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Introducing Orba 2

We’re excited to announce the release of something we’ve been working on behind the scenes for quite some time. 


Introducing Orba 2... 


Featuring a brand new sound engine that includes audio samples, Orba 2 is the first musical device that packs an entire studio into the palm of your hand. This means you can play instruments like electric guitars and upright pianos and more adventurous sounds like vocals, found sounds, custom artist songs, and more. 


With Orba 2, you can also capture or import your own sounds to create unique instruments. With the press of a button in the Orba App, any sound can be turned into an Orba preset. For example, a bicycle bell, a bird in a tree, and your roommate’s singing can all be played, looped, and shared as a musical melody. 


“We want people to express themselves musically in their everyday lives,” explains Artiphon CEO Mike Butera. “We’ve dreamed of allowing anyone to play any sound they can imagine, anywhere they go, without worrying about historical instrument skills or abstract music theory. Orba 2 finally makes that possible.”


For a more in depth list at the differences (and similarities) between Orba and Orba 2, you can see this list below. 



Orba 2 is now available to order from our website, and through a number of our retail partners (you can see our Where To Buy page for a complete list). All orders are estimated to ship in July, and fulfillment time will vary based on the courier you chose and your shipping location. 


We’ve begun to answer a couple of questions in our Knowledge Base, but feel free to ask any additional questions below. 





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35 CommentsSorted by Popular

Many of the new features (e.g. automatic quantize) are updates to the software and do not seem to require updating the hardware.  If Artiphon would release this same software (with the highest priority being the "auto quantize" feature) to Orba 1 owners then this would greatly improve my trust in Artiphon (and also my trust in the reliability and longevity of Artiphon's products). 


I want to buy the Orba 2 since it has a sampler (which does indeed make sense to exclude from the Orba 1 given the lack of on-device storage on the Orba 1), but first I would want to see some commitment from the Artiphon team that they do indeed plan to stand behind their products (and make continual updates to the software -- with "auto quantize" being top priority) in the future.


Thank you to the Artiphon team for considering my feedback, if you plan to address my concerns please respond and let me know



5 people like this
Pretty disappointed to see a completely new hardware model being pushed with no communication on updates for all of us who have already paid for the original model. I would like to see the existing user base prioritized a bit more before I commit to buying another piece of gear. A piece of equipment like this should be expected to be viable for years to come and not replaced every couple years by the newer model.
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You should have called the first Orba what it was, the Orba Beta, because that's basically what you sold us.
4 people like this
And about Orba 1 , can be possible updates or new software? Do you think about special update price for Orba 1 users to pruchase new Orba 2?
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EPIC FAIL for those of us who just bought ORBA1 and would have waited and likely paid more for ORBA2

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Oh I did just take quick look at the field. The only other true handheld I found was the pocket operator, which is a great stocking filler for a young teen, but is very lo-fi. The only other sampler in the same price-range is the Korg Volca Sample 2, which has a great reputation but isn't a handheld. I think it's mostly intended to be used with a MIDI cable or via the clunky touch keyboard/sequencer.
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Can I update my Orba to this new version? If not, I'm disappointed, it should be an option to us who've purchased the first one and have been waiting for updates that never came.

And no. I won't be buying an Orba 2.

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Ditto Rob, and Steve - VERY disappointed to see a completely new hardware model being pushed with no communication on updates for all of us who have already paid (2X FOR ME) for the original model. I would like to see the existing user base prioritized a bit more before I commit to buying another piece of gear. A piece of equipment like this should be expected to be viable for years to come and not replaced every couple years by the newer model. THIS is a Customer Experience and Brand FAIL. You are really pissing-off your core franchise with this move. 

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I hope it ALL works out for you when you have a thing in your hand.

I DO have a thing in my hand and...it's not doing a basic thing.

I'm not in the Apple world...and please do not say I should be just to make thing thing work...

We'll see what happens and if they can get the software to allow ACTUAL saving / reloading...Which WAS the original reason I posted what I did...

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I won't be buying an Orba 2, but that's not because I feel betrayed. I chose the original Orba on the basis of the product that was reviewed. It's a subtractive synth design, which is to say that most people will have to rely on presets because it takes time to learn how to use subtractive synthesis to get the sound you want. A lot of people have expressed a wish for an Orba that samples, and here it is. I can guarantee that if you looked inside Orba 2 you'd see that it has many times more memory. I estimate about 3 orders of magnitude more. I would expect to see more powerful hardware there too. Is Orba 2 worth the extra money? I think that would depend on the competition in the niche of handheld sampling-playing musical instruments. I don't know the field so I can't say.
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Questions about orba 2:

1. Is the synth engine the same as orba 1 or is different?

2. The sample  feature work with effects with gestures? Will be these effects configurable?

3. The loop function work with samples?

4. You need to choose if you want to play with samples or synth or you can play both selectin samples in one channel and synth engine in another channel?

5. Can you select one different sample for ecah pad or you only can select one sample for entire channel to play it in scale mode? Or can you select both modes?


Thank you.

1 person likes this
Well said Steve, that’s exactly how I feel. “Hey guys, pay us to test out this new device we are creating, so we can make a new device that will actually do all of the things we want it to! And then it can be yours for only $140 more!!”
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I think at last 49 usd of discount to pay Orba 2 the same value of Orba1 for all loyal users.
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They just dropped a new version of the app with saving today! Hope it works :P

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"Don't get TOO excited everyone. The Orba 2 does NOT have the ability to SAVE anything once you've spent all the hours choosing sounds, composing something or looping your song."


Garage Band on iPad via BT MIDI.

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