are there any users here? been kinda looking at them, sorta... i mean they are almost a grand for the og, the midi enabled om150 is still like 600 bucks (and supposedly only is good for midi). the q-chord hasnt got as terrible a price, like 2 bills. kinda wondering if there is a reason. also there is the DIY le strum tho it has got a stylophone pick instead of touch. i guess it could be built so it works more like the og.
dont know where im going any more.
omnichords are cool, normal autoharps too but they dont sound like a glorified casio.
seriously tho who pays a grand for these
i also was reminded of japanese poetry synths googling around. they are cool too. really weird limited note range made for your japanese poetry shenanigans. forgot if they do rhythms tho.
i ate porridge for breakfast. meal of kings
Re: Rum, Sodomy, and Suzuki Omnichords
Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2022 11:13 am
by kaeth
I once made the mistake of buying a Q-Chord instead of an Omni. The Q-Chord MIDI setup is dumb, and needs some major workarounds to use it to control other synths. It also doesn’t quite have the same cheese mojo as it’s a little more hi-fi but in a more boring way, and I don’t think they’re circuit bendable. But if your goal is to just have an instrument that’s like that, it’s still fun to play.
In the not too distant future, I would like to go the Le Strum route, and put it in a nice custom box with an Arpie for bass accompaniment.
1) I'll be the bearer of bad news on the Japanese poetry synths. Unfortunately, the coolest thing about them is their name. Like myself, you were probably imagining synthesized human speech or loops of recited poetry. (sorry to disappoint you) They're meant for accompaniment to the human voice (so basically every other musical instrument)...99% of what poetry synths deliver will be similar to a thrift shop Yamaha (think early 1990s PSS-270 quality or worse). some are rare & climbing in price ($300-500+). some are still under $200. for that price, you're probably getting a synthetic koto sound & not much more.
This is the most extensive video I've seen on the various models.
2) the original (usually grey/cream) Omnichord has more cheese, but they've become harder to find & are definitely overpriced
3) the maroon Q-Chord+ has a better sound engine, but it's not really inspirational (as kaeth noted). I let mine go at a pawn shop close to 20 years ago, and I have a hard time seeing myself buying one again, even if it was $200 or less. (the current $479 street price is absurd)
4) before the Omnichord was the Portachord---maybe the best for stripped-down ambient minimalism
(Portachord in action with a bent Omnichord just before 7:30)
5) if you're wanting to make toy sounds the cornerstone of a project, look into UVI's Toy Suite (list $399). it has hundreds of toy instruments (>370), including samples of the Portachord. you could demo it for $25 with UVI's monthly pass, and then save your favorite sounds as WAV files, or export them to a hardware sampler.
6) Hainbach popularized the Suiko ST-50 with a few demos, and it's the most comprehensive model I'm aware of...but what is it? Imagine a swap meet Yamaha/Casio, but with kanji and a Japanese tuning....but instead of it costing you $35-50, imagine being asked to pay $1,100 - $1,500.
*spoiler alert* the reverb is doing the heavy-lifting. Nearly anything can sound inspiring/cinematic/atmospheric with a good reverb or delay. It simply comes down to your approach and how you implement the tools that are available to you.
7) if you just want a handheld toy for making sounds at the park or on the bus, there's a $70 Shigin MKII on Reverb right now. You can always find stuff like this via eBay Japan, too. With the Japanese market, though expect to pay inflated prices. For search engines, try Shigin synth / poetry synth / koto synth/ Suiko synth.
Re: Rum, Sodomy, and Suzuki Omnichords
Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2022 6:52 pm
by coupleonapkins
Great post, echorec
I was lost but now I'm found, etc.
Counterpoint: hook up a few smaller cheap synths at a time and play them in tandem, a la Aki Tsuyuko (or Garth Hudson in another universe).
None of these options have the strummability of those Omnis, but I'll be damned if they don't ring the ding bell in my mind (& also below $200, unless you factor in a Phase 90 clone of somesort).
qersty wrote:i ate porridge for breakfast. meal of kings
Re: Rum, Sodomy, and Suzuki Omnichords
Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2022 1:57 am
by qersty
i mean ive always known the poetry synths just made old silly bloops. had no idea it was a super inflated market though.
bummer to hear about the q chord not being good tho
Re: Rum, Sodomy, and Suzuki Omnichords
Posted: Fri Dec 09, 2022 3:23 pm
by crochambeau
I've got a beat up old OM27. It was fun and groovy while it worked. As soon as I decided I'd like to explore some pitch to MIDI hijinks the harp circuitry stopped working.
I cannot fathom paying anywhere near $1K for something like this in mint condition, but I'm a cheapskate.
I remember working at a used instrument store in the 1990s and the owner refused to buy Omnichords because they often broke. Accelerated scarcity due to malfunction could be a price driver. I suppose I should dig into this thing and see if I can figure what's wrong with it.
Re: Rum, Sodomy, and Suzuki Omnichords
Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2022 4:47 pm
by qersty
i think they use good ol discrete circuitry so it breaking shouldnt be that big a problem. not a 1K used problem at least. the hype just gets weirder to me the more i think about it. like they are cool but how are they 1k cool. who with the money to pay 1k for an omnicord makes music with it?
Re: Rum, Sodomy, and Suzuki Omnichords
Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2022 7:01 pm
by crochambeau
qersty wrote:i think they use good ol discrete circuitry so it breaking shouldnt be that big a problem. not a 1K used problem at least. the hype just gets weirder to me the more i think about it. like they are cool but how are they 1k cool. who with the money to pay 1k for an omnicord makes music with it?
Turns out I'm a complete moron. The batteries I had in it only added up to 8.4 volts and it wants 12 volts. Plugged in a proper supply and it's good to go.
There are some ICs in mine, something that looks like it could be an organ top octave divider IC from the back (solder) side, but I haven't bothered to do a complete tear down on this. I might eventually, as I need to replace a missing chord switch cap.
I know there is or was a world-wide fan site, maybe they've gained traction?
There are also organ enthusiasts that speak a different musical language than I and have their set of bespoke values that I have trouble comprehending. I kind of lump the Omnichord in with that universe. Full agree $1K is crazy.
I grabbed a few over past years when they popped up for a good price - original, system two & system 100.
They get to sound a bit more "modern" and with more options/sounds each iteration.
The design feels really nice and they're fun to play with but most of the time they do stay in a box & I'd forgotten about them until this post reminded me.
I have one set of batteries which I got for the original, I think it works for all of them, but otherwise everytime I might think to play around with them I get a slight stress of "what V and what polarity?" and having to hunt through the box of old power supplies.
The strum is definitely the best part, along with just being able to sit anywhere with it.
It's a nice escape from plugging in the usual stuff to the usual stuff in the same place.
I haven't played them in a while, I think I remember them sounding more interesting/"authentic" through their own speaker than plugged into line out.
