I wanted to start a thread for discussion of whether people think we might be in for an Organelle Pro at some point in the foreseeable future. I’ve really enjoyed keeping up with the work of @Audivit on ORHACK, and see a lot of users are running into cpu limitations. Personally I’m still on the Organelle 1. Was excited with the release of the S, but after careful consideration, I wanted to hold out for a more substantial upgrade.
So, I guess this is more of a thread about "if there was an organelle pro, would you upgrade? What do you imagine it might improve on over the S? etc.
I saw something mentioned about built in flash memory in the orhack thread as well, and wonder if that’s a possibility.
I think C&G have done such a great job keeping things backwards compatible, that part of me is afraid an Organelle Pro might put and end to that backwards compatibility, but. Maybe it doesn’t have to…
As long as it runs puredata, it will be still ‘somehow’ compatible… but yeah if suddenly there are illuminated buttons, We will be able to do step sequencers, elektron style, etc. things that in the current organelles wouldn’t make sense but still. people are doing and will still do in the future many patches that will run in older organelles…
I like a lot of these ideas! Personally I kind of enjoy the keyboard layout although I love what you’ve done @Audivit by changing the wooden keys on yours. I see the advantages for sequencing patterns, but I wonder if it’s too much of a departure from the organelle’s functionality.
Sometimes I like the non endless pots as you can sweep from max to min with one swift movement more easily - I’m curious, what do people see as the advantages of endless encoders?
I would really love a LESS CLICKY encoder for the main encoder though
Larger screen and internal battery (if possible while maintaining S form factor) is great idea. So is Joystick!
What’s the advantage of internal SSD? Would this allow for faster sample transfer? I currently find the wait time for sample transfer to be really slowwww
Thinner sleek design with integrated battery
—agree, I would probably use also low profile knobs like the ones in akai lpd or elektron cycles in order to make the device slicker / as backpack friendly as possible.
USB-C power input
– yeah, this could even make the internal battery optional (it might be pricier than we think to do it right…)
Larger greyscale OLED display
– I would use color if the price/ code time bump isn’t too big but I would be happy anyway with size increase…
Internal SSD storage
– I don’t see a positive ‘advantage to price-bump’ ratio
High resolution endless encoders with push switches
– yeah, there will be an issue to solve regarding using old patches though…
2 rows of 16 mini velocity/pressure sensitive (or MPE) pads (to be used both as keyboard or sequencer)
– Don’t see this one… One row of 16 RGB backlit butts is ‘enough’ (in addition with a standard mini-keyboard) and the loss of a ‘musical keyboard’ would be massive for the people that simply wants to use Organelle as a simple playable synth… I would actually love to have an isomorphic keyboard input in the organelle (like the Striso). But I wouldn’t suggest it because I see it might be a very personal preference and also it would mean a significant price increase…
X/Y mini joystick (spring loaded on one axis)
– I would use a minilogue XD style joystick. it might be smaller…
Improved AD/DA converters
– Absolutely… but I would trade CV stuff and Toslink for more Audio i/o though… Being able to cue audio before sending it out its a nice or even essential feature to have when playing live. & that outs can be used also to send audio to effect pedals & back into organelle… Well actually… If you do it right, you could use that outputs also for CV: (Es-8, datanoise octawave) . But I would rather have 3 better quality minijack stereo ins and 3 stereo outs for cue out, Aux sends, and external audio input mixing of up to 6 independent channels.
I like your idea also about more RGB leds. they are affordable and They are super important for visual feedback. I use the current one with different colors to know if Im recording a sequence, a sound into a sampler or the master output. But I can think also of many other uses for extra leds… midi activity, audio in levels. quarter notes metronome, pedal state, knob catch status, etc…
Another thing that I haven’t mentioned before but that I would absolutely add is a couple of extra ‘Aux’ buttons…
in Organelle minimalistic style, 4 extra buttons would already be great but personally, I would add a couple of basic buttons already labeled (rec, stop, play, <,>, up, dwn, -,+, A, B, etc), And then people could use them that way or not. But at least they would be easily named and remembered in pd.
Endless encoders are better in cases where they do more than one function so you don’t have to do anymore the ‘catch older value first’ thing (or jump directly). older 24 steps per rotation encoders might feel ‘slower’ than pots but newer Hi-res encoders (1024 stp per rot) feel pretty good when implemented correctly, almost ‘analog’, Like in push 2. Although, scrolling through lists in push encoders doesnt feel good because of the lack of clickyness…
For the less clicky main I don’t know if you refer to rotation or push… I personally like to feel clicks when scrolling lists but this also can be achieved nowadays with some haptic feedback motor.
I meant less clicky encoder as far as how much you hear it. I do like the tactile feedback, but it’s very loud.
I am thinking instead of an internal battery, what if there was a sleek way to attach a small rechargeable battery pack? I’m imagining a box the same size as the organelle that could attach to the back (so the device retains the same footprint, but can still lie flat). It wouldn’t be as slick as an internal battery, of course but it also wouldn’t add a lot of depth given how thin most battery packs are today. Something like this:
An extra aux button, I see could definitely be useful, but I think, having several more aux buttons might be a little too much, and actually detract from the simplicity of the design.
I like the idea of the knobs, being a little bit more low profile, though! And a case would be really awesome as well
It would just be nice if there was a rechargeable battery inside it. The need for AAs seems wasteful, and I don’t see that it could cost a whole lot more. It would make the organelle s a much better “couch/travel synth”