Orchid, a Chords-based Synth from the Guy Behind Tame Impala, is an "Ideas Machine" for Musicians

The Orchid also happens to have one of the best announcement videos we've ever seen for an audio device.

Check out the announcement video above for an idea of what you can create with Orchid and read on below for all the specifics on the device.

Orchid's Unique Design and Feature Set

That's why the team behind Orchid, Telepathic Instruments, like to call the synth the "ideas machine." The synth is built around exploration and experimentation. "Orchid isn’t just about how much you know or don’t know—it’s about shaking up your creative process,” says co-founder Charl Laubscher. “It’s a tool for anyone who wants to step outside their musical comfort zone, to experiment and to find what’s on their mind.”

The device's physical design was done by Ignacio Germade and features dual, built-in stereo speakers, a single-octave fully velocity sensitive keyboard and a rechargeable battery for use on the go.

But the heart of the device is its chord generating system. Here's an explainer from Telepathic Instruments:

The layout consists of a matrix of 8 chord-type selecting and chord modifying keys, together with a single-octave keyboard to choose the root note and trigger the chord. The chords are then voiced with the unit’s patent pending voicing system, using a rotary encoder to re-pitch and re-position chords. This process effectively expands the potential of the chords to an entire piano’s key set, not just the 12 keys found on the unit.

Orchid features "a 16-voice polyphonic synth engine with onboard ambience and modulation FX plus a separate bass synth engine for bottom end," according to a release from Telepathic Instruments. The synth engine is actually made up of three separate synth engines, each designed by German synth developer Stefan Stenzel:

• A Polyphonic virtual analogue subtractice synth
• An FM synth
• A vintage reed piano emulation based off a famous 60s electric pianao with mechanical noise samples for added realism.

Plus, Orchid has four performance modes: Strum, Slop, Arpeggiator, Pattern, and harp. Telepathic says what makes its device different from other chord generators is that while others "deliver a static and rigid outputting platform, Orchid paints a new landscape."

Orchid also features onboard effects like Reverb, Chorus, and Delay. It also packs a loop mode and MIDI out for connecting to your DAW for extracting your performance out of Orchid.

Pricing and Availability

To start, Telepathic Instruments is doing a limited edition run of 1,000 Orchids that will be available to U.S. customers to purchase on December 18th at telepathicinstruments.com.

For this initial run, Orchid will sell for $549. Next year, Telepathic plans for a wider release.