#76

New Seaboard Block is available:

I’m considering replacing my RISE 25. Having a smaller, more portable (and modular) option is appealing since I travel a lot.

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#77

The fact that you can combine them for more octaves is something. Clever. Still gonna wait and see what @randy has up his sleeve though.

1 Like
#78

I’m still waiting for a full-sized pad from them. I’ve been using a BLOCK since a little after it came out, and the firmware updates have improved a lot of the issues, but they’re still pretty much a novelty. I’ve got my own ideas of what they should do, so here’s hoping they can be beat to market or take them time to build a larger, more serious tool for use.

#79

Damn, less than one year later, a more sensitive block ??
The first generation are quite unsatisfying (the borders are unsensitive). I feel totally fooled.

#80

I bought, and returned for a refund shortly thereafter due to manufacturing defects, a Seaboard GRAND. So I know the feeling. But I do really miss MPE, and the new Seaboard Block is so cute. Not digging on the computer-dependence of Roli though. Leaning towards Linnstrument or Soundplane to scratch that itch now. Really really curious to see what @randy has up his sleeve.

#81

i ordered the original light block, returned it after 1 minute… latency issues and also the surface was rock hard. love my seaboard 25. not surprised to see a new light block that’s been redesigned as everyone i know hated the surface of the old one. but yeah, if i’d kept my original one and then this new one comes out now with no trade in or upgrade offer, i’d be pretty sad.

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#82

I picked up an original block and the surface had major issues. I wish ROLI had been a billable client so someone would benefit from my repeated cries for a larger surface, tactile indexing points, softer surfaces, etc. that make the controller nigh unusable.

#83

Glad to see i’m not just bitching. I had too much on my plate and was too absorbed in trying to make it work in M4L during the first week that i missed the point regarding the bad sensitivity of the surface. Otherwise i would have send it back.
Btw, any news on the ability to not have to go to the MIDI config to enable bluetooth MIDI each time you boot the computer ?? This makes this thing even less useful. Crappiest piece of gear i ever bought (well, with Push of course…oh my ! i am bitching again !).

#84

I will admit that I too feel more than a little burned having purchased a first gen block and spent a decent amount of time trying to both work around it’s shortcomings on the tactile front and the software front.

I have no intention of purchasing roli products at this point even though I am attracted to what they are producing…

#85

I’m stuck with two of the original lightpad blocks. I’m told the new firmware makes them less awful, but really, I can’t see ever plugging them in to confirm that.

Their seaboard line gets better with every iteration, though. Though, I do pine for another octave or two on the Seaboard Block. Or just a 25th key, like the Rise has – I keep reaching for a high C that isn’t there. And I’m not convinced a second unit is the answer, because that creates an unslideable gap in the center of my range, and a point of structural weakness if I’m holding the controller in my lap. But, yeah. Anyone hesitating on the mini layout hasn’t considered their intonation on chords…

Side note: a three octave Seaboard Block would be four and a half lightpad blocks wide. A sideways control block would complete that rectangle, but the arrangement is just awkward enough that I don’t think we’ll ever see it.

#86

Anyone doing it? I recently acquired a Squarp Hermod module and plugged my Seaboard Block into it. Wonderful things followed, especially with the slide and aftertouch set as separate CV modulations.

#87

Just getting started. Linnstrument + Percussa SSP for me. Need more time…

#88

I’ve been thinking about trying some of these for a while, specifically for use in my augmented snare setup so I finally bit the bullet and scored a used current gen Lightblock and a “Loop” control block.

I don’t think I’d use both as it’s overkill for the amount of space I have, so I want to prototype some interfaces to see what makes the most sense for mounting on the snare.

They haven’t arrived yet, so I’m still just coding-in-the-dark, but thankfully the Max package for it seems pretty robust.

Is anyone using these (with Max) to make some interesting interfaces?

The Lightblock in particular seems to have some…um, pretty gauche implementations, even though it looks like it could be quite powerful.

One thing that does kind of confuse me is the controls blocks (specifically via blocks.multictrl) doesn’t expose decoupled LED feedback. You seem to only be able to set on/off/press colors, and set a “toggle mode”, where the LEDs are momentary or toggling. That seems mind-blowing that that would be a limitation…

Is there a way around this?

Also, in thinking of a more norns-y future, does anyone know if it’s possible to control the LEDs (or other features) via vanilla MIDI and/or sysex? There’s an SDK for the Blocks, but I’m not great at reading C++.

#89

Hey, I have a couple of the first generation Lightpad Blocks and really liked them. It’s like a touchscreen interface that also allows me tactile feedback of a button (meaning I can rest my finger on a button and push when I’m ready rather than the standard touch screen teacup fingers).

They have a pretty robust JUCE API for it but don’t give too much support. Unfortunately they did not expose MIDI feedback last I checked (I had sent them an email about this) BUT the Max integration allows you to do that very easily. In fact, it is quite powerful and customizable if you are a Max person but that means having it connected to a laptop. I’m assuming the Max externals also allow you to get the high resolution that the device puts out whereas the MIDI resolution for CC control can be quite tough to work with on such an expressive interface.

Just watch the battery life on them. They will discharge slowly while not in use so make sure to get them a fresh charge before any shows.

#90

Thanks for the info.

I’m very comfortable with Max, so working in there is ideal for what I’m after (though norns-ing is a different question).

As I said, mine haven’t arrived yet so it’s possible this is a non-issue and it is possible to control it in a manner like I’m intending (and unlike how the blocks.multictrl UI works), but the Max external doesn’t appear to let you set LEDs independently of the output. Again, this is for the control blocks, not the light block. The light blocks appear to have more robust options available.

It also occurred to me that it would be possible to have monome-esque (matrix-based) control over the individual LEDs on a light block by using some serialosc->jitter matrix stuff (the BEAP package has some of that). Don’t know if it’s possible to “layer” that with input-based controls, but can still be a more reasonable way of working with the feedback programmatically.

#91

If you don’t mind a slightly related question,
is it possible in some way that the computer (mac os) remembers the block as a MIDI bluetooth device ?
Having to reset it at every startup is really annoying.

#92

So they finally arrived and I have to say I’m pretty unimpressed.

It feels like a slightly better engineered KMI product in that it’s pretty good, but that’s about it. It lacks a clear sense of vision and/or refinement.

I’m baffled by how hard you have to press the buttons on the smaller “control” block, as it makes it borderline useless… not to mention I was really confused when I discovered that the smaller block has no USB-C port, so it functions only wirelessly (or when “docked” to a Lightblock).

The Lightblock, when connected via a cable, isn’t too bad. It’s a large area, the feel isn’t terrible, and offers me more room/control than the Dicers I’m presently using. I’ll see if I can come up with a suitably sturdy 3d printed mount so I can mount it on my snare. I’ll have to come up with something a bit sturdier than what I have no as the Lightblock is fairly heavy (for its size) and bigger than the dicer, so I’d want to make sure it doesn’t wobble too much on the snare.

It’s a shame no one seems to make a compact controller that isn’t dogshit…

6 Likes
#93

Curious, what would you like to see in a compact controller, what features would it have, how much would it cost?

#94

To be honest, pretty low standards here. Something with around 8ish buttons, smaller than a phone (or same size), wired would be great, though I could see bluetooth over midi being good for some people. Price point, in the “cheap controller” category (circa or below $100).

Something like that would be perfect as a simple “remote”-type controller for various projects. As often all I’ll need is a couple buttons to do what I want.

#95

Nice, thanks for the context, when you say buttons, do you mean MPE or just simple buttons, arcade style? something more tactile like buttons/piezo under rubber so you could be a little more rough with it?