Roli Seaboard Rise 2 Announced

[wd8dky]

https://www.kvraudio.com/news/roli-launches-seaboard-rise-2-mpe-controller-54486?utm_source=kvrnewsfeed&utm_medium=rssfeed&utm_campaign=rss&utm_content=54486

[kaptainkeys]

1 hour ago, wd8dky said:

https://www.kvraudio.com/news/roli-launches-seaboard-rise-2-mpe-controller-54486?utm_source=kvrnewsfeed&utm_medium=rssfeed&utm_campaign=rss&utm_content=54486

Had a feeling it was coming out today, I've been getting YouTube ads for it for the last month.

[David Emm]

Having demoed one, I'd love to feel as if ROLI was stable enough to trust with proper support. Its a big ask to take up a new set of muscle memories to meet the thing on its own very fine terms. I think I'll wait a while and see if things implode. I'm hard pressed to name a better way for a keyboardist to present very fluid strings, winds and brass. The Sensei Morph is a welcome alternative, although further production is on hold at present. The Osmose's glory is still TBD.

[mauriziodececco]

Anybody in the forum got a Roli Seaboard 2 yet ?

Eager to get some first impressions; new Seaboard or Osmose, this is the question ... 🤔

 

Maurizio

[Montunoman 2]

Seems like it would hard to get used the tactile response. Right? 

[pjd]

Still on preorder as far as I can tell. Roli revamped their web site recently, so I assume the status info is current.

 

I looked into Lumi Keys and Roli BLOCKS recently. The Lumi and Seaboard BLOCKs look good, but there seem to be a fair number of user complaints (e.g., charging, Bluetooth connection). Lumi Keys is on sale until January 12, 2023 ($254USD). Can't quite bring myself to buy one although I'm anxious to experiment with MPE.

 

The Seaboard BLOCK is discontinued and only available used. 

 

-- pj

 

[SamuelBLupowitz]

3 minutes ago, pjd said:

The Seaboard BLOCK is discontinued and only available used. 

I hadn't realized they'd discontinued the Block. I love mine; it definitely took some getting used to but it was a big part of my rig for two or three years leading up to the pandemic. I'd toyed with getting a second one to expand the range; I did get a set of the Lumi keys to supplement it with another lightweight bluetooth controller (so I'd have one with "regular" keys) but it didn't get too much play time. I ditched the Mainstage portion of my rig after the Covid pause and just felt like my life was easier going hardware-only, so my Seaboard has been seeing a lot less action.

 

I have been getting a TON of ads for the Rise 2 though, that's for sure.

 

 

[pjd]

ROLI's business problems forced a major retrenchment and they slimmed down product offerings. ROLI advertise three hardware products: Lightpad, Lumi Keys, and Seaboard Rise 2. The Lightpad appears to be the only BLOCK retained from the original product line.

 

I just bought a used Lightpad and I'm waiting delivery. (The package is taking a tour of western USA. 🙂 ) I'm hoping to use it to augment a standard MIDI controller with some modicum of touch. The Lumi Keys look attractive, but I'm trying to live within a budget and cheap out. 🤑

 

Has the Lumi Keys been reliable for ya?

 

Take care -- pj

 

[Ed A.]

I just ordered a Seaboard RISE 2, should be here next week.  I have some experience playing Roli Seaboards, so I decided to go with that instead of an Osmose or LinnStrument.

[confidence]

3 minutes ago, Ed A. said:

I just ordered a Seaboard RISE 2, should be here next week.  I have some experience playing Roli Seaboards, so I decided to go with that instead of an Osmose or LinnStrument.

Why? Out of interest, as one considering the same set of choices...

[Ed A.]

I can’t play a LinnStrument because it’s set up like a fretboard, and I’m not a guitarist. The Osmose is interesting, but it can’t do glide gestures like the Seaboard can. I also don’t like the Osmose synth engine, sounds thin and cheap to me and is the absolute worst to program. I’d rather use a Seaboard with Equator2 instead. Also, the Seaboard has been around for a while and I know it’s been pretty reliable and the Seaboard RISE 2 has been improved with much higher resolution and better, more tactile keywaves. I don’t know how that complex multi-directional key mechanism in the Osmose will hold up in the future. 

[confidence]

Hmm, similar to my thinking.

 

In principle, it should be in the Osmose's favour, from a simplicity POV, that it has its own in-built synth. But I agree about the sound - it's organic and interesting and all that, but there's a basic sense of bright artificial "synthiness" that runs through everything (well, everything I've heard at least).

 

How does Equator2 work? In what way is it different from the Osmose's engine?

 

How good is the Osmose at controlling other programs? (Kontakt, VSTIs etc.)

 

I also feel like the Seaboard is more DIFFERENT from the piano and keyboard I know - it's really taken on the spongy, organic free flowing idea to come up with something truly new. Osmose looks amazing, and deep and complex, but shows its digital roots ("digital" in the sense of like a piano, not electronic) more.

[Zalman Stern]

Between the Osmose and a Seaboard, I find it hard to imagine a person who doesn’t have a strong preference on which instrument they’d rather play after 15 minutes with each… They’re just entirely different.

 

No point discussing the Eagan Matrix built-in to the Osmose if one is going to use it as a controller anyway. The main reason the Eagan Matrix is significant is because using the added expression productively requires mapping that expression to changes in sound in a complex fashion. This is not a well developed feature in most synth engines. It is also guaranteed to require more effort in patch design and implementation. Yeah it’s more complex, but it sort of has to be if one wants the extra degrees of expression to do something that is novel and musically interesting.

 

-Z-

[Joe Muscara]

This seems to be the only thread about the Rise 2. I get lots of ads about it on social media and it’s currently on sale so I’m tempted. Most of the reviews are positive, but I’d like to know if any of my fellow forumites have any further thoughts. 
 

@Ed A. did you get yours and what do you think?

 

Anyone else?

[RABid]

I bought 3 of their little blocks, two light squares and one controller. The controller refused to work from day one. Support kept insisting that I must be doing something wrong. The problem was never resolved. I will not be purchasing from them again.

[Ed A.]

5 hours ago, Joe Muscara said:

This seems to be the only thread about the Rise 2. I get lots of ads about it on social media and it’s currently on sale so I’m tempted. Most of the reviews are positive, but I’d like to know if any of my fellow forumites have any further thoughts. 
 

@Ed A. did you get yours and what do you think?

 

Anyone else?

I did get the Seaboard Rise 2 a couple months ago. It’s a really nicely built instrument, looks and performs very good, but I ended up sending it back. I’ve tried a variety of MPE controllers and I’ve concluded they aren’t for me. I’m more comfortable with a regular keyboard. 

[Joe Muscara]

1 hour ago, Ed A. said:

I did get the Seaboard Rise 2 a couple months ago. It’s a really nicely built instrument, looks and performs very good, but I ended up sending it back. I’ve tried a variety of MPE controllers and I’ve concluded they aren’t for me. I’m more comfortable with a regular keyboard. 

My wife thanks you for this report.