Hammonditis is an incurable disease. I first discovered the symptoms when I was 5 years old. It was the first time I went to the city St-Niklaas. While holding my mother’s hand I passed a music store, I looked through the window and an old man was playing the organ. The sounds that came out of the shop were very inviting and I could convince my mother to go inside. When I was inside I was filled with this incredible feeling of wellness, those warm sounds made my head spin. I’ve never heard anything like that, I loved it. The old mad, the owner of the shop, was playing a Hammond organ.From then on, it never let me go. Hammonditis had begun. My dream was to own a Hammond organ to ease the pain. Many years past and the only thing I got was a little electric Höhner piano when I was seven. So it remained a dream…
All these years music has been my passion. I took some piano lessons for a while when I was twelve, had a band in the army where I played the guitar. Then it was time to start my own hairdresser’s saloon en music got a bit on backtrack. Years went by and except for the purchase of a synthesizer and a keyboard, where I played some melodies on, I didn’t do much with this passion.
A few years ago, I’m 51 now, some one told me about this club where they play blues every Sunday afternoon. This club is called ‘The Crossroads’ and it’s in Antwerp. The blues really got to me and I soon become a regular visitor. After a few performances I got back in contact with the Hammond organ. The symptoms were back, but this time it was ten times worse. I would now fulfil my childhood dream. It didn’t take long before I got a small collection, some where cheap, some where a bit more expensive. Obsessed by the tonewheel system by Laurens Hammond, I studied old electronics books and learned the little things from other Hammond technicians. I studied the schemes and bought several organ parts. Now I have quite some experience and a lot of satisfied customers. My goal now is to save as much Hammonds as I can, to restore as much parts as I can. Even though those new digital Hammond organs are very good, I’d still like to contribute to salvation of as much old Hammond organs as possible