Roli Seaboard RISE

[saeidscorp]

I now have MIDI over Bluetooth with my Galaxy J7 Prime's Android 6.0!!
If anyone has an android phone which is not a very recent model (as ROLI says, like the Pixel and blah blah) all you have to do is to make sure your phone has a Bluetooth LE chip, then install a simple free app:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... tlepairing
Then start the app, put the Seaboard in pairing mode then scan and connect!! Now simply start any other app which can use MIDI and it just works!!
Hope this helps somebody

However, as we are in the Android land, we don't have awesome apps like the Geoshred or NOISE.
Does anyone know a good synthesizer or DAW around for Android?!

[Terrafractyl]

There isn't any

I think we have to wait for Noise to come out of Beta... or something else to come along. I'm sure its only a matter of time now!

Nice find on the Midi BTLE1 app!

[saeidscorp]

UPDATE

Nice find on the Midi BTLE1 app!

As it seems, the app I mentioned for MIDI BLE creates an end-point for Android 6.0 MIDI API. So legacy apps which rely on midi over usb don't recognize it. So far, I only found the Yousician app supporting android midi api. It has a good piano sound but it requires an internet connection just to get a piano sound out of an android phone over bluetooth.

Connecting the Seaboard with OTG cable may drain phone's battery. But can't confirm that... not sure.

Also, I managed to measure BLE MIDI latency; Double-connected the RISE both via USB OTG (and another try with routing midi over usb through my laptop) and MIDI BLTE to my phone. It creates a double trigger sound, first the usb triggers the sound, then the bluetooth. Then I recorded the sound output of my phone and measured the delay between the two sounds. Sadly, bluetooth has a harsh jitter, with latencies ranging from 10ms to 45ms with an average of 38ms!!

There isn't any

Yeah! Sadly you're right. With all of that, android situation SUCKS right now.

I think we have to wait for Noise to come out of Beta... or something else to come along. I'm sure its only a matter of time now!

I hope it comes out soon. However, I find the bluetooth having a high latency and not good for playing. Even though the connection is very reliable and didn't disconnect even once.

So even if a good app comes out, I would either buy a CME WiDi Bud or just route midi over usb through my laptop to my phone (which works great, but requires support of new android midi api by the app, which there isn't any , well, other than Yousician)

[EvilDragon]

Bluetooth will just never be serious enough for low latency MIDI control... it's worse than USB as far as packet-based protocols go. :/

[tapper mike]

Bluetooth will just never be serious enough for low latency MIDI control... it's worse than USB as far as packet-based protocols go. :/

Agreed.

[kelvyn]

Question... I am very interested in the Seaboard keyboards and went to my local music shop to try one out, when pressing down and then sliding up the keyboard the rubber under my finger was bunching up making it impossible to glide without releasing the pressure thus changing the velocity. Has anybody who has the keyboard for a longer period of time experienced the rubber getting looser?
This was a deal breaker for me.

[himalaya]

Using the SLIDE and GLIDE gestures on the Seaboard requires a specific technique. Find my posts in this thread as I've already described it.

Briefly though, after you trigger the note - your first note-on touch - in order to slide-up alongside the keywave, you need to change the position of your finger and move it so that the whole finger tip is touching the silicone. So you kind of 'flatten' the tip of the finger by pulling it down a bit, therefore moving the finger nail up, away from the keywave. It's complex to describe, but takes virtually a few milliseconds to perform.

So you touch, then adjust the finger, and push up to slide. This is one movement.

This also relates to how you GLIDE on the ribbons (pitch bend). Normally, you would be doing it with the thumb (on teh bottom ribbon), so again, you need to position the thumb flat, and then glide up or down. If the thumb remains in its vertical position, you may catch the silicone with the finger nail and the glide will not be smooth, understandably.

Then the next very important technique relates to how you press as you slide. So, slide with minimal force. Do not press. The Seaboard is very sensitive and requires a gentle touch - this is actually how you should approach it anyway, that is, start playing with soft velocities, do not hit the keywaves like you would on a traditional keyboard. Doing so on a Seaboard, be it the GRAND or the RISE, will mess the velocity-vs-pressure balance and the sound may receive unwanted modulation. So care is needed, that is, a 'sensitive' playing technique.

[kelvyn]

Using the SLIDE and GLIDE gestures on the Seaboard requires a specific technique. Find my posts in this thread as I've already described it.

Briefly though, after you trigger the note - your first note-on touch - in order to slide-up alongside the keywave, you need to change the position of your finger and move it so that the whole finger tip is touching the silicone. So you kind of 'flatten' the tip of the finger by pulling it down a bit, therefore moving the finger nail up, away from the keywave. It's complex to describe, but takes virtually a few milliseconds to perform.

So you touch, then adjust the finger, and push up to slide. This is one movement.

This also relates to how you GLIDE on the ribbons (pitch bend). Normally, you would be doing it with the thumb (on teh bottom ribbon), so again, you need to position the thumb flat, and then glide up or down. If the thumb remains in its vertical position, you may catch the silicone with the finger nail and the glide will not be smooth, understandably.

Then the next very important technique relates to how you press as you slide. So, slide with minimal force. Do not press. The Seaboard is very sensitive and requires a gentle touch - this is actually how you should approach it anyway, that is, start playing with soft velocities, do not hit the keywaves like you would on a traditional keyboard. Doing so on a Seaboard, be it the GRAND or the RISE, will mess the velocity-vs-pressure balance and the sound may receive unwanted modulation. So care is needed, that is, a 'sensitive' playing technique.

Wow! Fantastic and informative reply Thank you very much!
Will it work if I want to play the note at a high velocity and still be able to maintain that velocity while gliding up or down?
The silicon on the test model I tried seemed to be quite loose... could that be due to the fact that many, many people have been using it?

[The_Hidden_Goose]

Velocity (Strike) is a separate parameter to do with the initial press. There is a release velocity (Lift) parameter too.
But you can maintain the pressure, if that's what you mean. It takes a fair bit of practice though, but everything with the Seaboard does to get the most out of it. You can get some amazingly organic sounds from it by playing it badly though (as I do!). I've found the happy accidents due to my bad playing have resulted in things I prefer to what I was intending quite often.

The way it makes you play makes your hands do a lot of work. Playing a regular keyboard seems a shade easier when you've been on the seaboard for a while and then switch over. It does for me anyway.

You don't need to hit it the keys as hard as you might naturally think, so that bunching up means you're probably holding down too hard.

The thing I find the hardest is avoiding adjacent would-be black keys when sliding all the way up. I keep catching the edge of them, which of course wobbles the pitch more drastically than I'd like. I don't know if the bigger versions have bigger keys, but I have quite slender fingers so I imagine a lot of people will struggle if they have broader fingers.

[Jace-BeOS]

From what I've seen in videos, one should drag/slide with the hand leading the direction you mean to slide (rotate your hand and drag away from your strike point). Don't point the strike finger in the direction you want to slide. The larger surface area of the pad of the finger dragging will reduce the likelihood of catching on the material, compared to the smaller surface area of the finger tip.

But I don't have one, so...

[heldrida]

Hi!

I bought the Roli Seaboard Rise 25 a long time ago, but been super busy at work and not time to produce music, so it's still inside the box / unopen; a few months ago bought the Akai Mpc live because it's portable and allows me to make music on the go. I've been planning to sell the Roli Seaboard rise 25, but today I've upgrade the firmware of my akai mpc live ( http://www.akaipro.com/pages/mpc-x-live ... are-update ) that now supports bluetooth:

"Bluetooth MIDI and QWERTY keyboard support - Use a wireless bluetooth MIDI controller such as Akai’s LPK25 and LPD8 with your MPC Live/X. Go to Preferences > Bluetooth to pair your bluetooth devices."

I don't want to unpackage the Seaboard unless I know I can use it with the akai mpc live; of course that I'd eventually find the time to connect it to my laptop the right software and use it properly.

Thanks!

[nuki]

Hi:


I'm valuing buy a Seaboard Rise 49 . I work under Windows 10, with Ableton Live and Cubase. I would like to know what experience have those who work under Windows: Installation, configuration, operation, problems ...



Something you should keep in mind? I think, for example, MIDI Bluetooth does not work, right? And ¿Equator? Does it work properly under windows?

Thanks a lot

[ChamomileShark]

I got a Rise 25 here yesterday.

I have Windows 7, Cubase 9 - no problems installing Equator and getting it to work - more or less instant gratification - the longest bit was downloading the library.

due to various equipment breakdowns I've not had any time with it today. The next things to try are getting it to work with say Kontakt and after that maybe trying to get it to work with a hardware modular.

I have it for 14 days on approval - as said, the first part was actually easier than I thought it would be.

[nuki]

I'm glad to hear that, ChamomileShark

Thanks!!

[K-Bee]

So...altogether....owners:

Is the Rise 25/49worth the money?
Has it changed your workflow?
Is your music any different due to the new possibilities?
Are there still too many bugs / installation issues to make this a serious contender?
Does it irritate the fingers in the long run?
Is this technology a gimmick that will ultimately break through to the average Joe?
They include the Tracktion DAW - is it good and does it fully support automation etc. I know some DAWs won't.

Many questions but I think a summery could help a lot of potential buyers - this thread is 44 pages