Artiphon

@SubSkyBox

Hi, does your python code work with Orba-2?

Thanks,

-j

@David Benton

Hey David,

I downloaded the zip file you shared with us (DavidsOrbaPreset.zip) and I think you have an Orba-1.  I have an Orba-2 and only 2 or 3 worked.  The ones with sound samples did not work at all.  But I was able to sample the sounds one at a time and created presets that did work.

The ones without sound samples looked like they were created using OrbaSynth (which is not compatible with Orba-2).  If only Artiphon would have created a users manual or fix it so that OrbaSynth would work.

I wonder what bugs people are going to find in Chorda ;)

The Grand Piano preset uses 96 samples, the Electric Piano 45. Recording with the Orba uses 1.

I would love a Kalimba preset as good as the piano ones.  Anyone think this is doable?  I tried the recording thing and it only produces the right sound on a computer so whats the point of the little ball lol?

I have just realised that my presets using pitch bend rely on pitch bend being set at 100%. If you have loaded any of these and found they don't work as expected that's probably the reason. Just go to the settings page and set pitch bend to 100%. Alternatively, if you don't want to reset your pitch bend then you could change the numbers in the seeker entry in the preset. Sorry, but I can't tell you what numbers you would need though.

I have found when using pitch for sliding from one note to the other a circular motion on the key gives a better sound than a straight up and down motion a subtle difference but it works. (I will shortly post a new preset with a Chinese Zheng like sound - this works well with this.)

And finally, if you have one of these presets set when you are using Orbasynth it will respond to the pitch bend (on Windows at least), however this won't be included in any resulting preset you save from the app. You would have to tinker with the preset if you wanted pitch bend in the preset.

Oh, and one last (hopefully) thought. If you can get all the chords you want from seven keys (with open chords you could get a full chromatic set) you could do worse than use the 8th to set a diminished triad (not the four note chords that guitarists, including me, refer to as diminished chords). With pitch bend you should get 2 chords that would substitute for 6 7th chords! Haven't worked out which to use - but that may depend on what keys you use most.

Oh, and another thing - checking you haven't accidently broken the xml formatting is a good idea. There are online apps that will do this. I use https://codebeautify.org/xmlvalidator .

But some text editors for programming have a checker facility built in.

(Good advice that came from Subskybox, I think.)

As an after-thought to my discussion with Rusty Perez about chords it has occurred to me that with an Orba with 7, not eight keys, it would be possible to create a set of open chords (ie: no thirds) that would play chords in any key using the same fingering patterns wherever you started (and therefor in any key). The 8th key messes up that idea. 

It couldn't work in Lead or Bass presets unless you used samples (perfectly tuned) and could switch off the pitch adjustments the orba does with samples. (I guess it is not impossible that there is a way of doing it if there is a way to switch it which we have not discovered yet.)

Sadly just a thought experiment, no more.

@Rusty Perez - I'm not sure there was a single place where it is explained - I may just have gleaned information from various other posts and worked out the rest myself!

You have two options - make a new version of the preset or just modify the existing one. I recommend the former (but either way ensure you keep a back-up of the original - you're likely to want it at some point).

First, deal with the header - give the preset a new name and a new uuid. This is a MD5 hash. (You can find online generators for this.) The uuid must be unique (vital), but it isn't a hash of anything in particular - any rubbish will do to generate one. I am sometimes lazy and move around sections of the original one to jumble it up a bit. 

Always check that the factory and readOnly values are 0. This will ensure you can delete or modify the preset later. The mode for this should be Chord - the other options are obvious - Lead, Bass or Drums.

The rest doesn't matter - do what you like.

It's a good idea to "save as" the file at this point so you are now working with a new file and you won't spoil your source file accidently- you will need to use the uuid in the file name (copy and paste) - it always comes at the end and is preceded by an underscore. (This convention also applies to sample files, images etc.)

If you are bothered about it you can change the image as you like - you can use one that already is on your Orba or make a new one -  it's a square image in .png format. There was some discussion about the required size - I started with 500x500 pixels but it seems it can be anything square -  I'd go with anything from 500 down to 120. Out of habit I stick with 500 but smaller might be better.

The entry for the image is usually near the bottom - it doesn't have to be there though.

Right, now to the actual chords. It's not complicated but can be a mind bender. Let's assume we're in the key of C for simplicity. (I think in harmonies best in D, G or A minor so I sometimes use that - it doesn't matter really.)

There are 8 chords in both the major and minor lists. Note the format - including where the spaces, commas and semi-colons are - stick to it.

Each chord consists of 4 numbers - the notes of the chords. They are relative to the root note. The first note is C - so a number 0 means you get a C, a 4 will give you an E (that's 4 semitones up) and so on. And as you can see you can also go down using negative numbers.

Now this is where it starts to strain the brain - the next chord will be based on D so you need to use numbers relative to D, and so on through the scale.

For the minor list it is relative to that scale ie: a flattened 3rd, 6th and 7th. that's Eb, Ab and Bb in the key of C.

The four notes don't have to be in any order - not sure it makes any difference but it's probably least confusing if you go from low to high.

You can use the same note (and same octave) twice in one chord -  but not 3 or 4.

There seems to be a limit to the overall range of the notes allowed. I think it might be around  two octaves but I'm not certain about this -  you can use numbers over 12, negative or positive but you are more likely to hit that limit when you do - just try to keep the range of notes down if you can.

And as you are now aware the end product of each chord doesn't have to bear any relation to what the key would normally play.

It is likely that you will make a preset that won't appear in the app at some point and won't load. Don't panic. Check for things like your uuid's, and errors in your chords - you're bound to make one some time.

If, when you test your preset something is wrong you can edit the file (I'd recommend doing that on a work file and once done copy it to the Artiphon folder replacing the old one.)

Even if you left your Orba set to that preset you will then need to click on it and choose the "Use the App" option, to load the corrected version.

I think that covers about everything - you'll probably work out the rest as you try it out.

The trick I played to get extra chords in fifths is done by the 3rd entry in the seekers section - it uses pitch bend. If you don't want to use it, just remove that entry.

(Don't forget you can make any different versions you want to try - unlike the Artiphon presets you can delete these  -  but delete in the App -  don't just delete it from the Artiphon folder.)

@Rusty Perez - here's a preset to try.

When in a major key (set by choosing an appropriate song and then choosing the chord preset to play):

play the keys 1 - 5 close to the center you will get, if you are in C,

C D E F# G# major chords,

play those key near the rim of the Orba you will get chords a fifth above.

This gives you three chord tricks in a triangle on adjacent keys in a few keys. 

The last three keys use a similar principle, but offer minor chords - hopefully the more useful ones.

If you are in, say the key of D, all the chords will shift up a tone from C.

In a minor key I have used instead open chords with no third and so are neither major nor minor. But they go in fifths in the same way over all the keys.

These are not the options I would favour myself,  but they show how it could be done. (Modifications would mostly be a matter of altering the chord lists in the presets.)

@Rusty Perez - I've worked out a scheme that makes sense to me using power chords. Also a set  mixing major and minor chords and with guitarists in mind for the choices (I'm one, so I'm going on what I would do for myself) - it leaves gaps on the minors in particular,  but there would always be some compromise whatever.

I will try and make a couple of presets demonstrating these when I can. If you want to use different synth patches or adjust the arrangements you'll have to do that for yourself.

@Rusty Perez - Ok, in that case I would suggest making a set as you propose but with power chords (ie: with no thirds). That would be more flexible but perhaps not sound so good for the job. So make one with major and minor chords which would sound better but more limited. Note that chords that jump in pitch range don't tend to sound so well on the Orba than they would on a natural intrument - in my opinion.

It would be possible to make a drum preset playing samples of chords and that could have eight or sixteen chords though you would have to get the samples together and plan the arrangement carefully. In theory, it's possible to have 24 samples in a set - eg: a full set of major and minors. But playing that would be tricky  (and I've not actually managed to make one that does that and actually works yet).  Drum sets have been used to get past the scale limitations on the Orba, but this method could be used for your purpose.

Oh, it's just occurred to me that using Pitch Bend (set to switch by a fourth of fifth, perhaps) would enable something with better range on a chord preset - that seems to me a good way to go. Yep, I'm beginning to think that could work well.

@David Benton I completely agree that there are limitations on this type of chord set, but I have a specific use case in mind. This chord set is not for the person who will be building an entire production for a single song, or for building a loop with all parts. The idea here is for the singer / songwriter who has an inspiration and wants to immediately be able to sing it over a chord progression, and continue fleshing out lyrics or melodies with his / her voice. This would be intended for self accompaniment most likely in realtime. The real drawback of the way the Orba has been designed is it's complete reliance on another device to change sounds and keys. My guitar has no such limitations, at least on keys. But the orba has an advantage there, it fits in a pocket, backpack, or the glove compartment. When I pick up my guitar, I don't have to decide first what key I want to sing in and then connect it to another device to set it up for the key I want. I just play a few chords.What I would hope to do with these multi-chord sets is to remove some barriers to organic and immediate songwriting with the orba.

@Rusty Perez - Your idea is not without value but wouldn't be as useful as you hope I think. As you change key to play on bass and lead the chords shift with them which would defeat your purpose. To make a set of chords as you suggest would be straightforward -  Subskybox created a tool as an aid for for doing it,  (originally made for the Orba 1.) However, a set like that might have some use, and the fifths principle might work well for moving around a chord set, but I feel it would be best designed for the single key.

The voicing of each chord is worth paying attention to (not just it having the right notes) it can make a set have real character rather than just function.