Friday, 18 November 2011

Barrie's NOV 2011 BLOG

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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

Tuesday, 1 November 2011

Hammond Organ UK on FACEBOOK - TWITTER - RSS FEEDS

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.

Sk Stage Keyboard Demos at HamLab

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

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Wednesday, 13 April 2011

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

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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


Hammond SK1
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










Tuesday, 12 April 2011

FRANKFURT MUSIKMESSE / SK1 and SK2 Stage Keyboards

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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


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

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

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

Thursday, 31 March 2011

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

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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 Follow HammondOrganUK on Twitter



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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




Thursday, 10 March 2011

EX DEMO STOCK CLEARANCE SALE

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







Saturday, 29 January 2011

See us in Kent 5th and 6th Feb 2011

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/
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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

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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

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