The Reyburn Whistle Collection
My ancestral line is descended from the Gordon Clan of Scotland, and for over 11 years I have been making handmade whistles. Unusual as it was, my first venture into whistle smithing was creating the Low D (stimulated by the Riverdance video), and has progressed from there to the Low F, the Low G, the Alto Bb and lastly the soprano C, D and Eb.
The original head on the Low D was made of maple wood as working with wood was most familiar to me from earlier endeavors of making furniture and wooden jewelry. When I created the soprano design I used a new approach combining Delrin and brass and changed the airway from flat to curved. This design was so successful that I recently incorporated it into all of the low whistles so that the entire collection is uniform.
I have a great time playing my whistles with an improvisational group that plays weekly and some of these recorded tunes will appear on this site. So check back as I will be rotating them in from time to time.
Thanks for visiting my site and I hope you enjoy the sound clips and pictures of my creations.
Ronaldo Reyburn
I love your new site. Good luck with the whistles. -J
excellent website…. yeeeeeeeeeha!
My desire for a unique ultra-bassy sound was fabulously satisfied by Reyburn Whistles. I could not find the depth I sought off-the-shelf, so contacted Mr. Reyburn for a custom build. He patiently considered all my requests, made valuable & practical suggestions from his masterful experience (took a little while to experiment & innovate the optimal design) and ultimately created this functional work-of-art beyond my expectations. The new 4-hole LOW Eb whistle is like a cross between a heavy-duty battle cannon and a meticulously fine piece of polished contemporary jewelry. It plays smooth as Water, vibrating tremendously deep, clean & clear. At once an original/collectable artifact, was delivered complete with a beautiful hand-sewn bag and special microphone clip, on time, at a price that was a TOTAL bargain for the horn of my dreams. This instrument is HUGE, yet emotes with modest breath! Everything I wanted, a friend for life. Reyburn Whistles are 1st-class quality, and a pleasure dealing directly with an authentic renaissance musician/builder.
Thank you Ronaldo. Sincerely, G.Lee, B.C., Canada.
Music has always been a part of my life. Playing piano, keyboards, accordian and singing in varied groups and ensembles has added so much joy to my life. When I met Ronaldo Reyburn, now almost 9 years ago, I was introduced to the world of Irish whistles. I first heard Ronaldo’s instruments at a weekly Irish pub jam here in Ashland, Oregon. After a beer or two and several foot-tapping songs, I was hooked! Even in a room with a dozen high-energy musicians cranking out the tunes, Ronaldo’s brass high and low whistles cut right through and soared with such exquisite beauty, I felt like I was taken back to my Celtic roots. I had to have more.
Since that time, I have had the pleasure of owning, playing and loving Ronaldo’s handiwork in various custom-made whistle bodies and flutes (he also has made Native American flutes). His workmanship is perfection, the quality of a master craftsman. And the fact that he makes these beautiful pieces one by one in a hand-built studio up in the mountains, using the power from the sun, working many hours on each piece until it is up to his rigid standards….well, what’s not to like??? I’ve had the joy of hearing his instruments played at huge gatherings and concerts by professional musicians, and in circles of only a few friends, and each and every time his whistles shine.
Ronaldo and I belong to a group, “Off the Wall”, which meets weekly with 4 to 7 of Ashland’s fine musicians. We record spontaneous “in the moment” tunes, never to be played again! The soaring voices of Ronaldo’s fine instruments lead the way, perfectly in tune, exquisitely harmonious. I am honored to recommend these finely tuned and individually made pieces to anyone who wants to experience the highest form of this art.
a chairde,
I was pleased to see Ronaldo is still turning out his high-quality, reasonably priced whistles, and they still sound every bit as good as, or perhaps even a bit better than those I have the pleasure of playing. ( C, D, and low D )
I have been playing Irish and Scottish music (Highland and Irish pipes, flute, whistle, and clairseach) for well over 50 years (I grew up in the tradition), and have played a great many instruments over the years. I class Ronaldo’s work right up there with the best I have played, including my prized Copeland Bb brass or the lovely wooden Abell D I formerly played.
The ease of use and winding is phenomenal (important for me, as my lungs are not what they used to be), and they remain true and balanced all the way up and down the scale, with warm, rich tonality – even the Ds are not as shrill in the high octave as most other whistles.
During my recent years in Erin, his whistles amazed talented players all over the country, from Dublin to Donegal.
Among them was Seosamh Mac Grianna, a brilliant player and native Gaelic speaker from Rann na Feirste, Co. Donegal, in the heart of the Gaeltacht, from whence have sprung many great traditional musicians and singers, and such modern phenomena as Clannad, Enya, Altan, and others.
Seosamh (known locally by his Irish sobriquet of “Joe Mhici Jimi”) fell in love with the Reyburns on hearing mine. I of course offered them to him for his inspection and use, and he made such incredible music with them that I was sorely tempted to give them to him, knowing that although I am a passable player, they were truly in the hands of a master.
(BTW, Joe’s solo recording, “Lui na Greine”, although not using Ronaldo’s whistles [yet!] is well worth the hearing and is available from iTunes, CD Baby, and other sources.)
In any case, I have just sent another client to Ronaldo – he heard mine at a house session the other day and wanted to know where he could get one. (Such is the general reaction among all those first encountering Reyburns.)
Keep up the great work, Ronaldo!
mise le meas,
Seamus
PS: For those wondering where my Celtic website, hiddenglen.com has gotten to, my long-time webmaster unfortunately passed away in September, and all the passwords and information pertaining to the sites and the URL went with him. It is now being reconstructed as “Glen Celt” at:
http://sites.google.com/site/glencelt