Manufacturer's description
Plinky 12 Chords is part of the Plinky 12 family of expressive touch synthesisers. Designed by Making Sound Machines, it is a harmonic inspiration machine.
Plinky 12 Chords consists of a 16x16 RGB matrix of pressure-sensitive capacitive touch pads, a built-in multi-timbral synth engine, with CV and MIDI connectivity in a sturdy steel enclosure just 12mm thick. Along the top edge, it has 12 3.5mm TRS jacks for connecting to MIDI, Eurorack, and other hardware.
Chords is an expressive polyphonic touch synthesiser, built around exploring harmonies intuitively and improvising melodies on the fly. Designed in collaboration with mmalex, it is a member of the Plinky 12 family of instruments and puts its characteristic fragile, melancholic sound at the touch of your fingertips.
Some of its features include:
- 8-voice polyphony, split between 6 chord and 6 melody voices
- 13 Palettes with 45 chords each, to explore, mix, match and shape your composition
- 4 polyphonic melody surfaces that dynamically adjust to match the harmonies:
- Free play on the chromatic surface, guided by highlights for chord and scale notes
- Improvise with on-scale notes on the scale surface
- Arpeggiate through a palette of chords on the chordnotes surface
- Explore a whole surface of suggested harmonies on the related chords surface
- Polyphonic arp with 32 x 16 step patterns that you can edit on the fly
- Circle of fifths transposition
- Built-in sequencer with 128 steps to sequence the shape of your chords
- Individual track length, modulo, probability, pattern generator, Stolperbeats shuffle
- Plinky 12 synth engine, polytimbral with different sounds for Bass, Treble and Melody
- XY modulation for morphing between synth sounds
- FX section with Tape delay and Reverb with Shimmer
- Process sounds through the effects from the external audio in
- MIDI Routing to control external synths with Plinky 12
Compatible with the other members of the Plinky 12 family
Plinky 12's hardware is designed around swappable panels. Instead of one fixed control surface, it can become different instruments built for different kinds of musical thinking.
The built-in sound engine uniquely combines sample playback with wavetable synthesis, with flexibly onboard modulation, parameter editing, XY automation. With a full VCF, VCA, wavefolder, ADSR, XY pad with 2 motion recording LFOs, 5 additional modulation LFOs, accelerometer, CV input and a full 5x30 modulation matrix, the sound design possibilities are endless.
All Plinky 12 units are sold pre-assembled, with additional panels available separately.
The plinky12.com website provides not just online documentation, but also a full in-browser sample editor, bank creation tools, a visual MIDI controller designer, and even a coding environment that lets you create your own synths, controllers or instruments in C++ without having to install anything on your computer.
This flexibility means that Plinky 12 will be an evolving platform that the community will be able to create new instruments on over time. The 3 initial SKUs, Blocks, Chords and Toadstep represent our first examples of Plinky 12 instruments. While they stand alone as instruments in their own right, by replacing the panel on the Plinky 12 main unit, the same core device can be turned instantly into any of the other versions, without having to upload any firmware.
Specifications
- Power: USB-C, 5V 500mA
- 12 × 3.5mm jack connectivity:
- CV Clock In, CV Reset In, CV Clock Out (selectable PPQN)
- 2 × CV In (-5V to 5V)
- 2 × CV Out (0-5V)
- 1 × TRS MIDI In (type A/B compatible; also USB)
- 2 × TRS MIDI Out (type A/B selectable; also USB)
(Second TRS MIDI Out can be set as a pair of CV Trigger outs on one stereo jack) - Stereo unbalanced Audio In and Out
- USB class compliant audio out, MIDI in/out, serial, and WebUSB
- Storage:
- 2MB firmware
- 14MB persistent sample flash (114 seconds)
- 512k RAM, 8MB PSRAM; 128k + 7.5MB free to use by panels
- SD card for presets, samples, and songs
- CPU: RP2350 microcontroller
- Interface: 16x16 RGB pressure sensitive capacitive touch pads
- Other features: Stereo microphone, accelerometer, 4 tactile side buttons, swappable front panels
- Dimensions: 12" x 12" (305mm x 305mm), 12mm deep
- Construction: Steel case, fiberglass PCB front panel
How much is my shipping?
Shipping is automatically calculated before you submit your payment information. Simply add items to your cart and proceed to the checkout page, where you'll be offered shipping options and their prices. In the UK, 'next working day' shipping is free if the order value is over £150, and £5 otherwise. We can also ship on a 'next working day before 12pm' service, which costs £6 for orders over £150 and £7.50 for orders under £150.
Do you ship to my country?
Almost certainly - the site will give you an estimate of shipping costs if you add an item to the cart and then enter your country and postcode. If you have specific requirements (such as if you prefer UPS over FedEx, for example) then let us know in advance and we'll try to work something out for you.
Shipping methods
We use a combination of DPD and Royal Mail for the UK, and for international orders it's either DPD, DHL, FedEx, UPS or Royal Mail depending on where you are in the world. If you have a particular preference then try to let us know BEFORE you order so we can look into it for you. Please note that there may occasionally be additional shipping charges if you live in a remote area, depending on what surcharges are applied by the shipper. We'll get in touch to discuss this with you in such cases.
Dispatch times
For UK orders, we normally dispatch the same working day if we get the order before 16:00. If you have a really urgent situation then of course drop us an email before ordering and we'll always do our absolute best to accommodate you.
For international orders, we normally dispatch the same day if we get the order before 13:00 but again, occasionally it might be the next day before we can send it out, and sometimes the couriers may come to collect a little earlier than scheduled which would also push an order into the next day.
Saturday/Sunday delivery
If you're in the UK and you order before 16:00 on a Friday then we can send something for a Saturday or Sunday delivery with DPD. This is FREE for order values over £350, £5 for order values between £75 and £250, and £7 for order values under £75. (NB: this applies to UK mainland addresses only). Please note that any orders placed after 16:00 on a Friday will ship on the Monday.
International shipping times
Most orders are delivered within 3 to 5 working days if sent on a courier service. Royal Mail services can take a lot longer and are often less secure.
Pre-orders
If a product is listed as a pre-order, it means we've ordered it from the supplier but it's not physically in stock yet. The product listing will include an estimated shipping date based on the best information we have from the supplier, but do bear in mind this is subject to change and is not a guaranteed date.
If you place an order containing a mixture of in-stock and pre-order items, we'll normally hold off on shipping anything until the pre-order item(s) have arrived, rather than splitting it into multiple shipments. If you need the in-stock items sooner, we'd recommend placing separate orders. As always, please get in touch if you have questions.
Product Overview
Manufacturer's description
Plinky 12 Chords is part of the Plinky 12 family of expressive touch synthesisers. Designed by Making Sound Machines, it is a harmonic inspiration machine.
Plinky 12 Chords consists of a 16x16 RGB matrix of pressure-sensitive capacitive touch pads, a built-in multi-timbral synth engine, with CV and MIDI connectivity in a sturdy steel enclosure just 12mm thick. Along the top edge, it has 12 3.5mm TRS jacks for connecting to MIDI, Eurorack, and other hardware.
Chords is an expressive polyphonic touch synthesiser, built around exploring harmonies intuitively and improvising melodies on the fly. Designed in collaboration with mmalex, it is a member of the Plinky 12 family of instruments and puts its characteristic fragile, melancholic sound at the touch of your fingertips.
Some of its features include:
- 8-voice polyphony, split between 6 chord and 6 melody voices
- 13 Palettes with 45 chords each, to explore, mix, match and shape your composition
- 4 polyphonic melody surfaces that dynamically adjust to match the harmonies:
- Free play on the chromatic surface, guided by highlights for chord and scale notes
- Improvise with on-scale notes on the scale surface
- Arpeggiate through a palette of chords on the chordnotes surface
- Explore a whole surface of suggested harmonies on the related chords surface
- Polyphonic arp with 32 x 16 step patterns that you can edit on the fly
- Circle of fifths transposition
- Built-in sequencer with 128 steps to sequence the shape of your chords
- Individual track length, modulo, probability, pattern generator, Stolperbeats shuffle
- Plinky 12 synth engine, polytimbral with different sounds for Bass, Treble and Melody
- XY modulation for morphing between synth sounds
- FX section with Tape delay and Reverb with Shimmer
- Process sounds through the effects from the external audio in
- MIDI Routing to control external synths with Plinky 12
Compatible with the other members of the Plinky 12 family
Plinky 12's hardware is designed around swappable panels. Instead of one fixed control surface, it can become different instruments built for different kinds of musical thinking.
The built-in sound engine uniquely combines sample playback with wavetable synthesis, with flexibly onboard modulation, parameter editing, XY automation. With a full VCF, VCA, wavefolder, ADSR, XY pad with 2 motion recording LFOs, 5 additional modulation LFOs, accelerometer, CV input and a full 5x30 modulation matrix, the sound design possibilities are endless.
All Plinky 12 units are sold pre-assembled, with additional panels available separately.
The plinky12.com website provides not just online documentation, but also a full in-browser sample editor, bank creation tools, a visual MIDI controller designer, and even a coding environment that lets you create your own synths, controllers or instruments in C++ without having to install anything on your computer.
This flexibility means that Plinky 12 will be an evolving platform that the community will be able to create new instruments on over time. The 3 initial SKUs, Blocks, Chords and Toadstep represent our first examples of Plinky 12 instruments. While they stand alone as instruments in their own right, by replacing the panel on the Plinky 12 main unit, the same core device can be turned instantly into any of the other versions, without having to upload any firmware.
Specifications
- Power: USB-C, 5V 500mA
- 12 × 3.5mm jack connectivity:
- CV Clock In, CV Reset In, CV Clock Out (selectable PPQN)
- 2 × CV In (-5V to 5V)
- 2 × CV Out (0-5V)
- 1 × TRS MIDI In (type A/B compatible; also USB)
- 2 × TRS MIDI Out (type A/B selectable; also USB)
(Second TRS MIDI Out can be set as a pair of CV Trigger outs on one stereo jack) - Stereo unbalanced Audio In and Out
- USB class compliant audio out, MIDI in/out, serial, and WebUSB
- Storage:
- 2MB firmware
- 14MB persistent sample flash (114 seconds)
- 512k RAM, 8MB PSRAM; 128k + 7.5MB free to use by panels
- SD card for presets, samples, and songs
- CPU: RP2350 microcontroller
- Interface: 16x16 RGB pressure sensitive capacitive touch pads
- Other features: Stereo microphone, accelerometer, 4 tactile side buttons, swappable front panels
Technical Specs
Shipping Details
How much is my shipping?
Shipping is automatically calculated before you submit your payment information. Simply add items to your cart and proceed to the checkout page, where you'll be offered shipping options and their prices. In the UK, 'next working day' shipping is free if the order value is over £150, and £5 otherwise. We can also ship on a 'next working day before 12pm' service, which costs £6 for orders over £150 and £7.50 for orders under £150.
Do you ship to my country?
Almost certainly - the site will give you an estimate of shipping costs if you add an item to the cart and then enter your country and postcode. If you have specific requirements (such as if you prefer UPS over FedEx, for example) then let us know in advance and we'll try to work something out for you.
Shipping methods
We use a combination of DPD and Royal Mail for the UK, and for international orders it's either DPD, DHL, FedEx, UPS or Royal Mail depending on where you are in the world. If you have a particular preference then try to let us know BEFORE you order so we can look into it for you. Please note that there may occasionally be additional shipping charges if you live in a remote area, depending on what surcharges are applied by the shipper. We'll get in touch to discuss this with you in such cases.
Dispatch times
For UK orders, we normally dispatch the same working day if we get the order before 16:00. If you have a really urgent situation then of course drop us an email before ordering and we'll always do our absolute best to accommodate you.
For international orders, we normally dispatch the same day if we get the order before 13:00 but again, occasionally it might be the next day before we can send it out, and sometimes the couriers may come to collect a little earlier than scheduled which would also push an order into the next day.
Saturday/Sunday delivery
If you're in the UK and you order before 16:00 on a Friday then we can send something for a Saturday or Sunday delivery with DPD. This is FREE for order values over £350, £5 for order values between £75 and £250, and £7 for order values under £75. (NB: this applies to UK mainland addresses only). Please note that any orders placed after 16:00 on a Friday will ship on the Monday.
International shipping times
Most orders are delivered within 3 to 5 working days if sent on a courier service. Royal Mail services can take a lot longer and are often less secure.
Pre-orders
If a product is listed as a pre-order, it means we've ordered it from the supplier but it's not physically in stock yet. The product listing will include an estimated shipping date based on the best information we have from the supplier, but do bear in mind this is subject to change and is not a guaranteed date.
If you place an order containing a mixture of in-stock and pre-order items, we'll normally hold off on shipping anything until the pre-order item(s) have arrived, rather than splitting it into multiple shipments. If you need the in-stock items sooner, we'd recommend placing separate orders. As always, please get in touch if you have questions.
