The reimagined, re-engineered part is exciting. Hard to tell anything from the image in the video, but it could be quite different from the original.
I much prefer to have some real competition for Osmose.
Worst company with zero support.
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Yep
Their forum is heavily regulated. They never answer e-mails. If your Seaboard needs repair outside of warranty period, you can throw it away, as no one on earth has the knowledge or tools to repair it. Same for when the internal battery starts bulging overnight, which it will eventually. I would run away fast from anything Roli.
Yes, this is my experience with them. The USB port stopped working and I emailed them many times without getting anything back. So I had to sell my Seaboard Rise 25 really cheap.
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Yeah, I had nothing but awful experiences with their products and support. Not to mention the advertising and the “spirit” of the company.
Patiently waiting for Osmose.
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New Rise out for preorder though not much seems different from the old version to me.
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… which would be a good thing for those who have gained expertise playing the first version.
The improvements could be in things harder to see in a video. ( ROLI has three videos up on their channel on YouTube. )
If the improvements are in improved feel and expressiveness that would be a very good thing.
If the improvements are to manufacturability, reliability, and repairabilty, those also would be very good things too.
For those looking for this interface, it is good to see a little light for the future.
It’s got to be a hard sell to get people to preorder. It says November. Hope does spring eternal though.
This is the year for expressive keyboards.
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Some dfferences :
There is a slightly raised line on the top of the keys that is called a “fret” that is to improve the feel and precision for finger placement.
ROLI is calling the playing surface “Keywave 2”.
They have also improved the chassis to make it more rugged, made from aluminum, and with an anodized blue color.
There will be only a 49 key version, at least for now.
I both (a) want this to work, and (b) would STRONGLY CAUTION anyone against pre-ordering. Roli has been issuing tons of shares lately, which tells me they need cash to stay afloat.
I’ll need to be convinced otherwise that Seaboard 2 pre-orders are not just a variation of the same.
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I didn’t check, is it cash up front, or just a pre-order ?
If these also go into the retail channel, in the USA, pre-orders aren’t usually pre-paid, and you can change your mind. I would be comfortable pre-ordering without pre-payment.
1.2. By clicking the “Complete order” button on the order page, you confirm that you would like to purchase the Products in your cart (an “Order Request”). A binding agreement that ROLI will deliver the Products will not be formed between you and ROLI until you have paid the full amount due as set out in the Order Request and ROLI sends you an Order Confirmation with a Customer Order Number. Order Confirmations are subject to compliance with these Terms of Sale and ROLI’s sole discretion. No Order Request shall be deemed accepted unless and until confirmed by an Order Confirmation from ROLI.
[…]
1.5. If ROLI is unable to fulfil your order for any reason, we will notify you, and promptly return to you any payment received by us.
So they’re keeping your cash until November.
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People are pre-ordering !
I’ve checked back, a few times. They are now into orders for “Batch 6” of manufacture, and the delivery date has gone from October of this year to where it’s at now in December. Not sure the size of a batch, but they’re on a roll, less than half a day in, and it isn’t a trivial purchase at that price.
I do to ! It’s more than getting the design right, and selling keyboards, but this is a good start for them.
I wonder the mix of buyers – New users, or return customers ?
Curious to see if Roli manage to ship production hardware before the Osmose.
I really doubt it is return customers. Unless they have a psychological condition like masochisim disorder or maybe something similar to stockholm syndrome.
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I would seriously consider getting one of these if I could trust Roli. I had the Seaboard Block as a test for whether I would like playing on this, and I liked it very much. I think I might actually like the way I can play MPE with keeping the location of my fingers more or less stationary, as opposed to the Seaboard where using the y axis requires/allows you to move your fingers up and down on the key to use the y axis. There is something really wonderful about choosing a chord and then, with your fingers staying where they are on the keybed, you just move each finger a little forward, or back, or side to side, or swirl them around, each independently, to get an incredibly rich palette of sounds literally “at your fingertips.” Yum.
Unfortunately, when my Block started to experience problems (battery and bluetooth issues), the company was in some kind of financial dormancy (the cocoon of bankruptcy perhaps) and did not respond at all. I ended up tossing it since it was not functional anymore. I cannot see paying $1,400 for a product from a company that so recently seemed dead. I did upgrade to their MPE soft synth Equator2, though, as an additional tool for using my Linnstrument, and I will say that it is easily the most intuitive and user friendly and versatile MPE soft synth I own (comparing it to Pigments and Bitwig in general). It is so nice to be able to see in large display format what all of the various expression dimensions are doing in real time. Only Equator, so far, has this so cleanly laid out.
I will check back on this product, and on Roll, in a year or so, and consider picking one up, if they are getting good reviews for quality and reliability.
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The Rise 2 with just Equator 2. Playing alone, with multiple examples.
Nine minutes long.
ADDED : Two weeks later, another video. Kind of a no talk tutorial in three and a half minutes.
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Looks great. But $1400 to wait 9 months for hardware from a company that’s already gone bankrupt once… nah. I would maybe impulse buy if I could have it now
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I see that ROLI will be at NAMM 2022, but for meetings only. No doubt they will have things to do with the MIDI Association. They are a corporate member.
They will likely also be negotiating to sign up US retail stores to carry the new Seaboard Rise 2. We’ll see if that’s so and who might sign up. That would be nice because it would allow people to pre-order a Rise 2, without making a pre-payment.
Also there is a new video out, with Allah Rakha Rahman an Indian film composer ( Slumdog Millionaire ), and a record producer. He talks about finding inspiration with the Rise. Very different sort of video promotion. A great opportunity for people here to hate it.
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Roli’s keyboards are fantastic when they work. Their company is run by individuals that I feel are not exactly reliable and whose commitment towards their venture and user base has a bit of a startup mentality (ie we scale and if we fail we fail), which is a little tough considering the ticket size for most of what they sell.
I’m decked out in Roli stuff, I had several Seaboard Blocks (still have one), I own all of their synths (Equator 1 & 2 plus the FXpansion synths)…their products are always interesting to me, I just don’t trust them in their decision making fully (see eg Lumi).
Looks like the Rise 2 is arriving with some early adopters.
Here’s a video with someone ( OBLVYN ) who can really play the thing. I queued it up to a solo where she plays it Continuum-style. You can listen earlier in the video where she lays down the backing.
