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!)

new repairs...

hi everyone,
Since I also co - host a group on facebook, I haven't come round to posting much stuff here, sorry :-) But here's some good news for my Canadian friends: Just found a new repairman in Toronto: Keith Robert Murray.  He's specialised in analog (and digital!) synthesizer repairs. check out his site and contact him there.  http://www.keithrobertmurray.com/