The Omstrument – Heaven or Hell?

I'd love to have an Omstrument

Photo credit: Jack Haas (Omstrument inventor) – Thanks for the kind permission

What do you get when you combine a harp, a tanpura, a dulcimer, a guitar and a strumstick? The Omstrument, of course.

This is one of the most creative as well as beautiful instruments I’ve seen. But before I focus on all the good stuff, let’s get the negativity out of the way, first.

Hell – What’s Bad about the Omstrument:

46 strings!

Imagine preparing for an important performance or recording session – where you really need/want to sound your best. I dislike, no, scratch that, hate changing strings on my guitar. I always procrastinate when it comes to changing strings. The mere thought of having to change 46 strings gives me nightmares.

Tuning/Intonation

String instruments get out of tune. Period. Nothing you can do about it.

The more strings you have to deal with, the more you need to fiddle with keeping them in tune.

Transportation

Looks like a beast to carry around. I guess it’s time to exchange my Ferrari for a Minivan. (Did you see the smiley? That means that I was just joking – just to be clear, I don’t have a Ferrari.)

Enough of the whining already – onwards to the good stuff!

Heaven – This is OM!

Coolness Factor

I don’t know about you, but to me the Omstrument just scores big time in coolness. It’s original, unusual, exotic, and there’s enough guitar shaped instruments assembled to get my fingers itching just from looking at the thing.

46 Strings!

Huh, wasn’t that part of the bad already?
Yes, it was. Thank you for your attentive reading. But besides the negative aspects already mentioned, there’s the sound and the possibilities you get with 46 strings. A symphony of resonance, vibration and tonal colors.

The Omstrument in Action

Check out the inventor Jack Haas playing one of his compositions on his Omstrument:

The Final Score

Big thumbs up from me for the creative fusion of string instruments. The beautiful sound alone would be worth any inconvenience.

• Changing 46 strings? No problem when you focus on the great sounding end result.
• Tuning and intonation? Develop your ears and use a quality tuner for some help.
• Transportation problems? Who needs to transport the beast? I know I wouldn’t. I’d be too busy sitting at home playing my Omstrument.

Maybe you have a few unused, old instruments collecting dust in your attic. Why not build your own version of an Omstrument?

Have you seen any similar or other unusual instruments? If so, please, feel free to share your findings.