Uilleann Pipes made by Dave Williams - So here we are, with the instrument that changed my life. As a kid, I always thought of myself as being a guitarist, until I was captured forever by the Siren call. There was no escape. This particular set was made for me in the early 90's by my late dear friend Dave Williams, the 'Stradivarius' of Uilleann Pipes. This instrument is a huge part of me, and we have sung together, the world over, on every recording I have ever made.
The 'Ringerike' Set - How lucky I am to have not just the one, but the two greatest sets of pipes in the universe. I commissioned my splendid friend, artist, and master craftsman Marcus Coulter to make this remarkable instrument. This was to allow my old pipes to retire from touring. It is an amazing 'bomb-proof' creation and is deeply beautiful in every respect.
Here are his mind-blowing notes on the construction
Ringerike’Set - Made for Troy Donockley
With the exception of the bellows, this unique set is made entirely without the use of wood. The materials used in construction were: Stainless steel, Aluminium bronze, Polymer and Brass.
Over 413 (not including bellows pins) individual hand-crafted component parts where made for this set's construction, which took over eight months in total to complete.
The name of this set is taken from the bass drone resonator engraving which is based on the 11th century Viking Ringerike Disk, from Gotland, Sweden. The main stock ‘Green Man’ tree design is by Johanna Kurkela.
Marcus Coulter
Hofner - 'Western Jumbo' 1968. This is my Dad's guitar which now lives with me. I learned everything about my future with this instrument.
PRS Custom 24 - These are the electric guitars I mostly play nowadays. They are sublime in every respect. This is the one I used almost exclusively from 2004. I was also gifted a beautiful 'Artist Pack' Custom at the beginning of the Nightwish 'Endless forms' Tour, but it lives in Finland so no photo. There's a shot of me playing it on this site though...
PRS Special 'semi-hollow' - I went to the supermarket to buy some broccoli and returned home with this. I couldn't resist it. This is my latest and it is incredibly versatile. I used it on the latest Nightwish album 'Yesterwynde' - The 'Twin Peaks' style twang in the song 'Spider Silk' came from this.
Overwater Electric 1982 - I always loved the idea of handmade electric guitars and I was instantly drawn to this. It was even more attractive because it was built in my birth county of Middle Earth Cumbria. I used this in my first band and on my first solo album 'The Unseen Stream'.
Patrick Eggle 'Berlin Pro' - I discovered this (again, British Handmade) through my friend Midge Ure who owned one. The beautiful green finish still takes my breath away. I toured the world with Midge and this guitar and went on to use it in all the work I did with my band 'Iona' and with Maddy Prior.
This was gifted to me - a beautiful 'Artist Pack' Custom at the beginning of the Nightwish 'Endless forms' Tour.
Roger Bucknall made me an indestructible solid-body Electric Bouzouki for heavy world touring out of an old snooker table!
ESP Imaginaerum - My dear friend Emppu gave this guitar to me at the end of the 'Imaginaerum' world tour in 2013. I mean, just look at it! I have the action strung high and used it for some slide guitar recordings on the last three Nightwish albums.
Fylde Custom Alexander - This is my favourite acoustic in this or any other world. All the acoustic guitars on 'Yesterwynde' came out of this. There is nothing like being in the same room when it starts to play...
Fylde Oberon - This guitar was the object of my flailing dreams and desires from age 14. I could never afford one until the master craftsman Roger Bucknall who invented and still runs Fylde Guitars, gave me a "This poor sod needs this guitar" discount. He remains one of my great friends and has made fabulous unique instruments for me ever since we met.
Note: The cutaway was added only recently. The modification is seamless, invisible and impossible. You may have seen this being played on the recent Nightwish tours.
Fylde Portuguese Mandola - This beauty has 10 strings and has a rich jangle like nothing else.
Fylde Fan-Fret Bouzouki - I have three Bouzoukis wandering around, but this one is very special. I gave Roger free rein to let his imagination run riot, and he came up with this. He has a wood store stretching back to the dawn of time, and he built this from Englemann Spruce with a Mango back and sides (!), an English Walnut neck with a central section of Coconut and ebony fingerboard. Staggeringly superb.
