Meet the team
A passionate, seasoned mix of music lovers, HiFi experts and electronics gurus. All waiting to share their decades of experience...
Hamish
Hamish first opened the Sound Organisation (York), then a much smaller shop, at 36 Gillygate, on Christmas Eve 1984. He was pleased to sell a Record Stylus cleaner that day before closing the shop for the Christmas Holidays. Hamish had gained his original HiFi knowledge at Grahams HiFi in London then, after three years, he left that excellent shop and helped found the original Sound Organisation together with partners Roger Macer and Andre Slezak in large rented premises near London Bridge in 1982.
The shop went on to some small fame with its first product the Sound Organisation Turntable Table. The SO Table has gone on to inspire a generation of similar products. After a further couple of years, Hamish moved out of London into the wilds of Yorkshire and still works here in the shop in York to this day.
David
David joined the shop in 1985 as a snip of a lad of 19. He briefly left the shop to go to University gaining a degree in Electrical & Electronic Engineering. He then rejoined us and has remained a leading light in the shop ever since. His knowledge, honesty, thoroughness and attention to detail has gained him an enviable reputation throughout the land and customers tend to trust and listen to him. Consequently, on some days he can be besieged with phone calls asking for opinions, advice or help which he is very good with.
He is also known to set up a mean LP12 turntable, a skill acknowledged by Linn themselves who consider him one of the best in the country.
Bob
Bob joined us in January 1996. In a previous incarnation he was a bass player in various bands. Bob is long experienced in the ways of music and musicians. He has made several records and toured the UK, Europe, and a short US tour with a band in the '80s.
Within the shop, Bob provides a valuable link in our small chain looking after our customers, demonstrating the equipment, dealing with suppliers, and finally delivering and installing systems to our customer's homes from Edinburgh to Sidmouth in Devon, even sleeping overnight in the van due to sudden floods on the road!
John
John joined us in 2000 with a degree in Electronics with Applied Physics. He is also an accomplished piano, harpsichord and organ player, and has been known to teach pupils of all ages these skills.
Multi-talented, John is our technical genie and is asked to deal with everything from equipment repairs to computer setup and complex network setups either here in the shop or in customers' homes. His patience in finding solutions for these multi-faceted complications is renowned and is something to be admired!
Matthew
Hamish's son, Matthew, joined us in 2014 after completing a degree in Forestry. Maggie, our longstanding bookkeeper, had decided to retire so Matthew came in to take over the role.
He has been busy learning the ropes ever since and has also branched out into online sales, window displays, social media, as well as general customer service and demonstrations.