Orchid: A Charming Retro Synth for Hipster Gamers

In 2017, I snagged an old Magnus chord organ on Craigslist for just $10, and it quickly became one of my favorite music gear finds. These electric chord organs let you play full chords with a single button press, making them ideal for budding singer-songwriters or just jamming at home. However, they lost popularity in the ’80s as digital keyboards, like those from Casio, took over the scene.

The Telepathic Instruments Orchid aims to bring back that charming simplicity of vintage parlor instruments. Much like those classic electric chord organs, the Orchid allows you to create lush chord progressions without needing to dive deep into music theory or complex fingerings. It’s not about mastering the instrument; it’s about giving songwriters a way to sketch out ideas effortlessly, while also adding modern features to the chord organ legacy.

Designed in collaboration with Kevin Parker from Tame Impala, the Orchid sports a retro aesthetic reminiscent of ’60s brown-and-tan organs from brands like Magnus and Bontempi. The speaker grill even mimics the fan vents of those classic models. However, at $649, it’s definitely a pricier option.

Unlike a Magnus organ, which is limited by the number of physical reeds it can accommodate, the Orchid is fully digital and can theoretically play any chord in any voicing from any scale. This means it can produce a wider range of sounds beyond just the warm, droney tones of an accordion.

For songwriters, this means you can concentrate on your lyrics and melodies. If you find it challenging to sing and play simultaneously, the Orchid can alleviate that mental burden. Plus, its diverse sound palette ensures you won’t be stuck with just somber tones, unlike traditional chord organs.

Even if your grasp of music theory is basic (and mine is quite limited), you’ll find the Orchid easy to navigate. It features a one-octave keyboard and a few buttons on the left for different chord types, such as major, minor, diminished, and major 7th. Press C with major, and you get a C major chord; press F# with 9, and you get an F#9. It’s straightforward.

The Orchid can really guide you if you want it to (and I often do). You can lock it to a specific key, ensuring it only plays chords in E minor or Bb major. This feature means that almost anything you play will sound good and in tune. If your chord theory knowledge is limited, this can significantly broaden your sonic options with minimal hassle. I often use the chord engine to discover progressions that serve as the foundation for tracks while jamming in my studio.

But the Orchid isn’t just about pumping out chords in a block. It offers strum, harp, and arpeggiator modes, along with 13 preprogrammed patterns. My favorite performance mode is “slop,” which introduces slight timing imperfections that mimic a human touch rather than a machine. The more you crank it up, the more unevenly the notes are played.

Vintage chord organs have a distinct droney sound, akin to a particularly buzzy accordion, which still inspires artists today. However, the Orchid can deliver a much wider array of sounds.

Under the hood, it features three simple synth engines: a virtual analog (VA) synth, an FM synth for ’80s-style electric pianos and bells, and a reed piano that captures Wurlitzer tones while also providing softer Rhodes electric piano sounds. I often find myself using the VA engine to create distorted, heavily reverbed pads, treating the Orchid almost like a fidget toy, playing around with simple chord progressions to help me focus. You can also connect the Orchid to a computer or another synth to use it as a MIDI controller, giving you access to its one-key chords while expanding your sound options.

The Orchid comes with 70 presets (excluding bass patches), covering most of your needs. This is crucial since there are limited ways to tweak sounds directly on the Orchid. You can adjust the filter cutoff or modify effects like reverb or phaser, but that’s about it. If you want to create your own patches, you’ll need to purchase the Pistil virtual synth for $99 ($50 if bundled with the Orchid), which allows you to send custom sounds to the Orchid. I’ve found Pistil to be somewhat buggy, with the UI freezing occasionally after transferring patches.

Additionally, the Orchid has a dedicated bass section separate from the main synth, which you can toggle on and off. While it only offers 12 sounds, they cover the essentials, from low electric piano octaves to Moog-style synth bass, tuned 808s, and aggressive EDM drones. These can be layered with the main keys for added depth or played solo.

The accompaniment features can make the Orchid a bit more complex than just a straightforward chord machine. If you don’t lock it to a specific key and set the bass to follow the chords, you can have the low-end locked to your chord progression while adding melodic flourishes on top without the bass when you’re not pressing any chord buttons. However, due to how the Orchid handles polyphony—you can’t play multiple keys at once—this can sometimes be more frustrating than helpful, depending on the patch. For instance, if a patch has a long decay time, chords will cut off abruptly if you try to play a solo note. You’re often better off using the built-in audio looper, which allows you to record chord progressions, basslines, and melodies separately for more flexibility.

I’m a big fan of the built-in drum machine. It’s quite limited—you can’t program custom beats or tweak the sounds—but I think it’s nearly perfect. It’s inspired by vintage ’70s rhythm machines like the Korg Mini Pops, which played preprogrammed beats to accompany home organs. The lo-fi, almost whimsical sound of these machines is among my favorites in the drum machine world.

The Orchid is enjoyable, sounds great, and is user-friendly. However, it does have its limitations. You can’t create your own sounds without paying extra for the Pistil software. The keyboard is small, and you can only play one key at a time; all chord voicings come from the chord buttons on the left. So, if you know how to play a Dm13 on a piano, for example, you can’t replicate that on the Orchid’s keyboard. This can be a bit frustrating and is a key difference from vintage chord organs. While models vary, my Magnus organ has dedicated buttons for Bb, F, C, A, D, and G major chords, and I can play any chord I want using its regular two-octave keyboard.

There are certainly more capable synths available in the $649 price range. However, the Orchid isn’t trying to compete with options like the Korg Minilogue or the Arturia MiniFreak. If you’re looking to tinker and design your own synth patches from scratch, you might want to look elsewhere. The Orchid is more of a songwriting tool than a synth. If you’re a singer-songwriter seeking to break away from the typical acoustic guitar or upright piano, the Orchid presents an accessible, albeit pricey, electronic alternative.