Its a digital control, and theres hidden functionality, in that turning it down all the way disables the internal synth. It requires you to dream up a new technique, but opens up all sorts of interesting possibilities. At a 256-sample buffer setting, an idle Equator grabbed 1314 percent CPU use on a single core of my i7 MacBook, and with many patches, just a few sounding voices asked for 70 percent or more. And its not cheap. Then theres a couple of more expensive, boutiquestyle products made in small quantities. Proudly Serving our Customers since 1964. Many accessible gestures for vibrato and pitchbends. . RECITAL 61 . For all its strengths, though, keyboard players generally find it hard to achieve the same degree of realtime control that is possible with other instrument types. Explore the alluring treasures of eastern Canada and New England, and experience their endless charm and diverse legacies. Wobble a finger sideways, and there emerges a vibrato with a responsiveness and humanness that is a million miles from whats possible with a modulation wheel. It has the timeless elegance and enduring solidity of an older instrument. The Roli Seaboard Grand Stage keyboard controller has 61 molded Keywaves that fit into the same pattern as a standard piano keyboard. Viking Star - Passenger Capacity: 928 Year Built . Featuring premium materials and a sleek, burnished design, Seaboard RISE 2 is a guaranteed show-stopper. Striking the keywaves is the beginning of a multidimensional musical experience. Inside is a coinsized button, and outside, a slim ring of recessed white LEDs whose light pierces through to the front panel in a mesmeric way. But any changes you make are harmonised by PolyThru, in a fraction of a second, across all instances. Stay on the ribbons entirely and youre into Theremin, pedal steel guitar or comedy trombone territory. A smooth performance An evolution of the piano [] It's a shame those macro knobs have no physical counterparts on the Seaboard though. A head-turning Platinum Blue metal chassis and silicon Keywave2 playing surface refine the multi-award-winning blueprint of the beloved original. ROLI Seaboard Grand. All rights reserved. Final notes segued back into idle accompanied by an ugly and unacceptably loud click (or two, separated out on left and right channels) that had my audio interface meters jumping. So for every virtual instrument in your sequence youre having to set up five, eight or perhaps even more tracks tedious, and potentially a nightmare to edit, with your note and controller data scattergunned over loads of tracks. These (and also, Im told, GarageBand and Bitwig Studio) let you load a Seaboardready synth or the plugin version of PolyThru on an instrument track, recordenable it, and get straight down to business. $1,900 $300 price drop. Keith McMillens KBoard and QuNexus take some cues from Korgs tiniest MIDI controllers, but use Smart Fabric to detect velocity, pressure and key tilt all generating separate MIDI data types including polyphonic aftertouch. The keywaves provide more sensitivity to touch than any traditional keyboard has ever provided, as well as pitch bends and aftertouch. Discover the instruments of the future with ROLI. In all these respects its like any other serious musical instrument With the Seaboard ROLI have produced a daring and individual product. (nord) Stage 3 88 . DISC ROLI Seaboard GRAND Stage - The ROLI Seaboard GRAND Stage is a revolutionary synthesizer which employs the traditional playability of a piano or keyboard but with 61 tactile and soft silicone keys which offer fingertip control like never before. From meticulously sampled synths and orchestral instruments to generated pads and textures, there are MPE and standard MIDI sounds to suit any style. 0 . For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. If youve been with me up to this point youll already have gathered that life with the Seaboard can be quite an adventure, with some less welcome aspects of operation and unexpected thirdparty compatibility issues tempering the really good stuff. Web site designed & maintained by PB Associates & SOS. Price: $9,999.99. No longer available at zZounds. This could be caused by a browser plugin, disabled javascript, ROLI Seaboard Block . From these, that noise-floor fluctuation was much more pronounced. Its a keyboardlike instrument whose original conception was driven by the search for more expressivity from the playing action itself. Its also possible to work with Synth Squads host application, Fusor, to get access to the whole shebang of parameters and multiple synth layers. Model: MINI32MK3. JavaScript seems to be disabled in your browser. Pitch Correction quantises all initial keywave touches, so beginnings of notes, at least, sound in tune. Its essential that any virtual instrument driven by the Seaboard has its pitchbend values set to 12 semitones for vibrato as well as semitone and ribbon pitch-bend to work correctly. Many others respond to aftertouch, but almost none allow swelling in from silence using a gradual increase in pressure. Seaboard GRAND Stage Overview 2015. Running decidedly leaner is the other virtual instrument provided by ROLI, a special version of FXpansions DCAM Synth Squad. Weve all heard the whispered tales of legendary tanksized synths that offered that Holy Grail of expression, polyphonic aftertouch Well, the Seaboard makes it a modern-day reality, and the effect is supercontrollable. Equator is the Seaboard's very own synth, and runs with identical capabilities embedded and on the Mac. At the time of writing the software suite was Mac-only, but Windows support is imminent, and may already be available by the time you read this. Connectivity including 3 . Allied with compatible synths and wellprogrammed patches, the Seaboards silicone supports playing of a flexibility and expressiveness that makes conventional keyboard controllers feel wooden. Itll be really interesting to see if they succeed. ROLI have some serious ambitions in the industry, without doubt. Moving to the Channel Settings panel, we get to the heart of the aftertouch and pitch-bend behaviour. To that end it dispenses with any moving key levers or buttons, has no conventional wheels, knobs or sliders, and instead is based around a squidgy shaped silicone rubber playing surface. The embedded engine is Linuxbased, and that accounts for a Seaboard bootup time of approximately 50 seconds, during which the User Dial LEDs spin hypnotically. Its super sleek and minimalist design offers 61 keywaves with gestural control of sound through Strike, Glide, Press, and Lift, onboard Equator sound engine, DAW compatibility, and comes bundled with Equator, Strobe2, Bitwig 8-Track software. Embossed ridges let you accurately feel every key and feel your music. Its equivalent of keys, keywaves, are sensitive to initial strike force, pressure and leftright finger placement, and it can do true polyphonic aftertouch and independent note fingerwobble vibrato, amongst other things. Roland. When its off things get funkily microtonal, which is good for some styles and effects. Express yourself effortlessly in the moment with organic gestures and enjoy all the inspiring immediacy of an acoustic instrument. Whats for certain is that this bold, groundbreaking new instrument has capabilities and a character that nothing else quite matches. I found rapid runs, scales and patterns could be littered with notes both wildly accented and barely audible. Its not that Strike sensitivity (the Seaboards equivalent to velocity) isnt well graded and offers great repeatability. Please enter your email address below to receive a password reset link. For soft synths that can handle this (and that of course includes the ones included in the Seaboard software package) youll want to choose MultiChannel mode. Discover infinite possibilities with Seaboard RISE 2, a keyboard designed for limitless exploration of sound. What makes it extremely easy to get down to business with the Seaboard is that its not just a controller, but has an embedded synth engine, Equator. That means you can play it standalone and connect it directly to a mixer or amp, with nary a computer in sight. The situation for Logics native synths like Sculpture is even worse. back to sweetwater.com: If it keeps happening, give us a call at 800-222-4700 and have the following Reference ID available. HDC SP7 Grand . For this reason, and others, its worth building up your own library of Seaboardspecific patches for instruments you use a lot. Thankfully, the Mac version did not suffer the glitchy audio behaviour of its embedded counterpart, but I was a little concerned by its CPU usage. Seaboard Grand Stage is Roli's flagship and one-of-its-kind performance keyboard (or keywave) controller and synthesizer. The company have also received millions in venture-capital backing, and have dozens of staff members working out of office and manufacturing premises in north London. Awards for the original Seaboard RISE: From world-renowned film composers to up-and-coming producers, the Seaboard has made waves with fans over the globe: "Seaboard RISE 2 empowers expression. $1,600. Load as a standalone application or VST/AU plug-in. Learn more Seaboard Grand Stage Review this product Sell this product. It bridges the gap between electronic and acoustic sound, combining deep expressiveness and a huge sonic range in one plug-and-play . 0 Own It. And for even more money you can snag a Haken Continuum Fingerboard which, like the Seaboard, has an integrated synth engine. My little fingers were particularly prone to shifting and drifting, and in the end I stopped using them. ", Finally the Seaboard is accessible to all. And they have already acquired JUCE, which is an audio and user interface development platform used throughout the music-tech world and beyond. Roli. The difference between a guitarist and a musician? Great care has been taken to ensure accuracy in the preparation of this article but neither Sound On Sound Limited nor the publishers can be held responsible for its contents. On a piano keyboard you control sound in just one way: the force of strike on each key. (0 Reviews) M-Audio. On the Mac the Seaboard shows up in the Audio MIDI Setup utility just like any other MIDI controller, and the messages it generates are all standard and entirely comprehensible. Play with confidence on a tactile, continuous 49-key surface designed for complete self-expression. When using a cello, vibrato is added to it, notes are slide-told, and tonal . It will lead us somewhere very distinctive and new. With their Equator sound engine built in, the Seaboard Grand Stage is just as at home as a standalone instrument as it is a MIDI controller for third-party software. Though its a firstgeneration product, the Seaboard is nevertheless a beautifully manufactured thing. The silicone playing surface, strangely spookylooking in some lights, sits flush with the top panel. Lets turn now to using the Seaboard with a computer. ROLI's diminutive PolyThru lets you enjoy the Seaboard's multi-touch benefits even with software that isn't by itself compatible. 50$ coupon for the new release on Synthizer.com : Vocal Booth HSB-1, Alternatives to keyboard MIDI controllers. Get it in time for the Holidays Click Here for Shipping Calendar, Icon Pro Audio iKeyboard 3 Nano 25-Key Weighted Controller, M-Audio Oxygen Pro Mini 32-Key USB MIDI Controller, Akai MPK249 49-Key USB Midi Keyboard Controller, M-Audio Keystation 61 MK3 USB Keyboard Controller, Alesis VI25 USB MIDI Keyboard & Pad Controller, Alesis V25 USB MIDI Keyboard & Pad Controller, Akai MPK225 25-Key USB Midi Keyboard Controller, Akai MPK Mini Play 25-Key USB Mini Keyboard Controller, Korg microKEY2 49-Key USB Keyboard Controller, Akai MPKMINIPLUS Mini Plus 37-key Compact Keyboard Controller, Novation Launchkey 37 MK3 37-Key Midi Controller, Korg nanoKEY Studio USB and Bluetooth Pad Controller, M-Audio Keystation 88 USB Midi Keyboard Controller, Novation IMPULSE-25 USB/MIDI Controller-25 Keys, Icon iKeyboard 6X 61-Key USB Keyboard Controller, AKAI APC Key 25 Ableton USB Keyboard Controller, Samson SAKC61 61 Key USB MIDI Keyboard Controller, IK Multimedia iRig Keys 2 Pro 37-Key MIDI Controller, IK Multimedia iRig Keys I/O 49 49-Key Keyboard/Instrument, Akai MPKMINI PLAY MK3 25-Key Battery Powered Keyboard and MIDI Controller with Speaker, Ik Multimedia iRig Keys I/O 25 25-Key Keyboard/Instrument, Ik Multimedia iRig Keys 2 37-Key MIDI Controller, Ik Multimedia iRig Keys 25 Mini 25-Key Midi Control, M-Audio OXYGEN PRO 61 61-Key USB Midi Controller, M-Audio OXYGEN 61 MKV 61-Key USB Midi Controller, M-Audio OXYGEN 49 MKV 49-Key USB Midi Controller, M-Audio OXYGEN 25 MKV 25-Key USB Midi Controller, Alesis Q88 MKII 88-Key USB-Midi Controller, Alesis Q49 MKII 49-Key USB-Midi Controller, Akai MPK MINI 3 Portable USB Keyboard SE White, Akai MPK MINI 3 Portable USB Keyboard SE Black, iCON ICOK-IKEY3MINI 25-Key Keyboard Controller, M-Audio Oxygen Pro 49 49-Key USB MIDI Controller, M-Audio Oxygen Pro 25 25-Key USB MIDI Controller, AKAI MPK Mini Mk3 USB 25 Key Midi Keyboard Controller, Alesis Qmini 32-Key Compact USB Controller, Novation Launchkey 61 MK3 61-Key Midi Controller, Novation Launchkey 49 MK3 49-Key MIDI Controller, Gestural control of sound through Strike, Glide, Press, and Lift, Compatible with music production software. Itll work as a MIDI controller but also has a builtin sound engine thatll let you use it as a standalone synth, and which harmonises perfectly with a dedicated OS X (and, shortly, Windows) soft synth. Two hands can be combined to do the same thing, for monophonicstyle solo playing. For the most part, though, only the specially produced presets in the ROLI collection really take advantage of the Seaboards keywave pressure capabilities. Log In Sign Up. The 5D touch keyboard offers gestural sound control by detecting Strike, Glide, Press, and Lift and assigning them to key parameters, providing . Seaboard GRAND StageNext generation synthesizerSeaboard GRAND Stage is a premium performance synthesizer that inspires a new approach to music for the next-generation musician. Assignments can be made with a couple of mouse strokes, but theres a verbose matrix listing available too. Reference ID: #a07aaa0a-795c-11ed-8768-6f524247684a. CPU use was quite reasonable too (and a whole lot less than with Equator). Play electronic leads that defy imagination. To cut right to it, the best experience of using the Seaboard as a controller for your DAW is available to users of Logic Pro X, Cubase, Reaper and Tracktion. Octave spacing is nominally the same as on a full-size conventional keyboard. Or connect to more devices via USB-C. 13GB required for ROLI Connect, ROLI Dashboard and ROLI Studio. I had a small issue with the slightly recessed headphone socket, which did not want to fully accommodate the minijack of my Sony 7509s. The aftertouch behaviour was the first thing to grab me, with changes in pressure frequently modulating level or timbre with delightful immediacy, and complete independence of other held notes. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. Includes software and sounds to bring your music to life worth 308. 1Keywave Surface 2XY Touchpad 3Touch Faders 4Octave Shift 5Preset Browser 6On/Off & MIDI Mode. Its quite remarkable how many products are already out there that bear comparison with the Seaboard. Similarly, arpeggiated patterns or shifting chord sequences can easily end up out of tune, if a held finger position shifts inadvertently over the course of a note. Diverse effects racks including filters, reverb, distortion and more. Lift off at varying speeds to effect a sound's resonance. Pair with other hardware instruments over MIDI Port. Roli Seaboard GRAND. Adjusting expressive parameters and MIDI settings is simple with your included ROLI Dashboard software. Its possible to adapt patches, though. The Seaboard achieves its note independence by constantly assigning freshly triggered notes to separate MIDI channels. It probably wont do duty as your only MIDI controller, and is a particularly poor option for those who like lots of knobby control of synth parameters, or who work with certain DAWs. To go beyond Equator and Synth Squad is to enter uncharted waters, to a varying degree. This makes them close to unworkable for anything but ultrabasic use. 2013 Roli Seaboard Grand Stage 61-Keywave. There is absolutely no way to edit or tweak them. The silicone offers firm resistance tied to a fibrous, inert texture that allows fingers to slide over the surface without it feeling slippery. This puts up 48 patches, selectable from the User Dial or a popup menu, that for the most part are rather darker, more serious, and perhaps ultimately more generally useful than the Equator factory selection. I hope very much that it may one day be defeatable or, even better, only triggered when an actual fingerslide gesture is used. The Madrona Soundplane is a MIDI controller that has a flat, wooden 150-note keyboard. The sounds that emanate from a standalone Seaboard are fundamentally the same as those offered by the Mac version of Equator, of which more in a minute. Also, any note that woke up the Seaboard sound engine from idle had the first milliseconds of its attack cut off, accompanied by a little digital glitch. 14800 Goldenwest St.Westminster, CA 92683, Copyright 2004- PSSL ProSound and Stage Lighting. Learn more about the Luminary family of instruments: LUMI. Seaboard Grand Stage Next generation synthesizer Seaboard GRAND Stage is a premium performance synthesizer that inspires a new approach to music for the next-generation musician. Some items are available with touring cases/transport racks, please contact us for details. Omnisphere, Trilian, Kontakt, MachFive and Halion play ball; SampleTank 3, I found, didnt quite. Its got quirks that are either magical or maddening, depending on your viewpoint. Aftertouch, release velocity sensitivity, knobs and sliders, pedals, breath control and sample keyswitching certainly help, but even all these used in combination dont guarantee immediate, intuitive and naturalsounding expression. Embedded synth engine is currently plagued with noise and glitches. Its outer section is aluminium and physically rotates. Package Includes (Click links for individual product info): Equipment that has been out on tour and or rental. Theres one last thing I must mention before we crack on and look at sounds and software, and thats the Seaboards inherent semitone pitchbend behaviour. 61-note USB Keyboard Controller and Synthesizer, with Polyphonic Aftertouch/Pitch Bend, 3 Pedal Inputs, and 2 Software Instruments - Mac (800) 222-4700 Talk to an expert! ROLI - Seaboard GRAND Stage Abonnez-vous la chaine : http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=ManuInFrance Pa4x-61 . Seaboard Grand Stage Firmware (Not starting up) Hey, A few people have posted about this specific problem, and I wondered if anyone has figured out a solution. There is, however, a solution in the form of another ROLI utility, PolyThru. Seaboard Grand Stage When you buy products through links across our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. And thats where the subject of this review, ROLIs Seaboard Grand Stage, comes in. Supports polyphonic pitch bend and aftertouch. And in its current incarnation, its potential as a standalone performance synth is beset with shortcomings. Overseeing operations is the ROLI Dashboard application. Smooth, touch-responsive, and super-sensitive, its surface lets you bend, deepen, and modulate sounds in ways that make a standard keyboard feel two-dimensional. JUPITER-80 VER2 . ROLI Seaboard GRAND Stage USB MIDI Keyboard Controller, 61-Key. Keystation Mini 32 MK3 Ultra Portable Mini USB. Cruise the scenic St. Lawrence River and the remarkable Cape Cod Canal. FXpansion's Synth Squad, part of the Seaboard software bundle, offers a distinct sound palette and this simplified front-end. 0% Financing, FREE Shipping, and FREE Warranty for your ROLI Seaboard Grand Stage! And, of course, you can do this for one right-hand melody note, for example, without affecting other notes held in the left hand. Bringing together features like a polyphonic pitch bend and aftertouch, three effects inputs for even more control and experimentation, and the revolutionary Keywave playing surface, the Roli Seaboard Grand Stage isn't so much a USB controller as it is a revolution in how you make music. Its cool, flat interface is lovely to work with, with programming of modulation particularly quick and intuitive. There are two separate multimode filters, masses of modulation options from LFOs, multimode envelope generators and keywave touches, a really flexible mixer scheme, and onboard effects. For starters, they told me theyre working with a number of manufacturers, as well as the MIDI Manufacturers Association, to establish a whole new protocol called MPE (Multidimensional Polyphonic Expression). All items carry a 90-Day warranty and are guaranteed to be in good working order. Keyboard players like me are, to begin with, inexorably drawn to those raised parts of the playing surface, but in fact they just act as guides. Note that only octaves are available, and not semitones (for transposition) nor smaller divisions (for fine-tuning). Distinctive, bespoke soft synths provided. Any piano or keyboard player can now translate their skills more quickly than ever before., Its not just a next-generation keyboard RISE 2 is a brand new instrument., Class compliant MIDI over USB and Bluetooth, System: Mac OSX 10.14+ / Windows 10 (x64) or higher, Processing Chip: Intel Core / AMD Ryzen / Apple M1, RAM: Minimum 8GB RAM, 16GB RAM is recommended. Mirroring the embedded sound engines capabilities but offering full programmability via a singlewindow interface, the heart of the ROLI synth experience is to play Equator running on the computer, controlled by the Seaboard. The Seaboard GRAND is a radically new musical instrument that Roli Seaboard Grand Stage, Master Keyboard, SEABOARD-GRAND-STAGE, Keyboard with 61 keys. Found the internet! Fast, intricate classical or jazz playing, and to some extent rockstyle comping or soloing, proves challenging. But after one moment of touch, youll know that its part of the future. Pull or push off a keywaves ridge, or use a thumb to transfer touch to the front or rear ribbons, and you can fall off or gliss up from held pitches, up to an octave from the starting point. The contents of this article are subject to worldwide copyright protection and reproduction in whole or part, whether mechanical or electronic, is expressly forbidden without the prior written consent of the Publishers. Prior to actually trying it out in my own studio, Id wondered if the Seaboards computer communications would be via some fiendish proprietary protocol. We are a multidisciplinary team of creators bringing you the latest in music learning and creation to spark inspiration. Looking for a used ROLI Seaboard Grand Stage? The sample oscillators are interesting, not only because they have built-in filters, but because the 16 preset samples, mostly representing acoustic and electroacoustic instruments, are actually multisamples. With its familiar interface and enormous potential for expressive control, is the ROLI Seaboard the future of the keyboard? Various tunings and scale patterns can be programmed, and the squares backlit in one of six colours. . Youll also get mileage out of virtual instruments built with multichannel, multitimbral capabilities that can load the same sound to replay on multiple channels. Thats also the only way to achieve a Local Off state when you use the Seaboard as a MIDI controller another feature Id personally prefer to have seen incorporated into the User Dial somehow. Remarkably controllable polyphonic aftertouch. KORG nanoKEY Studio . It bridges the gap between electronic and acoustic sound, combining deep expressiveness and a huge sonic range in one plug-and-play instrument. But PolyThru is a nifty solution to an otherwise intractable problem. Some short time later in my Seaboard initiation came another raft of realisations. 3 pedal inputs offer even more expressive potential. Along the way, learn about Canada's rich colonial past in Quebec City and Saguenay and its Scottish and Acadian heritage in Halifax. In Studio One, Digital Performer, Pro Tools and Live, life is nothing like as straightforward. You may also use the left and right arrow keys to navigate between images. The ROLI Dashboard app oversees basic Seaboard settings, as well as some important aspects of integration with software. All contents copyright SOS Publications Group and/or its licensors, 1985-2022. Played like this though, the Seaboard is the same as any other polyphonic MIDI controller: any pressure or pitch-bend data generated will affect all notes. Play with luscious vibrato when Glide is set to 100% the perfect setting for richly expressive and microtonal performances. All categories Roli Seaboard Grand Stage 61-note USB Keyboard Features: 61-note USB controller with embedded processor for standalone use. LED patterns then indicate, somewhat sketchily, the currently selected bank (14) and preset (112). I could live with that, but not so much the occasional digital splat that would intrude for no apparent reason every now and then, and certainly not the behaviour of the quarterinch outputs. For centuries, keyboardists have been forced to accept the velocity of their key strikes marking the end of that note's expressive potential. ROLI ROLI GRAND STAGE + ; ROLI RISE 25 ; ROLI RISE 49 + ; ROLI Seaboard BLOCK ; RISE 49 ; roli lightpad m ; ( 2 ) You may login with either your assigned username or your e-mail address. The 5D touch keyboard offers gestural sound control by detecting Strike, Glide, Press, and Lift and assigning them to key parameters, providing a natural, fluid link between the performer's intentions and the instrument's response. Step 1: ROLI Dashboard Settings. ROLI Seaboard GRAND 61-Key USB Keyboard Controller - Playing Tutorial Full Compass. ROLI call the Seaboard the future of the keyboard, and its already been garlanded with praise from mainstream press and industry pundits alike. 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