This vintage gear review, via OmniCave, takes a look at the Suzuki Omnichord OM-27 from 1981.
The Omnichord was designed and marketed to be an anyone-can-play ‘electronic Autoharp’. It features a rhythm section, chord buttons, and a strum plate that lets you play notes from the currently selected chord.
It might have become a kitsch object, if musicians like Daniel Lanois & Brian Eno had not found creative ways to use it. Lanois and Eno made the Omnichord a key part of the sound of
Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks, a classic ambient soundtrack from 1981.
If you’ve used the Omnichord, leave a comment and share your thoughts on it!
There is the polychord for iPad which is very like the omnichord
Korg’s next recreation. You know you want one. Its almost like a theremin for people who are too drunk to wave their hands in the air. Like.
I have a QChord and I love how weird it is.
Fantastic-sounding instrument.
My favourite Omnichord-heavy track is Flu Music, a b-side by Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVVZ5tba2XQ
A lady at a church I went to in the 1980s used an Omnichord to lead the singing.
I thought I recognized the distinctive rhythm patterns of the Omnichord on songs on Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks.