"RISE 49 might just be a bigger version but the extra length does exentuate the added expression that the RISE concept affords. The bottom line, then, is that bigger is definitely better. With a nicer case and a bigger range of keys, it may not be quite as compact and bijou as the 25, but RISE 49 is a fabulous concept which is made real by some great-sounding software".
The new ROLI Seaboard RISE 49 is a four octave model of the multi award winning Seaboard RISE controller. It is reviewed in the new issue of MusicTech magazine where it receives a 9 out of 10 overall rating and the magazine’s coveted ‘Innovation’ and ‘Choice’ awards.
"Of course, a 49-note keyboard will offer a more fullsome playing experience than any smaller version, but with the RISE 49 this is enhanced somehow. It may be the extra-long pitch-bends strip that runs along the bottom; but I suspect it's simply the extra sonic flexibility that the five dimensions of touch offer. Because you have the ability to change sounds in many more ways, these changes appear more dramatic with the wider range of octaves you have at your disposal. That string emerging from a pad sound at the top end of the scale is that much more dramatic at the bottom. Maybe it's just me, but MPE does seem to lend itself to a bigger, more playable keyboard”.
"RISE 25 already had bags of extra expression and cool over a million standard controller keyboards, and the bigger version serves to drive these extras home. It is more playable and could be the RISE to go for if you're more of a performer than a sonic experimenter”.
The full review can be found in the August issue of MusicTech magazine on sale now. The ROLI Seaboard RISE 49 is also available now priced at £949.99 RRP inc VAT.
ROLI is exclusively distributed in the UK and ROI by Sound Technology Ltd. For more information please call 01462 480000 or visit www.soundtech.co.uk/music-retail/roli
