Blog

Technical write-ups, repair notes, and project documentation. Mostly vintage keyboards and synthesizers, occasionally other things.

Cutting the Carbon: Rebuilding the Omnichord Strumplate

July 2026 omnichord flex pcb kicad conductive materials open source

The Omnichord strumplate isn't a capacitive sensor, it's a bank of switches. Rebuilding it as a flex PCB, cutting the carbon into 12 sections so notes stop bleeding into each other, and an undocumented touchpoint hidden under the OM-84 faceplate whose traces go nowhere. If you know what it's for, get in touch.

Replacing the Brain of a Suzuki Omnichord OM-27

June 2026 electronics repair micropython

Building an open-source drop-in replacement for the unobtainable AY-5-1317A chord logic IC using a Waveshare RP2350-Zero. Also eliminates the M083A, 4069, and 4001 while it's at it.