Seaboard Block Revealed: ROLI’s Answer To An Affordable Seaboard With Block Connectivity

June 8, 2017 SYNTH ANATOMY Hardware 1

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With the Seaboard, ROLI has been going it’s own way for several years now and wants to change the way how to play notes. With the first Seaboard, many people were already amazed at how differently you can make music. The only downside was the price. Many people were deterred with the high entrance. The reaction followed several years later with the ROLI Rise, a much cheaper version of the Seaboard. By his lower price, they could inspire finally a lot of more people for their amazing technology.

In 2016 and also this year, the focus is on music mobility without wires at ROLI. With the Block system last year, a new innovative MIDI controller has been introduced which allows new ways of playing and controlling everywhere. Today, these roads continue with the new ROLI Seaboard Block, a new mini, 2 octave version of the Seaboard multi-dimensional MIDI Controller that allows to snap together like the rest of the Blocks family.

In my opinion, the right decision to offer now a more affordable and portable version of this cool new technology. Looking forward to checking this out.

ROLI Iaunches Seaboard Block at $299, making expressive keyboard controllers a mainstream option for all musicians ROLI today launches Seaboard Block, a uniquely versatile controller that brings next-generation expressive music technology into the mainstream.Seaboard Block is the newest model of the Seaboard, a touch-responsive keyboard interface that is one of the most acclaimed inventions in music technology of the last several years. ROLI’s first two models, Seaboard GRAND and Seaboard RISE, are played by artists including Stevie Wonder, Meghan Trainor, Steve Aoki, and Hans Zimmer. Called “incredibly deep” (Resident Advisor), “exciting, progressive, and potent” (Sound on Sound), and “the future of the keyboard” (MusicRadar), the award-winning Seaboard ranges in price from $799 to $8,888.

Priced at $299 (£279, €329), the Seaboard Block is by far the most affordable version of a must-have tool for the contemporary musician. Fitting in a backpack and connecting to ROLI’s free mobile app NOISE , it is the most accessible Seaboard ever made. Musicians of all backgrounds — including global superstars — are now adopting Seaboard Block. “A portable Seaboard is literally genius,” said singer-producer Grimes, who now uses Seaboard Block. “I’m so glad this device entered my life.”

Seaboard Block is also the newest Block in ROLI’s modular BLOCKS system , which launched worldwide in November 2016. Individual Blocks, each of which provide unique functions, can be connected together to build an expandable, customizable instrument for people of all musical backgrounds. Connecting to other Blocks — including other Seaboard Blocks — this 24-keywave super-powered keyboard is now at the center of the world’s first mobile music studio.


Roland Lamb, founder and CEO of ROLI and inventor of the Seaboard and the BLOCKS family, said: “Music making will only begin to thrive in the digital age when electronic instruments are truly intuitive and can be played as expressively as any acoustic instrument. Seaboard Block is the culmination and convergence of our work at ROLI to create new instruments that are deeply emotive and easy to play. It is one of the most simultaneously accessible and expressive digital instruments ever made, and I can’t wait to hear what people create with it.”

A wireless MIDI controller, Seaboard Block comes with a suite of music software and a diverse collection of interactive sounds. Equator Player is a new sound player for BLOCKS designed for anyone making music with a desktop computer. NOISE, the free app that pairs wirelessly with BLOCKS, is a mobile sound engine for making music on the go. NOISE makes Seaboard Block a portable musical sketchpad that can be taken anywhere.

NOISE and Equator Player both include over 100 expressive sounds from synths to strings. Alongside the launch of Seaboard Block, ROLI also releases six new soundpacks ranging from Vintage Electronic to Cinematica . Free with every Seaboard Block, the soundpacks put even more sounds at the fingertips of Seaboard Block creators. BLOCKS Dashboard extends the workflow possibilities further by allowing easy customization of music software programs like Logic Pro, Ableton Live, and Omnisphere.

Touch Block also launches today. The same size as Live Block and Loop Block, Touch Block ($79, £69) provides controls for adjusting in real time the expressive behavior of the Seaboard Block and Lightpad Block interfaces. By clicking one of its controls, for example, music-makers can adjust how much their side-to-side finger movements bend pitch on the surface of Seaboard Block.

Seaboard Block and Touch Block join Lightpad Block, Live Block, and Loop Block, expanding the BLOCKS family. In its first six months BLOCKS has won awards including Best Innovative Product (Musikmesse International Press Awards 2017) and Best in Show (NAMM U Awards 2017).Seaboard Block is now available through the ROLI store and retail partners It will begin shipping in late June. 

More informations here: ROLI Seaboard Block

Available here for pre-order: ROLI Seaboard Block 

 

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