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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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I really don't understand the philosophy of working on a new product with new features, if the product that is already released (Orba 1) still has no reliable firmware major release. It's still in Beta !!!! With thousands of promises for future updates.....

Why should I still ave trust in this company, believe that there will be updates for a product that was never maintained very well.

I mean, you have capabilities to develop stuff like "OrbaCam" but there is still no useful quantisation? This sucks.... I am completely disappointed and would not trust any other products you release anymore!

I noticed the site now says shipping in August, is that a release delay for new and previous orders, or representative of "if you ordered now, it would ship later than if you ordered a month ago due to demand"?
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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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.


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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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You should have called the first Orba what it was, the Orba Beta, because that's basically what you sold us.

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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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I got the $10 off, offer to keep the old ORBA. Not very comforting. I'm sure with supply chain delivery issues, and omni-channel pricing and distribution management challenges, it's tough to successfully manage frictionless product upgrades. However, I would look to Apple or similar to see how they navigate these issues. And error the side of caution in order to not shoot yourself in the foot with the core franchise of musicians.


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Exactly Tim, I posted about this in another thread about this same issue. It’s a terrible move and will guarantee that I will never buy another Artiphon product. They offered me $10 off… I have no idea who is making decisions in this company, but they are obviously only focused on profit over being a reliable company that customers can trust.

EPIC FAIL for those of us who just bought ORBA1 and would have waited and likely paid more for ORBA2


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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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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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That being said, I am EXTREMELY excited for the list of new features. Exactly what we have been asking for.
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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