📻Hardware — use Playtronica with synths and sound modules

You do not need a laptop. Every Playtronica device is a standard USB MIDI controller. Anything that accepts USB MIDI input — desktop synths, sound modules, drum machines, Eurorack interfaces, OP-1, OP-Z — can be played by a Playtronica device.

⚠️ Power off first. Plug everything together before switching the power on. See the safety page for general handling rules.

The simplest path — USB host

Many modern hardware synths have a USB host port. The port is often labelled USB A to distinguish it from the USB B port that connects to a computer. Plug your Playtronica device into the USB host port. The synth treats the device as a MIDI input.

Devices with USB host built in: Korg Volca Sample 2, Roland JD-Xi, Elektron Digitakt II, Elektron Digitone II, OP-1 Field, OP-Z (with an adapter), Nord Stage 3, most Behringer Deepmind variants, and many MPC standalone units.

Devices without USB host: older Volcas, classic Eurorack modules, and hardware MIDI keyboards from before approximately 2018. For these, use a USB-host adapter (see below).

USB-host adapter — when the synth has only DIN MIDI

If your synth has only a 5-pin DIN MIDI input, use a USB-host-to-DIN converter. Two reliable options:

• Doremidi UMH-10 or similar — small, USB-powered, around €40. Plug the Playtronica device into the USB side. Plug a MIDI cable from the DIN side into your synth's MIDI input.
• Kenton USB MIDI Host — slightly more expensive, more flexible. Handles multiple Playtronica devices in series.

The signal path is: Playtronica device → USB-host adapter → MIDI cable → synth's MIDI input. The synth sees a regular MIDI keyboard.

TRS MIDI (the Scales path)

Scales has a TRS MIDI output (a 3.5 mm jack) in addition to USB-C. If your hardware uses TRS MIDI — most modern compact synths use the MIDI Manufacturers Association's Type A pinout (OP-Z, Korg's pocket range, most Eurorack MIDI-to-CV modules) — connect with a TRS-to-TRS or TRS-to-DIN cable.

If your hardware uses the older Type B pinout, you will need an adapter. Adapters exist. Check your synth's manual first.

Eurorack and CV/Gate

Playtronica devices output MIDI, not CV. To play a Eurorack rig, use a MIDI-to-CV/Gate interface:

• Befaco Voltio, Doepfer MCV4, Korg SQ-64, Polyend Poly 2 — all accept MIDI over USB host or DIN, and output CV plus gate.
• Plug the Playtronica device into the interface's USB host port, or use a USB-host adapter for DIN. Patch the CV and Gate outputs to your oscillator and envelope.
• Playtron's 16 alligator pins all send on MIDI channel 1 by default. To split them across multiple voices, set per-pin channels at settings.playtronica.com/#/playtron.

Combinations we have seen work well

• TouchMe + OP-1 Field — a workshop classic. TouchMe's two-person play feeds the OP-1 sampler.
• Playtron + Volca Sample — fruit as drum pads. Map each alligator wire to a different sample.
• Biotron + OP-Z — the plant drives an arpeggio. The OP-Z sequences it with its built-in tracks for a generative piece.
• Orbita + Eurorack — Orbita as a melodic source feeding a quantizer, then into your modular voices.
• Scales + any synth — weight as pitch is a strong on-stage gesture. It works especially well with brass-like presets.

Troubleshooting

The synth does not see the Playtronica device. Check the synth's MIDI input settings. Some synths require you to enable USB-host MIDI explicitly. Confirm you are using the USB host port, not the USB device port.

The notes play in the wrong octave. Playtronica devices default to MIDI note 48 (C3) and up. Your synth might be set to a different octave. Shift the octave on the synth, not on the Playtronica device.

Notes get stuck. Send an "All Notes Off" message from the synth, or power-cycle the synth. Some hardware does not handle a class-compliant device disconnecting cleanly.

Ask the community

🤝 Other Playtronica users have probably hit this before. The Playtronica Friends Facebook group has 4,400 members and is the fastest source of creative and technical help. Search the group's history first (use the magnifying glass at the top — try playtron mobile no sound, all leds lit, touchme biotron no sound, koala sampler midi, or whatever fits your problem). If your question is not already answered, post a new one with a [Device] prefix in the title. See the community page for what to ask there and what to email instead.

Still stuck

Email support@playtronica.com with the subject Hardware setup and a description of your gear. If your setup is a common one, we will write it up as its own guide.