Roli Seaboard RISE

[SteveElbows]

I salute your ability to hack together a solution

[prismprocess]

I salute your ability to hack together a solution

Thanks! I'm quite pleased with it. It works very well.

I now know why one must close WiDi Plus before the WiDi Bud can be used in DAWs and/or Equator. Got a reply from CME and here it is......

http://www.cme-pro.com/forum-index/topi ... -widi-bud/

Interesting.

[BONES]

Nice posts. Thanks heaps for that. The all-important question, though, is what's the latency like? Also, does it seem reliable enough that you'd trust it on stage in a live situation?

[deastman]

Nice posts. Thanks heaps for that. The all-important question, though, is what's the latency like? Also, does it seem reliable enough that you'd trust it on stage in a live situation?

I wouldn't trust wireless anything in a live situation!

[prismprocess]

Nice posts. Thanks heaps for that. The all-important question, though, is what's the latency like? Also, does it seem reliable enough that you'd trust it on stage in a live situation?

I have no way to tell you the exact latency of mine other than to say the response is very quick. I do however know what is advertised as the specification, which is <15ms and realistically within a 10 meter working range between 7.5ms and 10ms. It has not dropped the connection once and I've had it so far at a variety of distances up to 10 meters. When the Seaboard is right in front of the laptop the RSSI of the signal is shown in WiDi Plus.

[prismprocess]

Nice posts. Thanks heaps for that. The all-important question, though, is what's the latency like? Also, does it seem reliable enough that you'd trust it on stage in a live situation?

I wouldn't trust wireless anything in a live situation!

I trust my Line6 G10 implicitly. Really great bit of kit with a scary range. Doesn't help with the Seaboard tho.

[BONES]

Nice posts. Thanks heaps for that. The all-important question, though, is what's the latency like? Also, does it seem reliable enough that you'd trust it on stage in a live situation?

I wouldn't trust wireless anything in a live situation!

I'd have said the same thing but the band who played before us in Leipzig in June had Bluetooth dongles on their key-tars (yes, they had two of them) and they swore by them. Mind you. I'd be happy enough if it worked OK at home. Sometimes it would be nice to stretch out on the lounge and plink away at a keyboard.

I have no way to tell you the exact latency of mine other than to say the response is very quick. I do however know what is advertised as the specification, which is <15ms and realistically within a 10 meter working range between 7.5ms and 10ms. It has not dropped the connection once and I've had it so far at a variety of distances up to 10 meters. When the Seaboard is right in front of the laptop the RSSI of the signal is shown in WiDi Plus.

If it feels quick when you play, that's worth more than any numbers you can put on it. Thanks for the quick response. I think I might get one, they are pretty cheap.

[skythemusic]

I am super interested in this instrument but it just seems a little not ready for prime due to build and software issues and general incompatability at this point with the format. I'm also concerned with their glide issues as to me the point would be in between notes like bending and sliding on a real string instrument.

I'm also in Studio One which is not the best for MPE and the fact that there is no midi i/o on the Rise and only one pedal input (can't do both sustain and expression) makes the product seem amateurish to me and begs the question of future driver issues and difficulty interfacing with my outboard synth.

I guess I'll have to wait for Rise 2 or another competitor.

The Linnstrument seems to have better build quality and has midi but seems better for people who want to do guitar on a controller where I actually play guitar. I haven't heard a single demo that doesn't sound clunky and I believe I have listened to pretty much every one online.

[SteveElbows]

begs the question of future driver issues and difficulty interfacing with my outboard synth.

The midi over USB is class compliant so no need to worry about drivers for that bit. eg I had it working on a raspberry pi yesterday, no special steps required.

[pdxindy]

I am super interested in this instrument but it just seems a little not ready for prime due to build and software issues and general incompatability at this point with the format. I'm also concerned with their glide issues as to me the point would be in between notes like bending and sliding on a real string instrument.

I'm also in Studio One which is not the best for MPE and the fact that there is no midi i/o on the Rise and only one pedal input (can't do both sustain and expression) makes the product seem amateurish to me and begs the question of future driver issues and difficulty interfacing with my outboard synth.

I guess I'll have to wait for Rise 2 or another competitor.

The Linnstrument seems to have better build quality and has midi but seems better for people who want to do guitar on a controller where I actually play guitar. I haven't heard a single demo that doesn't sound clunky and I believe I have listened to pretty much every one online.

I've heard a number demos that did not sound clunky. But moreso, I purchased a Linnstrument and it is not clunky playing it.

I'm planning on getting a Rise at some point as well... I think they will compliment each other nicely, but there have been too many reports of hardware oddities, inconsistencies etc that I decided to initially purchase the Linnstrument and wait for later for the Rise.

They are very different regarding the Y axis. The distance is long on the Rise and obviously short on the Linnstrument. So on the Rise, it is easier for example to slowly slide a note along the Y axis. Overall, I find the Linnstrument easier to make use of the Y axis while playing due to the short distance. After my first explorations, I now keep it configured so that the initial strike is absolute... meaning wherever you initially hit the pad on the Y axis defines the different starting value. In practice it is fluid and expressive but does require more accuracy.

Both controllers require a greater level of precision. My long term goal is to turn off pitch quantization on the Linnstrument... but that means being more precise to always hit the side to side middle of the pad to get the correct pitch. I'm not there yet.

I so like that the Linnstrument does not need any dashboard app or even to be connected to a computer. All configuration is right on the Linnstrument itself. You can save some configurations as presets, but I have not even tried that yet because it is easy and fast enough just to change settings on the fly.

The Linnstrument also includes Step Sequencer and Arpeggiator options. The Arp is interesting cause you can still do pitch slides and per note modulations. The Linnstrument can also assign the bottom row to various tasks, or do a split with one side a bunch of CC sliders. Lots of interesting possibilities, but all that stuff is really secondary for me. It is the expressive playing that is what I was looking for.

The Rise and Linnstrument share some similarities as MPE controllers, but also have significant differences. I suggest you look for a way to try a Linnstrument and not just depend on online audio demos. Now, after some months, I am still 100% happy with my purchase. It feels like playing an instrument!

I was back and forth between the two and the thing that really made me decide on the Linnstrument is that Roger Linn said there was no plan for a Linnstrument 2. The Linnstrument is modular such that if he ever switches to some improved hardware parts, existing Linnstruments will be upgradable. So no planned obsolescence! Roger is committed to the instrument I purchased for the long term.

It just feels like Roli, with the stream of product types they are pushing out will inevitably put out a Rise 2. I would find it annoying to spend a considerable chunk of cash on a Rise, only to have a v2 come along some time later with some hardware improvements. So I'm waiting until their product line settles a bit before buying in.

[himalaya]

They are very different regarding the Y axis. The distance is long on the Rise and obviously short on the Linnstrument. So on the Rise, it is easier for example to slowly slide a note along the Y axis. Overall, I find the Linnstrument easier to make use of the Y axis while playing due to the short distance.

You can define how the Y axis behaves on the RISE. There are 3 faders on the left which control pressure, pitch and the Y axis. So with the Y axis you are able to decide how it responds and you can 'shorten' the distance to reach the full modulation value. So the Y axis distance is fully configurable right from the hardware.

[Keith99]

I am super interested in this instrument but it just seems a little not ready for prime due to build and software issues and general incompatability at this point with the format. I'm also concerned with their glide issues as to me the point would be in between notes like bending and sliding on a real string instrument.

I really don't get this as I have had mine a couple of weeks now and have no issues at all. The instrument is really solidly built and feels like it will last forever, I have experienced no software issues and the sliding works perfectly. You may want to try one out yourself.

[pdxindy]

They are very different regarding the Y axis. The distance is long on the Rise and obviously short on the Linnstrument. So on the Rise, it is easier for example to slowly slide a note along the Y axis. Overall, I find the Linnstrument easier to make use of the Y axis while playing due to the short distance.

You can define how the Y axis behaves on the RISE. There are 3 faders on the left which control pressure, pitch and the Y axis. So with the Y axis you are able to decide how it responds and you can 'shorten' the distance to reach the full modulation value. So the Y axis distance is fully configurable right from the hardware.

good to know that you can shorten the distance... they are still quite different playing experience on the Y axis due the different layouts and hand anatomy...

[saeidscorp]

Hi Everyone,

I am the proud new owner of a ROLI Seaboard Rise 49. This is my first post here and I hope it will be helpful. I use Windows 10 (Creators) and I like it seems many others do, want to use the bluetooth functionality of the keyboard. I contacted ROLI and was told what I already knew from the website, that windows was not yet supported. No indication of when it will be supported either........so.........I don't like waiting, therefore.......

I got one of these.......
http://www.cme-pro.com/widi-bud/
.......because you never know until you try.

Here goes......
1. Buy a Widi Bud (I'm in UK so I went to Bax)
2. Plug in Seaboard with USB cable and in Dashboard give it a name. I named mine ROLI.



3. Disconnect Seaboard from computer.
4. Download and install WiDi Plus application from their site http://www.cme-pro.com/xkey-downloads/ (It's in the bottom right corner of the page - only for X64 Windows)
5. Plug in WiDi Bud, open WiDi Plus and update firmware. Mine came with 1.1 but now it is 1.2



6. Goto Bluetooth tab in WiDi Plus and switch on Seaboard with no USB which should put it in pairing mode (flashing blue light on power button). It should appear almost instantly.
7. Click Connect button.
8. Now at this point is the big gotcha..... I spent an hour I will never get back working this one out. Close WiDi Plus. If you keep it open you cannot use WiDi Bud it in any DAW. It appears but just doesn't work if its still open. In Equator (Standalone), it shows it but won't let you select it........so........once again close WiDi Plus.
9. Now WiDi Plus is shut you can open Equator (this is Standalone) and go to Midi settings. There you can select WiDi Bud so it has a white dot in it. Close the Midi Settings dialog. Load a patch......

PLAY

Cubase 9 Pro (It's what I got folks)

If you load Cubase instead of Equator (Standalone) and have setup the Equator VST in there you should see your WiDi Bud in Device Setup as the active In. Load Equator Instrument track and set it in the Inspector to Any from 1 (but it might prompt you for that anyway).

You can follow this link to set up Note Expression there.

https://support.roli.com/article/using- ... th-cubase/

Phew!

Wow!! That's really awesome!! I own a RISE 49 too and because I use linux as my main os (but have a win 8.1 installed on external hard drive which I boot into when I want to use a VST or app which can't be run via Wine), I was really disappointed about Seaboard's Bluetooth incompatibility with my setup...
Now I have a big hope!! But still, WiDi Bud is not available in my country (yet?). Right now I'm begging our online music shops to import this product and make it available

However, I have a suggestion for you, why not make a video of yourself playing Seaboard via WiDi?! That would showcase the possibility of wireless operation of RISE for virtually *any* operating system
Since that's a barrier (or at least a concern) for many people considering buying a RISE and don't have or want apple hw. (Like me )

[skythemusic]

I am super interested in this instrument but it just seems a little not ready for prime due to build and software issues and general incompatability at this point with the format. I'm also concerned with their glide issues as to me the point would be in between notes like bending and sliding on a real string instrument.

I really don't get this as I have had mine a couple of weeks now and have no issues at all. The instrument is really solidly built and feels like it will last forever, I have experienced no software issues and the sliding works perfectly. You may want to try one out yourself.

Just going by what I have read in this thread and elsewhere online. There seems to be quite a few people who have had to send it back multiple times.