£299.95, roli.com

ROLI’s Seaboard Block, released in 2017, was the company’s way of bringing the essence of its larger instruments — the Grand and Rise — to a wider audience in a more compact and affordable package. Following well-publicised turmoil in recent years, ROLI is back with a new version, Seaboard Block M. The team tells us it’s the model that people most frequently requested ROLI bring back and you can see why, pitched as it is between the heavyweight Rise 2 and the much smaller Block units, since discontinued.

• READ MORE: ROLI on the Seaboard BLOCK M: “MPE has become accepted in many producer’s workflows — MIDI 2.0 will be another big step forward”

There really are only a couple of differences between the previous Block and the new M, with ROLI taking the view that they were mostly happy with the existing design. The only major new feature is a hardware MIDI output port — a 2.5mm to DIN cable is supplied — for connecting directly to your synths and other gear. Elsewhere, small modifications have been made to the design of the keywaves, the tactile ‘notes’ on the playing surface, but these are subtle.

The instrument is compact and portable, weighing in at just 650g. With no moving parts it’s robust and you feel safe carrying it in a rucksack alongside your laptop, with the option to add a carry case if you like. There’s a 10-hour internal battery that charges in 4-5 hours including when it’s tethered to your computer over USB-C using USB MIDI.

Bluetooth lets you perform without a physical connection and, in addition to the hardware MIDI out, which will be handy for fans of modular equipment, there are two ‘DNA’ connectors. These are magnetic terminals you can use to snap on additional Seaboard Block Ms or the smaller Block units.

ROLI’s core approach is the embrace of what it calls 5D Touch, a system that uses MIDI Polyphonic Expression (MPE) to add new dimensions to the way you play and control sounds. In the company’s early days, support for MPE across the industry was patchy at best but has now improved significantly; DAWs such as Cubase, Logic Pro, Bitwig, Cakewalk and a host of synth plugins all support it.

MPE is also baked into ROLI’s own stable of software of course. Purchasing a Block M gets you ROLI Studio Player, a standalone app and plugin containing patches from the company’s flagship instruments Equator2, Strobe2 and Cypher2. Designed to partner with the hardware, it also contains manual controls for effects, sound shaping and powerful arpeggiator and Smart Chord tools for livening-up your performances.

While Block M does expression incredibly well it’s not physically best-suited to piano-style playing of repeated notes or chords, so these software tools go a long way towards remedying that. You also get ROLI Studio Drums with a bunch of kits you can play and mash up in creative ways. If you want to go the whole hog, a licence for the flagship Equator2 MPE soft synth is $249.

There’s also the Dashboard app which provides a way to customise the behaviour and response of the instrument; vital since it has no display of its own. Here you can tweak the curves for the five MPE dimensions – strike, glide, slide, pressure and lift, making them more or less sensitive. Each one maps to a parameter on a compatible instrument patch making it possible to control things like bend, swell, intensity and much more with your fingers.

ROLI’s keywaves involve a starkly different way of performing compared to a regular keyboard and so do take some getting used to. Initially, the sheer range of things that change as you slide and press on the surface can be overwhelming. A great way to start is to activate Piano Mode in the Dashboard which makes the keywaves behave more like piano keys, each one triggering a single pitch instead of bending wildly with the slightest movement of a finger. There’s still a ton of expressiveness but it’s less disconcerting until you get used to the system.

Block M’s smaller keywaves encourage you to play fewer notes, but play them more expressively. You can play polyphonically but this isn’t like sitting at a piano, at least not unless you are experienced with the system and comfortable with its advanced techniques. The availability of chord mode and the arpeggiator mitigates this somewhat and means you can increase the complexity of patterns without using more fingers. Plus there’s a lot of customisation available that will help you make the instrument behave in a way that suits you, and effects in the software that lend more depth and space to your performances.

Ultimately, the Seaboard family is a unique instrument, not just a keyboard with more expression and as such it won’t be for everyone. Performing with keywaves is immensely powerful but does take some learning. That said, it’s unlike any kind of MIDI instrument you’ll have played before if you’re unfamiliar with ROLI. A small size and long battery life make Block M super portable and flexible, and its ability to operate in wired or wireless modes is handy.

For modular gear fans the new MIDI out port is a definite bonus and while it might not necessarily prompt you to trade in your original model for this new one, it’s great for anyone buying now. You also get a software bundle that provides an excellent jumping-off point for creating with MPE, plus there’s a fair chance your existing DAW will work with the protocol too.

Priced significantly lower than the Rise 2, Block M gives you an entry point into the world of 5D touch to explore new forms of expression that are genuinely liberating.

Key features

• 24 multi-touch keywaves
• DNA connectors for other ROLI gear
• USB-C and Bluetooth MIDI
• 5D Touch
• MIDI 2.5mm output port
• Octave transpose controls
• 10-hour battery life
• Dashboard app for customisation
• ROLI Studio software instrument
• Sound Store voucher

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