Roli Seaboard M vs Expressive E Touché

[dropbot_m]

Hi guys I’m looking to get my first MPE device for adding some deeper expression to my music. Would you recommend Expressive E Touché or Roli Seaboard M? I know both are not directly comparable but still.

[zerocrossing]

Hi guys I’m looking to get my first MPE device for adding some deeper expression to my music. Would you recommend Expressive E Touché or Roli Seaboard M? I know both are not directly comparable but still.

The Touché isn’t really MPE. I have one, and it does really cool things, but if you’re looking for polyphonic per-note expression, it isn’t it. I don’t have a Seaboard M, but I do have the first generation Rise 49, and I love it.

[WasteLand]

Hi guys I’m looking to get my first MPE device for adding some deeper expression to my music. Would you recommend Expressive E Touché or Roli Seaboard M? I know both are not directly comparable but still.

then i will certainly recommend the Roli Seabord M, it is now available with 20% discount.

the https://dualo.com/en/exquis/

can also be an option.

i have by the way two Seabord blocks (one is M, one is the older one, they aren essentialy the same), and for me it gives a intense bandwidth of expression,,,,,,

[dropbot_m]

Hi guys I’m looking to get my first MPE device for adding some deeper expression to my music. Would you recommend Expressive E Touché or Roli Seaboard M? I know both are not directly comparable but still.

The Touché isn’t really MPE. I have one, and it does really cool things, but if you’re looking for polyphonic per-note expression, it isn’t it. I don’t have a Seaboard M, but I do have the first generation Rise 49, and I love it.

Thanks for the insight, I am inclined towards Roli as well. What does Touché do exactly tho?

[zerocrossing]

Hi guys I’m looking to get my first MPE device for adding some deeper expression to my music. Would you recommend Expressive E Touché or Roli Seaboard M? I know both are not directly comparable but still.

The Touché isn’t really MPE. I have one, and it does really cool things, but if you’re looking for polyphonic per-note expression, it isn’t it. I don’t have a Seaboard M, but I do have the first generation Rise 49, and I love it.

Thanks for the insight, I am inclined towards Roli as well. What does Touché do exactly tho?

Think of it like a very fancy mod wheel that reacts in multiple dimensions. It’s spring loaded, so it’s always going to go back to zero after you stop using it.

[foosnark]

The Touche is super, super sensitive... to the point where, if you try to use MIDI learn for some other controller, it's probably going to detect the Touche.

I found it pretty cool for Ondes Martenot-like patches, and for modulating the time on a delay rather than the pitch of a synth. But overall it was kind of a hassle and I wound up selling mine.

I have the older Seaboard Block, and it's almost perfect for me -- compact, not too expensive, very expressive, easy to play slides (you can play the areas above and below the "waves" for continuous slides/pitch). I bought mine used, and it does occasionally have some technical issues with pressure cutting out, unfortunately... I'm thinking about buying a new M to see if it works better.

[edit: or maybe I should go all out and get a Linnstrument 128. Hmm... ]

(For my tastes, the the Seaboard in general doesn't have the best feel for more percussive parts that are more dependent on velocity than pressure. But that isn't what I want a controller for these days anyway.)

[zerocrossing]

(For my tastes, the the Seaboard in general doesn't have the best feel for more percussive parts that are more dependent on velocity than pressure. But that isn't what I want a controller for these days anyway.)

Agreed. If you want to play a lot of percussive type sounds and still want MPE, the Linnstrument is better, though I find it worse for sliding around chords and melodies.

[BONES]

One of the best things I found with my seaboards - Rise 25 and Block (M) - was how good they were for percussion. They gave me a lot of natural variation and, for some reason I can't define, they just felt really good to play like that. it was the highlight of owning the Seaboard Rise for me.

As for the Seaboard Block (M), as much as I enjoyed playing it the reality is that it died on me after about two years. At first half-a-dozen keys in the middle of the board stopped responding and then the glue started to fail and it literally fell apart. A hard reset didn't work and Roli's only other remedy was to send it back to them, half-way around the world, and they'd try and fix it. They weren't going to fix it for free and postage would have cost me more than $100 each way, so it's rotting away in storage now. I've seen other people with the same glue problem so mine isn't an isolated incident. That said, I have had no trouble with any of the 6 Lightpad Blocks I own, which I assume use similar construction methods, so it's seems like a bit of a krap shoot.

My suggestion is that you buy a second-hand Lightpad Block M, which you can get for less than US$100 on eBay, and see how you like it. I really love mine, although they are not kind to my old, arthritic hands so I don't use them as much as I used to.

I just bought a Lumi Keys, now called Piano M, last week and I am loving it so much I ordered a second one yesterday so I can have 4 octaves. I used to think that one Lumi and one Seaboard connected together would be the ultimate controller set-up but my old hands can't manage it any more.