Has anyone played an Omnichord?

[johnnYYac]

Am I a fool?  I just bought a used Q-Chord on eBay.  Its the newest version of the Omnichord that Jim James uses on Touch Me I'm Going to Scream Pt. 2 (Evil Urges), Sooner (Acoustic Chorale), and What a Wonderful Man (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mVj3FYAF4c), among others.  

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=380180056750&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT (scroll down for photo)

I paid $200.  New ones, with case, AC adapter, etc., run around $275 and up.  My wife thinks I'm crazy, but what else is new?  

Anyway, does anyone out there have experience monkeying around with the Q-Chord or other Omnichord units?  I'm hoping to start my own one-man MMJ cover band (jk).  :)  

Here's a link to info about the Q-Chord: http://www.qchord.net/index.html

[Shepardspy]

haha it's good to hear i'm not the only fool.  I bought a q-chord a couple months ago.  I wanted an old omnichord but i couldn't win any on ebay.

It's fun to play with, but my only gripe is that when you play a beat there's a whole damn orchestration that plays along with.  I just want to play a simple beat and play my "beep bop beep bops" over it like the omnichord does.  

The q-chord does a few more things than a omnichord does.  It has over 100 different sounds.      

[Ghosts_on_TV]

I've played one. Very easy to play.

[AlwxanderD10]

I think the q chord even has different cartridge type things you can put in for more sounds

[johnnYYac]

haha it's good to hear i'm not the only fool.  I bought a q-chord a couple months ago.  I wanted an old omnichord but i couldn't win any on ebay.

Exactly!  The Omnichord (various models) often go for more than a new Q-Chord on eBay.  Also, some say the analog sound of the Omnichord is nicer than the digital Q-Chord.

[darkglow]

I am far from being instrumentally inclined but from the first time I ever heard the omnichord I fell in love with it. I heard it for the first time in 2005 in Birmingham at the Sloss Furnace when Jim played "This magic moment" on one and when I heard them use one on "Touch Me Pt. 2" it was definitely what put me over the top.


I bought one (Suzuki OM-100) in the summer of 2008 after Evil Urges came out and stepped up and bought a Suzuki OM-300 MIDI model in July of 2009. It is a great stress reliever for me out here at sea when there's not a lot of escape from work. (I am in the US navy on a ship stationed out of Sasebo, Japan) I can take a 3 or 4 chord progression and just jam for 45 minutes with my eyes rolled into the back of my head and forget about every care in the world.

I have been doing some brainstorming on design and concepts for an Omnichord enthusist webpage to bring more of us crazy folks together. I've been slow to produce due to lack of time away from work but hopefully with the holiday season I will have more time to start. I just don't want to roll out some halfway-thought out project.

I found that there's little information about these quirky machines available online and you have to find them in all sorts of places (yahoo discussion groups, Qchord page, facebook group, ebay) so it would be nice to bring it all together onto one page.

Also when I look at an omnichord that is almost 30 years old I like to think there's a good story to go along and I'd like to provide a place where people can share stories about theirs. I saw a picture of one on ebay for sale that had a big hole drilled in the front of it so that it could be mounted onto the side of a wheelchair at a nursing home. By the way I do a search for "omnichord" on ebay at least once every 2 weeks, not sure why.

I also spend a really long time playing mine with little to no formal instruction on strumming techniques, and etc. and so I think it would be cool to have a place where people can collaborate and share ideas on that sort of thing.

If anyone is interested in providing ideas or helping me promote this in any sort of way (graphic design, ideas, spread the word, etc) let me know.

[AlwxanderD10]

No omnichord is complete without the octopus sticker though. ::)

[ALady]

darkglow, what a cool story!  I've never tried an omnichord but like you I still do the occasional searches on eBay   ;D  Would love to try one out someday!

[weeniebeenie]

No omnichord is complete without the octopus sticker though. ::)

Of course.

[aMillionDreams]

Good to see you around these parts again, darkglow. I love your idea about the omnichord page.  Definitely keep us updated.  I would have an omnichord by now if the wife didn't think they're annoying.

[Sticky Icky Green Stuff]

is it possible to re-create the zelda theme song on the omnichord? it seems like the ultimate vintage video game music creator.

[Sticky Icky Green Stuff]

I am far from being instrumentally inclined but from the first time I ever heard the omnichord I fell in love with it. I heard it for the first time in 2005 in Birmingham at the Sloss Furnace when Jim played "This magic moment" on one and when I heard them use one on "Touch Me Pt. 2" it was definitely what put me over the top.


I bought one (Suzuki OM-100) in the summer of 2008 after Evil Urges came out and stepped up and bought a Suzuki OM-300 MIDI model in July of 2009. It is a great stress reliever for me out here at sea when there's not a lot of escape from work. (I am in the US navy on a ship stationed out of Sasebo, Japan) I can take a 3 or 4 chord progression and just jam for 45 minutes with my eyes rolled into the back of my head and forget about every care in the world.

I have been doing some brainstorming on design and concepts for an Omnichord enthusist webpage to bring more of us crazy folks together. I've been slow to produce due to lack of time away from work but hopefully with the holiday season I will have more time to start. I just don't want to roll out some halfway-thought out project.

I found that there's little information about these quirky machines available online and you have to find them in all sorts of places (yahoo discussion groups, Qchord page, facebook group, ebay) so it would be nice to bring it all together onto one page.

Also when I look at an omnichord that is almost 30 years old I like to think there's a good story to go along and I'd like to provide a place where people can share stories about theirs. I saw a picture of one on ebay for sale that had a big hole drilled in the front of it so that it could be mounted onto the side of a wheelchair at a nursing home. By the way I do a search for "omnichord" on ebay at least once every 2 weeks, not sure why.

I also spend a really long time playing mine with little to no formal instruction on strumming techniques, and etc. and so I think it would be cool to have a place where people can collaborate and share ideas on that sort of thing.

If anyone is interested in providing ideas or helping me promote this in any sort of way (graphic design, ideas, spread the word, etc) let me know.

it'd be sick to run the omni through a sampler like the KP3:



that shit has some wicked delay/grain shifter/loop/sampling functions.   it'd be interesting to hear what a super intense omnichord setup sounds like.

[BadfooT]

I have the OM 100 I bought off ebay about 2 years ago.  Fun unit to play and really simple.  It did not take long to learn Touch me pt 2 and Tonight I want to celibrate.  I had to bid on several on ebay before I got this one.  I also read several reviews that said the older models were better than the new q chord...though I have nothing to compare.

[johnnYYac]

Okay, bear with me and be honest if I should stop doing this right now.  

Below is a link to my first recording using the QChord, an instrumental cover of Wonderful (The Way I Feel) by Yim Yames.  

http://johnnyyac.tripod.com/

[AMightyCaporal]

Okay, bear with me and be honest if I should stop doing this right now.  

Below is a link to my first recording using the QChord, an instrumental cover of Wonderful (The Way I Feel) by Yim Yames.  

http://johnnyyac.tripod.com/

That was killer! Don't stop til you get enough johnnyyac!

[johnnYYac]

Okay, bear with me and be honest if I should stop doing this right now.  

Below is a link to my first recording using the QChord, an instrumental cover of Wonderful (The Way I Feel) by Yim Yames.  

http://johnnyyac.tripod.com/

That was killer! Don't stop til you get enough johnnyyac!

Thanks, AMC.  I've got a 1984 Omnichord OM 84 coming from Utah, just in time for Christmas.  I think I got it at a steal- $125.  I'll put up a sample so folks can hear the difference.  I like the Q but it lacks the "basic" sounds that you get from the old school version JJ uses.  

[AMightyCaporal]

Okay, bear with me and be honest if I should stop doing this right now.  

Below is a link to my first recording using the QChord, an instrumental cover of Wonderful (The Way I Feel) by Yim Yames.  

http://johnnyyac.tripod.com/

That was killer! Don't stop til you get enough johnnyyac!

Thanks, AMC.  I've got a 1984 Omnichord OM 84 coming from Utah, just in time for Christmas.  I think I got it at a steal- $125.  I'll put up a sample so folks can hear the difference.  I like the Q but it lacks the "basic" sounds that you get from the old school version JJ uses.  

A friend of mine has a q-chord and said the same exact thing!

[FiddleCastro]

Okay, bear with me and be honest if I should stop doing this right now.  

Below is a link to my first recording using the QChord, an instrumental cover of Wonderful (The Way I Feel) by Yim Yames.  

http://johnnyyac.tripod.com/

That was killer! Don't stop til you get enough johnnyyac!

Thanks, AMC.  I've got a 1984 Omnichord OM 84 coming from Utah, just in time for Christmas.  I think I got it at a steal- $125.  I'll put up a sample so folks can hear the difference.  I like the Q but it lacks the "basic" sounds that you get from the old school version JJ uses.  

I love the 84, but I'm gonna shoot for a 100 in the near future...

[johnnYYac]

Okay, bear with me and be honest if I should stop doing this right now.  

Below is a link to my first recording using the QChord, an instrumental cover of Wonderful (The Way I Feel) by Yim Yames.  

http://johnnyyac.tripod.com/

That was killer! Don't stop til you get enough johnnyyac!

Thanks, AMC.  I've got a 1984 Omnichord OM 84 coming from Utah, just in time for Christmas.  I think I got it at a steal- $125.  I'll put up a sample so folks can hear the difference.  I like the Q but it lacks the "basic" sounds that you get from the old school version JJ uses.  

I love the 84, but I'm gonna shoot for a 100 in the near future...

There's an OM 100 up on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Omnichord-System-100-OM-100-EXC_W0QQitemZ290386515633QQcmdZViewItemQQptZKeyboards_MIDI?hash=item439c6296b1

[shananana]

Okay, bear with me and be honest if I should stop doing this right now.  

Below is a link to my first recording using the QChord, an instrumental cover of Wonderful (The Way I Feel) by Yim Yames.  

http://johnnyyac.tripod.com/

i'm diggin it!  :)