ROLI Support

Note: This guide will show you how to load a multi-timbral instrument like Equator into Digital Performer to use the Seaboard RISE or GRAND.

Short answer

Open ROLI Dashboard and select MPE mode with MPE on and MPE Zone: Lower. Next select a channel range of 15 MIDI Channels.

In Digital Performer:

• Enable Multi-Record mode.
• Select Mono Pressure and Poly Pressure in DP’s Input Filter to allow those messages through.
• Make several tracks to receive the global channel and note channels according to the range you have selected in ROLI Dashboard. These are your voice tracks.
• Set the input of the voice tracks to channels 1 and up from the Seaboard.
• Route the output of the voice tracks to channels 1 and up to the multi-timbral plugin.

Download templates for the Seaboard RISE and GRAND attached below. 

Detailed answer

While the Seaboard RISE and GRAND use multiple channels of MIDI to achieve polyphonic dimensions of touch, Digital Performer doesn’t currently support multiple channels of MIDI input to a single track.

To fully unlock the Seaboard’s expressive potential in Digital Performer, you will need multiple MIDI tracks in your project. Each track will receive a channel from the Seaboard and send the MIDI data to a multi-timbral instrument like Equator.

Step 1: ROLI Dashboard Settings

Open ROLI Dashboard from your applications/programs folder. 

Take a look at the MIDI and Pitch sections and select:

• MIDI Mode: MPE
• MPE Zone: Lower
• No. MIDI Channels: 15
• Pitch Bend Range: 48

Step 2: Activate Multi Record

Open your DP project and check Multi-Record, which is in the Studio menu. This will allow you to record-enable multiple MIDI tracks at once.

Step 3: Input Filter Settings

In the Setup menu, open the Input Filter.

Check the Mono pressure and Poly pressure boxes to allow those messages into your project.

Step 4: Create an instrument track

Create an instrument track with the Equator plug-in by clicking:

Project ➝ Add track ➝ Instrument track ➝ ROLI ➝ Equator

Step 5: Equator’s MIDI/MPE Settings

1. Open the Equator plugin from the host track in your your Ableton set.
2. Click on menu (☰) in the top right of Equator and open the  MIDI/MPE Settings menu.
3. In the MIDI/MPE Settings menu, ensure that Equator’s MIDI Settings match the ones we set in ROLI Dashboard in Step 1.
   • Channel Mode: Multi
   • MPE: On
   • Channel Range: 2–16
   • Pitch Bend Range: 48

Step 6: Create MIDI tracks

Next you will need multiple MIDI tracks to receive the Seaboard’s MIDI and send it to Equator. The number of channels (and tracks) will determine the Seaboard’s polyphony in your project. Earlier we selected MPE mode with 15 No. MIDI Channels, and MPE data is sent on channel 1,  so in this example we will use 16 tracks.

1. Click Project ➝ Create tracks to open a window which will allow you to create multiple tracks at once.
   • Track type: MIDI
   • Assign to input: Seaboard – 1 – this is channel 1 of the Seaboard’s input
   • Assign to output: Equator 1-1 – this is channel 1 of the Equator plug-in. Channel 2 is represented as Equator 1-2
   • Click Add
2. In the section beneath, a new entry will appear.
   • Quantity: 16
   • Select Consecutive output
   • Select Consecutive input
3. Click "OK." 16 tracks will be added to your project.

Step 7: Recording

You are now ready to record the Seaboard’s MIDI data. Record-enable the 16 MIDI tracks – but not the instrument track – by clicking and dragging across their arm buttons, and record in the usual way. The notes will be spread out over all 16 tracks but will play through just one synth. Editing Pitch-Bend and Aftertouch is done on a channel by channel basis.

If you are creating your own patches in other synths, remember to check that you have set the synth to respond to each of the Seaboard’s dimensions of touch in order to unlock the Seaboard’s full expressive potential.

Step 8: Keeping your tracks neat

A Track Folder can keep your project organised so you don’t always have to see the 16 input tracks. Select the tracks that you want to put into a folder, then click: Project ➝ Folders ➝ New Track Folder From Selected Tracks.