Chord machines that let you quickly run through different chord progressions can be very useful for songwriters, since they let them try out different combinations with a few simple presses. Most types of chord machines we’ve seen, though, are either MIDI modules or software-based systems. The Telepathic Instruments Orchid looks to offer a standalone option in the category.
Billed as an “advanced chord generating hardware synthesizer,” the compact device is meant offers a pretty distinctive chord generation system that’s built around different chord types and chord-modifying keys, along with a single-octave keyboard for choosing the rote note of each chord and a dial for further modifying the chord playback. According to the outfit, this design “effectively expands the potential of the chords to an entire piano’s key set,” all while coming in a simple and compact package.
The Telepathic Instruments Orchid is a small synthesizer that gives you a single-octave keyboard on the right side, an eight-button matrix on the left side, and a dial between them. You choose the root note of the chord by playing the keyboard, then use the left-hand buttons to modify it. Each of the eight buttons correspond to either a chord type or a chord modification, such as Dim, Maj, Min, Min7, and so on, making it easy to play, pretty much, any kind of chord with just a few presses. The large center rotary control, which they’re calling the voicing dial, can be used to repitch and reposition chords on the fly using a 16-voice polyphonic synth engine.
Up top, it gets a series of smaller knobs and a small display in the middle that shows the exact chord being played in real-time. You can use those knobs to choose a performance mode (strum, slop, arpeggiator, pattern, or harp), each of which plays the notes of each chord at different rates and styles, letting you alter how each one is produced, as well as choose a sound type for each main chord. Also available from that row of knobs are adjustments for the sound effects (it has reverb, chorus, and delay), key changes,, the bass synth engine (generates sound purely for the low end), loops, BPM, and more.
The Telepathic Instruments Orchid has a built-in stereo speaker that lets you play the darn thing on its own, as well as a built-in rechagreable battery for portable use. That means, you can play this thing anywhere, with no need for any extra gear. According to the outfit, the device comes with a virtual analogue subtractive synth and an FM synth engine, both of which come with four oscillators, four LFOs, four envelope generators, and a filter, as well as a vintage reed piano emulator. According to the outfit, the single octave keyboard is velocity-sensitive, too, so it will respond differently based on the speed and force you use to strike each key while playing.
The Telepathic Instruments Orchid will go on sale starting December 18th, although only 1,000 units will be made for the initial production. If they sell that out, though, they do plan to make a wider release early next year. Price is $549.