MONOCHORD – Key Visual (orph.audio)
Press Release orph.audio · Berlin

Monochord

Press or click one key and build full, chord-based soundscapes in the character of classic production hardware.

“Press one key and it’s right.”

Berlin · early August 2026 · Embargo: for immediate release

The Instrument

MONOCHORD – Perform Keys
Perform — one key, full chords
MONOCHORD – Custom Voicing
Chords, voiced by hand
MONOCHORD – Arp & Scale
Arpeggiator · Scale & Key
MONOCHORD – Sample Import
User-Sample-Import
MONOCHORD – Sequence Export
Full MIDI export
MONOCHORD – Preset Browser
Preset browser

Press Release

Berlin, early August 2026. Writing chords usually means fighting two things at once: getting the harmony right, and getting a sound that doesn’t scream “factory preset.” MONOCHORD by orph.audio solves both with a single key. The new plugin (Standalone/VST3/AU for macOS and Windows) combines a harmony workstation, chord synthesizer, multisampler, texture engine and MIDI effect in one instrument — and plays full, hand-voiced chords in the character of classic production hardware, the moment you press or mouse click a key.

Over 600 chords across 70 tonal sets — from pianistic nine-note voicings down to triads — can be adjusted or trimmed individually. The sound base: 425 sounds and 70+ multisampled instruments, driven by six synthesis engines (FM, analog, wavetable, additive, granular, PCM). Fifteen effect engines with over 80 sub-modes shape character across the full signal path. FACTORY builds a complete sound in one click — the same preset, a new starting point each time. Add an arpeggiator, scale and key control, humanize, and user-sample import (WAV, AIFF, FLAC, SFZ, Decent Sampler, SoundFont).

And MONOCHORD doesn’t just play itself: as a MIDI effect it drives any instrument — chords, arpeggios, rhythms and velocity go live to VSTs in your DAW or to external hardware in the studio, and the whole performance exports as MIDI. As audio, too: dry, or with the full effects chain.

One thing matters to orph: MONOCHORD makes no choices for you and holds no generative AI. It removes the effort, not your intention.

“I was looking for a tool that fits the way I already work, something that lets me be creative immediately and sounds right straight away. One key, or in this case one click, and the chord voicing sits there. I come from traditional sampling culture and from digital and analogue vintage hardware, but I never had piano or theory training in the classical sense, and that made it complicated to go in some ways deeper creatively. And it had to have that certain sound, the one that only comes from those old machines. MONOCHORD takes that obstacle away. No menu maze, no plug in chains, no AI, just music.” Damiano · Founder, orph.audio

MONOCHORD launches on early August 2026 at €139 / $139. Press and creators can request a full-version NFR key: damiano@orph.audio.

Tech Specs

Formats
Standalone · VST3 · AU · macOS 10.13+ · Windows 10/11 · Universal (Apple Silicon + Intel) · 64-bit only
Audio
32-bit float internal · 44.1–192 kHz · 6 synthesis engines: FM · analog · wavetable · additive · granular · PCM
Library
~11.6 GB sample library, one-time first-launch download (streamed) · 425 sounds · 70+ multisampled instruments
System & I/O
~12 GB free disk space, SSD recommended · 8 GB RAM minimum, 16 GB recommended · Internet for activation + one-time sample download
Chords
600+ chords · 70+ tonal sets · voiced by hand
Effects
15 effect engines · 80+ sub-modes, applied across the full signal path
MIDI
Drives VSTs and external hardware — chords, arpeggios, rhythms & velocity · full-performance MIDI export
Audio-Export
Dry or with the full effects chain · key/scale/tempo options
139 € €139 / $139
orph.audio/monochord

Assets & Videos for Editors

All visuals come straight from the product page and may be used for coverage of MONOCHORD. Right-click → “Save image”, or grab the original files:

From the product page, quotable: “Watch an uninterrupted improvisation, performed entirely by mouse. The audio is an iPhone field recording. No further signal or plugin was added.”

About orph

orph is an independent audio-software developer from Berlin — from the MONOCHORD chord instrument to the free finishing plugin PLUSH.

Press Contact

orph · Damiano
Berlin · Germany
damiano@orph.audio
orph.audio/monochord

© orph · Berlin MONOCHORD — “Press one key and it’s right.”