Hammond Organ Blog

News, advice and technique for Hammond organ players

In this Hammond organ blog, I’ve gathered together as much news and practical advice as possible here to help you choose, buy, maintain, restore, gig and record these incredible instruments. In my view, Hammond organs deserve a place in every band and it’s up to us owners to keep that sound alive. In the posts and video below, I try to answer common questions and share a few playing tips that I’ve picked up over the years.

I hope you find this Hammond organ blog helpful and if there’s anything in particular you’d like me to take a look at, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

All Gigging17 Inspiration17 Leslie Cabs20 Organs73

Isolation Collaborations

Inspiration

Hi there, For those of you living in the future get off your hover bikes and understand that we are in 2021 currently back here and hopefully coming towards the end of the global pandemic that was Covid-19. Remember that? I’ll leave you to your Covid-29 but just to say that during this past 16…

Hammond SK-Pro Vs XK-5

Organs

Hello there! In the last of the SK-Pro series this final instalment puts the Pro against the 5, the Hammond SK-Pro Vs the XK-5 ! Don’t know which to buy? This is a good place to start. It’s an interesting one as I think they are pitched at slightly different markets, all will be explained…

Using the Hammond SK-Pro with a Leslie 145

Organs

Good afternoon folks, In this weeks SK-Pro series video we link up the old with the new namely the old 1975 Leslie 145 (adapted for 1/4″ jack) and work at it to get the best tone. Hope you like it Nick

First impressions of the Hammond XK-Pro

Organs

Hi there folks, next in our series is our video on the first impressions of the Hammond XK-Pro. Let me know what you think and please comment on your impressions, what you like and disliked and what you think could have been done better and I will feed this back to Hammond on your behalf.

Unboxing the Hammond XP-Pro

Organs

Hello folks, today we will be unboxing the Hammond XK-Pro that Hammond UK kindly supplied me. In fact lets do an extended road test! in this next series we will unbox it and get our first impressions together, then lets go through the sounds and have a listen and then drill down into the Organ…

Lounsberry Pedals

Organs

Good morning/afternoon how are you all going? I hope that you are all staying safe and well during this difficult time? Today I wanted to talk to you about Lounsberry pedals, a really cool independent effect pedal manufacturer based in the US that are turning out quality boutique effects , many of which are aimed…

Staying safe? (M102 Update)

Organs

How you doing folks? Staying safe? Its a weird world that we are in at the moment isn’t it, we are nearly there, just a few months to go! I thought I would drop you a line as I have been quiet of late. Quiet but very busy ! My M102 project has stalled a…

S5 E3: Unboxing a 1967 Hammond M-102

Organs

This week we take a look at the Hammond M-102 which I picked up recently. Let’s run through it, what works and what doesn’t work and discuss the restoration work needed. This will take a short while to complete so I will keep you updated on progress!

S5 E2: Deep Purple’s Highway Star Organ Solo

Inspiration

Hi folks, hope you are well. This week we’re going to take a look at a recent lockdown video I put together with a few friends. We covered Highway Star and it occured to me that you might like to see how I approach Jon Lord’s organ solo in this track. I’m sure there might…

S5 E1: A New Season

Organs

Hi folks, how are you doing? Keeping safe I hope? Today starts a new season of the video blog. Here’s a quick hello and a round up of what you might expect to see over the coming weeks, hope you enjoy and remember whatever you feel get in touch, its great to hear from you!

Lockdown

Organs

Good morning folks, How are we all doing today? Its a difficult time isn’t it, no-one really knows how this will all pan out but I think that we will get there in the end. On a brighter note it means that many of us have a little more time on our hands to play…

S4 E3: Which Overdrive pedal to use on a Hammond

Organs

Hi there, if like me, you spent a lot of your formative years trying to decide which overdrive pedal to use on a Hammond Organ then you are in luck. I started in the 1980’s with a Yamaha SK-20 and settled on an Aria OD-1, today I unearth this pedal along with 5 others from…

Autumn 2019 Update

Gigging, Organs

Hi Folks how are you all doing? Just a quick update on whats going on with Hammond For Hire currently. There will be a couple of new videos coming soon, by popular demand. One will be the test of overdrive pedals using the Hammond XK-5 and a Leslie 145 (pedals will include Boss, Lounsberry, MXR…

S4 E2: How to upgrade the stock Leslie driver

Leslie Cabs

Hi folks, this week I finally took delivery of a package that would enable me to upgrade the stock Leslie driver on my 145. My ‘stock’ Leslie 145 My 145 is my go to gigging Leslie and subsequently gets a lot of use. The amp is from 1974/5 and is only 40watts and sometimes when…

S4 E1: Getting that Jon Lord Sound

Leslie Cabs, Organs

In my vlog this week I look at getting that stationary overdrive sound from the late 60’s and 70’s from my Hammond XK-5. You know the sound, think Deep Purple Black Night or Highway Star, dirty with no vibrato. I look at the best way to achieve this sound and also compare the Neo Ventilator…