Orchid

Overall loudness. Turn it up or down to match your headphones, speakers, or recording level.

tip: Keep it around three-quarters for a strong signal into an interface, then fine-tune levels there rather than pushing this to max.

This is how you change the basic instrument voice — pads, keys, plucks, and other textures.

tip: Audition sounds while holding a latched chord so you can hear each one in context immediately.

Turn it down to make the sound warmer and darker, up to make it brighter and more present.

tip: Slowly opening this under a sustained chord is the single most expressive move on the instrument — it's your 'wah' and your dynamics in one knob.

Adds a vocal, squelchy edge right at the point where the Filter knob is set — a little adds character, a lot gets dramatic.

tip: Push resonance up and sweep the Filter for that classic synth 'talking' sound.

Low = the chord hits instantly like a piano. High = it swells in gently like a pad or string section.

tip: A slow attack plus latch turns any sound into a cinematic swell — perfect for intros.

Low = the sound stops quickly when you lift off. High = it lingers and overlaps into the next chord.

tip: A longer release lets chords bleed into each other for lush, connected progressions.

Adds shimmer and a wide, swirly quality — makes a flat sound feel bigger and more alive.

tip: Just a touch widens the sound in a mix without making it obviously 'effected.'

Adds the sense of a room, hall, or endless space around your chords — from dry and close to washed-out and dreamy.

tip: High reverb plus slow attack and long release is the fastest route to an ambient pad.

This is where you play. One finger equals one full chord. Move along the keys to move through chords that all belong together musically.

tip: Because each key is a whole chord, you can 'walk' a progression with one finger — great for sketching song ideas fast.

Hold one of these while you press a key to change the mood of the chord — brighter, darker, jazzier, more tense — without changing which key you're pressing.

tip: Try holding a seventh or sus modifier through a whole progression for an instant vintage-soul or dream-pop feel.

Hold this to unlock the 'hidden' second layer of the instrument — it turns the keyboard into a menu for picking your key, your sound, and other options.

tip: When something on the keyboard isn't behaving like a note, you're probably still holding or latched into a Shift mode — tap it again to get back to playing.

Press this and your chord keeps ringing after you take your finger off, so you have both hands free to twist knobs or grab a bassline.

tip: Latch a drone chord, then slowly sweep the Filter and Reverb for evolving pads with no hands on the keys.

Instead of all the chord notes hitting at once, they roll out like a strum or bounce along like a picked pattern, adding movement.

tip: A gentle strum on slow pads sounds like a harp; a faster arp turns the same chord into a rhythmic sequence.

Moves everything higher or lower without changing the chords themselves — go low for bass-heavy stabs, high for sparkly textures.

tip: Drop an octave for chunky Rhodes-style comping, or jump up for bell-like top-end layers.

Found a sound you love? This lets you keep it and get it back later instead of dialing it in again.

tip: Save variations of the same patch at different filter/reverb settings so you have 'verse' and 'chorus' versions ready.

Your window into what the Orchid is doing — which sound and key you're in, and what any button you're holding will do.

tip: Glance here after pressing Shift to confirm you're in the mode you intend before playing.

The on/off control — flip it to power up or shut down.

tip: Save your favorite settings before powering off so you don't lose an in-progress sound.

This is where the sound comes out — plug in headphones or a cable to your speakers/interface here.

tip: If it's silent, check this jack and the Volume knob first before assuming anything's wrong.

One cable for power and for connecting to your computer or DAW — power it from a charger, laptop, or battery pack.

tip: A USB battery pack makes the Orchid fully portable for couch songwriting or on-stage use.

Lets the Orchid play other synths with its chords, or lets another keyboard/computer play the Orchid.

tip: Route the Orchid's chords to a beefier synth to get its easy chord-playing with a totally different sound.