Plinky 12 Blocks Grid Controller & Synth

Manufacturer's description

Plinky 12 Blocks is part of the Plinky 12 family of expressive touch synthesisers.

It 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 offering connectivity to MIDI, Eurorack, and other hardware.

Plinky 12 Blocks divides the panel into large blocks: on boot, almost every pad on the entire surface can be used to play sounds live, across 10 tracks.

But blocks also hides a lot of depth: clip launching, piano roll editing, live FX inserts, chord sequencing and more.

Some of its features include:

• 10 tracks, 5 optimized for melodies and 5 for drums.
• Live play surface using almost the entire play surface
• Sequencer & Arpeggiator for every track, with editable patterns
• Piano roll editing, and clip launching with up to 32 bars per track per song
• Diatonic chord progression sequencing and note snapping
• Seamless song chaining to create longer compositions
• Innovative randomisation features such as 3 alternate pitches stored per note
• Plinky 12 synth engine, polytimbral across all tracks
• XY modulation for morphing between synth sounds
• FX section with Tape delay and Reverb with Shimmer
• Live insert FX page unique to Blocks
• Process sounds through the effects from the external audio in
• MIDI Routing to control external synths with Plinky 12

The panel is also almost entirely distraction and label-free. This makes it the perfect panel to use Plinky 12 with other devices as a controller, or even to create your own custom instrument via the forthcoming web-based coding environment.

Make your own Plinky Panel!

You can prototype your own ideas for panels in Custom Panels, using a simple API that gives you easy ways to use all of the hardware features, synth, fx, MIDI, CV connectivity, touch controls.

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