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With these dimensions, sounds can be warped, pitched, and moulded in pretty much any way you like; and these sounds come from either the Equator soft synth, which runs as a regular plug-in, the ROLI Noise app (one that runs on iOS via Bluetooth, if you wish) or any compatible soft synth. By ‘compatible’, we mean that it has to respond to these extra dimensions via MIDI, so has to be MPE (Multidimensional Polyphonic Expression) compatible. Compared to the keyboard‑oriented Studio Player, The three parameter faders are per part, though there’s no accompanying X‑Y control with the two additional parameters. The global effects section is exactly as in Studio Player, across the entire kit. Depending on your DAW, you may be able to capture the MIDI notes generated from the chording and arpeggiation. Some experimentation revealed that capturing chords and arpeggiator output worked fine, but the MPE expression data caused issues: MPE glide for chords got turned into plain pitch‑bend by Ableton Live and ignored completely by Bitwig Studio. Things get more complicated when we look at the Lightpad’s velocity, pressure and location sensing. Sustained pressure and finger movement warp the basic sounds in different timbral directions, adding a variety of modulation and effects depending on the preset. While drums aren’t known for their sustain, Noise’s drum sounds either contain a continuous sound component, which can be modulated, or come with some kind of internal delay line to add rhythmic or stuttered effects. And the patterns in the groove kits mutate into different forms depending on finger position. I’m reminded very much of my experiments with various models of Korg Kaoss Pad, or of the sounds I’ve heard coming out of a Korg Wavedrum. Yes. ROLI reformed as Luminary ROLI in 2021. This restructuring brought new investment and a renewed commitment to create and support the very best MPE instruments and software. We are in a better position than ever to deliver the very best expressive instruments available.
Let’s move on to the Studio Drums application. This presents itself as a simpler‑looking cousin of the Studio Player. There’s a selection of preset kits, each containing 16 sounds on a traditional four‑by‑four grid. A generous selection of individual parts is provided, any of which can be swapped onto any of the grid pads. However, for monophonic lines it’s great, although we still hope that Roli will offer wider keywave options in the future for those with wider fingers and to suit players more used to standard size keyboards/layouts. RISE 2: Tailored for professional musicians and producers who seek advanced control and expressiveness in their instrument. It’s ideal for those needing a full range of features for detailed musical creation.
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System: OS X 12/13 or higher / Windows 10 (x64) or higher Processing chip: Intel Core, AMD Ryzen, Apple M1 RAM: Minimum 8GB RAM, 16GB RAM is recommended Chord generation and multiple arpeggiation shown in the Studio Player instrument, exactly as shown on the LUMI itself. Rather impressively, both the chord generation and arpeggiation are indicated not only in Studio Player’s keyboard display, but also on the LUMI itself, flashing up pink keys for the chords and yellow for the arpeggios, against blue highlights showing the chosen scale. Until and unless everyone buys a LUMI and this effect becomes old hat, it would look pretty impressive on stage. It does take quite a bit of getting used to, especially to get your pressure right, but there is nothing glaring in an "I wish this was this way" kinda way.
How does MPE do this? When modulating pitch or tone with traditional MIDI, modulation is applied equally to each note being played. But MPE makes it possible to modulate parameters independently across multiple notes, vastly expanding the expressive possibilities! RISE 2: As a more feature-rich and professional-grade instrument, it is positioned at a higher price point. ROLI Connect provides access to the FXpansion MPE‑capable instruments (though you have to go online to buy them): Strobe2, Cypher2 and the brand‑new Equator2. However, we’ll concentrate on the bundled Studio Player and Studio Drums. Both of these will run standalone or as VST (2 and 3) plug‑ins. Playing chords and melodies on the Lightpad is much like playing on the Push, or any other grid-style keyboard, with an important difference: sliding a finger left or right to another pad will pitch-bend the current note by default, and in ‘hide notes’ mode, consecutive pads can be between one and four semitones apart. Sliding a finger up or down modulates the current note but doesn’t change its pitch. (I found this disconcerting since I’m used to doing vertical glissandos across pads on the Push.) The first port of call from here is ROLI Dashboard, which is the configuration program for all of ROLI’s hardware. The LUMI has a number of global settings involving MPE setup and sensitivity, and its root key and scale: these latter settings are purely to specify how the keys are coloured, with one colour for the root and another for the rest of the scale keys. Each of the four modes, which are selected in sequence by the button on top of the unit, has its own on/off settings for pitch‑bend and pressure, and a choice of five possible colour schemes: two rainbow displays, two scale patterns (one with customised colours) and a conventional piano appearance. It seems a bit odd to have so many modes when, colours apart, there’s very little functional difference between them. If the root key and scale display could differ between modes, that would make a bit more sense.Despite its compact size, this instrument enables infinite musical discovery, allowing users to play any sound imaginable and express themselves with unprecedented freedom. With 10 hours of wireless battery, they can play and perform on the Seaboard wherever and whenever inspiration strikes. RISE 2: Equipped with precision frets for enhanced playability, a unique Semitone Legato setting for microtonal performances, and on-device controls such as XY Touchpad, Touch Faders and preset browsing options. RISE 2 also comes with the powerful Equator2 synth engine and ROLI Studio, providing an infinite range of sounds and creative possibilities.
Strike is like hitting a regular note with different velocities; Press gives you aftertouch; Glide left and right allows glissando changes between notes; Slide up and down lets you assign parameters to how you move your fingers up and down; and finally, Lift Off can change another parameter as you release the note. Durable design that has been refined to withstand the rigours of touring and extended studio sessions. Downstream from the chord generator is the arpeggiator. In fact, Studio Player sports three arpeggiators running in parallel, each individually configurable from the same selection of parameters. You can select how many hits you want out of a cycle of 16 — they are distributed evenly over time in the style of a Euclidian sequencer — and the hits are indicated in a circular graphic. The pattern of hits can be shifted in time, in case you want to offset arpeggiators against one another. And the rate (note division) and octave range can be varied for each. There’s a note‑timing control (straight/triplet/dotted) and a range of pitch patterns (up, down, random and so on).Yes. Since the launch of the first Seaboard RISE in 2015, the number of music software companies adopting MPE (MIDI Polyphonic Expression) has grown considerably. ROLI Studio Player has over 500 sounds, 300+ of which are specifically designed to work with the Seaboard's 5 dimensions of touch. No, only LUMI Keys is compatible with the LUMI Music App. — I’m a professional musician / influencer and I’d love to make content for you. How can I submit a partnership / collaboration proposal? RISE, for the uninitiated, is a keyboard like no other. It features Keywaves, which replace standard keyboard keys. You get 12 per octave as on a regular keyboard and you can even play them like a regular keyboard – but you’d be missing out on a few extra dimensions, because what makes RISE stand out is the way you play it. With ‘Five Dimensions Of Touch’ you can Strike, Glide, Slide, Press and Lift keys, adding several new layers to your playing and performing. I found Studio Drums to be quite addictive for organic soundscaping, but that setup really requires at least one and ideally two Lightpads, and the LUMI isn’t that good a fit here. Conclusions
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