Engineering:Orba (instrument)

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Short description: Crowdfunded electronic musical instrument manufactured by Artiphon
Orba
ManufacturerArtiphon
Technical specifications
Timbralityfour parts
Synthesis typedigital synthesis
Velocity expressionyes
Input/output
Keyboardeight touchpads
External controlMIDI

Orba is an electronic musical instrument developed by the American music technology company Artiphon. It is a small synthesiser released in 2020 via a successful Kickstarter campaign. Orba has been used as a tool for musical education in various capacities.

Release

Following the success of their previous instrument, the Instrument 1, Artiphon once again used Kickstarter to launch Orba. From 25 November 2019 to 12 January 2020,[1] Orba was the subject of a Kickstarter appeal. Pledges started at $79 with an overall goal of $50,000.[2] The goal was surpassed, reaching almost $1.5 million.[3] The instrument was later released in April 2020 for $99.[4][5][6]

Design

The Orba's design has drawn comparisons to various fruit: The Verge likened it to a grapefruit,[6] while Engadget stated that it "looks like some piece of alien black citrus fruit".[7] Artiphon has stated that this is meant to be the case as the instrument was inspired by "grapefruits and bowls of miso soup”[4] as well as easy to pick up objects like a tennis ball.[8]

The instrument is made of plastic and glass fibers.[7] Orba uses eight touchpads (with LEDs)[9] to control the device's sounds, with a central button being used for menu options.[6] The touchpads and additional sensors allow gesture control over vibrato, slide and other sound parameters. The touchpads are quantised to either a major or minor scale covering one octave at a time.[10][11] Four tracks (a nine part drum machine[3] as well as bass, chord and lead tracks) are then used to construct a song using the instrument's looper.[5] Orba contains a speaker and is powered by batteries.[3]

While Orba can be used standalone,[9] it can also be used with other hardware. In terms of external connection, the Orba has an app to facilitate changes of preset sounds and music sharing.[2] The instrument can also be used as an MPE-capable MIDI controller.[5][3] In 2022, Artiphone launched the free Orbasynth, a program allowing control over the Orba's internal sound engine. The editor features two waveshape-morphing oscillators, three ADSR envelopes, noise, ring modulator and a waveguide.[12][13]

Legacy

Orba has been used as a music education tool by multiple charities and childcare facilities, including the Notes for Notes non-profit, the Boyle Heights Arts Conservatory, the Anaheim Elementary School District[14] and Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital.[15]

At the 2022 NAMM Show, Artiphon announced a sequel to the Orba: the Orba 2.[16] The Orba 2 expanded on the original, adding sampling and quanitsation functions. It also expanded on the loop length, increasing the limit to 128 bars.[17][18]

See also

  • Chompi - also a crowdfunded musical instrument designed to be used for education

References

  1. ↑ "Create a Song in the Palm of Your Hand With Orba by Artiphon" (in en). 2019-11-25. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191125005169/en/Create-a-Song-in-the-Palm-of-Your-Hand-With-Orba-by-Artiphon. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Artiphon puts music creation in the palm of your hand" (in en-US). 2019-11-25. https://newatlas.com/music/artiphon-orba/. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "Sonic LAB: Artiphon Orba Review" (in en). https://sonicstate.com/news/2021/02/16/sonic-lab-artiphon-orba-/. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Ha, Anthony (2019-11-25). "Artiphon launches a Kickstarter campaign for its new musical device Orba". https://techcrunch.com/2019/11/25/artiphon-orba/. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Ireland, David (17 February 2021). "Meet the Orba, a unique gadget that takes music making on the go to a whole new level!". https://www.magneticmag.com/2021/02/meet-the-orba-a-unique-gadget-that-takes-music-making-on-the-go-to-a-whole-new-level/. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Deahl, Dani (2019-11-27). "Orba is an all-in-one instrument and MIDI controller that fits in the palm of your hand" (in en-US). https://www.theverge.com/2019/11/27/20986018/artiphon-orba-instrument-synth-looper-midi-controller-kickstarter. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Orba is a tiny, fun and surprisingly expressive instrument" (in en-US). https://www.engadget.com/2019-12-19-artiphon-orba-hands-on-kickstarter-musical-instrument-mpe-synth.html. 
  8. ↑ "The Sociologist and Space Engineers Behind Orba, Artiphon's New Instrument for Everyone" (in en). https://www.core77.com/posts/91471/The-Sociologist-and-Space-Engineers-Behind-Orba-Artiphons-New-Instrument-for-Everyone. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 updated, Simon Arblasterlast (2019-11-25). "Meet Orba, a $99 synthesizer, looper and MIDI controller that fits in the palm of your hand" (in en). https://www.musicradar.com/news/meet-orba-a-dollar99-synthesizer-looper-and-midi-controller-that-fits-in-the-palm-of-your-hand. 
  10. ↑ Wilson, Craig. "The Orba is a music-making hemisphere that I just can't put down" (in en). https://www.inverse.com/input/reviews/the-orba-is-a-music-making-hemisphere-that-i-just-cant-put-down. 
  11. ↑ "Artiphon Orba review" (in en-US). https://www.engadget.com/artiphon-orba-review-music-fidget-toy-mpe-midi-synthesizer-looper-130020266.html. 
  12. ↑ "Orba, the musical grapefruit, now lets you design your own synth sounds" (in en-US). https://www.engadget.com/artiphon-orba-musical-grapefruit-mpe-synth-132643942.html. 
  13. ↑ Duxson, Eli (2022-04-12). "Artiphon Orbasynth: A preset creator that allows access to the internal sound engine of the Orba" (in en-AU). https://mixdownmag.com.au/news/artiphon-orbasynth-a-preset-creator-that-allows-access-to-the-internal-sound-engine-of-the-orba/. 
  14. ↑ "Palm-sized instrument makes creating music easy for Anaheim elementary students" (in en). 2022-02-05. https://abc7.com/music-education-technology-instruments/11538226/. 
  15. ↑ "Artiphon’s Orba Unlocks Educational and Therapeutic Benefits of Music Making". 2021-11-23. https://news.elearninginside.com/artiphons-orba-unlocks-educational-and-therapeutic-benefits-of-music-making/. 
  16. ↑ "NAMM 2022 VIDEO: Artiphon announces Orba 2, an upgrade on its dinky synth/looper/controller". 5 June 2022. https://www.musicradar.com/news/namm-2022-artiphon-announces-orba-2. 
  17. ↑ "Orba 2 adds a sampler and more to an excellent musical fidget toy". 31 May 2022. https://www.engadget.com/artiphon-orba-2-sampler-fidget-toy-130049387.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9lbi53aWtpcGVkaWEub3JnLw&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAF4uZMIgmz-1g1UfpFZpqO1u-3K13pOmpAkSYHHKuvVc4KsEaIlfFgDXGTdFm_tgK091tf8cgrGzHNfmz0ZEk3N1PCqcs93g0Z8LPMyTv4Bbb_81E4341L-XDovJLnzd6MvornSDDbrsHEMekXZTipg8jIogAUHlezh41oC_uDA8. 
  18. ↑ Ashworth, Boone (20 November 2022). "Review: Artiphon Orba 2". https://www.wired.com/review/artiphon-orba-2/. 



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