Hammond Organ UK News

See Us at the Kent International Keyboard Fair Feb 11th / 12th

2012-01-04T03:23:00.000-08:00

See and try the incredible New Hammond Sk1 and Sk2 Stage Keyboards at

[event web site]
The Holiday Inn The Black Prince
Bexley Kent DA5 1ND
Just off Junction 2 (M25) then A2
On
Saturday 11th & Sunday 12th February
10am—5pm both days

FREE ADMISSION - FREE PARKING - FREE PRIZE DRAW

Barrie's NOV 2011 BLOG

2011-11-18T05:43:00.000-08:00

The 23rd of this month marks my birthday, an anniversary probably best
overlooked rather than celebrated. However, it reminds me that I share my birth year of 1953 with the beginning of the Suzuki company, the owners of Hammond.
Mr Manji Suzuki started his business life, hand building harmonicas in a rented farm store room and has since grown his company to one of the most respected manufacturing operations in Japan . Still firmly at the helm, and staying true to his original concepts of innovation and improvement, Mr Suzuki has successfully evolved the company into one of the worlds leading manufacturers of quality musical instruments and the company takes enormous pride in attaining the precision quality certification, ISO 9001. This level of certification is usually found only in the aerospace and high technology industries.

Suzuki bought Hammond in 1991 and applied the same high standards of design and manufacturing that had brought success in other areas. Ten years later, a relatively small, by other Japanese music company standards, but dedicated team of development engineers and designers combined their passion for the brand and technical expertise to create the new ‘Vase 3’ sound engine system, that is at the heart of the latest ‘new generation’ Hammond instruments. The continued success and assured future of the Hammond brand has a lot to do with this very talented and understated R&D department.

Sales success is all about the product and its features, which are there to satisfy prospective customers. The very latest SK stage keyboards are a reflection of this and, by the comments of proud owners, these models have certainly delivered. But it is just important to know that when you look beyond the knobs and switches and examine the technical aspects and construction, you find products manufactured to the very highest standard, a feature that is rarely mentioned in promotional material but which enables all of us to sell and buy Hammond instruments with true confidence.

Barrie Freeman
Managing Director
Hammond Organ UK

Hammond Organ UK on FACEBOOK - TWITTER - RSS FEEDS

2011-11-01T06:27:00.000-07:00

We have decided that one of the easiest and most effective ways to communicate news, events etc is by using Facebook and Twitter

Both Facebook and Twitter are very easy to use and you will be notified about every little piece of information that we think is worth telling.
As you will know if you have been with us for a few years .. WE DO NOT SEND JUNK ARTICLES OR SPAM ONLY THINGS WE HOPE YOU WILL BE INTERESTED IN

The subscription user group will continue for a while but we really would like everyone to subscribe to our RSS FEED as this is by far the best way to stay up to date with our various Hammond Organ UK News.

RSS feeds are very simple to use. If you use a MAC and MAC MAIL the best way is to use the 'Subscribe in Mail' or use one of the many free news readers available.

2011-11-01T06:26:00.001-07:00

Sk Stage Keyboard Demos at HamLab

2011-11-01T06:21:00.000-07:00

Malc is running 1- to -1 demo days at his HamLab operation
If you want to see hear try this incredible new keyboard / organ range from Hammond contact him for details
info@hammondorgancentre.co.uk

Barrie's BLOG New SK Stage Keyboards and Frankfurt Music Show

2011-04-13T01:44:00.000-07:00

My first visit to the Frankfurt Music Fair was in 1974 as a young shop manager flying Dan-air on a day trip from Luton.

Coincidentally it was also the first time I had flown, so I didn’t really know how to worry about the fog conditions and the two hours circling Frankfurt before attempting to land and overshooting the runway. I think I managed about two hours at the fair .

Over the years there have been a number of very enjoyable and also very important times spent at the fair. But this year was probably one of the most important.

Hammond Europe had again excelled in creating a Hammond stand which was both striking and functional, enabling continuous noise free demos to take place during the day , a hands on area and room to welcome guests , buyers and artists from all over the world.

On the opening day HSE had arranged a very special product launch event with guest of honour Jon Lord, a very special privilege from a Hammond icon who rarely makes product endorsement appearances. With our very own Malc Deakin chosen to look after the product dems , a totally new chapter of the Hammond story was about to be written as the new Sk series was unveiled.

I was first exposed to the new Sk concept about a year ago. Since that time, with input from around the world, Suzuki has refined its original features and design and all came together for an extremely successful first showing.

As is now the norm, an event that took place in 20 square meters in Frankfurt has now been placed, by various camcorders or phone cameras, on a multitude of web sites and forums around the world. As they say, the new Sk is ‘out there’.

The Sk series is not intended to replace any existing models but is designed to expand the current range by providing features that will appeal to a much broader range of customers.

We will be taking delivery of these instruments in about six weeks time when we will organise a definitive video demo and a special session event so you can personally get together with these amazing new keyboards.

Barrie

SK-1 weighs an amazing 7KG
SK-2 is just 16KG

The SK-1 will be available from June 2011 shortly followed by the SK-2

download the brochure here

pre order here

FRANKFURT MUSIKMESSE / SK1 and SK2 Stage Keyboards

2011-04-12T14:17:00.000-07:00

DEMO BOOTH...... MY STAGE AT THE SHOW SK-1 FOREGROUND SK-2 REAR

Well I am now back from Frankfurt after an amazingly successful launch of the new SK1 and SK2 Stage Keyboards.

Day 1 was fantastic and Jon Lord did a great job of officially launching the SK's
Then it was up to moi ! (-:

The demo room was fantastic (pictured above) and was pretty much full for every show.

The new SK-1 and SK-2 keyboards are incredible.
In live performance the ease at which you can select voices layer them or split and zone them on the fly is fantastic.

The sound quality of the VASE III digital tonewheel generator as we all know is awesome and the same as on the new B-3 so you know it will deliver that authentic Hammond sound and feel.

The extra Vintage Keys Voices are equally impressive and I soon found myself creating patches and layers that took the Hammond Player to another dimension without the need of extra MIDI outboard gear.

Everything from 60's Organ BLUES ( it has a great PR40 cab simulator) to FUNK, SLUSHY POP, ROCK PRODUCTION NUMBERS, CLASSICAL PIPE ORGAN PIECES, and HARD HITTING FUNKY CLAV and Hammond Layers were handled with ease. It has a duel effects processor so you can for instance put a flanger on a Clavinet or E. Piano sample and then add a wah wah to the organ sounds. very cool.

I got bored of telling people that we did not have a Leslie hidden somewhere and it was the internal Leslie simulator going through the demo booth straight PA.

The PA by the way was OUTSTANDINGLY AWESOME. We used the HK AUDIO ELEMENTS SYSTEM which was amazing. Thanks to all at HK for installing and setting this rig up for me.
I will write more about this PA system in another BLOG for those who are interested.

Many thanks to all the kind comments I received at the show and in my In-Box when I arrived home.
I met many old friends last week and made a good few new ones.

There was a nice email in particular from Michel Devos who is a very experienced and respected recording engineer who has huge experience in recording Hammond Organs with the likes of Rhoda Scott, Dirk van der Linden to mention a few.. and I quote:

Subject: your demo at the Musik Messe yesterday

Message: Hi Malc,

Just a few lines to tell you how much I was impressed by your performance, your thorough knowledge of the Hammond and the music in which it shines at his best. Your demo completely convinced me that the new SK is a winner : a perfect combination of the vintage B3 sound and a really nice synth side for other musical genres. In every aspect, the sound is excellent, I expect it will be even better when fed to 3300's. I am myself a recording engineer having worked extensively with Rhoda Scott and Dirk va der Linden, meaning I have a reasonable knowledge of what a Hammond should do...Congratulations to the SK AND you, the winning team.

Kind regards
Michel Devos
Brussels

Thats about it for now.
More on the SK1 and SK2 soon and how it all works.
Few pics from the show below.
Cheers .. Malc

LAUNCH SHOW .. WORLD PREMIER OF THE SK-1 AND SK-2 STAGE KEYBOARDS

JON LORD TALKS ABOUT THE NEW HAMMOND ORGANS AND HOW HE LOVES THEM

MY SK-2 READY FOR THE SHOW
THE MACBOOK WAS ONLY USED FOR VIDEO / PRODUCT SLIDES ETC ON THE SCREEN

New SK Keyboards to Launch at Frankurt International Music Festival Next Week

2011-03-31T13:35:00.000-07:00

a new chapter begins ... Rock legend Jon Lord will unveil the
New Sk ‘stage keyboard series‘
to pre invited guests at the Frankfurt Music Messe at 11 am Wed 6th April 2011

We are very happy and excited about this 'awesome' new keyboard range and thrilled that our own Malc Deakin has been chosen to make the show in the 'live demo room' on the Hammond booth for this 'world exclusive product launch'

Will will be located @ Booth C30 in Halle 5 .0

Make sure you follow the BLOG for more news as it happens live from the MUSIKMESSE next week
Follow us on TWITTER for the Latest News

At Hammond, there have been many new product launches through the remarkable history of this iconic brand.

From Laurens Hammond’s original ground breaking engineering developments, right up to the present, where Suzuki continue to invest in technological advances that enables the Hammond brand to move forward into the future of music making.

The new Hammond SK series, debuting at the 2011 Frankfurt Music Fair, illustrates the dedication of a company that truly understands and believes in its future.

These two new instruments represent all that has been asked for by keyboard performers, from all genres of music, over the last few years and brings to the market Hammond products that have evolved laterally but still maintain their essential core sound and performance characteristics.

There is no doubt that these new instruments mark the beginning of yet another chapter in the continuing Hammond story and we all are extremely excited by their inclusion into the range.

We will be bringing the new SK instruments to the UK in the very near future

EX DEMO STOCK CLEARANCE SALE

2011-03-10T12:59:00.000-08:00

massive clear out of our demo stock .. save £'s

NewB-3P
XK- Pro System
XK-1
XLK-3 lower manual
XK-3c
XM-2
XPK Bass Pedals -
Leslie 3300 and Leslie 2101 mk2 + many more items

more details here

See us in Kent 5th and 6th Feb 2011

2011-01-29T01:24:00.000-08:00

Kent Keyboard Show
5th and 6th Feb 2011 - see us there .....

We are once again going to attend one of our favourite shows details here: http://www.musicland.co.uk/musicfair/

If you get chance to visit us at the Kent International Keyboard Show it would be great to see you.
This year I am going to try and do lots of Q&A sessions as well as the normal hands on and demo stuff.
Ever wanted to know how to tweak the sounds of your XK beyond recognition ?

Sessions on recording Hammond into existing songs / mixes and using the mighty Hammond with computers and arranger keyboards

If you have ever wanted to own. learn to play or are just interested in Hammond Organs, this is the show you should really attend.

UK product specialist and Hammond Artiste Malc Deakin will be on hand along with Hammond Organ UK Managing Director Barrie Freeman to answer all you questions and show you around the incredible New Generation Hammond Organ and Leslie Speaker range

Also at this show there will be a once in a lifetime chance to own a limited edition HAMMOND M44 at an incredible low price

click here for a more detailed schedule of sessions and other things happening at this show

Venue Details below
The show runs from 10am to 5pm Sat and Sun
FREE ADMISSION - FREE PARKING - FREE PRIZE DRAW
Holiday Inn
Southwold Rd, Bexley DA5 1ND
0871 942 9006 ‎

View Larger Map</a>

New B-3 and 122 installed in one of the Finest Studios around

2010-12-24T02:28:00.000-08:00

B-3 Ultimo and Leslie 122 installed in one of the Premier Studios in Europe

This is an amazing place and hope to bring you an in depth report soon. Cheers Malc

Full story coming in Jan 2011

See Us At The Kent International Keyboard Show

2010-12-24T02:13:00.000-08:00

We are once again going to attend one of our favourite shows
Saturday 5th & Sunday 6th Feb 2011

There will be a little more info about the format from Malc next moth (Jan 2011)

Hope to see you there ..

full details here:http://www.musicland.co.uk/musicfair/

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all ..

2010-12-24T02:11:00.000-08:00

News and Articles coming up in Jan 2011

See Us At The Kent International Keyboard Show
Saturday 5th & Sunday 6th Feb 2011
full details here:http://www.musicland.co.uk/musicfair/

B-3 Ultimo and Leslie 122 installed in one of the Premier Studios in Europe This is an amazing place and hope to bring you an in depth report soon. Cheers Malc Full story coming in Jan 2011

Paul Carrack uses the Hammond H44 Melodion and Hammond XK-3c .. full story coming soon

Subscribe to our RSS Feed or Newsletter to get all the news and information as soon as it is released

Read the Christmas 2010 BLOG from Barrie Freeman
click here

Xmas BLOG 2010

2010-12-24T01:50:00.000-08:00

It is always at this time of the year that I reminisce most about the joys of
winter nights out gigging.

I played for many years in a three/ four piece function band and coming up to Christmas was always our busiest time.
We played many corporate dinner dances at lavish London hotels and some very nice club venues. Nice gigs, well paid, always good food and a good bonus for going over time.

Altogether a great experience until, that is, the end of the night when, many times in minus temperatures, the Hammond (which was always heavier at the end of a gig) and Leslie had to be manhandled down flights of icy fire escapes, The Jerry Allen trolley finding four inches of snow totally non navigable and the CF van ( not a transit man) completely frozen up.

My thoughts are therefore with all of you braving these current torrid conditions in the name of music and entertainment hoping the enjoyment of the performance will far out way the behind the scenes, real work the paying customers never gets to see.

On the other hand I must admit to being more than somewhat jealous of today’s Hammond players having such incredible instruments like the Xk1 and Xk3 that make this part of their gigging life so much easier.

I would like to wish all of our friends and customers, gigging musicians or otherwise a very happy and safe Christmas and healthy and prosperous 2011.

Barrie

DUBLIN MUSIC SHOW OCT 2010 Report and Short Movie ..

2010-10-21T04:28:00.000-07:00

There was such a 'vibe' about this show (-:
As we had never exhibited in Ireland before we just did not know what to expect ?

Great venue .. great people . and lots & lots of interest in the HAMMOND range.

For the first time ever I did NOT use a Leslie with the New B-3 !!
One of the new features of the B-3 mk2 is that it has a awesome Leslie simulator on board so I decided to use this show as an experiment to see how it would cope in a live situation.

The was result .... FANTASTIC ... No one could believe what they heard

A big thanks must go to John Hornby Skewes and HK AUDIO for supplying me with the incredible HK L.U.C.A.S MAX PA which I used for this show.

As some of you already will know I have used HK AUDIO PA and monitors on many shows around Europe over the past few years and in my opinion it ROCKS !! Check out the short movie below to hear the results and some information about their new ELEMENTS range.

I met all types of musicians at the show .. some pro players, lots of studio and production folk, and home players who were very excited to see the Hammond back in the spotlight.
One thing was common amongst all our visitors though .. and that was the shear amazement at how good the new generation Hammond Equipment is.

I really enjoyed this trip and had a great time .. not to mention one of our customers taking the New B-3 home with him straight from the show !!!

Thanks DUBLIN .. We'll Be Back ..,.
Cheers .. Malc

Barrie's BLOG Oct 2010 .... The Music Show DUBLIN

2010-10-21T04:20:00.000-07:00

I decided to get involved with the Dublin Music show this year as we were getting an increasing amount of enquiries from Ireland and as Hammond had not had a presence in this country for such a long time I felt it was a good opportunity to introduce the ‘new generation’ instruments and to start building a new base in the region.

It is interesting that, this year, the major music shows in the UK have had a hard time.
With both ‘Music Live’ in Birmingham and the London Music Show being cancelled for one reason or another. These exhibitions are feeling the effect of both the soaring costs involved and the effect of internet trading on such promotions.
It was therefore even more pleasing to find not only a very vibrant event in Dublin but a show formula that seems to be very successful. I am sure this will be a regular event for us in the future. I would like to thank all that visited us at the show and congratulate the organisers for their extremely friendly and professional assistance.

Check out Malc's report and see a short movie about the show here

Barrie's BLOG Sept 2010

2010-09-28T01:31:00.000-07:00

I have been severely berated lately for not updating my blog more often. So with the summer months nearly behind us and as attention moves back from holidays and sunny outdoor pursuits to more agreeable pastimes like Hammond performances, it is probably a fitting opportunity to start to put things right.

Hammond means many things to many people. This year, especially, it has been fascinating meeting and talking to varied generations of Hammond players.
Without doubt, one highlight has been being able to spend some time with rock icon Jon Lord.

As you can see from the site we have worked closely with Jon on a few projects and it has been brilliant to hear the stories of his association with Hammond. His personal and totally unsolicited endorsement of the new B3 is a testament to the authenticity of the current instruments and his video interview, now on the site and filmed around the time of his sixty-ninth birthday, shows the legendary performer still as passionate as ever about Hammond.

It has been just as rewarding, however, to work with some of the upcoming professional keyboard players who insist that to ‘get the gig’ they must have the real thing and in a multi keys set up that usually has meant the XK3c.
This incredible drawbar keyboard has been found on major tours,
local gigs, professional studios and home studios alike and without doubt has become the generic Hammond keyboard instrument, being hailed as the ‘best ever’.
We will be bringing some of these player profiles to the site so you can share their experiences.

Following on from the success of the Hammond Player DVD we have been asked to produce a second similar product. This year we have been busy filming product information videos which are now finished. The ‘Meet The’ B3, XK3c and Xk1 are available now online at www.hammondplayer.com and give an insight into how to get the very best out of these instruments. Attention can now be refocused on a new ‘Player’ video. hopefully for 2011.

For those interested in education, this is developing nicely, introducing a totally new generation to Hammond performance. At Keyboard-tech, (www.keyboard-tech.co.uk) the West London based Hammond tuition Lab opened earlier this year enrolment to the Hammond courses is increasing rapidly and also many budding Hammond players have attended Malc’s one to one sessions at the Sheffield Ham Lab.

I am very pleased to report that, unlike the experience of most trades, we have not been too affected by the depressed economic climate. Business has been a bit patchy since March, not helped by the World Cup attention and the warm days through May and June, but, our regional stockists have seen steady activity through this time and are now reporting a definite upturn in Hammond enquiries, looking forward to an even better winter period.
It is very important to note that only instruments purchased from our authorised UK stockists are fully guaranteed in the UK.

On the promotion front I am particularly pleased regarding our upcoming visit to the Music show in Dublin. Over the last few years we have been getting an increasing amount of enquiries from Ireland and this is our first attempt at bringing the ‘new generation’ Hammond instruments to the country. I hope Malc and I will be able to speak to many local Hammond enthusiasts on the stand.
Details are in the events section.

We hope to structure a few extra regional activities before the end of 2010 so keep an eye on the site or register for our newsletters to keep you up to date with events.

Catch up again soon.

Barrie Freeman
Managing Director
Hammond Organ UK

Malc Deakin Talks to Jon Lord

2010-09-28T00:42:00.000-07:00

Rock Legend Jon Lord has been featured several times on our site over the past months.
Jon has his own New Generation B-3p portable and Leslie 3300.

In an interview shot at his studio this summer, Malc talks to Jon about his career, his music and his growing affection for his new B-3.

UK On Line Accessory Shop HAMMOND PLAYER

2010-09-24T08:07:00.000-07:00

The Hammond Organ UK Accessory Shop is now back on line
follow the link at the top of the page.

A few weeks ago, Malc Deakin shot hours of video covering all aspects of the whole of the current Hammond Organ Range of Instruments

Visit Hammond Player http://www.hammondplayer.com and check it out.

More soon .........

SEE US IN DUBLIN SAT 2nd and SUN 3rd October 2010

2010-09-09T13:24:00.000-07:00

Meet up with Barrie Freeman and Malc Deakin from Hammond Organ UK and try & learn all about the very latest range of Hammond Organs
We will be showing the Mighty new B-3 mk2 Hammond XK-3c Hammond XK-1 Hammond XM-2
+ the range of Hammond's Innovative H series Electro / Acoustic Melodions

for details of the venue and tickets click here
download the newsletter sheet click here

LIVE SESSIONS WITH MALC DEAKIN
FREE HAMMOND PLAYER CLINICS
HANDS ON SESSIONS

SEE AND TRY THE .......
NEW B-3mk2 - XK-3C - XK-1 - XM-2 MIDI MODULE
HAMMOND H SERIES ELECTRIC MELODIONS

THERE WILL BE LOTS HAPPENING ON THE STAND INCLUDING LIVE MUSIC AND PLAYER CLINICS
SEE US AT BOOTH NUMBER F2E

Hope you can make it .. Barrie & Malc

Thanks to all that attended the Leeds Show

2010-05-28T04:36:00.000-07:00

Thank you to everyone that came to see us at the Leeds 'Hammond Sessions' Show.

We had a great time and really enjoyed meeting new friends and fellow Hammond Lovers.

Special thanks to Alison and Paul plus the rest of the Production Room team for organising this event and making it all run smoothly with excellent hospitality.

Cheers ... Barrie and Malc

Leeds Show and Jon Lord

2010-05-26T14:11:00.000-07:00

LEEDS SHOW
Just a quick reminder that you can see us + Malc and the trio in Leeds Thursday 27/05/10
Click here for details
Jon Lord
We have just returned back from visiting Jon Lord at his studio.
What a very nice chap he is not to mention a Hammond Playing Legend.
Be sure to keep an eye on the Hammond Organ UK site for 'video podcast' featuring Jon and the New B-3p and 3300 Leslie
Keep Up To Date
We rely heavily on the RSS newsfeed for all our news and info so please subscribe to be sure that you do not miss out. There is a short instructional video on 'Malcs BLOG' explaining how to use 'news feeds' if you are unsure.
For Users.. subscribe to Malc's Tweets as all the news is echoed there also.
Hope to see you in Leeds
Kind regards
Hammond Organ UK

Hammond Rock Legend Jon Lord

2010-05-24T23:46:00.000-07:00

As you may have read on previous postings, Jon Lord used the New B-3 on a gig during his Russian Tour last year.

He was suitably impressed and now Jon has had his own New B-3p and 3300 Leslie for a couple of months now

Tomorrow we are going to visit him at his home studio to find out how he is getting along with his new Hammond, what he is up to at the moment & future plans and interview him for a Hammond UK PodCast

More soon

Cheers
Malc

Hammond Sessions Show Leeds this Thurs 27th May 10

2010-05-24T00:05:00.000-07:00

Dont forget to see us in Leeds this Thursday 27th May 2010

click here for full details

This event will be hosted by:
Production Room Ltd
85 Roseville Road
Leeds
West Yorkshire
LS8 5DT

Set 1 will start at 14:30 This session will be a general workshop / clinic plus product knowledge

Set 2 will start at 19:30 featuring 'LIVE MUSIC and GROOVES
For some of this session Malc will be joined by Chris Durling (drums) and Cecil Zinyuku (bass and guitar)

Jon Lord and Rick Wakeman at the KEYBOARDTECH 'HAMMOND LAB'

2010-05-23T23:51:00.000-07:00

After months of preparation, the infamous Jon Lord and Rick Wakeman hosted an informative, fun and lively Q&A event at Tech Music Schools (TMS) last Wednesday 28th April. The evening went down a storm as the room packed full of students, fans and even a few TMS tutors, listened intently to the stories of the Deep Purple and Yes years

Read the full story here

http://www.keyboard-tech.co.uk/NewsLordWakemanMasterclass1.html

Pictured left to right ...
Jon Lord - Barrie Freeman - Rick Wakeman
in the KEYBOARDTECH Hammond Lab.