Telepathic Instruments Orchid ORC-1

Telepathic Instruments Orchid ORC-1 is an advanced chord-generating synthesiser where one chord-type button plus one note on the keyboard produces a full, polyphonic voicing instantly — no music theory required.

One finger, one chord

Instead of building a chord note by note, Orchid picks a chord type (Major, Minor, Suspended, Diminished) from the Chord Type row and a root note from the velocity-sensitive, single-octave keyboard. Four Chord Modifier buttons stack extensions on top — a 6th, a minor 7th, a major 7th, and a 9 — in any combination. With Key Mode engaged, every note you play snaps automatically to the selected key, so you're not stuck tracking whether a chord still fits the song.

Voicing Dials and three synth engines in one box

The two patented Voicing Dials move a chord's voicing up or down the keyboard one note at a time in real time, reshaping its inversions without interrupting the performance. Orchid packs three synth engines plus a dedicated bass engine (with a solo mode for walking basslines), an onboard looper with overdub and undo, 20 built-in drum patterns from the beat machine, and two stereo speakers for playing without plugging in anything. A single MIDI output splits chord data across multiple channels at once.

KEY FEATURES

• Chord generation: Major, Minor, Suspended, Diminished
• 4 chord modifiers: 6th, minor 7th, major 7th, 9
• Voicing Dials (patent pending) for real-time chord inversion changes
• Key Mode — automatically locks notes to the selected key
• 3 synth engines plus a dedicated bass engine with solo mode
• Onboard looper with overdub and undo
• Built-in beat machine with 20 drum patterns
• Velocity-sensitive, single-octave keyboard
• 2 built-in stereo speakers
• Single MIDI output with multi-channel splitting
• Regular firmware updates with new features and sounds

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

• I/O: USB-C, MIDI, 3.5mm stereo output
• Controls: Sound, Perform, FX, Key, Bass, Loop, BPM, Voicing
• Dimensions: 305 × 190 × 50 mm
• Weight: 1.8 kg
• In the box: Orchid, Quickstart Guide, Manuscript Notebook (carry case sold separately)