Buchla Thunder Overlay - Legendary Expression Comes To The Morph

Order the Morph + Buchla Thunder Overlay

Order the Buchla Thunder Overlay

When it comes to expressive and unique instrument design, Buchla is a towering legend. 30 years ago, with the release of the Thunder, Don Buchla introduced a musical playing interface inspired by Native American art and the natural playing positions of the human hands and fingers.

Now, we’re thrilled to partner with Buchla U.S.A. to bring the Thunder to the Morph, for a modern update that combines the genius of Don Buchla’s ergonomic designs with the unparalleled force sensitivity of the Morph. 

The Buchla Thunder Overlay is uniquely well-suited to a variety of instruments - from synthesizers with rich and evolving timbres, to acoustic samples that benefit from a more “human” touch, to hardware synthesizers like the legendary Buchla Easel. You can witness the richness of expression in this video of Peter Nyboer playing with the Buchla Thunder Overlay in the video above.

Along with our friends at Buchla U.S.A., we dedicated extra care and engineering to making the Buchla Thunder Overlay a smooth and expressive experience worthy of the Buchla legacy. We worked closely with the team at Buchla on the feel, design, color, and sizing to respect history and take full advantage of the Morph platform. Each of the 27 areas of the Buchla Thunder Overlay transmits a dedicated note and can be used with any instrument that accepts MIDI or MPE (MIDI Polyphonic Expression) input. The Buchla Thunder Overlay can further be customized to transmit any of the protocols supported by the Sensel App, including HID for gaming, computer keyboard commands, and more.

Also, the Buchla Thunder Overlay exclusively features a new preset system to the Morph. Using the preset button and the numerical keys, you can easily and instantly switch between nine mappings without needing to open the SenselApp. Need to go from an instrument controller to a virtual mixer? Want to swap between scales? Presets add a seamless extension of expressive control possibility to the Buchla Thunder Overlay.

The Morph with the Buchla Thunder Overlay and more will be on display this Spring and Summer at Sensel's booths at Moogfest, Expo '74, Mutek SF, Superbooth, and Brooklyn Synth Expo, so come by and check us out.

We’re excited to continue to share more photos and videos of the Buchla Thunder Overlay in action – be sure to follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for more updates.

Order the Sensel Morph + Buchla Thunder Overlay for $269 

Order the Buchla Thunder Overlay for $59

Using the Buchla Thunder Overlay with CV

To output control voltage (CV) from the Sensel Morph, you'll need an interface that can translate USB to CV. Two that we recommend are the MantaMate from Snyderphonics and the FH-2 from Expert Sleepers.