ROLI Seaboard

Last updated
Seaboard
Selector Pro Kyiv Roli 2.jpg
Three ROLI Seaboards
Manufacturer ROLI
PriceBLOCK £329
Rise 25 Є849
Rise 49 Є1195
Grand £3299
Technical specifications
Filter Low-pass, high-pass, bandpass, notch, comb, state-variable
Aftertouch expression Yes [1]
Effects Ring modulation, EQ, chorus, delay, reverb, bit crusher, distortion. [2]
Input/output
External control MIDI in and out (I/O) via USB [3]

The Seaboard is a musical keyboard-style MIDI controller manufactured by the British music technology company ROLI. It has a continuous sensor-embedded flexible rubber surface for playing the keys instead of traditional lever-style "moving keys". Some models, like the RISE Seaboard Grand, have an onboard sound engine. [4] It has what the manufacturer calls "5D technology" which consists of five types of responsiveness to player actions: "strike", "glide" and "press", front to rear movement "slide" sensitivity, and release–velocity "lift" (RISE keyboard only). These responsiveness tools can be used to play the Seaboard with microtonal pitch bend sounds (like a fretless bass guitar), by moving the finger from note to note, or trigger a vibrato effect into a string patch just by wiggling the finger, which would not be possible on a traditional MIDI controller using only the keys. The Seaboard also features polyphonic aftertouch, and a built-in USB- charged battery. There are three Seaboard models: the small minikey BLOCK (24 keys), the RISE (25- or 49-key versions), and the GRAND, an 88-key keyboard with an onboard sound engine.

Contents

ROLI calls the five responsiveness triggers "5D technology". The five ways that the ROLI senses the player's interactions are:

The unit supports wireless MIDI over bluetooth. ROLI reports that latency of the unit at 30ms using bluetooth and 24ms via USB cable. Sounds for the sound engine can be edited and created by using a ROLI software called Equator, [5] which can be quite resource intensive. [6] ROLI claims that it is the world's first purpose-built, multidimensional soft synth. [7] Equator's synth sounds are designed to make changes in sound based on the Seabord's five types of resonsiveness. Effects units in Equator include ring modulation, EQ, chorus, delay, reverb, bit crusher, and distortion. [8]

Seaboard is designed to work with non-Seaboard music software programs such as Ableton Live, GarageBand, and Native Instruments' Kontakt, among others.

Models

BLOCK

A ROLI BLOCK plugged into two Lightpad BLOCK units and a RISE pad. Selector Pro Kyiv ROLI Blocks 1.jpg
A ROLI BLOCK plugged into two Lightpad BLOCK units and a RISE pad.

BLOCK is the smallest, lightest-weight ROLI keyboard, with 24 mini keys. It is designed to be interconnectable with other RISE devices, using magnetic connectors. Multiple BLOCK keyboards can be connected together, or the BLOCK can be connected to the Lightpad BLOCK, a RISE pad controller intended for use playing beats, triggering digital audio workstation loops, and controlling the BLOCK keyboards or effect units. The BLOCK keyboard is 282 mm (11 inches) wide, 24.7 mm (1 inch) high, and 141 mm (5.5 inches) deep. It weighs 650g (1.43 pounds) and has a ten-hour battery life and a four-hour charge time. It has a single USB-C port for MIDI out and providing power and it provides full MIDI compatibility over USB and Bluetooth LE. It has a 15-meter Bluetooth range and works only with Mac OSX.

RISE

RISE 25 and RISE 49 have 25 and 49 keys, respectively. They have black aluminium cases and soft rubbery key surfaces with no moving parts. Traditional MIDI controllers have keys and a selection of knobs or wheels to control other parameters such as pitch bends or volume. RISE keyboards do not have knobs or wheels as additional controls; instead, they have touch surfaces, such as an XY touchpad (with four direction arrows and a centre button) and touch faders (with no moving parts), and buttons for octave shift, a preset/synth patch browser, on/off, and a MIDI mode selector. The touch faders are used to control the press, glide, and slide parameters. With the touch faders set to their minimum level, the RISE keyboards become more like regular MIDI keyboards in their responsiveness, with the force (or gentleness) of the striking or pressing of the keys being the main factor. With the pitch glide set to minimum, a palm gliss on the white notes produces a piano-type sound, with the result being a rapid scale of distinct notes. With the glide fader set to higher positions, a palm gliss produces a true glissando, and moving between two notes while maintaining pressure creates a trombone-like microtonal pitch bend sound.

With the touch faders increased towards their maximum, the RISE responds to other types of interaction beyond the initial striking of a note (or notes), so that aftertouch, movement from side to side, and movement up and down a key sending messages to the sound engine to modify the sound. As the faders have a range of positions, a variety of intermediate response effects are possible, such as having a small amount of pitch bend.

A RISE 25 keyboard. To the left of the key surface are the buttons, faders, and touchpad. Selector Pro Kyiv Seaboard RISE 25.jpg
A RISE 25 keyboard. To the left of the key surface are the buttons, faders, and touchpad.

The RISE 49 is 834 mm (32.8 inches) wide, 23 mm (0.9 inches) high, and 210 mm (8.27 inches) deep. It weighs 4.2 kg (9.26 pounds). The battery has an eight-hour life and a three-hour charge time. It has a 1/4" input for a sustain pedal, a USB-B port (for MIDI out and power) and a USB-A port (for charging peripherals). It provides full MIDI compatibility over USB and Bluetooth LE. All the white markings light up with white when the RISE is powered and the control buttons have a backlight, which is constant for some buttons and pads, but uses VU meter-style segments for the faders, to show the level. Users must install a software suite, including a utility program called ROLI Dashboard for RISE and the company's synth engine, Equator. Equator's sounds are designed to respond to the RISE's five response dimensions.

In Equator, the hardness or softness of pressing controls volume, gliding microtonally changes the pitch, sliding alters timbre (for example by changing the filter cutoff), pressure alters the sustain level and timbre. If the key release or "lift" response is used, it changes how notes end. The Y–axis slide creates MIDI CC 74 messages (which are usually set to controls the cutoff frequency of a filter). All of the finger touches are independent; one finger can wiggle on a note causing vibrato, while another finger slides between notes, causing a pitch bend, while the thumb slides up and down its key, causing timbre changes. The performer can create crescendos and obtain a breath controller sound that resembles a bowed string or wind instrument.

GRAND Stage

The 88-key GRAND Stage was produced in a limited edition of 88 units. It is a plug and play controller and synthesizer that is about 26mm thick. Unlike the RISE keyboards, it does not have an array of buttons and faders. It has a black aluminium case, a silicone key surface, and a circular "user dial" made of aluminium that can be rotated to make changes, or pressed in its centre button. On the rear panel, there are three pedal inputs, two 1/4" audio jacks, a volume wheel, a 1/8" stereo headphone jack, USB type A and B jacks, an input for the DC power supply, and a power switch.

History

The Seaboard digital keyboard's creator, Roland Lamb was "...inspired by waves", in particular by the way that they are "...both continuous and separated into discrete sections — the peaks and troughs". [9] Lamb sought to design a digital keyboard that allowed performers to play "individual notes, but also explore the spaces between them." Lamb's design philosophy is based on his notion of the importance of a "...living musical instrument". Lamb states that a "living musical instrument", one that is still being played by a community of musicians, is "10 percent physical, 90 percent cultural". In contrast, an ancient instrument in a museum may be one that "...nobody knows how to play it or what the music was like that was made with it. Then it’s just a dead object." Lamb also argues that musical instruments are "the most physically intelligent tools", because a professional violinist's "level of virtuosity" is far beyond that of users of other tools, due to the years of "skill and practice" required to play an instrument at a high level. [10]

Lamb wanted to create an instrument offered "a depth of expression" that is accessible, in that "[y]ou don’t have to learn how the controls work, you just play, and learn as you play" the Seaboard. [11] Lamb claims that the Seaboard "...expressiveness of an acoustic instrument with the adaptability of a digital" instrument, which gave him the inspiration to create a playing surface that was both "...continuous and discrete". Lamb believes that the current world of music-making is "problematic if not broken," with people failing to properly address the need for versatile digital instruments." [12] During Lamb's PhD studies, he learned about early critics' comments about the pianoforte after it was introduced in the late 1700s. The first musicians to try the pianoforte found it "...too difficult to play" and they thought no one would use it, because they did not feel that you could control the new instrument." Lamb notes that critics made the same comments about his Seaboard designs; he thinks that in time, musicians will become more comfortable using the soft-surfaced instrument. [13]

Reception

Paul Miller's review of the BLOCK for Verge callis it "...multi-dimensionally expressive, a little hard to learn, and now available in a much more portable and affordable" format. [14] Miller states that with the free Seaboard app, the "...hardware just makes the controls more accessible, expressive, and tactile." [15]

James Vincent's review of the RISE and GRAND for Verge calls Seaboard creator Roland Lamb's belief that the instrument is more accessible "a bit generous", saying that while the Seaboard is "intuitive", there is still a "learning curve" using the "alien"-feeling, "foam mattress"-textured keyboard. [16] Vincent stated that it is challenging because whereas with a normal piano, you just have to play the correct notes at the correct volume; with the Seaboard, you also have to focus on "...how hard you unpress them; how much you wiggle them, how far slide your fingers up them, and whether you want to incorporate glissandos at all." [17] Vincent says that players who master the instrument will find it to be "amazingly adaptable", as it allows "molding the sound". [18] Those words are some of what ROLI founder, Roland Lamb lives by. You can see it in his work on the MPE-enabled Seaboard and BLOCKs series of products.

KVR Audio states that there is a "slight learning curve" with the Seaboard, as "[k]eyboard players will have to adjust their [playing] styles"; but once they learn the new instrument, the reviewer states that they will have access to a level of "...expressiveness that has been traditionally reserved for string and wind instrument players." [19]

Alternatives

Keyboards made by other manufacturers that offer responsiveness beyond that of a traditional MIDI controller keyboard:

Notable users

See also

Related Research Articles

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MIDI is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and related audio devices for playing, editing, and recording music. The specification originates in the paper Universal Synthesizer Interface published by Dave Smith and Chet Wood of Sequential Circuits at the 1981 Audio Engineering Society conference in New York City. A MIDI recording is not an audio signal, as with a sound recording made with a microphone. It is more like a piano roll, indicating the pitch, start time, stop time and other properties of each individual note, rather than the resulting sound.

Electro-Theremin Electronic musical instrument

The Electro-Theremin is an electronic musical instrument developed by trombonist Paul Tanner and amateur inventor Bob Whitsell in the late 1950s to produce a sound to mimic that of the theremin. The instrument features a tone and portamento similar to that of the theremin, but with a different control mechanism. It consisted of a sine wave generator with a knob that controlled the pitch, placed inside a wooden box. The pitch knob was attached to a slider on the outside of the box with some string. The player would move the slider, thus turning the knob to the desired frequency, with the help of markings drawn on the box. This contrasts with the theremin, which a performer plays without touching as two antennae sense the position and movement of the performer's hands.

Electronic keyboard Musical instrument

An electronic keyboard, portable keyboard, or digital keyboard is an electronic musical instrument, an electronic derivative of keyboard instruments. Electronic keyboards include synthesizers, digital pianos, stage pianos, electronic organs and digital audio workstations. In technical terms, an electronic keyboard is a synthesizer with a low-wattage power amplifier and small loudspeakers.

Novation Digital Music Systems British musical equipment manufacturer

Novation Digital Music Systems Ltd. is a British musical equipment manufacturer, founded in 1992 by Ian Jannaway and Mark Thompson as Novation Electronic Music Systems. Today the company specializes in MIDI controllers with and without keyboards, both analog and virtual analog performance synthesizers, grid-based performance controllers, and audio interfaces. At present, Novation products are primarily manufactured in China.

Keytar Electronic keyboard supported by a strap around shoulders like a guitar

The keytar is a lightweight synthesizer that is supported by a strap around the neck and shoulders, similar to the way a guitar is supported by a strap. Keytars allow players a greater range of movement onstage, compared to conventional keyboards, which are placed on stationary stands or which are part of heavy, floor-mounted structures. The instrument has a musical keyboard for triggering musical notes and sounds. Various controls are placed on the instrument's "neck", including those for pitch bends, vibrato, portamento, and sustain.

MIDI controller Device that produces MIDI data

A MIDI controller is any hardware or software that generates and transmits Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) data to MIDI-enabled devices, typically to trigger sounds and control parameters of an electronic music performance. They most often use a musical keyboard to send data about the pitch of notes to play, although a MIDI controller may trigger lighting and other effects. A wind controller has a sensor that converts breath pressure to volume information and lip pressure to control pitch. Controllers for percussion and stringed instruments exist, as well as specialized and experimental devices. Some MIDI controllers are used in association with specific digital audio workstation software. The original MIDI specification has been extended to include a greater range of control features.

Keyboard expression is the ability of a keyboard musical instrument to change tone or other qualities of the sound in response to velocity, pressure or other variations in how the performer depresses the keys of the musical keyboard. Expression types include:

MIDI keyboard Piano-style keyboard that sends MIDI inputs to a computer or device

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Roland keytars

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Continuum Fingerboard Music performance controller and synthesizer

The Continuum Fingerboard or Haken Continuum is a music performance controller and synthesizer developed by Lippold Haken, a professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Illinois, and sold by Haken Audio, located in Champaign, Illinois.

EWI is a type of wind controller, an electronic musical instrument. The EWI was invented by Nyle Steiner, his second electronic wind instrument design. Steiner originally brought to market a brass style fingering analogue wind synthesizer instrument known as the EVI in the 1970s. Steiner then went on to develop the EWI which had a unique fingering system closer to the woodwind style. These instrument designs first working models appeared in the 1970s, with the EWI appearing commercially during the early 1980s.

Wind controller

A wind controller, sometimes referred to as a wind synthesizer, is an electronic wind instrument. It is usually a MIDI controller associated with one or more music synthesizers. Wind controllers are most commonly played and fingered like a woodwind instrument, usually the saxophone, with the next most common being brass fingering, particularly the trumpet. Models have been produced that play and finger like other acoustic instruments such as the recorder or the tin whistle. The most common form of wind controller uses electronic sensors to convert fingering, breath pressure, bite pressure, finger pressure, and other gesture or action information into control signals that affect musical sounds. The control signals or MIDI messages generated by the wind controller are used to control internal or external devices such as analog synthesizers or MIDI-compatible synthesizers, synth modules, softsynths, sequencers, or even non-instruments such as lighting systems.

Guitar synthesizer

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The AKAI MPK MINI is a hammer-action, 88-key MIDI controller keyboard released by Akai in November 2009. It is the only MIDI controller in the MPK series to feature hammer-weighted keys.

Arcadetar

The Arcadetar is a music performance controller, developed in 2012 by the Italian engineer and composer Andrea Lomuscio. It consists of a 25-note keyboard embedded in a guitar body, and a guitar neck with position and pressure sensors.

ROLI Music production technology company

ROLI is a London-based music technology company known for its innovative high tech musical instruments, particularly the ROLI Seaboard, a MIDI controller with soft, rubbery keys and continuous, rather than discrete, pitches, and pitch-bending capabilities. ROLI was founded by American-born musician and entrepreneur Roland Lamb in 2009. Its instruments have been used by musicians including Grimes, A. R. Rahman, and Hans Zimmer.

Digital accordion

A digital accordion is an electronic musical instrument that uses the control features of a traditional accordion to trigger a digital sound module that produces synthesized or digitally sampled accordion sounds or, in most instruments, a range of non-accordion sounds, such as orchestral instruments, pipe organ, piano, guitar, and so on. Digital accordions typically encode and transmit key presses and other input as Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) messages. Most digital accordions need to be plugged into a keyboard amplifier or PA system to hear their sounds.

The 12 Step foot controller is a bass pedal-style programmable MIDI controller pedal keyboard made by Keith McMillen Instruments which was released in 2011. It has small, soft, rubbery keys that are played with the feet. As a MIDI controller, it does not make or output any musical sounds by itself; rather, it sends MIDI messages about which notes are played to an external synth module or computer music program running on a laptop or other computer. Each key on the 12 Step senses the velocity, aftertouch pressure, and the amount of tilt the player is applying with her feet. The messages from the player's foot presses can be sent via USB to a computer-based virtual instrument or to a synthesizer or other electronic or digital musical instrument.

References

  1. "ROLI Seaboard RISE 25 : Control Voltage". controlvoltage.net. Retrieved 2018-07-24.
  2. "Review: Roli Seaboard Rise". KeyboardMag. Retrieved 2018-07-24.
  3. "ROLI Seaboard RISE 25 : Control Voltage". controlvoltage.net. Retrieved 2018-07-24.
  4. "Expert Review: ROLI's Seaboard Rise Keyboard | Harmony Central". www.harmonycentral.com. Retrieved 2018-07-24.
  5. "ROLI Seaboard Rise |". www.soundonsound.com. Retrieved 2018-07-24.
  6. "ROLI Seaboard Rise |". www.soundonsound.com. Retrieved 2018-07-24.
  7. "ROLI Seaboard RISE Review". MusicTech. 2015-10-30. Retrieved 2018-07-24.
  8. "Review: Roli Seaboard Rise". KeyboardMag. Retrieved 2018-07-24.
  9. Vincent, James (23 September 2015). "FEELING THE MUSIC WITH ROLI'S SQUISHY, PRESSURE-SENSITIVE KEYBOARD". www.theverge.com. The Verge. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  10. Vincent, James (23 September 2015). "FEELING THE MUSIC WITH ROLI'S SQUISHY, PRESSURE-SENSITIVE KEYBOARD". www.theverge.com. The Verge. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  11. Vincent, James (23 September 2015). "FEELING THE MUSIC WITH ROLI'S SQUISHY, PRESSURE-SENSITIVE KEYBOARD". www.theverge.com. The Verge. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  12. Vincent, James (23 September 2015). "FEELING THE MUSIC WITH ROLI'S SQUISHY, PRESSURE-SENSITIVE KEYBOARD". www.theverge.com. The Verge. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  13. Vincent, James (23 September 2015). "FEELING THE MUSIC WITH ROLI'S SQUISHY, PRESSURE-SENSITIVE KEYBOARD". www.theverge.com. The Verge. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  14. Miller, Paul (8 June 2017). "Roli's Seaboard Block is a $299 multitouch keyboard that works with your phone". www.theverge.com. The Verge. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  15. Miller, Paul (8 June 2017). "Roli's Seaboard Block is a $299 multitouch keyboard that works with your phone". www.theverge.com. The Verge. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  16. Vincent, James (23 September 2015). "FEELING THE MUSIC WITH ROLI'S SQUISHY, PRESSURE-SENSITIVE KEYBOARD". www.theverge.com. The Verge. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  17. Vincent, James (23 September 2015). "FEELING THE MUSIC WITH ROLI'S SQUISHY, PRESSURE-SENSITIVE KEYBOARD". www.theverge.com. The Verge. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  18. Vincent, James (23 September 2015). "FEELING THE MUSIC WITH ROLI'S SQUISHY, PRESSURE-SENSITIVE KEYBOARD". www.theverge.com. The Verge. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  19. "Philosophy of design: An interview with Roland Lamb from ROLI". www.kvraudio.com. KVR Audio. 19 January 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  20. "ROLI Seaboard Rise |". www.soundonsound.com. Retrieved 2018-07-24.
  21. "Kaoline Instrument |". www.soundonsound.com.

Roli Seaboard Featured in Top 10 Best MIDI Keyboard

Further reading