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Moving from left to right in the Studio Player interface, next to the preset selector and macro controls, is the ‘Smart Chords’ panel. The chording function works in two stages: first, all played notes are constrained to be within a specific scale on a root note (both selectable — there are 19 scales to choose from). Then, for each note in the scale, you select the chord to build (triad, sus4, sixth and so on). The chords relate to the scale rather than being chromatic, so in C major, the ‘Triad’ chord on B is diminished. There’s an option to add an additional root bass note, and also to generate chord inversions, though there’s no obvious indication of which inversion gets selected, and with inversions enabled you often have to play staccato otherwise it’s rather too easy to get the same note triggered twice, causing voices to cut off. Downstream from the chord generator is the arpeggiator. In fact, Studio Player sports three arpeggiators running in parallel, each individually configurable from the same selection of parameters. You can select how many hits you want out of a cycle of 16 — they are distributed evenly over time in the style of a Euclidian sequencer — and the hits are indicated in a circular graphic. The pattern of hits can be shifted in time, in case you want to offset arpeggiators against one another. And the rate (note division) and octave range can be varied for each. There’s a note‑timing control (straight/triplet/dotted) and a range of pitch patterns (up, down, random and so on).
of free space required for ROLI Connect, ROLI Dashboard and ROLI Studio. 13GB required for Equator2 installation. 3GB required for Ableton Live Lite installation. Rather impressively, both the chord generation and arpeggiation are indicated not only in Studio Player’s keyboard display, but also on the LUMI itself, flashing up pink keys for the chords and yellow for the arpeggios, against blue highlights showing the chosen scale. Until and unless everyone buys a LUMI and this effect becomes old hat, it would look pretty impressive on stage.
The ROLI Studio software suite is a comprehensive platform for creative potential, offering inspirational features such as Smart Chords, Multi-Layered Arpeggio, and Macros, all specifically tailored to enhance musical output and production. ROLI Studio Player provides a curated selection of 400 distinctive sounds and presets sourced from ROLI’s powerful sound engines. Although Noise is fun, it’s not very deep or intuitive so you’ll definitely want to connect to Equator Player on Mac (a stripped-down version of Roli’s excellent MPE-optimised desktop Equator sound engine) or control your favourite plugins/software apps instead.
You’ll need some kind of Seaboard if you want to explore all of the sonic performance options that MPE-based instruments offer, and this is the cheapest. If you just want to play regular synths, you can make do with a regular keyboard, but these things do push a boundary in sound well worth exploring. With these dimensions, sounds can be warped, pitched, and moulded in pretty much any way you like; and these sounds come from either the Equator soft synth, which runs as a regular plug-in, the ROLI Noise app (one that runs on iOS via Bluetooth, if you wish) or any compatible soft synth. By ‘compatible’, we mean that it has to respond to these extra dimensions via MIDI, so has to be MPE (Multidimensional Polyphonic Expression) compatible. Strike is like hitting a regular note with different velocities; Press gives you aftertouch; Glide left and right allows glissando changes between notes; Slide up and down lets you assign parameters to how you move your fingers up and down; and finally, Lift Off can change another parameter as you release the note. Press: Press into the keywaves to deepen sounds or simulate the effect of breath on a wind instrument Equator Player has become part of ROLI Studio Player, with new features like Smart Chords and a multi-layered Arpeggiator, as well as combining the Strobe2 and Cypher2 Players into one, unified plugin. Think of ROLI Studio Player as the next generation of the older Players!Durable design that has been refined to withstand the rigours of touring and extended studio sessions. RISE 2: Equipped with precision frets for enhanced playability, a unique Semitone Legato setting for microtonal performances, and on-device controls such as XY Touchpad, Touch Faders and preset browsing options. RISE 2 also comes with the powerful Equator2 synth engine and ROLI Studio, providing an infinite range of sounds and creative possibilities. I found Studio Drums to be quite addictive for organic soundscaping, but that setup really requires at least one and ideally two Lightpads, and the LUMI isn’t that good a fit here. Conclusions Advanced customization of keywave response through a firmware upgrade, offering more nuanced MPE control.
Let’s move on to the Studio Drums application. This presents itself as a simpler‑looking cousin of the Studio Player. There’s a selection of preset kits, each containing 16 sounds on a traditional four‑by‑four grid. A generous selection of individual parts is provided, any of which can be swapped onto any of the grid pads. Yes – the Octave Switch buttons double as preset switches. Simply hold the Mode button and press the lower or upper Octave Switch button.
The latest Seaboard is here! This time, it’s part of the ‘Blocks’ modular range
ROLI Studio Drums is the perfect MPE beat making companion. This separate plugin within ROLI Studio has 15 drum kits, each with 16 distinct and highly controllable parts.
RISE 2: Tailored for professional musicians and producers who seek advanced control and expressiveness in their instrument. It’s ideal for those needing a full range of features for detailed musical creation. The first port of call from here is ROLI Dashboard, which is the configuration program for all of ROLI’s hardware. The LUMI has a number of global settings involving MPE setup and sensitivity, and its root key and scale: these latter settings are purely to specify how the keys are coloured, with one colour for the root and another for the rest of the scale keys. Each of the four modes, which are selected in sequence by the button on top of the unit, has its own on/off settings for pitch‑bend and pressure, and a choice of five possible colour schemes: two rainbow displays, two scale patterns (one with customised colours) and a conventional piano appearance. It seems a bit odd to have so many modes when, colours apart, there’s very little functional difference between them. If the root key and scale display could differ between modes, that would make a bit more sense.Switch between your saved Equator2 or ROLI Studio presets by holding the side button and pressing the octave left and right buttons. ROLI Studio Player has over 500 sounds, 300+ of which are specifically designed to work with the Seaboard's 5 dimensions of touch. It does take quite a bit of getting used to, especially to get your pressure right, but there is nothing glaring in an "I wish this was this way" kinda way. Despite its compact size, this instrument enables infinite musical discovery, allowing users to play any sound imaginable and express themselves with unprecedented freedom. With 10 hours of wireless battery, they can play and perform on the Seaboard wherever and whenever inspiration strikes. How does MPE do this? When modulating pitch or tone with traditional MIDI, modulation is applied equally to each note being played. But MPE makes it possible to modulate parameters independently across multiple notes, vastly expanding the expressive possibilities!
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