ARTIPHONE V1.0.2 Artiphon Orba handheld synth User Manual

ARTIPHONE V1.0.2 Artiphon Orba handheld synth

Specifications

• Power: USB-C charging
• Controls: Power button, Volume button, (A) Button
• Ports: Headphone/Aux out, USB-C Port
• Speaker: 3W active speaker system
• Modes: Drum, Bass, Chord, Lead, Oct, Arp, BPM, Key, Song, Clear, Rec

Product Usage Instructions

Charging:
To charge Chorda, use the included USB-C cable to connect it to any power- charging USB port. Chorda can still be used while charging.

Charging Indicators:
When Chorda is connected to a power source, the LED next to the USB-C port will blink to indicate active charging. A blinking green light means charging, solid green indicates fully charged, and when the light is off, Chorda is not charging.

Power and Controls:
Use the power button to turn Chorda on or off by holding it for more than one second. The volume button adjusts the speaker or headphone output volume. The USB-C port is used for charging and connecting external devices.

The (A) Button:
Press the (A) button to cycle through different modes. Holding the (A) button allows access to additional features indicated on Chorda’s binding. For example, switching between Lead and Drum modes or jumping to Chord mode.

Modes:

• Drum Mode: Each pad represents a part of a drum kit.
• Bass Mode: Monophonic major scale.
• Chord Mode: One-finger chords in the same key.

Welcome
Thank you for choosing Chorda to accompany you on your musical journey! We’re excited for you to discover the limitless possibilities that Chorda offers. Whether you’re creating loops on your daily subway commute, unleashing gestural synth magic at your next gig, or integrating Chorda into your DAW to craft your next studio hit, the opportunities are boundless.

As you start playing your instrument, you may encounter some questions. Perhaps you’re wondering how to activate or deactivate the arpeggiator, eager to understand the meaning behind the mesmerizing flashing lights, or simply looking to adjust the volume to your liking. Whatever your inquiries may be, you’ve come to the right place — the official Chorda User Manual.

Here, you’ll find all the guidance you need to unlock the full potential of your new instrument and make the most of your musical exploration. So let’s dive in and learn everything there is to know about Chorda!

Power

• Charging Chorda
  Chorda can be charged from any power-charging USB port with the included USB-C cable. Chorda remains fully functional while charging, so you can keep playing even while you’re juicing up.

• Charging Indicators
  When you connect your Chorda to a power source, the LED next to the USB-C port will blink. This signifies that Chorda is actively charging.

Panel and Controls

• Volume button Increase and decrease the volume of Chorda’s speaker or headphone output.
• Power button To turn Chorda on or off, press and hold the power button for more than one second. During startup, Chorda will flash blue, then red, then green. Pressing the power button for less than one second reveals your Chorda’s current battery level.
• USB-C Port Charge Chorda’s built-in battery and connect your external hardware devices with the included USB cable.
• Headphone/aux out 1/8” audio output for headphones, speakers, or amplifiers.
• Speaker 3W active speaker system.

The (A) Button **

**

• Pressing the (A) button once will sequentially cycle through each of the four main modes.
• But holding the (A) button turns it into a versatile function or menu button, akin to the shift key on a computer. When you need to access the different features written along the binding of Chorda (like Record, Play, BPM, Octave), you’ll use the (A) button to do so.

Switch to the next modes
Start in Lead mode and press the (A) button once. Now you’re in Drum

Jump to a new mode
Hold (A), and tap Pad 4 (Chord). No matter where you’ve started, you’ve “jumped” to Chord mode!

Functions

• DRUM MODE
  • Each pad is a different part of a drum kit.
• BASS MODE
  • A monophonic major scale.
• CHORD MODE
  • One-finger chords, all tuned to the same key.
• LEAD MODE
  • A pentatonic scale.
• CHANGE OCTAVE
  • Press (A) + Octave to enable Octave Change. Tap up on the bridge (4-6) or down (1-3) to change your octave up.
• ARPEGGIATOR ON/OFF
  • Press A + Arp to turn on and off the arpeggiator.
• BEATS PER MINUTE (BPM)
  • Hold (A), then tap your desired tempo to speed up or slow down your song.
• KEY CHANGE
  • Press (A) + Key, then tap up on the bridge (4-6) or down on the bridge (1-3) to change your key up or down.
• SONG SELECTION
  • Songs are automatically saved, and the Song menu lets you cycle between them with the < > arrows.
• CLEAR LOOPS + SONGS
  • Hold (A) + Clear for about one second to erase the music you recorded on your current part.
  • A two-second hold will seconds to erase a single part, and a four-second hold will erase all loops.
• RECORD/STOP RECORDING
  • Press (A) + Record to begin recording a loop. Chorda won’t start recording until you play your first note.
  • Press again to stop recording, which will close the loop, but continue playing from the start.
• PLAY/PAUSE
  • Press (A) + Play or pause your creation without having to record.
  • This is also how you’ll stop the looper after you’ve started recording.

Function Cheat Sheet

change to the next or previous preset for that Mode.
Change Song| While holding A, press Pad 9 (SONG) then press Bridge up or down to change to the next or previous Song.
Toggle Arp on/off| A + Pad 6 (ARP)
Record| A + Pad 11 (REC)
Close a loop after- recording| A
Stop recording| A + Pad 11 (REC)
Play/pause loop| A + Pad 12 (Play/Pause)
Restart playback from beginning of loop| Hold A + Pad 12 (Play/Pause) for 2 seconds.
Clear the loop on the current mode| Hold + Pad 10 (CLEAR) for 2 seconds.
Clear all loops| Hold + Pad 10 (CLEAR) for 4 seconds.
Change BPM| While holding A, press Pad 7 (BPM) then press Bridge up or down to adjust tempo. Or tap out your tempo by holding A and tapping Pad 7 (BPM).
Octave up| While holding A, press Pad 5 (OCT) then press Bridge up.
Octave down| While holding A, press Pad 5 (OCT) then press Bridge down.
Change volume of selected part| While holding A, volume up or down.

MODES

DRUMS
In Drum mode, Pad 1 generally produces a kick sound, and Pad 2 typically produces a snare sound. However, various presets offer unique sounds for each pad. Explore all 12 pads to discover the diverse sounds available.

• The drums are responsive to velocity, meaning they react to the intensity of your taps. This mimics the way a traditional drum’s tone and volume change with harder or harder hits. Additionally, the sounds are affected by how long you keep your finger on each pad. Experiment by holding your finger on a cymbal to shorten the sound or tapping and quickly releasing it on a tom for a prolonged decay.
• Strumming the bridge or tapping on individual bridge triggers repeats the last sound played on the pads. This feature makes it easy to create drum rolls and add rhythmic embellishments to your performance.

Try switching drum sounds:
Hold the A button, tap Pad 1 – Drum, tap up or down on the bridge, then release the A button.

BASS

• Chorda’s Bass mode is monophonic, meaning only the most recent note plays at a given time (this is called “last-note priority” in synth-speak). In the default Chorda Song, Bass Mode is tuned to a C major diatonic scale.
• The Bridge gives you access to six different intervals based on the root chord of the pad being pressed. Hold down a pad and strum the Bridge to fire off an arpeggio or press individual triggers to add complexity and nuance to your bassline.

CHORD
In Chord mode, each of Chorda’s pads triggers multiple notes simultaneously to form a chord, always tuned to the key of the song.

Chords are a fun way to explore song structures, creating new ideas quickly. Like Bass, Chord mode is very responsive to Chorda’s gestures like Tilt and Radiate. While pressing a pad plays all notes in a chord simultaneously, you can press individual bridge triggers to play individual notes.

LEAD

• Lead is a polyphonic mode (meaning you can play multiple notes simultaneously). By default, the pads are tuned to a C Pentatonic Major scale. Every note you play on Chorda is always in the right key, so don’t be afraid to let loose and experiment –– you’ll always sound great.
• The bridge triggers in Lead mode automatically load a chord based on the pad you’re currently pressing. This lets you introduce harmonies, arpeggios, and even full chord strums to your Lead performance.

Presets

• A preset is a combination of your synth, samples, tuning, gestures, and effects. There are dozens of presets in each of the four modes: Drum, Bass, Chord, and Lead.
• Some presets are based on traditional instruments, like electric pianos, and vibraphones. Others are more experimental, like abstract synth sounds and meditative pads.

Changing Presets without the App
To change Preset, hold the A button, press the Pad of the Mode you’d like to change the Preset for, press Bridge up or down, then release the A button.

1. Press the A button
2. Press Drum, Bass, Chord, or Lead – whichever mode you’re in.
3. Slide up or down on the bridge.

Changing Presets with the App
Using the Artiphon Connect app, you can browse all of the presets available. See the Artiphon Connect App section for more.

Gestures

Touch Gestures

• Tap
• Tap your finger on a Pad or on the Bridge. Chorda is velocity-sensitive, so the harder you Tap, the louder the sound. Sometimes, velocity controls other sound parameters, too, like filter cutoff.
• MIDI Message: Note On/Off

Vibrato

• Press and wiggle your finger horizontally any pad. Vibrato produces a change in pitch. The range of pitch can be adjusted with the Pitch Bend Scaling setting in the Artiphon Connect App.
• MIDI Message: Pitch Bend

Press

• Tap and hold your finger on a pad with varying levels of intensity. Unlike Tap, which responds to how hard to tap, Press is engaged by adjusting the surface area your finger covers. The more you spread your finger, the more Press is activated. Applying sustained pressure while pressing can modulate effects on Chorda’s synth.
• MIDI Message: Channel Pressure

Radiate
Press and move your finger across a Pad (width-wise across Chorda’s body). Radiate lets you morph the sound in different ways, so always try it out when loading a new Preset. When using it with Chorda’s internal synthesizer it may be affecting volume, envelopes, or others effects. MIDI Message: CC#74 (Brightness)

Motion Gestures

• Tilt
  Tilt Chorda horizontally or vertically to enhance your sound with effects. Tilt serves as Chorda’s equivalent of the mod wheel found on traditional synthesizers. Given that the Mod Wheel is a widely used MIDI effect, Tilt automatically integrates with most software synths and apps.

• MIDI Message: CC #1 (Mod Wheel)

Tilt works differently whether Chorda is flat on a table, or held like a guitar. In the tabletop position, a forward “roll” where the play surface moves away from you will engage the Tilt effect. In guitar, an up and down motion, where the speaker is raised and lowered, engages the same effect.

• Move
  • Move Chorda in space to modulate sounds and effects. This gesture requires map-ping in the DAW of your choice, like Logic Pro or Ableton Live.
  • MIDI Message : CC #113
• Shake
  • Shake Chorda back and forth. This gesture only works in Drum mode.
  • MIDI Message: MIDI note 69 and CC#2
• Bump
  • Tap Chorda on its side. This gesture only works in Drum mode.
  • MIDI Message: MIDI note 39

THE ARTIPHON CONNECT APP

The Artiphon Connect App
The Artiphon Connect App allows you to take your Chorda (and Orba 2) playing even further. With it, you can customize your instrument in a variety of ways, including:

• Changing chord’s key and tempo
• Browse the full library of presets
• Update firmware, ensuring you’ve got the latest and greatest features enabled on your instrument.
• Use on-screen UI elements, instead of the on-device functions. This is especially helpful for many people with limited dexterity.
• Add and modify effects like reverb and delay
• Save your songs, and share them with friends

The Artiphon Connect app is available at artiphon.com/downloads.

Connecting

Connecting via USB
We recommend a cabled connection for your first time using the app, as firmware gets updated regularly.

1. To connect via USB: connect Chorda using the included USB-C to USB-A cable to your computer.
2. Computers with USB-C inputs will require a USB-C to USB-C cable or an adapter.
3. Your Chorda should be instantly connected!

Connecting via Bluetooth

1. Select the Settings cog in the upper right-hand corner of the app.
2. Select Bluetooth, rather than USB.
3. Choose Chorda from the device window that follows. If you don’t see Chorda in the list of available devices make sure that Chorda is turned on and within range of your computer.

Connecting without the Artiphon Appt
You can also connect via Bluetooth without the Artiphon Conect App.

1. Open Audio MIDI Setup on your Mac. This is found in the Utilities folder. You can also use the keyboard shortcut Command + Space. Type “Audio MIDI Setup” to find the program.
2. Open the Window drop-down in Audio MIDI Setup and select Show MIDI Studio, or use the keyboard shortcut Command+2.
3. Select the Configure Bluetooth icon from the header window.
4. Select Chorda from the list of available devices. If you don’t see Chorda on the list, make sure you have it turned on and in range.

Updating Firmware

We are always adding features and improving the Chorda experience. Keeping your firmware up-to-date is the best way to ensure you’re getting the best this unique instrument has to offer.

If there is a new firmware update, you will receive a pop-up when you first open the app. Updating firmware can only be done on desktop through a USB-C connection.

To update your firmware, hold the Shift key + click on the firmware section noted above.

Note: If you are on a macOS, you must accept privacy permissions. Chorda will auto-matically request these permissions when opening the app. If you initially deny these permissions and wish to enable them, you can do so by going into your Mac’s Security and privacy settings.

Songs

What is a song?

• A Song is a collection of four presets, a selected key and tempo, and any loops that are recorded.
• The Artiphon Connect app ships with dozens of Song “templates.” These templates are collections of presets that we designed to work well together. For instance, the Zen Song template features a Drum, a Bass, a Chord, and a Lead preset that are all based on abstract, meditative, nature sounds.

Song Legened

Song Available in App
This icon indicates sounds that have been down-loaded to your Artiphon Connect app.

Song Available on Chorda
This icon indicates that these Songs are available on Chorda. If this icon is not preset, the Song will need to be transferred, which takes a moment.

Stem SongT
his icon denotes a stem song, which is a key and tempo-locked song that includes a collection of stems from a song.

Factory Song
This icon indicated a factory Song. Factory songs are created by the Artiphon team, featured artists, or creators.

The Artiphon Connect App (Ctd…)The Artiphon Connect App (Ctd…)

Saving a Song
So you’ve made a song with Chorda, and you really like it. What now?
With the Artiphon Connect app, you can save songs into your own personal song library to access them later. To save a song,

1. Navigate to the Play tab, tap the arrow on top of your screen to open the songs menu, and select the Save option.
2. In the module that opens, you’ll be able to give your song its own name.
3. Select the blue save button.
4. And your song will be saved to the Songs tab.

MIDI

Using Chorda as a MIDI controller
In addition to being a standalone synthesizer, Chorda also works as a MIDI control-ler. You can use Chorda to trigger and affect sounds in any MIDI- enabled software or hardware.

There are two ways to connect Chorda as MIDI controller:

• Use MIDI over Bluetooth on macOS, iOS, and Android.
• Connect via USB-C on macOS, Windows, and Android

If you like, you can disable Chorda’s internal synth to make sure you’re not hearing two different sound sources. To do that, you must open the Settings page by nav-igating to the Play tab and clicking the top right Settings gear icon. Now toggle “Instrument sounds with USB” On/Off (This function only works when Chorda is connected via USB).

MIDI Implementation Chart

Tap

| ****

Note On

| ****

Note On/Note Off Velocity

Press

| ****

Channel Pressure

| ****

Bass, Chord, Lead only

Vibrato

| ****

Pitch Bend

| ****

Receiver/Sound generator should be set to a pitch bend range of 48. Pitch bend range is limited to a few cents for better playabil- ity on each of Orba’s individual pads (ex- cept for the Vibrato Bass preset, which has a pitch bend range of 2 semitones).

Radiate

| ****

Brightness (CC74)

| ****

Bass, Chord, Lead only

Bump

| ****

MIDI Note 39

|

Shake

| ****

MIDI Note 69 and CC2

| ****

Drum only, while holding Pad 8 (Shaker)

Move

| ****

CC 113

| ****

Bass, Chord, Lead only

Spin

| ****

CC 112

| ****

Bass, Chord, Lead only

Tilt

| ****

CC 1 (Modwheel)

| ****

Bass, Chord, Lead only

Safety (UL) Statements

Safety (UL) Statements
Ensure that the AC Power Cord of the Power Supply is connected to a grounded receptacle.

WARNING: Internal-provided RTC Battery shall not be exposed to excessive heat such as fire or other sources.

• Do not open, disassemble, or service any battery.
• Do not crush, cut, or puncture any battery.
• Do not short-circuit the battery, or expose it to water or other liquids.
• Keep the battery away from children.
• Keep the battery away from fire or other heat sources. Do not dispose of the battery in fire or other heat sources.
• Keep the product with battery away from extremely low air pressure or high-temperature environments.
• Stop using the battery if it is damaged or if you notice any discharge or buildup of foreign materials on the battery leads.
• Replacement of the battery must be done by an authorized local repair facility or technician.
• Do not put the battery in the trash that is disposed of in landfills. When disposing of the battery, comply with local ordinances and regulations.
• The authorized repair facilities or technicians must recycle any battery according to local laws and regulations.
• Any battery subjected to extremely low air pressure may result in an explosion or the leakage of flammable liquid or gas.

CAUTION: Risk of explosion if the battery is replaced by the incorrect type. Dispose of used batteries by local ordinances and regulations.

Get in touch, stay in touch!

• For a wealth of resources, including videos, in-depth tutorials, inspiration from other creators and more, visit start.artiphon.com
• Got questions? We love answering them. Reach out any time at support@artiphon.com.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

• Q: Can I use Chorda while it’s charging?
  • A: Yes, Chorda can be used while it’s charging from a power source.
• Q: How do I switch between different modes on Chorda?
  • A: Press the (A) button to cycle through modes or hold it for additional functions as indicated on Chorda’s binding.
• Q: What does the blinking LED next to the USB-C port indicate?
  • A: A blinking green LED signifies that Chorda is actively charging. Solid green means fully charged, and when the light is off, Chorda is not charging.

References

• Artiphon learn- get started, choose your instrument

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