Roli Seaboard RISE

[deastman]

I've been holding off posting until I had a clear resolution to the problems I was having. I'm not quite 100% there, but hopefully pretty close.

The latest update to Bitwig Studio, 1.3.9, resolved all of my problems with the Seaboard RISE 49 not being detected and pitch tracking not being correct. Now I just plug it in and everything works correctly right out of the box.

I'd also been experiencing problems with the Seaboard losing its connection to the PC. I'm not positive yet, but I'm strongly suspecting that a defective USB cable might have been the culprit. I tried using the Roli cable for a while last night, and had that problem crop up several times. I switched to a different cable, and was able to play for over an hour without any further disruptions. More on this as I continue to test.

I have to say that I absolutely love the Seaboard. Yes, there is a learning curve to playing the waves, and I'm still in the early stages of getting a handle on that. But it is such a joy to play. I don't find the keywaves too soft or too stiff, but just right. I can't wait until I get my kids off to bed at night and I can sit down to play this thing. Usually it will start out feeling a bit awkward, but after half an hour of improvising, I'll suddenly become aware of just how naturally expressive my playing is becoming, in ways which I've never experienced with a keyboard instrument. I can only compare it to playing guitar, where the motion of your fingers on the strings has a direct, fundamental link to the sound being produced. It really is that good!

I also concluded that I made the right choice in getting the Seaboard instead of the Linnstrument. My keyboarding skills, such as they are, are still extremely useful. If I were the same number of hours into the learning curve of playing a Linnstrument, I would still be fumbling around just to figure out how to form the chord inversions I wanted. I know this, because I've also had an Ableton Push and currently have a Push 2. I never really have mastered the grid to the same level of proficiency that I have after forty years of playing piano.

The other thing that the Seaboard gives you which the Linnstrument does not is Equator. It really is a pretty awesome synth- I mean, it doesn't have any exotic bells and whistles, but it sounds good and it makes expressive modulation of every parameter a central focus instead of an afterthought. I can't imagine what synth I would be playing instead if I had bought the Linnstrument. Falcon works pretty well with the MPE script, so I suppose that would have been my alternative. Omnisphere works, but only with a ridiculous hack of a workaround. So until the MPE spec is finalized and other developers get on board, I'll be mostly sticking with Equator and Falcon for expressive playing. Urs has stated that U-he will support it once there is an official standard, and I'm sure others will too.

This is not to say that you can't use the Seaboard with other synths. I put it through it's paces while scoring a video soundtrack a couple of weeks ago, using mostly a variety of Kontakt libraries in Sonar. I just put it in standard single channel mode, and I got by just fine. Even in that mode, you can still pull off some pretty expressive performances of solo instruments with pitch bend vibrato and channel aftertouch.

I hope this insight helps others who may be sitting on the fence or feeling frustrated with their experience. I'll report back after I've had a few more hours with a new USB cable and can say for certain if that was the cause of my connection issues.

[Vintage73]

I really want to want one of these. Are other people having quality-control issues? I'm not concerned with MIDI over Bluetooth as I'm on a PC. Whenever UVI approves, I should have Falcon soon, and I'd love to stretch its capabilities. I admit that the keyboard format is more appealing to me than the grid format of the Linnstrument, but I'm still considering it for expressive instruments; either way, I have a lot to learn, performance-wise.

@deastman, I'm glad you seem to have figured out your issues. I hope it's that way for everyone's.

[Keith99]

I woudl also like one of these, when I play keyboard I often wish I could 'wiggle my finger' on a note to add expression

[V0RT3X]

Having fun so far with my rise. I still have lots to learn though.

[Numanoid]

The latest update to Bitwig Studio, 1.3.9, resolved all of my problems with the Seaboard RISE 49 not being detected and pitch tracking not being correct. Now I just plug it in and everything works correctly right out of the box.

I really do hope so, as Seaboard ran a campaign recently where anbody buying their gear would get Bitwig full version for free.

Would be quite an irony if users then didn't get Seabord to work with Bitwig

[deastman]

I really want to want one of these. Are other people having quality-control issues? I'm not concerned with MIDI over Bluetooth as I'm on a PC. Whenever UVI approves, I should have Falcon soon, and I'd love to stretch its capabilities. I admit that the keyboard format is more appealing to me than the grid format of the Linnstrument, but I'm still considering it for expressive instruments; either way, I have a lot to learn, performance-wise.

@deastman, I'm glad you seem to have figured out your issues. I hope it's that way for everyone's.

Most of the example MPE presets in Falcon are, frankly, underwhelming. But there were two or three of them which were just sublime. And of course you can MPE-ify any sound you want easily enough.

[hyperscientist]

The latest update to Bitwig Studio, 1.3.9, resolved all of my problems with the Seaboard RISE 49 not being detected and pitch tracking not being correct. Now I just plug it in and everything works correctly right out of the box.

I really do hope so, as Seaboard ran a campaign recently where anbody buying their gear would get Bitwig full version for free.

Would be quite an irony if users then didn't get Seabord to work with Bitwig

Well, they didn't Cmon @deastman - for example right hand side controls don't get through to Bitwig, so you are unable to midi map them (though of course they are fine for adjusting slide, glide etc.).

[deastman]

The latest update to Bitwig Studio, 1.3.9, resolved all of my problems with the Seaboard RISE 49 not being detected and pitch tracking not being correct. Now I just plug it in and everything works correctly right out of the box.

I really do hope so, as Seaboard ran a campaign recently where anbody buying their gear would get Bitwig full version for free.

Would be quite an irony if users then didn't get Seabord to work with Bitwig

I never saw anything about a full version for free. But they do give you the 8-track version for free when you register your Seaboard. I had previously gotten the 8-track version from a magazine, and then took advantage of an upgrade sale to the full version back in December. Either way, I'm enjoying both Bitwig and the Seaboard.

[Numanoid]

Maybe it was just the 25 version?

I got this offer during Easter:

Spring has sprung the best deal that ROLI has ever offered: free licenses for Bitwig Studio and FXpansion Strobe2 - plus a free Flip Case for RISE - with every purchase of a Seaboard RISE 25. Between now and April 1

I mean if they made this offer, and Bitwig would not work with Seaboard

[deastman]

The latest update to Bitwig Studio, 1.3.9, resolved all of my problems with the Seaboard RISE 49 not being detected and pitch tracking not being correct. Now I just plug it in and everything works correctly right out of the box.

I really do hope so, as Seaboard ran a campaign recently where anbody buying their gear would get Bitwig full version for free.

Would be quite an irony if users then didn't get Seabord to work with Bitwig

Well, they didn't Cmon @deastman - for example right hand side controls don't get through to Bitwig, so you are unable to midi map them (though of course they are fine for adjusting slide, glide etc.).

If you mean the left hand side controls- xy pad, etc. I haven't even been touching those yet. So you're saying they don't get through to Bitwig? You can reassign them to any MIDI CC in Dashboard, so I'm not sure why they wouldn't get through...

[hyperscientist]

If you mean the left hand side controls- xy pad, etc. I haven't even been touching those yet. So you're saying they don't get through to Bitwig? You can reassign them to any MIDI CC in Dashboard, so I'm not sure why they wouldn't get through...

Yup, it wouldn't work. Try to assign first fader to modwheel (CC1) and give it a try. Works perfect in Live, won't work in Bitwig.

Another annoying thing that makes it "not there yet" would be that one has to enable "force MPE" on every MPE plugin instance every time… Fine, but annoying.

[deastman]

If you mean the left hand side controls- xy pad, etc. I haven't even been touching those yet. So you're saying they don't get through to Bitwig? You can reassign them to any MIDI CC in Dashboard, so I'm not sure why they wouldn't get through...

Yup, it wouldn't work. Try to assign first fader to modwheel (CC1) and give it a try. Works perfect in Live, won't work in Bitwig.

Another annoying thing that makes it "not there yet" would be that one has to enable "force MPE" on every MPE plugin instance every time… Fine, but annoying.

I'm not home right now, but I'll check it out tonight. Does anyone know exactly what that "Force MPE" switch in Bitwig actually does?

[tapper mike]

I also concluded that I made the right choice in getting the Seaboard instead of the Linnstrument. My keyboarding skills, such as they are, are still extremely useful. If I were the same number of hours into the learning curve of playing a Linnstrument, I would still be fumbling around just to figure out how to form the chord inversions I wanted. I know this, because I've also had an Ableton Push and currently have a Push 2. I never really have mastered the grid to the same level of proficiency that I have after forty years of playing piano.

I'm happy for you.

Honestly the linnstrument is near perfect for my needs. In regards to chord inversions, clusters scaling and the like. All I can say is I'm adapting better then expected and in ways I'd never imagined. I always sucked at the piano. Not for not trying I did that for years and years. Playing first the ztar and now the linnstrument has really opened up things for me in ways that playing a guitar or trying to play piano never would have.

If there is a fault from it all it's that I've got too many ideas I want to try out and only so many hours I can devote to it.

[deastman]

I think if you come from a stronger guitar background, the Linnstrument probably makes more sense. I'm *okay* on guitar, but much stronger on keyboards. That said, I haven't completely ruled out the possibility of also picking up a Linnstrument at some point in the future. I think they're both great controllers, and I'm happy to be alive in an era where we have so much choice.

[hyperscientist]

In regards to chord inversions, clusters scaling and the like. All I can say is I'm adapting better then expected and in ways I'd never imagined. I always sucked at the piano. Not for not trying I did that for years and years.

Well, no wonder Piano is very very difficult when it comes to playing chord, especially inverted and wide ones when compared to a well laid out grid instrument. I very much enjoy playing melodies on my AKAI MPD pads - especially when I lack ideas when trying on a regular keyboard.

I stick to piano, because the sound if it is the most brilliant and also because despite being percussive I believe it is one of the most expressive instruments.