The PCB and the documentation are of very good quality. It was fun to build this instrument and it is even more fun to play it. Thanks for this GREAT little thing!

Carrie | April 22, 2019

Super cool!

For T. Chordstrum

This thing is super cool and sounds beautiful. I love it! I'm kinda sad that they're sold out and have been for a little while, it would be a shame if more people couldn't get one!

Cory | July 10, 2018

Awesome Project!

For T. Chordstrum

I had contacted the seller when it was sold out a month ago. He responded promptly and was incredibly friendly. I purchased this the moment it went back on sale. It was shipped within a day or two.

The project itself was fun to put together, and easy to set up using the guides online. I haven't messed with the midi controller function, but I'm having a blast with the headphone output (Teensy 3.2 required). I had no issues and would happily order whatever the seller cooks up next.

John | May 3, 2018

I highly recommend this pcb board and maker!

For T. Chordstrum (PCB ONLY)

This was my first project with a pcb board and soldering. It all worked on the first try and I'm currently messing around with the code, which is well documented and easy to wrap your head around. It's kind of like a little pocket operator, which is awesome.

Thanks Johan, I hope you keep making interesting midi contraptions..

Kyle | April 23, 2018

Great product, great seller!

For T. Chordstrum

Really neat project for my students to work with. High quality board, includes all parts needed and an extra button in case one broke / got lost! Seller had excellent communication and was very accommodating. Would definitely get more of these!

Geoff | April 17, 2018

Built it, love it

For T. Chordstrum

Easy and fun to build, worked perfectly. Love the blend between music theory and electronics in a simple form factor. Love the PCB with touch-strip area. Nice project!

Joel | Feb. 8, 2018

The best thing I've ever purchased on Tindie!

For T. Chordstrum

This kit is amazing, especially for the price! The assembly and instructions are straight-forward. The interface is very slick considering is just a bunch of charlieplexed buttons. You can have seven different chord types by pressing the three buttons in binary patterns. And there's an entire menu built in. The built-in drum machine on the Teensy 3.2 version is incredible! Plus it acts as a MIDI device. Hooked it up to my MacBook running Garage Band, and it worked just fine over the MIDI USB. The code is very well written and streamlined. Can't say enough good things about Johan and his creations! I've been showing it off to all my music hacker friends, and they love it! Even convinced one to buy their own.

David | Jan. 25, 2018

Affordable device with features unique in it's class.

For T. Chordstrum

Features found like pressing a chord then strumming in key, with little or no music experience may seem simple enough, but have not seen these features in any consumer products. Thank you Tindie for the ability to make these products available. In the audio aspect of the unit it has the ability to play chords, simple rhythm patterns, along with bass. The MIDI aspect of the unit, outputs the strumming pads only on MIDI channel 1. Although future programming could change at the time of this review. This is a great Tindie starter project and would recommend.

Rob | Dec. 29, 2017

Tindie needs more instruments like the Chordstrum!

For T. Chordstrum

The Chordstrum is an easy and fast build that satisfies. The seller-developer ships quickly with absolutely everything needed except the Teensy, and is incredibly supportive after the sale if needed. This little instrument is a heck of a lot of fun with a lot of potential for both real music-making and customization, and every musician I've handed to has been fascinated by it. Having built Chordstrums with both the Teensy LC and Teensy 3.2, I would very strongly recommend using a Teensy 3.2, even though the build is just a hair more difficult with the two DuPont wires soldered to the underside of the MCU. Using the 3.2 not only gives you a basic but good-sounding little synth / auto-accompaniment engine for those times when you just want to jam without wiring up an external sound source, but also adds a lot more possibilities to hack the firmware to your liking (the all-important Set button can't be connected on the Teensy LC due to its smaller available-pin count). You won't regret spending the few extra bucks to put a 3.2 in the Chordstrum.

Mario | Oct. 19, 2017

Lot of fun while building and playing!

For T. Chordstrum (PCB ONLY)

Since I had components lying around, bought PCB only version. Also, used older version of Teensy (3.1) without any problem, since it's pin compatible. Was bit worried about connecting those two wires that need to be soldered to pads at underside, but it was very easy to do with pin header. Flashing the hex file was no brainer and everything worked at first try. Kudos for open sourcing the code too!

Phil | July 22, 2017

Fantastic - easy to build and great fun

For T. Chordstrum

This kit includes all the hardware needed to mount a Teensy 3.2 onto the board and play music with no MIDI input synthesizer needed to get it working.
An easy build, just switches a capacitor and sockets.
I had not used the Teensy 3.2 before this project. The extension for the Teensy in the Arduino IDE is easy to install - quite painless! Due to my inexperience with Teensy, Johan provided invaluable help, after which his code was successfully compiled and downloaded into the Teensy 3.2.
However, Johan provides the Hex code which can be directly downloaded with the Teensy downloader.

This is a great project, it works very well and the options available are great fun.

To test the T.Chordstrum I used my HiFi iPOD input. I will be making a small battery powered amplifier with a speaker to make my T.Chordstrum portable.
I have not yet tried the MIDI output as I do not have a synthesizer on my PC. T.Chordstrum has 2 instruments available and a number of rhythm sounds which are enough to start with.
As Johan says it is like the Suzuki Omnichord.
I am sure that when my family sees and hears the T.Chordstum they will all want one :-)

Gary | July 12, 2017

Really Fun!

For T. Chordstrum (PCB ONLY)

The Chordstrum is a very nicely done project

Well documented and easy to build.

Rich tones, fun to play.