Future Retro Teases FR-512 Touchplate Keyboard

future-retro-FR-512-touch-keyboard

Future Retro shared this sneak preview of a new touchplate keyboard that they are working on – the FR-512.

It’s a combination MIDI & CV controller, so it should be capable of controlling just about any synth.

Details on the FR-512 are still to be announced, but there’s a lot revealed in the image above. 

fugure-retro-touchplate-keyboard

Here’s what we can tell about the Future Retro FR-512 touchplate keyboard, based on the teaser image:

  • It features a two and half octave touchplate keyboard, with touchplate pitch bend and mod controls
  • It includes a Arpeggiator
  • It supports MIDI – with MIDI IN, Thru & Out
  • It supports analog synth control, with CV’s for clock, gate, Key CV, Velocity & Touch
  • It is transposable over 9 octaves
  • It has a built-in sequencer that looks like it’s got some DNA from other 303-style Future Retro sequencers, including the FR-777, the Moebius and the ORB.
  • It’s the same size as the Future Retro XS synthesizer, but thinner. It can be racked or used as a desktop unit.

Official details, pricing and availability are to be announced.

Future Retro head Jered Flickinger says, though, “There’s still plenty left to be done… coding, testing, tweaking, manual writing, and assembly. Hopefully these will be ready by NAMM.”

via Future Retro, CDM

18 thoughts on “Future Retro Teases FR-512 Touchplate Keyboard

  1. Hi all.
    What is the intended use for this keyboard? I mean, is there an advantage over a regular keyboard?
    Not trolling, honest question.

    Thanks for your answers

        1. I didn’t think that was a bad answer. Although I would have said Stylophone. What purpose could there be, except to give you a unique way to play? Anything that sparks some creativity can be worthwhile.

    1. I imagine you can slide your fingers along the individual keys to affect pitch, modulation, etc., vastly increasing the expressive potential.

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