| StoreTags: suzuki, omnichord, lame
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i just picked up an old suzuki omnichord 200m... the "m" is for "midi", the 1st in this series to have a midi out.
i love the concept of every chord voicing being available as a single button along with the touch ribbon to add melody notes in the current chord. apparently it sends on 3 midi channels... the built-in walking bassline (that just bounces up and down the current chord), the main chord, and the melody ribbon, but i have to find a midi cable to drive some vsti's. i think it has the potential to be fun but just in screwing with the on board stuff for a few minutes i can say that the level of control just isn't there to be really expressive. i'll try to post some samples if i come up with anything rad. in the meantime here are some videos to demonstrate the awesome of musicians i'm joining the ranks of.
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07/05/08
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monty
that first link made me chuckle so much i hurt my lungs.
i like how he asks you to "plan to have fun with your Qchord"
in case your were planning to use it for self harm.
I WANT ONE
07/05/08
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eyesnine
i've eyed this thing before, it seems like it could be really cool to run it into your computer via midi and trigger samples or synths or whatever. you could also mess with midi effects too. i'd like to see some vids of people that got really into it, these guys don't really seem to be getting the most out of it. they're kinda funny how they revel in the cheez factor.
07/05/08
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fakeBlooper
it looks like the omnichord is a popular bending target. maybe if i get really bored with it. it was only $80.. you can get the non-midi versions cheaper.
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07/06/08
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Lara
I've sold a few of those to old people! They are funny. And fun to cheese wank on for a good amount of time. Have fun!!!
07/06/08
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adcBicycle
that video of the folktek bent one is amazing... so beautiful !
07/06/08
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ejectorset
yeah i would think with midi out you could have fun with that and something like max/msp, bidule, pd, reaktor, etc. you could split up the notes in the chords it sends and stagger them slightly, switch out some notes occasionally, have it do some inversions, etc.
07/06/08
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eyesnine
nice bends!
07/06/08
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j_chot
I want one too!
07/06/08
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hageir
dog at 1:30
nazi at 0:36
!!!
but seriously.
you have to post a demo/video of the omnichord controlling a synth via MIDI
07/06/08
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fakeBlooper
okay found a midi cable and it actually is pretty f#ing cool. there's a certain combination of settings on the unit you have to get right to play as you'd expect it as a midi controller. 1st, it doesn't send clock or anything else, only note on/off (the 200m version anyway). autobass = off, chord hold = off. this wil send the root note of your current chord on channel 1, the main chord on channel 2, and the melody ribbon on channel 3. using these settings you can get a full adsr in your synth by holding down a chord button and releasing. the melody notes are mapped to the ribbon in 4 sections for each octave but they aren't consistent in how they're mapped... like if you wanted to extend the individual metal contacts to specifically trigger a certain note. most go straight up the notes, some (mostly the minors) jump all over up and down as you go up. maybe this is out of design to emulate a harp but it's annoying because i wanted to know exactly which melody note i'd be triggering in the chord... like I, IV, III of the chord.
i spent an hour just going through a beatles lead sheet book i have triggering their chord progressions into ableton arp racks on the chord, imposcar on the bass and operator on the melody. awesome.
it will def take some practice because you still have to learn were all the chords are to "play" it proper. you can get some control on the melody but like i said, you won't know exactly which note position you'll be hitting in the chord.
07/07/08
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eyesnine
i've never said it before, but if there was ever a time, then this is it:
SMAPLES OR STFU!
hey, that felt good!
07/07/08
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RogerRoger
Guess I'm a little late on this, but I've used the non-Midi version and gotten good results running through a Electrix Filter Factory and a digital delay.
I'd hope you wouldn't paint yourself in a corner with the limitations it poses, but it sounds like you can at least sequence several things at once with it. Can't wait to hear what you come up with.
07/07/08
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infradead
i love my omnichord. so much fun with a low pass fiter
07/07/08
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jmdaly
yeah, I got an omnichord, the 100īs have a beautiful honey sweet tone to them. I have a 200, and I made my song agoria, which you can find on my emhomepage thing, with it. Very nice machine, and although the controls are wanky, if you can figure it out it becomes a great tool, awesome for live stuff too.
07/27/08
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Sonarcade
my friend's band plays with this thing on a few tracks here: link mainly on Bee Cave.
this thing is amazing. too bad the cheapest one I can find is for a cool $200.
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