Orba 2 is a handheld device that lets you turn found sounds into playable instruments

A new handheld device called the Orba 2 lets you turn found sounds into playable instruments.

The portable, easy-to-use gadget is intuitively designed with a playing surface that reacts to the nine gestures: Tap, Press, Radiate, Tilt, Shake, Spin, Vibrato, Move, and Bump. Through the accompanying Orba App, Orba 2 users can record anything from a bicycle bell or a bird in a tree to roadworks and the human voice, which can then be played, looped, and shared as a melody. You can also import samples you've previously recorded.

This palm-sized looper, synth, and MIDI controller is an updated version of Artiphone's first award-winning Orba device and comes equipped with a new sound engine that includes audio samples and more than 100 new pre-loaded sounds. Among the new audio samples are real instruments like electric guitars and upright pianos.

“People want to create multisensory music and go beyond historical limitations of traditional instruments,” says Artiphon founder Mike Butera. “Like information, sounds want to be free. In the next few years, billions more people are going to realize they can be musical, and we’re excited to bring this future closer than ever before.”

Orba 2 can be synced via MIDI to other devices and hardware and works with GarageBand, Ableton Live, Logic Pro, Pro Tools, Cubase, and FL Studio. The device is priced at €159/£139. Watch a demo video below and find out more on the Artiphon site.

Earlier this year, Swedish brand Teenage Engineering introduced a collection of new affordable modules based on its Pocket Operator Modular series, which start at £29.