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I’m, primarily, a guitarist. Dabbling in keys and synths has at all times felt a bit unnatural from a bodily standpoint. A keyboard doesn’t reply the best way a fretted instrument does. This isn’t shocking, neither is it a foul factor. It’s simply not what I’m used to. The higher a part of a decade into my journey with synthesizers, I nonetheless discover myself wiggling my fingers as if it’s going to create vibrato, or attempting to “bend” one observe whereas preserving the opposite rooted to create shifting harmonies.
I’ve tried my share of MPE (MIDI Polyphonic Expression) controllers, which might seize a few of that nuance. However the Roli Seaboard Rise 2 is the primary I’ve performed that manages to ship all of that expressiveness with out additionally being an unmitigated headache in a roundabout way. It’s in all probability my new favourite MIDI controller. However, I nonetheless have a tough time recommending it to most individuals.
The instantly apparent difficulty is the worth. $1,399 is rather a lot of cash for a MIDI controller. There are some MIDI controllers that come shut, however they typically have extra beneficiant software program bundles; extra intensive controls (together with faders, knobs and pads); transport controls on your DAW; built-in arpeggiators or sequencers; and screens for viewing parameters and looking presets.
After all, what these controllers normally lack is MPE performance. And it’s not just like the Seaboard Rise 2 isn’t a premium machine. It’s constructed nearly completely from metallic, save for the silicone keybed and the small number of controls to its left. It feels extraordinarily sturdy, and I’m fairly certain I’d must exit of my strategy to do any important harm to it. Regardless of that, it’s additionally surprisingly skinny and lightweight. At roughly 33 inches, it’s barely longer than your common 49-key controller, but it surely’s lower than an inch thick and solely a hair over 12 kilos. And that’s regardless of having a battery that may final eight hours when related over Bluetooth. For comparability, Arturia’s batteryless Keylab 49 MKII is sort of 3 inches thick and ideas the scales at 14 kilos.
I’d cease shy of calling it transportable, but it surely’s definitely luggable. I’ve moved it round my residence studio fairly a bit and it appears straightforward sufficient to pull to a gig, particularly for those who choose up the $100 comfortable case.
You’re not shopping for the Seaboard Rise 2 for the portability, although. You’re right here for the continual “Keywave2” floor. And let me let you know, when you recover from how unusual it feels it’s fairly unbelievable.
It’s essential to notice that I’ve by no means performed the unique Seaboard Rise. However I’ve used many different MPE controllers, together with Roli’s Blocks lineup. They’ve all had some form of important shortcoming, and the Roli Blocks have been borderline unusable. Nearly the whole lot I’ve tried has felt both like a novelty or a prototype, fairly than a consumer-ready product. (The 2 exceptions to this being the newest Ableton Push and the Expressive E Osmose, although they’re very totally different units with drawbacks of their very own.) So, whereas I’m fascinated with MPE and assume there’s a number of potential within the expertise, I got here into this evaluate with fairly low expectations.
However, the Seaboard Rise 2 seems like the primary time an organization has gotten nearly the whole lot proper in a standalone MPE MIDI controller. The delicate “Precision Frets” make feeling your method across the keyboard a lot simpler. I’m not a talented pianist or keyboard participant who’s doing lightning-quick scale runs based mostly completely on muscle reminiscence. Nonetheless, I welcomed their addition. They made it much more apparent once I ought to cease a slide and helped me ensure that my strikes have been centered on the keys so I didn’t find yourself sounding out of tune.
The squishy silicone keybed additionally gives glorious suggestions. Most different MPE units I’ve used have little or no journey, if any in any respect. You would possibly as properly be attempting to play on a espresso desk. Not the Seaboard. The “keys” (for those who can actually name them that) jut up, providing you with a way for the place to place your fingers. The floor gently resists and bunches up below your finger while you’re performing slides, delivering a lot wanted tactile suggestions. There’s a number of depth to the floor, too; this isn’t only a skinny silicone pores and skin laid excessive of some sensors. It’s not fairly as satisfying as feeling a key backside out beneath your fingers, but it surely’s truly simpler to coax nuance out of the speed and aftertouch than on extra conventional controllers.
That potential to get delicate shifts in timbre, tone and pitch are what make MPE, and the Seaboard particularly, particular. With the correct mixture of {hardware} or software program, every observe performed can have its personal distinctive expression. A primary instance of this being controlling the filter cutoff of a synth patch with the slide parameter on the Seaboard. Which means as you progress your finger from the underside of the management floor to the highest, the filter opens as much as create a brighter sound. However on this case you may increase the cutoff on the upper notes solely to emphasise the melody, whereas preserving the decrease register muted and droning.
Giving every observe its personal distinctive velocity, cutoff, et cetera can add unbelievable depth to even essentially the most simplistic efficiency. In a extra superior instance of how this would possibly work, think about a software program instrument based mostly on orchestral strings. On one thing just like the Seaboard Rise 2, rapidly tapping the keys and instantly pulling off may very well be used to play pizzicato for stabbing chords. However calmly urgent into the silicone floor would produce a slower assault, permitting you to play languid melodies excessive of sharp harmonies. Sliding your finger as much as the highest may add mild vibrato to emphasise explicit notes, and dragging it left or proper would produce practical glides which might be usually solely doable on an unfretted, stringed instrument, not a keyboard.
I spotlight that instance as a result of the Seaboard appears particularly suited to scoring work. Whereas it’s effective for taking part in your typical lead and bass patches, it separates itself from the pack when you begin exploring sounds which might be slower and have extra evolution. The slight dissonance I may introduce by transferring one finger simply barely off the middle of a key created this spooky environment that I saved getting misplaced in. Possibly it was simply the season I used to be doing most of my testing throughout, however all I saved desirous about was how a lot I wished to attain a horror film.
Clearly Roli is aware of this can be a energy, as a result of a number of the presets in its Equator 2 softsynth appear geared towards soundtrack work. Usually, the plugin prices $249, however fortunately it’s included free of charge with the Seaboard Rise 2. It simply does the most effective job of showcasing the controller’s numerous powers. The unlucky factor is, solely a little bit over a 3rd of the presets are MPE-compatible. And whereas it’s definitely a strong instrument, Equator 2 has a variety of quirks that preserve it from feeling absolutely polished.
Maybe the largest of these points is that, while you first set up it, most of the manufacturing unit presets are utterly damaged and nonfunctional. That’s as a result of there are two extra libraries it’s worthwhile to set up. However these are in a drop-down listing, and there’s zero indication that anything is required till you truly open the app and it repeatedly tells you that information are lacking. I uninstalled and reinstalled Equator and all its preset packs, hoping that might repair the problem. It was solely after some Googling that I found there have been extra required downloads hiding proper contained in the Roli Join app.
The Roli Dashboard a minimum of feels rather less slapdash, and it’s arguably a extra important a part of the expertise. That is the place you’ll do all the required configuring, like selecting whether or not the Seaboard is in MPE mode or commonplace MIDI, choosing what MIDI CCs the XY pad controls and setting the sensitivity ranges of issues like glide and slide. You’ll principally at all times wish to have the Dashboard open as a result of, the unlucky reality is, MPE remains to be sort of messy. Non-MPE-compatible devices and plugins won’t work proper for those who don’t change the Rise to single channel mode. I’ve discovered getting MPE-enabled plugins to work correctly in Ableton Stay 11 a little bit difficult.
Even while you do get an MPE-enabled instrument ({hardware} or software program) paired up with a controller just like the Seaboard Rise, you’ll in all probability have to do some finetuning to get them utterly in sync. For instance, you’ll have to ensure the pitch bend vary in each the Dashboard and no matter you’re controlling match up. If the Seaboard is ready for a 48-note vary, however, let’s say, Pigments is ready for under two, slides won’t ever land the place you anticipate them and even narrowly lacking the deadcenter of a key will end in chords which might be painfully out of tune.
When the whole lot works, although, it’s fairly particular. The Seaboard Rise 2 is less complicated to play and extra versatile than every other MPE MIDI controller I’ve tried. It’s in all probability essentially the most profitable showcase of what’s doable with the expertise.
Certain, it’s costly, may be finicky to configure, and there are restricted choices for devices that benefit from its full expressive capabilities. However MPE-capable softsynths are seemingly solely going to develop in reputation over the subsequent few years. Most individuals ought to in all probability maintain out and see what the consensus from reviewers is on the extra inexpensive Seaboard Block M. However for those who simply need the most effective MPE MIDI controller you may at the moment purchase and don’t thoughts shelling out for a premium machine, the Roli Seaboard Rise 2 is it.
This text initially appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/roli-seaboard-rise-2-review-i-wish-i-had-a-horror-movie-to-score-150028305.html?src=rss
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