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
