Suzuki, 49-Key Digital Sound Guitar (QC1)

I was looking at autoharps - wanted an instrument that was easy to learn, easy to carry, and sounded good. Then I found the Q-Chord and the price was so good I went ahead and bought it. I am SO GLAD I DID. I absolutely love this thing. AC Adapter for Suzuki QChord). I bought the Rhythm Style QCard Cartridge (for use with the Suzuki QChord) as well and a book of folk song songs that included the chords and the melody line.Wow. All I can say is that I can waste HOURS playing on this fun instrument. I could start playing songs right away - not much learning curve on the basic functions.It is really not like a guitar - it is more like an electronic autoharp with jamming capabilities. Even though in the photos they show people holding it and playing it like a guitar, that would actually be impossible because you can't reach all of the chord buttons. But it works very nicely on my lap or on a table. You don't need any keyboard or piano skills. Just press the chord button and stum with your fingers. No picks, no sore fingers.My husband plays guitar and I've always wanted to be able to play along. Now I can. And I didn't need months or years of music lessons!If you love music but don't know how to make it on your own, the Q-chord is fabulous. Even if you just hum or whistle its fun.My plan is to learn a handful of old time songs and hymns and then volunteer at the nursing home or hospice. I'm really glad I chose this instrument.

First of all, let me dispell some misconceptions about the Suzuki QChord I read on previous reviews: Note: I'm a studio musician with over fourty years of experince. I play the guitar, clarinet, trumpet, and piano. I am not "musically challenged". Here are my observations on the QChord: It is not a toy. It sounds great. The voices are not "cheezy" or "70s synthesizer" sounds. It is easy to play but practice and working on your technique out will result in a wonderful musical experience for you and your family. This is a real musical instrument that is enjoyed by novices and professional musicians alike. You do not need musical talent or experience to play, but knowing music theory and chord progressions will allow you to do some amazing things with this instrument. As with all musical instruments, you get out of it what you put into it in terms of practice and knowledge. I highly recommend buying this for your pre-teen or teen interested in music. It's not cheap, but (again) it's not a toy. PS: mine came with an a/c adapter included. I believe that is the new norm. I would absolutely buy the two RYTHYM cartridges available and skip buying the song cartridges. You will be able to play lots of songs with any songbook or sheet music that has chords and a melody line. There are zillions online. Don't buy music, download it free and then you can use your smartphone screen to read it while you play. I would also note that a small, plug-in (mini plug, not USB input) speaker and a good set of headphones would be great additions to your QChord purchase. Enjoy and don't listen to the QChord "haters" out there. They are probably jealous you're going to have so much fun!

A friend of mine raved about one of these, so I had to try it out. I was concerned that it was a midi instrument so the Tonal range would be limited. I do have to say that it was a great deal of fun to play with it. I think the strum bar is a terrific idea. The melody option is great for keyboard players as it comes within included template that lays over the buttons. It will be immediately recognizable to a keyboard player.I could see plugging this into a synthesizer or a mixing board to create all kinds of interesting background sounds, especially with techno music or anything with the ethereal sounds. But as a primary instrument, I found the midi voices fairly limited. If you remember the video games back in the 70s and 80s, then you will recognize a midi sound. A lot of improvement has been made for midi to the point that some devices can nearly emulate the real thing. But on the Qchord, No matter what I did, I could not get away from that video game type of tone. I tried all of the “voices“ for guitars and they just really didn’t sound like any kind of guitar I’ve ever heard. Keyboard instruments were better, especially the organ options, but in no way did it sound like a “ Grand piano.” The best sounding voices to me were the horn instruments and the various “effects” sounds.If you’ve had any kind of musical training, especially keyboard, you will figure this out in about an hour. But I would say even a beginner could make a lot of fun sounds and even create some music with the various accompaniment options in a very short amount of time.But I just couldn’t see myself using this as The primary instrument for Playing the type of music I like. Ithink that’s what it boils down to. I sent it back because I just couldn’t see it helping me out with Rock, blues or metal. If you watch the YouTube videos, that will give you a really good idea of the type of music that this device works well with.By the way, I bought mine in March 2021 and it did NOT come with an AC adapter. It did come with 8 C batteries. I tested a couple of them before I sent it back and even after about four hours of messing with it, The battery voltage was nearly as good as a brand new battery.In summary, I wish my friend would’ve pointed me to YouTube to search for “Suzuki Q chord.” That is my advice because you will get a good idea of what the instrument sounds like and how it can be used with the right kind of music. If Suzuki could add sampled voices, like you find in Apples “garage band“ app, then I think you would really have something That would appeal to a broader base of musicians. If I selected “distorted guitar” and it sounded like one, I would’ve definitely kept it.I’ll finish up by saying that it’s a well-designed and well thought out instrument; there is even a video of David Bowie using the Q chord, which is pretty high praise. There are other use cases such as people with special needs or disabilities will find this a godsend compared to a typical instrument. Go listen to it on YouTube and decide for yourself if you could use it as a primary instrument or something for accompaniment.