Suzuki - Omnichord OM-108

What is Omnichord?

Released in 1981, the Omnichord is an electronic musical instrument with an automatic accompaniment function (auto bass/chord) and equipped with a harp sensor. By pressing a chord button and sliding your finger on the harp sensor (strumplate), an arpeggio corresponding to the chord is heard, allowing anyone to easily accompany a song. Omnichord does not require any previous musical experience with an instrument, or even knowledge of staff notation. All that is needed are the chord names required to play a song which is a method commonly known as ‘tab’. Combined with its portability, Omnichord became extremely popular, especially in Europe and America as a new musical instrument that anyone can enjoy anywhere. In addition, due to the unique electronic sounds that are reminiscent of the 80's, and the tactile way musical expressions are achieved, Omnichord has developed cult status around the world. It not only appears in recorded music, but also publicity photos, and has featured in the titles of songs and albums. The Omnichord name was discontinued after the OM-300 (released in 1996), but its popularity as a unique musical instrument has endured the test of time, and now, over 40 years later the Omnichord returns with the OM-108.

1 KEYBOARD

When this button is turned on, you can play selected chord buttons like a keyboard or drum pad. At the same time, a new feature has been added allowing drum pads to be assigned to the strumplate and auto-off touch pad.

2 VOICE

Equipped with 10 strumplate tones. In the reproduction, the tones of "omni1" and "omni2" are the same as those found on the OM-84, reproduced using analog circuitry. In addition, it is equipped with the electric piano "FM piano", which was all the rage in the 1980s, while carefully selecting "celeste", "harp", etc. from multiple models from the past. We carefully selected 10 tones which represent popular instruments from the past, and still resonate in today's music scene. <Tone>omni1/omni2/harp/celeste/A.piano/guitar/FM piano/organ/vibes/banjo

3 RHYTHM

Equipped with a selection of 10 rhythm patterns that correspond to a variety of music styles. For the first time on any Omnichord, the OM-108 features a trap beat (hip hop). In addition, although some rhythms share the same name as the past models, we have updated many, by incorporating a rhythm pattern that is more current. <RHYTHM> rock1/rock2/slow rock/country/swing/disco/hip hop/funk/bossanova/waltz

4 CHORD

You can play 108 chords just by pressing 1 to 3 chord buttons. “Sus4” and “add9'' chords, which are often used in popular music, have been added to the OM-108.

5 Main & Sub Voice Volume

Each of the 10 tones can be layered with a second tone: Main Voice and Sub Voice, and these can be controlled with individual knobs. For example, when "harp" is selected, "harp" is assigned to the Main Voice, and "Synth Strings" is assigned to the Sub Voice. Create your own sound by adjusting each volume control, thus changing the balance between the two voices. Each Main Voice is pre-assigned with a tone as a Sub Voice that will resonate beautifully when layered.

6 STRUMPLATE

The strumplate is one of the Omnichord’s major features. If you slide your fingers on the strumplate while holding down a chord button, the chord and corresponding arpeggio will sound, similar to a harp, across four octaves.

7 SPEAKER

When connecting to an external speaker etc., you can turn on/off the sound produced by the speaker of the instrument. We listened to the request of Omnichord players who wanted to monitor their own sound during live performances.

8 REAL-TIME CONTROL

It integrates multiple functions that allow you to change the way you play chords and rhythms, such as playing at free tempo, adding bass accompaniment, or starting with a drum prelude.

9 MIDI OUT

You can send chords, strumplate, and drum performance information via MIDI OUT. Strumplate tones can be sent on two separate MIDI channels, allowing for the layering of tones using external MIDI sound sources.

Specifications

【Chord buttons】38 【Chords】major, minor, 7th, major7th, minor7th, augmented, diminished, suspended4th, add9th 【Voices】10 tones (main, sub tones) / 4

octaves 【Rhythm Pattern】10 patterns 【Control】Master Volume, Chord Volume, Main Voice Volume, Sub Voice Volume, Sustain, Rhythm Volume, Tempo

【Button Controls】Power, Chord, KEYBOARD ON/OFF, Voice Select, Rhythm Select, Chord-Manual/Auto, Chord Hold, Rhythm-Start / Sync Start 【Other

Functions】Instant OFF, Transpose, Octave Shift, ON/OFF SPEAKER, Master Tuning 【Speaker】10cm 【Amplifier output】 4.3W 【Jack】DC inlet, LINE OUT

(monaural standard), headphone output (Stereo mini), MIDI OUT 【Power Supply】AC adapter, 8 AA alkaline or Ni-MH batteries (all sold separately) 【Power

consumption】 3.7W 【Continuous battery operation time】Approximately 8 hours 【Measurement】W45.7 x D25.0 x H5.18cm(17.99 x 9.84 x 2.04 in.) 【Weight】

1.2kg(2.65lb) 【Accessories】Melody keyboard overlayer