I'm so glad roli was able to last (they had some restructuring?) and come out with what looks like an awesome instrument!! Sanjay, your videos are always so brilliant, your attitude and demeanor is simply delightful!! THANK YOU and keep doin what you do, its definately appreciated!!
They need to soak up every sale they can before the Expressive E osmose MPE keyboard releases, cus thing is going to blow them out of the water. I wish them godspeed. Personally I'm holding onto my Sensel Morph for now
@@connorcarbon I dont know that they are comparable.... the Expressive E Osmose is still only little more then concept and a single beta device?? Basically a kickstarter...the seaboard is on its SECOND iteration of a proven useable device. Dont get me wrong, Im ALL for any new way to interact with sound and music creation. Have you seen the doubler by Vochlea? its pretty cool.
My search for a travel piano brought me to this stunning instrument and now I want one 😂 Is it fairly beginner friendly for those with very little experience at the tech side of music production?
Looks great! I borrowed a Seaboard block for a while and it was fun but it was sometimes inconsistent to hit and stay on the raised notes. The frets are a great idea. The vibrato is my favorite, feels amazing!
year i haven't seen a proper review for this thing good you made this "review" whatever, it's a good video 😀 and this keyboard is sooo expressive I've seen this thing being used with some swam instruments and it sounds sooo real hope l had one lol 😁
I see you made your choice between the S88 and the Keylab 88. 😏 I've been waiting for someone to post a video on the new seaboard. I've been eyeing this thing for a while. Thanks for the overview!
Its it compatible with orchestral sample libraries like the BBCSO? Let's say vibrating the key would add Vibrato to the violins or woodwinds and sliding would add Glissandos?
I make the identical sounding effects and note glides and frequency modulation often in Reason its easy, but I dont play it all of it on the keyboard, I do automation after recording.
@@HOLLASOUNDS I'm a guitarist and own a whammy pedal, and can do pitch bends live. If I said I did it in the studio using the pitch bend plugin then what? It's not the same thing, and I'm not gonna go around claiming to be Tom Morello if I can't do it in real life. I'm not going to go on a rant about live vs. studio, considering my band had 3+ albums with Reason tracks on it, but being to execute a sound live without hitting a play button is a completely different game.
Listen I don't read music, I can't play an instrument but this just looks fun. I would want to make trippy music and upload it to RU-vid. Is this worth me getting?
If you want to use a Seaboard Rise 2 as an MPE MIDI controller, probably it's going to be a very nice experience (I have the original version). Don't buy it for the software as it needs to be reauthorized continuously - i.e. you can't use their software on an offline computer as you need to login with Roli Connect at least every two weeks. For a while, their licensing servers were constantly down and any attempt to make them change this policy has failed. Buyer beware!
Love your content Sanjay. I think it's important to address the elephant in the room, which some people may not know. Roli has been a messy company with poor leadership and work culture for some time now. Idk if it's gotten better (I hope so) but it was really bad
The only thing I don't like about these is how much stress they put on your fingers and how hard you have to hit the keys sometimes. A lot harder to use than any other synth.
The seaboard rise is a really good instrument and I play it a lot especially with SWAM virtual instruments. Now this second version does not seem to improve on anything… Yes the fret can be a good addition but for the strike itself they could have implemented a software solution where the strike note is always repositioned to the nearest semi- tone. Then from there you can do your usual bend. Some iPad Apps do it like this already. I mean this second version is probably as good as the first one but why presenting it like a re-invention when it is not. And still no iPad support for the settings.
For all interested in this thing: Yes, it's great, but does not replace a "normal keybed" at all. While frets are great for finding the notes better, the concept of "Strike" requires you to lift your fingers and actually strike down. Resting on a key and "just pressing" is not really easy to control. Since there is virtually no distance your finger can travel, its more or less impossible to generate "strike power"- while this is not that much of an issue when playing melodies and lead stuff, chords get tricky. Especially the pinkie has to work real hard go get initial high strike values.
It's easy to adjust the Strike (and Press) sensitivity in Roli Dashboard. If you don't want Press to be expressive you can just lower its range or set it to constant.
this is what I think I'm most interested in. what can I do with it live? I'm a classically trained pianist with a little bit of midi & digital composition experience but not much at all. i'm really really interested in the possibilities in using a seaboard, though. I think I'd want to compose some, but mostly, I want to see more videos of what is possible live with this instrument!
Yeah I've never seen a professional live band who had a seaboard. And I go to lots of concerts. Actually now that I think of it, I don't think Ive ever met anyone who has a seaboard either
@@Will-xf3qe The former keyboard player of Haken, Diego Tejeida, use to play live with a seaboard 49 among other midi keyboards. But I don't think he used it that much...
I loved my seaboard rise 1 but it was bricked after I did a firmware update as guided by their customer support!!!! That’s an instrument that lasted only for two years, and died due to software non-integration. Buyer beware!
I have a Roli Seaboard Block. I still can't understand why the "white" keys can't have a stripe like the "black" keys do to improve visual contrast and make it easier to see where your fingers are relative to the keys.
Yes! I have to set up lighting to be able to see the natural keys. In low light the contours of the natural keys are hard to see and I have noticed that I miss the c&d and the e&f keys because the space between white stripes on the adjacent keys are wider apart. I wonder if it would be safe to paint the frets so they would be more visible.
Honestly I bought the roli songmaker kit, and I will never buy anything else again. Their support is abbysmal, the complatibility turned out so limiting, the fact that equator is expensive, and their products are on the prices of PRO grade hardware but they are not (they break easy, buggy as heck, and awful support) makes me understand why they went bankrupt. Sorry Roli, you had your chance.
I didn’t know they went bankrupt but what I do know, I will find something creative out of it that will expand a song in a unique way…at the end of the day it’s all about making music😁
nice review. i always liked the idea of seaboards. I have to say though that imo the design on it still kind of looks like shit, kind of gives smartphones 8 years ago vibes if you know what I mean. I hope that gets better in the next version.
I always thought the seaboard would be a superb way to control virtual orchestra instruments like Spitfire for example, but I don’t really see anyone doing it. Has anyone made competent sounding MPE orchestral libraries?
Nice detailed "review" especially for middle of the week. I agree with lots of others, they need a Block II version of this. I absolutely love the Rise and the feel of it. It just suits me. I will say that I like the all Black look better. The silver blue of the Rise II looks a little outdated to me.
A shame they are not considering a smaller versionas yet. As it could never completely replace my midi keyboard I'd quite like the chance to add a 25 key seaboard for specific uses. Beautiful design and it's good to see they survived and are still innovating.
@@nayto.Yes, but they stated they aren't planning to do other sizes than 49 keys for the forseeable future. Obviously the older versions are still good, but an advanced and supported version of the smaller sizes would be best for people on a smaller budget and/or with less space.
Ok, I’ve been searching through all the seaboard rise videos on youtube. Not one, has shown it play a regular piano sound. It’s cool that it can do all of these instruments, but some of us would like to play piano on it too. It’s not always that you get the chance to have a piano this compact. So I want to know if I can use it as a regular piano.
Actually, your first Roli-Vids got me interested in your channel, and did a lot of making me a (former) Roli customer. I got a Seaboard Block an really like it. BUT (and that is a BIG _BUT_) their pricing-scheme is ridiculous and unfair, especially for existing customers. So while i like their products and the inventiveness of ROLI, I absoluteley dont like, how they are treating their (now former) customers. So sorry, no more money from my side, how nice their products may be...
Do you prefer the seaboard over the osmose for mpe tasks? I just ordered a used rise 2 that’s mint and i’ve wanted a seaboard for a LONG time because I wanna be able to compose realistic traditional instruments like solo strings, brass and woodwinds. I figured the seaboard would be better for this than the osmose. My main controller is an Arturia Keylab 88 MK II which I love for its controls and weighted keys at its price point. I’m also considering a Kawai VPC1 as an even more accurate feeling keyboard for piano playing but i need to try one in person to verify if it’s significantly more close to a real grand than my Arturia before committing to the steep investment.
Midi Polyphonic Expression (MPE) keyboards are still starting and their price is very high. It's a technology that I believe will be put into practice by all electronic musical instrument manufacturers and at more affordable prices. Just wait a little longer.
Hi thanks for this. Can I ask you a question? I bought a second hand, but apparently unused, seaboard rise 2 from an eBay seller. I’ve been ill for months so only just got round to connecting it and playing it. The left hand side lights up and looks like it works, but when I press every individual key there’s no sound. The only software that connecting it let me use was roli connect, not the others for some reason. But my question to you is, is there something I’ve not done, or could it be broken? I really hope it’s not broken. It cost me £860
Such a shame they don’t do the grand anymore with the sounds onboard, means it’s useless for gigging, who want to risk a laptop or connectivity issues of mobile device
Did you not see the massive Promo banner? How about the fact that I stated that it’s sponsored by ROLI? The only thing you need to apologize for is your lack of common sense.
Can you use Cubase or Neundo with this keyboard? I am mainly a pianist so will always have a normal electronic piano. However I want to add more strings and flutes so this sounds super exciting since you can get much better feeling.
I seen alot about seaboards yet the very obvious not yet explain -does it have a speaker -does it have deafault sound like the piano keyboard the moment u turn it on - can it work straight in a bluetooth speaker separetly without being connected to an app to control stuff I preordered SB midi controller m, and Im thinking of change to rise 2
Really great product, hugely innovative. However, can't get away from how poorly the company is run and how bad aftermarket issues are dealt with. Terrible software also and many users with bricked units through bad firmware. That's if you can actually get a unit as there website always says out of stock. I'm happy they survived their Fiancial mess. But for me I don't have enough confidence in how it's run to spend my beer tokens on them.
It would be nice with build in sounds. I dont have a nice laptop etc & also it seems more convenient to just have al the sounds built in to one unit. What happen to seabord grand because that one had built in sounds right? Also seems like Roli have decreased a bit from the market (can at least not test the hardware in Sweden anymore)?
I have the Role Searboard Rise 1 and all their other devices and sounds. Glad they are still innovating but not sure I can justify the Rise 2 -- Wish they had trade-in program
I’ve been thinking of ordering one of these as a secondary controller to go along-side my 88 weighted key. I do quite a bit of orchestral music and I’d like to know if it would also work well for playing in things like fast drums and strings etc (things that are tricky to do on the weighted keyboard)? Does it have good velocity sensitivity?
Love a mid-week Sanjay video! I can remember the days of your old studio with the seabord, doesnt seem that long ago but wow! There have been so many great developments!
