New OM-108!

 Dear visitor, This is my last post, I'm closing down this page and won't be answering Questions anymore, I'm sorry.  Please take your time to browse through this blog. 

You're welcome to join our facebookgroup. https://www.facebook.com/groups/Omnichord.QChord/ 

Or go to Omnichord Heaven  http://www.suzukimusic.co.uk/omnichord-heaven/ 

This website is the best source of information on Omnichords, hosted by my friend Darren Brown. 

I had real fun creating this blog, the first & - for a long time - only resource on the Net! All in honour of this amazing little Japanese instrument.  

Great news in Juli we hope to test all new The Omnichord 108!  Check Omnichord heaven for more info.

Thanks & keep Strumming! Rob 

Prices go crazy

Hi everyone, due to some kids playing Omnichord tunes on TikTok, omnichord prices have been going up the last few months. A kind of a third wave in omnichord history, prices are higher than ever. Also Suzuki dropped the production of Qchords alltogether. More than ever now's the time to get your omnichord and keep it. 16 years ago I met Abe Thomas in Frankfurt and presented the new omnichord to Suzuki. OK, it would look totally different now, but at the time it was a new & innovative concept. Obviously they didn't agree :-) But, we hope Suzuki is now ready to take on the challenge and surpise us with a new 2021 model. If you have ideas on how to make this happen, please drop me a line. Stay save and keep on strumming! For more daily news, please join us on facebook in the omnichord group. Or keep in contact through Omnichord Heaven.

Omnifest 2020

Hi everyone, I played 3 songs at Omnifest 2020, first worldwide omnichord festival ever (on Zoom) celebrating the official 20 years musicianship of Jenny Omnichord. (Check her out, she's amazing!) It was a wonderful event hosted by Darren Brown of Omnichord Heaven, dressed up as Captain Picard, organizing it all from Starship Enterprise. I met some great musicians from around the globe, great to see other omnichord players like this. Here's an original 'Hurryman' song I did. Hope 2021 will bring us a real life and Corona-free version! Stay safe, eat healthy, play omnichord & sing!

Dear visitor, Please take your time to browse through this blog. All my current omnichord activity is mainly focused on our facebookgroup. https://www.facebook.com/groups/Omnichord.QChord/ Also visit http://www.suzukimusic.co.uk/omnichord-heaven/ This website is the best source of information on Omnichords, hosted by my friend Darren Brown. I had real fun creating this blog, the first & for a long time the only resource on the Net! All in honour of this amazing little japanese instrument. Thanks & keep Strumming! Rob

great OM-27 repair video!

A guy called the Guitologist (his name is Brad Linzy, based in Louisville, KY, USA ) specializes in vintage and high-end guitars and amplifiers with a penchant for the rare and unusual. He did this great video we had a chat & he'll be added to the repair section on the right side of the page! & be sure to check out  his YouTube channel for more great repairs.

 

https://www.youtube.com/user/electrictoothsyndrom

nice Star Trek inspired song

T-shirts!

Claire DeWilde, artist at Artful Armadillo designed these funny & great animal/omnichord designs you can get printed on a T-shirt of your choice! They're available at Redbubble http://www.redbubble.com/people/artfularmadillo/works/22706514-omnichord-animals

in the spotlight: David Ramos

David Ramos was born in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, in april 1974.
His first approach to electronic music was at the age of eight when he was given a Casio PT-1 electronic keyboard. In the early years he form several electronic bands and, in 2001, publishes his first commercial cd “Electronic Sounds Experience” under the name LowenStein. In this point he decides begin a solo career. He composes the music for a lot of short films and movies, like Jess Franco´s “Snakewoman (2005)” . 2008 is the year of “Nocturnatta” his first conceptual album, experimental, romantic and evocative, this album forms the basis for his later works. From this point he begins a new travel investigating on electronic, noise, experimental, sampling and circuit bending sounds until today. Nowadays he combines his own personal experiments on music, experimental projects and film soundtracks with the Gree-Do band concerts. Always in electronic, he is looking for new sounds to take to your ears and mind every single day.

More info at: soundcloud.com/david-ramos-14

R.I.P mr. David Bowie

It was a shock this morning to hear the news...goodbye mr Bowie, thanks for all your songs, I'm sure they will last forever.
http://www.liveleak.com/ll_embed?f=8ee0bf358c07

The man who sold the ....Omnichord

The NAMM did an interview with Abe Thomas, a remarkable man who introduced the omnichord to the Americans. I met Abe years ago at the Frankfurter Messe, we've been keeping contact since.
Together we started the facebook group and now, for the first time, someone took the time to interview Abe about how it all started. enjoy this video, it's really great!
https://www.namm.org/library/oral-history/abe-thomas

Playing Sus chords on a Omnichord

Gabriel Velasco, one of the groupmembers in my Omnichord Facebook group, came with an explanation how to tackle sus chords on a Qchord. This also suits the later models omnichord. 
A little lesson in Music theory :-)

" Sus chords are a bit tricky. The QChord does not play Sus chords. I cannot explain the workaround without a bit of music theory so bear with me. I'll try to keep it simple.

A major chord is made up of the first note of the scale, called the tonic, the third note of the scale, called the third (duh), and the fifth note of the scale, called the fifth. If you flat the third, you now have a minor chord - 1 3b 5.  
All of the other chords that the QChord can play - 7th, minor 7th, diminished, and augmented - either have a third which gives you a "major sound" or a flatted third which gives you a "minor sound."

A sus chord is different. A sus chord drops the third. It "suspends" the third. You can't tell whether it's major or minor because it's neither. A sus chord will replace the third with either a second or a fourth. I know I just lost some of you, but hang in there a few more seconds.

You can sometimes find a suitable replacement for the sus chord, but the right replacement depends on the melody. If the melody is not using the 2nd, 4th note of the scale at that point in the music, then you can usually just play the major chord. So, if the song asks for an A2 (sometimes written Asus2), or an A4 (sometimes written Asus4 or just Asus), then you can try playing an A. So, that's usually the first thing to try. Just play the major version of the sus chord in the music. If that doesn't sound good, try the minor version of the chord. In this case an Am. Try the major first, then the minor.

If the melody IS using the 2nd or the 4th note of the scale, now things get slightly more tricky. If you just play the major or minor version of the chord, the 3rd in those chords will clash with the melody. So, if you try the major first and it doesn't sound good, then you try the minor and it doesn't sound good either, you have to try something else.

Sus4 is more common than sus2, and if all that's written is "sus", then it's probably a sus4. If the major and minor don't work it's probably because the melody contains a 4 or 2 at that point, so you'll want to try the IV chord of the song first or the II chord of the song next. I know. Some of your eyes are glossing over right now, but just hang in there. I'll give you a rule of thumb below.

Here's the order of chords to try. Let's assume that the song is in the key of C and the song wants you to play a Csus here.

1. Try a C (major). Does it work? Yay! You're done.

2. Try a Cm. Does it work? Yay! You're done.

3. Try the IV chord. In the key of C, the IV chord is an F. If the melody contains an F at this point, the F major chord might work. Does it work? Yes? Yay! You dealt with tricky one.

4. Try the ii chord. In the key of C, the ii chord is a Dm. If the melody contains a D at this point, the Dm chord might work. Does it? Yay!!! You just dealt with a VERY tricky one.

5. If none of those work, try all of the other chords in the key of C.

6. Doesn't work? You're hosed. Scratch the song off of your list of playable songs, and never bother with it again.

Here's a cheat sheat for chords to substitute for a suspended chord in order:

Csus - C, Cm, F, Dm, Em, G, Am, Bdim
C#sus - C#, C#m, F#, D#m, Fm, G#m, A#m, Cdim
Dsus - D, Dm, G, Em, F#m, Am, Bm, C#dim
D#sus - D#, D#m, G#, Fm, Gm, A#m, Cm, Ddim
Esus - E, Em, A, F#m, G#m, Bm, C#m, D#dim
Fsus - F, Fm, A#, Gm, Am, Cm, Dm, Edim
F#sus - F#, F#m, B, G#m, A#m, C#m, D#m, Fdim
Gsus - G, Gm, C, Am, Bm, Dm, Em, F#dim
G#sus - G#, G#m, C#, A#m, Cm, D#m, Fm, Gdim
Asus - A, Am, D, Bm, C#m, Em, F#m, G#dim
A#sus - A#, A#m, D#, Cm, Dm, Fm, Gm, Adim
Bsus - B, Bm, E, C#m, D#m, F#m, G#m, A#dim


Thanks Velasco!

Suzuki Nobara for sale in France!

It's a bit off topic, but if anyone's looking...The Suzuki Nobara, I would love to get my hands on one... this instrument rarely pops up on the net. It's one of these Suzuki inventions, Suzuki Japan kept hidden from the rest of the world I guess. Here your chance!
http://fr.audiofanzine.com/clavier-arrangeur/suzuki/omnichord-om27/petites-annonces/i.932257.html

introducing Omnichord Players: Cornelia

 

Cornelia Dahlgren is a Swedish singer, songwriter and producer known by the stage name Cornelia. She runs her own independent label called Camp Mozart. Cornelia participated in the first season of Swedish Idol 2004, however dropped out of the show in the final stages as she did not consider the manufactured approach to the music true to what she was about. She also  participated in the Red Bull Music Academy in 2008

In search of her own musical voice and new collaborators, she moved from Stockholm to London. Six years on, her decision to jump into an unknown adventure has proven to be the the right one.
Now there’s her debut album Balun. Enchanting electronic pop songs that bear traces of her prolific collaborations with artists such as neo jazz band Portico, downbeat connoisseur Bonobo and dub step producer Scratcha DVA. Balun is a gem of mysterious melodies, playful beats and Cornelia’s mesmerizing tales about London. Here she reveals her favourite corners of her adopted hometown.

We hope to see Cornelia live at the Omnicon 2016!

http://www.iamcornelia.com/

'Wende' guitarist Maarten van Damme and his OM-84

I went to see a livegig by 'Wende' this afternoon in my hometown. She's an amazing dutch artist, and she played with this great 3 piece band. I know some of you here will definitely like her music. On arrival I heard a familiar sound....I rushed to front of the stage, quick scan and yes..an OM-84!
Wende did her show, great band, great songs, amazing performance...
she'll soon outgrow Holland I think.

After the gig I had a 'hi,helloI'mRobandIwriteaboutomnichords@the edge-of the-podium' talk with Maarten, the guitarist who also plays the OM-84. We just had time for a quick snapshot, but I asked him if he can send one of him and his omni. I hope we'll have a longer talk about his view on this instrument later. If you're interested, listen to Wende and her music here: http://wende.nu/en/enter

Qchord midi problems solved?

Another blogger, Simon Lawrence, built an application for Mac to solve the Q's midi problems.
Tells you someting about the internet & google searches : It took us 5 years to find it :-)
But, great work,  I'm going to test it right away! http://antifluke.blogspot.nl

Pascal Labrouillere posted a new documentary film about a funny frenchy Sunday afternoon in Marmande, town in south ouest of France. The sound track was made with a circuit bent - folktek - OMNICHORD! Hope you will enjoy this "broken" omnichord experiment. thanks for sharing Pascal!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9l9IRao-bU
https://vimeo.com/119406879
https://www.facebook.com/pascal.labrouillere

the OM-27

The OM27 was released in 1981 and became an international overnight success as a truly portable electronic musical instrument. Released in three colours, brown, ivory and Red (ultra rare)*, the Omnichord has 27 chords grouped into three rows: major, minor and seventh. The ergonomics were much improved over the Portachord/Tronichord with the 27 chord buttons located centrally and the Sonic Strings located just to the right and turned by 90 degrees. This made for a far more comfortable playing experience. An "Instant Off" touch pad was located at the top of the strumplate which silenced the Omnichord. The built in speaker was located on the right of the Strumplate whilst the new control panel was located on the left of the chord buttons. Although only one sound was provided for the Stumplate (Harp) the new adjustable sustain meant the instrument could be played percussively or like a stringed instrument. The 5 new styles (rhythms) with automatic bass and chords completely opened up the Omnichord and gave Suzuki the much required extra features the Tronichord lacked and a complete marketing program was put into place.

Design change
Although the metal touch sensitive plate could be played by hand, the OM27 was also supplied with a special conductive Rubber Plectrum. It became apparent those with dry hands struggled to create a sound and a new touch responsive membrane strumplate design was adopted which could be played more easily. As a result the Plectrum was dropped completely. One could retro fit the OM27 with the newly designed plate and these models can easily be recognized by the lack of the 1" plastic moulding directly under the 'instant off' touch plate. This new design has been retained through every model since, including the QC1.

Accessories included:
OCA Mains Adapter.
OCC1 Silver Padded vinyl gig bag with strap and Omnichord Logo. A zipped compartment on the outside for storage of small items (such as the Plectrum)
OCC2 A very fine locking hard carry case finished in brown leatherette and gold Omnichord Logo with a plush lined interior and a storage compartment for accessories such as plectrum, adapter and batteries.
OCS-7 Amplified Speaker
OCM-3 Microphone

Information taken from  www.omnichord-heaven.com 

* note: 
not really sure about this, I never came across a red one. The only one I ever saw was on this picture. If anybody owns or seen one, please contact me, send a photo or...sell it to me:-)

new Manual arrived....

Thanks to Max Sentry we now have a PDF version of the original OM-300 manual.
You can download it for free here or from the Manuals/Schematics/Links section on the right.
Thanks Max for contacting me and taking the time to do this!

The only one missing now is the OM-36! I hope to have one in soon.

The Burning Hell

I found some more great omnichord sounds from a band I didn't know yet.

The Burning Hell is the alter-ego of ukulele player and all-purpose nerd Mathias Kom. While the band can occasionally bloom into a multi-instrumental monster with members all across Canada and Europe, The Burning Hell is now happily based in St. John's, Newfoundland. The essence of The Burning Hell is music to dance to while laughing about death and smiling out of the side of your mouth.

They're touring Europe right now, check them out!
http://www.wearetheburninghell.com/shows.htm

Omnichords, who plays and where?

Bands & musicians who have used omnichords in their music.

A-F

• A-HA, uses the Omnichord in their live performances of the song Holyground from the album Analogue (album) ( 2005 )
• Arcade Fire, "Ocean of Noise", from the album Neon Bible
• Au Revoir Simone
• the Burning Hell
• The Bens
• Björk
• Sarah Blasko "Amazing Things" from What the Sea Wants, The Sea Will Have
• David Bowie on Heathen
• Jarvis Cocker
• Elvis Costello
• DEVO's Oh, No! It's Devo album
• The Dixie Chicks 
• Dntel
• Bob Dylan
• Brian Eno  Check out the ENO & Cale Album 'Wrong Way Up'
• Eurythmics - Love is a stranger 
• Espers

G-M 

•  Gorillaz  - Clint Eastwood  
• The Gomorrah Lapse
• Half-handed Cloud released Halos and Lassos, in which nearly all the tracks use an Omnichord
•  The High Fidelity  In 2000 the band released The Omnichord Album; an album of songs featuring omnichords (as well as the occasional QChord).
• Kasabian 
  
• Daniel Lanois
• The Folk Implosion, "One Part Lullabye"
• Cyndi Lauper uses an Omnichord to assist with writing songs, and is in some recordings.
• Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins, "You Are What You Love"
• London Elektricity  released Power Ballads (2005) on the Hospital Records label, an album which involves omnichords. The cover art shows the artist, Tony Colman, holding a black and white Omnichord.
• John Mayer Room for Squares
• The Mae Shi "Body 2" from Terrorbird and "Remarkably Dirty Animals" and "Nickel Arcade" from Do Not Ignore The Potential
• The Magnetic Fields 69 Love Songs
• Metalmags 
• My Morning Jacket 
• de Novo Dahl 

 N-Z

• Oh Land - Video
• Pagan Wanderer Lu
• Dolly Parton
• Ariel Pink "She's My Girl" from House Arrest/Lover Boy (Haunted Graffiti 5-6)
• John Ringhofer (Half-handed Cloud) on Halos and Lassos
• SELF on the albums Breakfast with Girls & Gizmodgery  
• Silvertongue(NO)
• Stranded Mermaid (Sweden)  Video
• Ringo Starr
• That band from Holland  a band from Rotterdam that uses several Omnichords, 
• Trio "Tooralooralooraloo - Is It Old & Is It New"
• Ween
• Robbie Williams
• U2 - if you listen carefully, you can detect the omnichord in a lot of songs.

(source: a.o. Answers.com and many more!)