10/12/2010

Suzuki Omnichord page on Facebook

I came across a Suzuki Omnichord fanpage on FaceBook. Just joined and I hope you all do too:-)  Also posted there this video featuring the Qchord. Great song, great band!


9/11/2010

Omnichord stand

Hi Omni lovers, I've seen a lot of "Live" pictures of the omnichord. Some people use basic music stands, others little tables etc. I wanted something that looked good:-) Here's my gadget. Thanks to a local drum parts supplier I came up with this. I'm interested in your ideas, models and reactions! Also if you want one, they're made to order!

9/10/2010

First Hurrymania gig!

In my band Hurrymania we use 2 omnichords (of course:-) Our violinist Sooi uses the OM-200, I use the Qchord. I haven't persuaded my drummer & bassplayer yet, but it won't take long! I designed a special stand, made up out of drum parts: It's half a cymbal stand married to a snarestand. If you look closely, you can see it in this photo. Works great! close up pics wil follow soon.

4/16/2010

Steven deBruyn playing the Qchord

Belgian harmonica master Steven deBruyn also plays Omnichord. He sent me this link of the song "Kerosene" Live on stage with the Rhytmn Junks. Thanks Steven!

4/09/2010

my collection

I finally took the time to take some pictures. There's still a couple models I need to find to complete my collection: the OM-36 and the OM-100...
This is my first, the OM-27 I bought at a carboot sale in my village in 1985. Payed 5 guilders ( 2,50 euro's) for it and it came with the original silver bag.
The OM-250m I bought new in the beginning of the nineties. My violinist uses it in our band these days.

I found this OM-300 3 years later, again a bargain! This one I used a lot to record strings on my demo's. It has limited midi capabilities, no way of re-assigning channels, but who cares:-)
I just found out I actually own 2 OM-84's (System 2) and there's another on the way!  The Om-36 is quite similar, without some of the extra features. I think this one is my favourite: the "sonic string" mode + the low-fi drumsound makes it a lot of fun to play.
The Qchord The first time I saw it, I really wanted to have one! It took some time and in the process I mysteriously became the importer for the Benelux for a couple of years:-) The Qchord has certain nice features (whammy bar & a couple of good sounds) but isn't a real step forward from the OM-300. Also it has a lot of buttons with digital double-functions. This can be very annoying: when you switch off the power, your settings are gone.
My pride and joy! the Tronichord (PC-27) also known as Portachord. I recently bought it after searching the net for 10 years. It was the pre-model Suzuki made before they introduced the Omnichord. Very limited capabilities: Just chordbuttons, a strumplate ,volume, one sound...It's a simple but amazing supermusictoy:-)

4/07/2010

looking for OM-100/200/300 dead or alive

I've started a search for broken omnichords, parts etc A friend of mine has got a lot of motherboards, parts and broken or half-dead omni's he wants to repair. So we're setting up a Omni-hospital I guess:-)

2/23/2010

Tronichord pics..

As promised, here they are! I found out it also has a modelnumber : the PC-27.
Nice detail: the box still has the original pricetag: 195,00 dutch guilders (about 95,00 euro's)
It was purchased from a toystore called Dieterman. While looking for this company I stumbled on a dutchman who is a wizard in selling on Ebay with the same name (Donald Dieterman)  He's specialized in toys...I wonder if he's related:-)

2/21/2010

Omni-Pics on the net

In my search for more Omnichord-addicts, I stumble across more & more articles on the omnichord. Nice!  When I started importing the Qchord years ago, I  took pictures of my omnichords to show them on my website...
Now everybody's using the shots I took for their blogs, articles etc...
it's really weird to see the Om-300 I still use in my band on wikipedia and all the other sites!

1/16/2010

Tronichord arrived...

This morning the mailman brought me a parcel. Nervous as a kid at X-mas I opened it and there she was...(yes, somewhere along the line a simple piece of electronic music toy had turned into a "she":-)
Anyway, to my surprise it was in absolute mint condition, with original box, manual & a piece of sheetmusic including "Hark now hear the angels sing"  ah....it's really X-mas, only 3 weeks late!
I will definitely post some pics & scan the manual, it's hilarious:-)...

1/14/2010

Tronichord!!!

I'm a happy guy!... after searching for 10 years, I finally found a Tronichord.  It's the first omnichord ever designed and quite rare. Next blog I will post the pictures of my collection. I can't wait for it to arrive!