Malc's XK-1 and XK-3c demo tweaks

From recent questions asked at the shows about how I set up the XK-3 and XK-1 for the demo, here are a few basic tweaks I perform ....

Percussion: Press and hold the percussion switch which will take you to the main edit screen for the percussion. Leave the normal value at 12 but reduce the soft to 1. This will give a very soft but still prominent percussion on the drawbar setting used. Remember that the percussion only triggers on a full note on / note off keystroke i.e. holding a note down and pressing any other keys will not sound the percussion. This is one of the most useful features of hammond Organs that allows you to add expression and accents into your chops and licks.

Vibrato: This is very personal choice but I like to use C3 vib on quite a slow cycle. Press and hold the vibrato button, now take the setting down to 6.10. The result is a slower 'pulse' which I like particularly on slower bluesy numbers on slow Leslie.

Key click: go to Menu then Drawbar then I usually set to B type 1 - Key Click 8 or 9 but try turning the LPF down to around 95 - 100. This takes the edge off the click without reducing its effect in the mix. Also while we are in this menu DO NOT DISMISS the 'mellow' tonewheel setting ! Many think this is the 'cheesy' setting but in actual fact it is a very fact wholesome, fat sound that is great for ballads and blues.

Overdrive: Press and hold the Tube button. Now try various settings for the valve pre amp. I use S UX quite allot which is only utilising one of the valves the 'AU-7' (I think it is a little smoother then the AX-7) Now page up and change the X over to 800 and hear the difference across the keyboard range.

Deeper Left Hand Bass: In the menu, go to Drawbar and page across until you get to the fold-back parameter. It will most likely be set to 'C2' Wind it down to 'C1' and now the 16' drawbar will sound a full octave below note 'C2' instead of playing or folding back to the octave above pitch whilst playing the first octave. Great for deep grooving bass lines ! For a lot of my pre-sets. I set it to 'F1' which still gives the octave up flick effect when playing bottom C to E. Play around with it and you will see what I mean

Internal Leslie: Well I could spend ages here but a basic tweak is to set the fast speed on the horn a little faster than the bass rotor say 383 for the horn and 375 for the bass and the same for slow speeds, say 33 on the bass and a little faster on the horn. This will increase the doppler / spacial effect of the Leslie effect.

I will get a camera on the XK-3c / XK-1 screen ASAP and produce a video podcast taking you through these tweaks and much more.

Don't forget all these settings are remembered in your programs so you can have a mixture of various textures and feels to suit all styles from Theater to Heavy Rock at the touch of a button. !!

PS >>> it would be good to know how many of you rely on and use the RSS feed to keep up to date with our news and how many still prefer the mail-shot newsletter ?
Drop us a line with the subject Mail or RSS if you get a few spare moments: survey@hammondorgan.co.uk

More soon ..... Malc

May 2009 Shows in East Kilbride 5th - Wakefield 7th - Runcorn 9th

Many thanks to all that attended the Southampton Roadshow on the 25th April. Great to see everyone as usual and hope you enjoyed.

The new B-3 style Wooden Stand and bench was very well received as was the new 2101 mk2 Leslie.


Try and get along to one of the shows in your area over the next couple of weeks to see and try for yourself. It would be great to see you.


We are now preparing for the Isle of Bute Jazz and R&B festival on the 2nd and 3rd May and very much looking forward to this event.

We will try and get some media (video / pics etc) up each evening from the show so watch the news blog for new articles over the bank holiday weekend.


After the Isle of Bute jazz Festival we will be moving on to East Kilbride, Wakefield and Runcorn with the Spring Roadshow

See the NEW 2101 mk2 Leslie and the much awaited B-3 Style wooden stand and bench for the Pro XK System




There will be opportunities to hear and try for yourself the XK-3C, Pro XK System with the new B-3 style wooden stand and bench, XK1 and the new 2101 mk2 + Leslie 3300 cabinet. + live 'Be a Hammond Player Sessions' with Malc - Hammond Player DVD and some basic technique workshops.


Please come along and have a chat with Barrie and Malc and find out just how good the New Hammond Organ Range Really is for yourself

Please note that the East Kilbride and Wakefield events will finish at 8pm and not 9pm as previously published.


We will as normal have the large screen video system for all the clinics and workshops with cameras on the organs so you can see exactly what is happening


Hope to see you at one of the venues soon.
Regards
Hammond Organ UK Team



PS >>> it would be good to know how many of you rely on and use the RSS feed to keep up to date with our news and how many still prefer / use the email-shot newsletter ?Drop us a line with the subject Mail or RSS if you get a few spare moments: survey@hammondorgan.co.uk

Details of the venues below
Click the hotel links for directions

East Kilbride Scotland Tuesday 5th May 09 10am - 8pm

Holiday Inn
GLASGOW-EAST KILBRIDE
STEWARTFIELD WAY
EAST KILBRIDE, G74 5LA SCOTLAND
Hotel Front Desk:01355-236300

Wakefield Yorks Thursday 7th May 09 10am - 8pm
Holiday Inn
LEEDS-WAKEFIELD M1, JCT.40
QUEENS DRIVE OSSETT
WAKEFIELD, WF5 9BE ENGLAND
Hotel Front Desk:0870-4009082

Runcorn Cheshire Saturday 9th May 10am - 4pm
Holiday Inn
RUNCORN
WOOD LANE, BEECHWOOD
RUNCORN, WA7 3HA ENGLAND
Hotel Front Desk: 0870-4009070

Spring news - Roadshows: New Dates Added ......plus other news..

Hello and welcome to the email bulletin and our quarterly PDF news sheet.
The Spring 09 edition you can download here: http://www.hammondorgan.co.uk/spring_09_news.pdf

The main headlines are listed below

The long awaited New 2101- mk 2 Leslie Speakers plus the B-3 styled wooden stands and benches for the Pro XK system are now available in the UK See and try them at the shows listed below. + see the Hammond 44 electric / acoustic Melodion

3 new dates added to the Spring Roadshow tour - East Kilbride 5th May 09 10am - 9pm - Wakefield 7th May 09 10am - 9pm - Runcorn 9th May 10am - 4pm we will publish the full details on the news blog UK Road Shows, section after the Southampton show

The web site is now available from its regular home www.hammondorgan.co.uk instead of the 2009preview BETA site address

This weekend Sat 25th April 09 we are at the Holiday Inn Eastiegh , Southampton, Hants. Full venue details, maps etc for Southampton are here

Be the first to see the new 2101 mk2 Leslie and B-3 style wooden Pro XK system stand and bench.
You can also see and try the Hammond XK-3c - XK-1 Leslie 3300 and various bass pedal options.

As always, Barrie and Malc will be around to answer any questions and give advice on anything to do with Hammond and Leslie products.
Take this opportunity to also attend a free Hammond Player Clinics with Malc and also there will be opportunities for short 1 to 1 sessions if you have any specific Hammond style or technique questions.

We aim to start around 10am and finish around 4pm so try and get down for an hour or two.
It is always good fun, intuitive and best of all its 100% free.

Isle of Bute Jazz and R&B Festival Bank Holiday Weekend 2nd - 3rd May 09
Full venue details, maps etc for The Isle of Bute are here

We are heading north for Sat 2nd and Sun 3rd May 09 to take part in the Isle of Bute Jazz and R&B Festival
Our sessions will be held in the Rothesay Pavilion Lesser Hall - 45 Argyle Street - Rothesay - Isle of Bute - Tel:01700 504250

We have got two formal Hammond Player Clinics / Workshops planed for Sat and Sunday and for the rest of the time you are invited to come along and try all the Hammond and Leslie range for yourself -lots of informal Jams, etc.
Barrie and Malc will be around to answer any questions and give advice on anything to do with Hammond and Leslie products.

Take this opportunity to also attend a free Hammond Player Clinics with Malc and also there will be opportunities for short 1 to 1 sessions if you have any specific Hammond style or technique questions.

Be A Hammond Player Clinics Free Entrance
SATURDAY 2 MAY 2009
12.30 - 2.30pm - Pavilion Lesser Hall - HAMMOND Organ Clinic - free entry

SUNDAY 3 2009
12.30 - 2.30pm - Pavilion Lesser Hall - HAMMOND Organ Clinic - free entry

New web site and using RSS feeds

I have been asked several times about RSS feeds and how to use them to be automatically kept up to date with the latest News from Hammond Organ UK.

So rather than write lengthy emails I have put together a 'screencast' which covers RSS and the new web site on both Mac and Windows platforms.

The video screen size is a little small on the news blog but it should help with the basics.

If anyone wants a much larger viewable screen size of the video of the 'screencast' just email me and I will send you a link to download it to your computer.

Cheers for now

Malc

Newsletter April 09

Hello and welcome to our post Frankfurt Music Show 09 news letter.

We had a great time at the show and it was a very successful and busy event for the Hammond International team. The B-3 mk2 was very well received and so was the new 2101-mk2 Leslie.

We also showed the wooden stand and bench option for the Pro XK System which turned quite a few heads.

There are articles video etc to be found on the news-blog section of the new web site.

There are not as many !!! as we would like however ! read Malc's Blog to find out why !!!!

Also as requested, we have put a couple of Malc's XK-3c audio demo files up there for you to have a quick listen to. get the links from the XK-3c page of the 2009 web site

ROADSHOWS

We start off with the UK Roadshow program in a couple of weeks time at on of our favorite venues: The Holiday Inn at Eastleigh The show will be on Sat 25th April 09. There are full details on the News Blog under the UK Shows section.

We are getting more and more media and info uploaded to the new site so I hope you like this new resource for Hammond Organ UK.

For those of you who followed the video diary of the show, thanks for you positive reaction and we will continue to take digital media of all our events and post them on the blog.

Thats about it for now and we look forward to seeing you at on the Hammond Organ Events in the near future

Don't forget to keep checking the new site for the latest updates

Kind regards

The Hammond Organ UK Team

Back from Frankfurt and UK Road Shows

Now back in the UK for business as usual ... BUT only Just !!!!!

I had my small shoulder bag stolen at Frankfurt Airport and inside was ... yes my Passport, boarding card and also the camera and storage cards with all the media from the show.
So ... unfortunately we will not be able to post most of the media taken on Friday afternoon and Saturday. I do have a few unseen clips on the MacBook so will try and put a show overview together later in the week.

The show was great success with a very, very busy Hammond booth.
Lots of interest in the B-3 mk2 the new 2101 mk2 and wooden stand / bench option for the Pro XK System.
We will be doing a full report of all the new gear very soon.



During the demos I had the great pleasure of performing with who I can only describe as an unbelievably talented harmonica player BRENDAN POWER check out his website to see what I mean !
We had a great time working together and hope to further this partnership with more collaborations in the near future on both Hammond Organ Promo's and our own gigs.




Road Shows:
We start our 2009 UK roadshow season proper in a couple of weeks time at one of our favorite venues in Eastleigh Southampton Sat April 25th 09
This will be the UK launch of the new 2101-mk2 Leslie and the wooden stand and bench option for the Pro XK System

Then on to the Bute R&B / Jazz Festival for Sat / Sun 2nd and 3rd of May 09

There will be full details of both these events on the 'Hammond UK Roadshows' section of the news blog very soon.

Thats about it for now.
We will be sending a more detailed newsletter out soon, and don't forget to keep a regular check on the blog for all the latest news and Hammond Organ UK happenings.
Try using the RSS feed to be automatically notified of any new posts etc.

Cheers
Malc

Next Show 2nd - 3rd May @ Isle of Bute Jazz and Rhythm and Blues Festival

Isle of Bute Jazz and Rhythm and Blues Festival 2009 Sat 2nd and Sun 3rd May 09
We will be taking part in the festival which runs from Thursday 30th April till Monday 4th May 09.

Barrie and Malc will be there on the Sat and Sun with the .....
Hammond Player Road Show, Live Sets and Players Clinics, Hands On Demos + much more


You will be able to attend free Hammond Player Clinics - Try out the very latest Hammond XK keyboard range - the Pro XK System - Bass Pedals - Leslie 2101-mk2 and Leslie 3300 cabinets
Bute Jazz Festival web site here


Kind regards
The Hammond Organ UK Team.

After the Isle of Bute Jazz Festival we will be moving on to East Kilbride, Wakefield and Runcorn with the Spring Roadshow

See the NEW 2101 mk2 Leslie and the much awaited B-3 Style wooden stand and bench for the Pro XK System


There will be opportunities to hear and try for yourself the XK-3C, Pro XK System, XK1 and the new 2101 mk2 + Leslie 3300 cabinet. + live 'Be a Hammond Player Sessions' with Malc - Hammond Player DVD and some basic technique workshops.

Please come along and have a chat with Barrie and Malc and find out just how good the New Hammond Organ Range Really is for yourself
Please note that the East Kilbride and Wakefield events will finish at 8pm and not 9pm as previously published.

Details of the venues below
Click the hotel links for directions

East Kilbride Scotland Tuesday 5th May 09 10am - 8pm

Holiday Inn
GLASGOW-EAST KILBRIDE
STEWARTFIELD WAY
EAST KILBRIDE, G74 5LA SCOTLAND
Hotel Front Desk:01355-236300

Wakefield Yorks Thursday 7th May 09 10am - 8pm
Holiday Inn
LEEDS-WAKEFIELD M1, JCT.40
QUEENS DRIVE OSSETT
WAKEFIELD, WF5 9BE ENGLAND
Hotel Front Desk:0870-4009082

Runcorn Cheshire Saturday 9th May 10am - 4pm
Holiday Inn
RUNCORN
WOOD LANE, BEECHWOOD
RUNCORN, WA7 3HA ENGLAND
Hotel Front Desk: 0870-4009070

Demo booth day 3

Here is a short clip from the demo booth on day 3 of the show featuring SUZUKI harmonica endorsee and performer Brendon Power with Malc on the new B3 mk2 having a 'bit of a jam' and the XK-3c workshop / demo.

Tomorrow (Sat 4th April) is general public day and it is HECTIC so we wont have time to do any media during the day but we do have more footage from the show which will be edited when we return to the UK and back in the office on Monday.

We hope you enjoyed the first attempt at bringing you live video from Hammond Organ UK's event diary and hope to continue with much more media in the future.

We know the sound quality on the Frankfurt videos is a little poor but it is almost impossible to capture clean audio at these events due to the massive amount of ambient noise around but we enjoyed sharing with you the flavor of this major International Music Event.

More next week... Cheers

The Hammond Organ UK team

B-3 mk2 Frankfurt Music Messe 2009

here is an extract from the product demo at the Hammond booth featuring the B-3 mk2

Music Messe Day 1 Hammond Organ UK

Day 1 from Frankfurt.