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The first two runs of a combined 12,000 instruments sold out quickly and this new one is expected to do so as well. Only 3000 of the Clear Orchid: Arctic, which is housed in a tranparent case, have been manufactured.
This new edition will also come with a new plugin called Pistil that will allow the Orchid to be directly ported into digital audio workstations on Macs and PCs.
Key details about the Orchid include:
- Design & Function: Conceived by Parker over a decade ago, it is inspired by '50s and '60s home chord organs. It allows users to select a root note and use a matrix of buttons to modify chord types, featuring 16-voice polyphony, a dedicated bass engine, and onboard reverb/delay. [1, 2, 3]
- Portability: The unit is battery-powered with built-in stereo speakers. [1, 2]
- Usage Examples: It is used as a songwriting tool to quickly lay down complex chords (e.g., \(E\flat susM7\), \(Fdim9\)) and build ideas via an onboard looper. It can act as a MIDI controller, allowing it to work within a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). [1, 2]
- Availability: Originally released in 2024, it has been sold in limited, high-demand drops (including a "clear" variant) for $549. [1, 2, 3]
- Synonyms/Related Terms: It is frequently described as a "chord
The new release also comes with a bizarre video narrated by Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme that stars "Darlene LeClair," a “musical medium” who helps musicians. Watch it on YouTube.