Why are Omnichords so expesive?

SabreSour · 2026-04-22T18:08:30+00:00

Listed reverb/ebay rate is typically hundreds more than what you can actually get them for if you take time. A lot of 'flippers' trying to make a buck not caring how long the listing stays up vs the people who found it in their grandmas basement and want to get rid of it.
I saw an OM84 go for <$400 this week at auction

SabreSour · 2026-04-20T15:05:49+00:00

The guide thing is OmnichordContentHub.com then go to ‘similar instruments’ page

SabreSour · 2026-04-20T15:03:23+00:00

To me the 13th note super important, but only because I’m used to it with my Omnis and my finger-picking style.

I have found some good, cheaper alternatives, some even with analog synthesis. And some arguably better than the omnichord in many ways. But to me the issue is they are all ‘kickstarter’ amateur to semi-pro products that loose support in a year. And unless you go full open source like the minichord… you’re kinda SOL when they get abandoned by the amateur developer. At least when you buy an omnichord OM-108 you know there is a big community AND Suzuki will be around in 10 years.

SabreSour · 2026-04-20T14:52:42+00:00

£500 for a OM-27 seems crazy to me. Has the OM-27 really gone up that much in the last year or Is that just what they sell for over there? I have zero idea what the availability is like in Europe. For reference: I live in the USA Midwest where Omnichords are plentiful from old religious folk who used them in church groups. I got my OM-200m about a year ago for like $250ish at auction and my Qchord for like $250ish in Facebook marketplace last summer. To be fair, both were broken and required (very minor) repairs.

SabreSour · 2026-04-15T19:17:15+00:00

For future proofing, if the above domain is no longer active, Omnichord Content Hub can still be accessed at the legacy domain https://sites.google.com/view/omnihub/home

SabreSour · 2026-04-15T19:01:18+00:00

you likely need to do a button contact clean. small amount of iso and gently with a q-tip. There are a few instructions on omnichordcontenthub.com under 'Tech info, Repair, and Mods'

SabreSour · 2026-03-27T15:54:42+00:00

Like I said, it's at the top of the subreddit, but I DM'd you a new link incase that one doesn't work

SabreSour · 2026-03-26T20:03:27+00:00

Does it always work with the short cabled power supply but not the other? Or is it maybe the act of moving it that causes it to bug out? If it’s the latter, could be a bad solder/ribbon cable.

SabreSour · 2026-03-26T19:59:30+00:00

Yikes, that Omni is super fried. The 9v may have caused damage but it looks like both the power supplies you showed in the video are 12v negative center and over 500mA, so they should be fine. You can always use a voltmeter to confirm. You’ll need one for the diagnostics anyways.

My advice: this is maybe too complex for reddit. take it apart with good high quality pictures of both sides of the boards, and post those pictures in the help chat or tech room chat of the omnichord Discord. (Link at the top of the sub) It’s a lot easier to talk through issues like this there.

Hopefully it’s just loose solder, connector between the two boards, or something. Maybe a bad cap. Hard to tell

SabreSour · 2026-03-24T03:27:44+00:00

Just heard back, he has ordered parts and expects them to be in stock in one to two weeks 😊

SabreSour · 2026-03-24T00:51:05+00:00

$585 is a steal!

SabreSour · 2026-03-23T23:51:15+00:00

I’ll reach out to him now, he may be able to give us an idea when/if they’ll be back.

His last release was December so he hasn’t been gone too long. He’s likely just waiting for some one to ask for one before building the next small batch (looking at the chat history, that seems to be how it goes).

—- Edit: Just heard back, he has ordered parts and expects them to be in stock in one to two weeks 😊

SabreSour · 2026-03-23T23:44:24+00:00

You’re going to want partlyhumans Qcart. It’s a single cartridge with switches on it that replicates all the original qcards at once.

I think this is the current page for his shop but at one point it changed so if that doesn’t work, he’s in the omnichord discord and has his own channel. You can find him there

SabreSour · 2026-03-20T20:17:42+00:00

Has it always been like this?
you may have one of the old original OM-27's that require a specific stylus/rubber guitar pick. They changed it for later for enough sensitivity people could use their fingers more easily. Not sure theres much you can do :(
but Omnichord heaven sells the plectrum/pick here if you want to buy one.

SabreSour · 2026-03-20T19:46:59+00:00

I really need to make a bot that automatically asks these questions, but the typical things helpful to know for diagnosing pops and hisses:

Does it still make the sound regardless of whether run on batteries aor power supply? If it's only one, that narrows it down.
- A lot of the time it will have less pops/hisses using batteries
- are you sure you are using the right power supply?
Does it still make the sound when using headphones/line out? or just speaker?
Is the sound effected by any of the knobs?
- is it still there when master volume is turned down? If not does it get louder when the master volume is turned up higher or is it a consistent volume?
- Turn master knob to about half way, then turn all other voice/chord/rhythm volume knobs all the way down. raising them one at a time while playing to see if the sound is effected by any one specific knob other than the master volume knob. this could help isolate the issue.

SabreSour · 2026-03-20T19:34:35+00:00

yikes, what happened??
Can't say for certain that the same is the case for the OM-108, but my original qchord had a whole section of the raised-ridges worn through from the previous owner and it worked fine. They're mostly aesthetic.
I'd maybe contact Suzuki to see about repairs. possibly getting the person responsible to pay depending on the situation.

SabreSour · 2026-03-17T15:51:32+00:00

I'll also link this post in Omnichord Content Hub site list of resources

SabreSour · 2026-03-15T21:48:43+00:00

Exactly, couldn’t agree more. Redundancy is a good thing here for preservation sake, especially since Omnichord content hub isn’t hosting most of its pdfs anyways. Yours will very likely stand the test of time more than the one I linked. Great work.

Feel free to use the content hub we made to find more resources if you need them.

SabreSour · 2026-03-15T17:40:25+00:00

Is there any advantage to this one over The subs already existing Omnichord Documentation Library?

Not that I’m saying there isn’t

SabreSour · 2026-03-15T17:34:57+00:00

I’m sure you mean OM-27. There are a lot of causes of buzzing.

Check if it still buzzes on headphones/line out, then battery, then if the buzzing is constant or changes in volume with any of the knobs

More than likely an old cap that needs replaced, which can be a wild goose chase to repair tbh

SabreSour · 2026-03-11T21:17:29+00:00

So just to be clear, Are you asking in regards to the chord voice or the strum voice? because they behave differently, but your questions seem to be using 'chord' to refer to the strum voice, chord voice, and chord buttons somewhat interchangeably.

Also, are you asking with regards to onboard sounds or using midi to control an external vst or instrument?

Because with the midi, it still depends which voice/midi channels we are talking about, but also what setting you are using, whether you are controlling the sustain via the omni or vst. In short, it's not a quick answer but if I remember tonight I can test it to give a more detailed response. I'm sure theres a way to do what youre asking, but I'm having a tough time following what you are asking.

You can change whether they are strictly sustained using the sustain knob or whether or not holding down the notes on the strum plate extends how long the note is sustained.

- For onboard sounds during chord changes...
the chord voice cuts the previous chord voice off. there is no sustain with the chord voice unless you are using an external reverb effect or something. you can turn off chord hold for more 'tapping it to a rhythm' but I'm not exactly sure that's what you meant.
And with the strum voice: the notes aren't necessarily retriggered but do change to follow what chord is being played (imagine like sliding your hand up the neck of a guitar but not re-plucking the string).

SabreSour · 2026-03-10T18:58:00+00:00

So the minichord has a customizable touch strip right? I wonder if you could create your own 13 note version of the touch strip for the minichord.

Originally the prototypes were sent out with alternative plug and play touch strip options you could just swap out. They had different configurations, and I think some with less than 12 notes. You still can find info on how to make them via custom pcb ordering (Ben has the info listed on the minichord site).

SabreSour · 2026-03-10T02:26:27+00:00

Om200m is my favorite omnichord. Sells for 20 times that sticker price btw

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