Omnichord

Suzuki conceived the Omnichord as an electronic autoharp. Your left hand presses the chord buttons, which cover major, minor and 7th chords (later models add more types). Your right hand brushes the strum plate, which Suzuki calls Sonic Strings. The plate plays only the notes of the chord you hold, spread over about four octaves.

Hold C and sweep along the plate from its low end, and you hear C, E and G repeating as they climb, in a soft, chiming electronic tone. Press Am and the same sweep plays A, C and E. Tap one spot and you get a single note from the chord. A built-in drum machine plays preset rhythms such as rock, waltz, Latin and swing at a tempo you set.

The first model, the OM-27 of 1981, had 27 chord buttons. The OM-36 and OM-84 followed in 1984, with 36 and 84 chord shapes and an improved strum plate. The OM-300 came in the early 1990s, and in 1999 Suzuki redesigned the instrument as the QChord. In 2024 Suzuki announced the OM-108, with emulations of the earlier models, new sounds and drum presets.

Eurythmics used the Omnichord on their 1982 single “Love Is a Stranger”, and Damon Albarn used the OM-300’s Rock 1 preset for the 2001 Gorillaz single “Clint Eastwood”.

Gelato Chord, our iPhone app, is built in the same spirit. Seven keys play the seven chords of your key, and a twelve-string melody plate lights up the notes of the chord you hold.

What is an Omnichord covers the history in full. Original models sell for high prices secondhand, which why the Omnichord is so expensive explains, and Omnichord alternatives lists cheaper ways to get the same feel.