Omnichord OM-84 Repair

This project involved a full diagnostic and repair of a beloved Suzuki OM-84 Omnichord, a vintage electronic instrument known for its dreamy strums and nostalgic textures. The unit arrived completely non-functional, with no power and no sound. Inspection revealed a cracked circuit board around the power jack—likely caused by stress or wear over time—which had severed the power connection. After carefully repairing the PCB and reinforcing the jack, the unit powered up, but the audio output was still weak and unstable.

Digging deeper, I discovered that several internal trim pots had drifted far from their intended values, and a number of electrolytic capacitors had failed outright—likely due to age. Replacing these components restored proper voicing, tone balance, and stability. After recalibrating the trims, the OM-84 returned to its full expressive potential, sounding as rich and quirky as it did in the '80s. This repair not only brought an instrument back from the dead but preserved a small piece of electronic music history.