KOMA Elektronik Chromaplane: Playing Music with Electromagnetic Fields
The Chromaplane represents a completely new approach to making music. This electromagnetic synthesizer by KOMA Elektronik, created in collaboration with Passepartout Duo, turns the traditional idea of playing an instrument upside down. Instead of pressing keys or turning knobs, you move electromagnetic pickup coils over the surface to interact with invisible fields.
How It Works
The Chromaplane contains ten analog square wave oscillators that create electromagnetic fields around specific points on its aluminum surface. Small holes mark where each field is strongest. You play the instrument by moving two included pickup coils closer to or further from these points. The closer you get, the louder that oscillator becomes.
Each oscillator can be individually tuned using adjustment screws on the surface. The oscillators are organized into three rows - bass, mid, and high - with different frequency ranges. Three octave switches can lower each row by one octave, expanding your sonic possibilities.
Sound Processing
The raw electromagnetic signals pass through several processing stages. A 4-pole low-pass filter shapes the timbre, while a lo-fi delay adds space and texture. The filter includes CV control that's automatically fed by the pickup signals, creating interesting modulation effects and adding harmonic content.
An envelope follower tracks the volume of your playing and outputs control voltage. You can patch this to modulate the filter or delay, creating dynamic effects that respond to your movements.
Playing Experience
Playing the Chromaplane feels more like conducting invisible sounds than operating a traditional synthesizer. The electromagnetic fields overlap, so positioning pickups between oscillators creates chord-like combinations. Moving through the surface geography creates melodies using whatever pitches you've tuned each point to.
The instrument responds to proximity on the Z-axis for volume, while X and Y movement selects different pitches. This three-dimensional playing style opens up expressive possibilities not found in keyboard-based instruments.
External Connections
An external input lets you inject other audio signals into one of the electromagnetic fields. This opens up feedback possibilities - you can patch the filter or delay output back into the external input for complex interactions.
The envelope follower output provides 0-6V control voltage, perfect for modulating external gear or the Chromaplane's own delay and filter sections.
Technical Specifications
The Chromaplane is fully analog and genuinely polyphonic - all ten oscillators run simultaneously. It measures 30 x 21 x 2 cm and weighs just over 1kg. The instrument requires 9V DC power and outputs stereo audio at 6V peak-to-peak, compatible with both line level and modular gear.
Like all analog instruments, the Chromaplane needs about 15 minutes to warm up and stabilize in pitch. The manual includes detailed information about tuning drift and how temperature affects the oscillators.
Who Should Consider It
The Chromaplane appeals to experimental musicians looking for new ways to interact with sound. Its touchless interface and organic playing style suit ambient music, sound design, and live performance. The learning curve is gentle - basic sounds emerge immediately, but mastering the three-dimensional playing technique takes time.
The instrument works well both as a standalone voice and as part of a larger setup. With its CV outputs and external input, it integrates naturally with modular systems or other electronic instruments.
Max for Live Integration
The Chromaplane ecosystem extends beyond the hardware instrument. Passepartout Duo created "Chromaplane for Live," a Max for Live device that transforms the instrument into a versatile digital controller.
This Max4Live device converts audio from the Chromaplane's pickups into a duophonic digital synthesizer voice and can route MIDI translations of detected pitches to your tracks in Ableton Live. The device supports pitch tracking, MIDI CC messages, and note pressure transmission, letting you use the Chromaplane to control external synthesizers and Ableton instruments.
Setting up requires connecting the pickups to an audio interface, creating an audio track in Live, and inserting the Chromaplane for Live device. You can then route the converted MIDI to other instruments or use the built-in digital voice for additional sonic possibilities.
The Chromaplane proves that innovative interface design can create entirely new musical experiences. By making electromagnetic fields audible and playable, KOMA Elektronik has created something genuinely unique in the synthesizer world.
Chromaplane: An Electromagnetic Musical Instrument by KOMA Elektronik