgrade to the latest technology and to benefit from the wonderful new specification and sounds produced. The organ was voiced the organ on Thursday afternoon; the church are now all set for many years of service from this little beauty.

23/12/2025

🎄 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐳𝐳𝐨 — 𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐞 🎄
What a wonderful way to celebrate Christmas!

Enjoy this aftermovie from Carols at the Palazzo, featuring Ian Tracey on the Makin organ and the beautiful voices of Kantos.

With festive music, audience sing-alongs and a warm atmosphere, it was a truly special Christmas moment in Manchester.

▶️ Watch the aftermovie and relive the joy of Christmas music.

23/12/2025

Kantos Chamber Choir sang a day of Christmas Carols accompanied by Professor Ian Tracey on the Makin Derwent organ at the Trafford Palazzo in Manchester.

We wish all our customers a Happy Christmas and a peaceful and prosperous new year.

Relive the festive atmosphere of Carols at the Palazzo, a special Christmas event held at the Trafford Palazzo.Throughout the day, Ian Tracey performed a sel...

15/12/2025

Makin Windermere organ for St Paul’s Walkden, Lancashire
Walkden is a town formally in the city of Salford, some seven miles outside of Manchester. For many years St Paul’s Church has had another brand’s first-generation digital instrument which has served them well for many years. However, it has come to the end of its days with repairs now being exceptionally difficult with a lack of both spare parts and an experienced engineer.

Following initial discussions between Dr Keith Harrington and their highly talented and experienced organist Ben Anguige it was clear that a Makin Windermere instrument would meet their ongoing needs for many years to come. Having discussed the option of a tabstop or drawstop instrument the PCC decided that a drawstop instrument would be preferable and the right investment to make to ensure they would continue to attract such a high-calibre organist in the future.

The financial details were soon ironed out with the Treasurer Jackie Meredith and we have started building their instrument with installation expected to be around Easter of 2026. The organ will be voiced by Professor Ian Tracey.

Keith commented “Working with Ben and Jackie has been an absolute pleasure. I can’t wait to have this organ installed.” He added “Voicing with Ian is always such great fun; I have learnt so much from him. Recent advances in the tools we have to voice the new range of instruments has meant that within a matter of hours we can transform an instrument that sounds very good out of the box to something that is simply sensational and more than justifies the investment that a customer makes with us.”

15/12/2025

Makin Windermere organ for St Brelades, Jersey
Dr Keith Harrington is delighted to announce that Makin are in the process of building a Windermere 3-53 drawstop organ for the picturesque church of St Brelades in Jersey. St Brelade is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey in the Channel Islands; it is around four miles west of the capital St Helier, convenient to both the port and airport.

Following a detailed analysis of the options available to them the organist Kevin Dean and treasurer Frank Walker concluded that a Makin instrument from ChurchOrganWorld was the best route forward for them providing as it does a truly authentic English sound with tremendous flexibility and versatility.

To ensure it would meet exacting needs, significant work was undertaken by the team, including to getting the best colour match for the console and tweaking the specification where, e.g. the ‘marmite’ Vox Humana 8’ stop on the Choir was exchanged for a stunning Cor Anglais 16’. Installation is likely to take place around Easter in 2026.

Makin instruments have been very popular for many years on Jersey. Keith commented “I think a tour of our Jersey installations is very much on the cards. I will be contacting customers a little closer to the time to see if they have any voicing tweaks which we can take care of on the same trip.”

10/12/2025

🎄 Carols at the Trafford Palazzo — This Saturday! 🎄
This Saturday, 13 December, we'll be at the Trafford Palazzo for a festive morning of Christmas music.

Join us for three live performances featuring Professor Ian Tracey on the Makin organ and the beautiful voices of Kantos.

A number of pieces will even include a sing-along, so feel free to raise your voice and join the celebration.

Performance times: 10:30 • 11:30 • 12:30
Admission: Free

If you’re in or around Manchester, come along and enjoy the warmth and joy of Christmas music played on a true English organ.

13/11/2025

We are delighted to announce the rebuild of a large Makin instrument at the Crown Church in Inverness.

We collected the organ a few weeks ago and provided the congregation with a Makin Thirlmere Drawstop loan instrument whilst all options from a new instrument, a small rebuild or a fully rebuild to a similar size of instrument were considered. Following a meeting of the Session, a major rebuild has now been fully approved and will now proceed with some urgency.

The console is a large Makin drawstop console which allowed us to use the basis of our Windermere 3-53 specification, as designed by Ian Tracey and Keith Harrington, as a starting point and then to fill the jambs with additional useful stops to deliver a truly bespoke instrument.

04/11/2025

𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽. 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱.
Step inside the sound world of the Makin Thirlmere 2-36D – a purpose-built church organ, voiced by and in this case also demonstrated by Professor Ian Tracey.

With 36 speaking stops and a powerful 10-channel audio system, the Thirlmere delivers bold, spacious and truly immersive sound – just as you'd expect from a serious liturgical instrument.

From English reeds to lyrical flutes, every register speaks with clarity and character.

🎧 Hear the difference.
🎹 Discover the detail.
💬 Which stop would you pull first in your church?