About Me

Nick Foley, Hammond Organ Player

My name is Nick Foley and I’ve been a Hammond organ player for three quarters of my life. I’m based in the British Midlands and am fascinated/obsessed by all things Hammond. Because of this, I’ve owned many of the best organ clones over the last three decades including as Yamaha SKs and Hammond XBs. I’ve since arrived at my dream setup of a Hammond XK-Pro rig for touring and a 1960 Hammond C3 organ for recording. I am a UK endorsee for Lounsberry pedals USA and use their amazing Organ Grinder pedal through either a Leslie 122 or 145.

Over the years I’ve picked up a few tips on buying, restoring, gigging and recording these incredible instruments. This website gives me the opportunity to share a few of these tips. I’m hoping to help keep the Hammond organ sound alive for the next generation of players.

A Little History

Today I’m the organ player for a 1960’s live act called The Quik Beats and am out gigging most weeks. We aim for an authentic vibe with the goal to get as close as possible to the sound, look and feel of the original artists. That’s why for me, there’s no substitute for Hammond organs. I also take on the odd bit of session work when I can fit it around our schedule and even the occasional one-off live dep if its too good to pass on.

Over the years I have been lucky enough to play in lots of great bands. As a result, I’ve appeared on a few recordings of which I’m really proud and played some incredible venues. I’ve even bumped into many of my heroes along the way. All because, as a child, I inherited a ropey Bontempi organ and discovered Deep Purple in the same month.

Nick Foley Hammond Organ Riff-Off Winner

I founded and administrate the Jon Lord Appreciation Society page on Facebook with almost 10,000 members as well as the Hammond C3 Owners Club and Tony Ashton pages too. So I’d love for you to drop in. And most recently, I was amazed and honoured to win the Hammond USA Riff-Off, narrowly coming in ahead of some incredible organ players.

Hopefully the information on this site might help inspire a few other players to go on and win the next one.

Get in Touch

If you’re struggling with any aspect of the Hammond organ sound, please don’t hesitate to drop me a line. Perhaps I can help.

Likewise if you’re an instrument manufacturer or retailer and need a little consumer feedback, I’m always happy to assist.