Instrument design · Audio · iPad

Tonkro.

An instrument you can play, not just operate. Tonkro brings synthesis, sampling, sequencing, and recording into a tactile iPad workstation.

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Design breakdown / concept drawings

From a gesture to a track.

Make sound feel immediate: play first, then shape and arrange.

01 / Touch

Four macros

Sound, Envelope, Effect and Motion keep the control surface consistent. The instrument responds to touch and MIDI.

The design choice

A small, repeatable set of controls keeps attention on listening.

Editable notes arranged in the Tonkro piano roll

02 / Pattern

Movement becomes music

Sequencers turn notes and gestures into patterns. Animated worlds give changes in the sound a visible counterpart.

The design choice

Motion has a job: show the behaviour of the instrument.

The Tonkro tape desk with transport and track controls

03 / Tape

Keep the performance

Record, arrange and mix in the eight-stereo-track workspace. MIDI notes remain editable in the piano roll.

The design choice

The playful instrument connects to a practical finishing workflow.

Tonkro music workstation with animated sound characters, controls, and keyboard

01 / INSPIRATION

What if making a sound felt like meeting a character?

Tonkro explores the immediacy of physical instruments: a handful of controls, a sound you can shape, and a response you can feel. Its animated worlds give synthesis a visible personality.

Annotated design study for Tonkro — Explanatory redraw made for this portfolio, not an original notebook page.

02 / HOW IT WORKS

How it works

Sound, Envelope, Effect, and Motion each have four macro controls. Touch and MIDI feed a shared audio engine; sequencers turn gestures into patterns, and the tape workspace lets those performances become an arrangement.

Development view of Tonkro’s instrument controls and keyboard — Actual Tonkro development interface.

A closer look

A performance surface

Four stable macros across Sound, Envelope, Effect, and Motion keep the interface playable with touch or a MIDI controller.

A place for the performance

Play, Record, Arrange, and Mix connect the instrument to an eight-stereo-track workspace. MIDI recording and a piano roll keep the notes editable.

Movement with meaning

Animated worlds respond to the instrument. The visual character is part of understanding the sound, rather than decoration around a control panel.

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Tonkro landing page Next project: Aitihasik