Orchid looks deceptively simple. And it kind of is. You can turn it on, find a sound, and start generating ideas immediately.

But if you're looking to go deeper, there are some treats hiding behind those dials. Head to the Options menu (press the Options Dial to open it) and you'll find three features worth knowing about.

Secret Chords

Enabling Secret Chords in the Options menu adds six new chord types to your repertoire, including power chords, augmented chords, and the inimitable 7#9 chord. Play them, and you might find one that pleases the Lord.

You can choose to enable Secret Chords in Simple Play Style only, or in all Play Styles. But wait a minute… what are Play Styles?

Play Styles

In the Options menu, you'll find three different Play Styles: Simple, Advanced and Free.

Simple Play Style is what you’re probably used to. You press a Chord Type button first, perhaps a Chord Extension button, and then a note. The chord plays. When you release everything, it stops. Simple, quick, reliable.

Advanced Play Style gives you more freedom. Hold down a note and then push some Chord Type buttons. Each time you press a different Chord Type button, the chord changes. Press a Chord Extension button, and that extension gets added to the chord you’re playing — like a hammer-on on a guitar.

Choose Free Play Style to remove all the guard rails and shred. Change chords, extensions and single notes on the fly — all at the push (or release) of a button.

Plugging a MIDI cable into the back of Orchid.

MIDI Channels

Orchid may well be the easiest-to-use MIDI controller in the world. Plug it into your DAW, or your epic collection of vintage synths, and introduce your favourite sounds to a whole new universe of chords, voicings and ideas.

For more control over how that data flows, head back to the Options Menu, where you can choose which MIDI channel Orchid sends note data on — performance, bass or chords. Send your bass line to a deep bass synth, your chords to a lush pad, and your arpeggios and patterns to a sparkling lead — and become the conductor of your own synth orchestra.

MAKE IT YOURS