roli Songmaker kit (garageband Edition)
Christmas arrived early in the icreate office when we took delivery of ROLI’S three-piece Songmaker Kit (Garageband Edition) just before we downed tools for the holidays, so we had a very merry couple of weeks putting it through its paces. The Songmaker Kit is a configuration of ROLI BLOCKS, a modular music creation system that comprises three separate units that magnetically join together. The main unit, the Seaboard Block, resembles a keyboard, but with a soft, spongy Micro Poly Expressive (MPE) silicon surface that responds to pressure and other movements. The second unit, the Lightpad Block, is like a mini Lauchpad that allows the same touch-responsive control of sound as the Seaboard Block and can be configured to launch loops, mix volume levels and control other production
features. The third component, the Loop Block, means that you don’t have to move your hands from the kit while using Garageband; all of the essential controls that you need are within easy reach on this small unit. Like we said, all three snap together to form an all-in-one fully portable MIDI controller that will amaze you.
Block-rocking beats
Setting up the kit is easy. Start off by downloading the ROLI Connect Songmaker Kit installer from the website. This will guide you through the simple task of piecing together the three separate components, powering them up and connecting them with Garageband. Once your Songmaker
Kit is illuminated you’ll be able to get tactile with the blocks themselves, which feels incredible.
On the Seaboard Block you can strike the playable surface to sound notes, glide your fingers from side to side to bend the pitch (simulating the effect of vibrato on a stringed instrument), or slide up or down to modulate the sound, adding brightness, texture or depth to your notes. You can deepen the sounds by pressing down
further into the spongy grooves (simulating the effect of breath on a wind instrument) or lift to alter a sound’s resonance. Arrows in the top corners can be used to switch the octave. When we first spread our fingers across its foamy expanse our instinct was that it wouldn’t provide the level of response required for precision musicmaking. How wrong we were – it feels majestic and provides a much greater degree of fluidity than many of the other plug-in instruments that are available.
Complimenting the Seaboard Block is a trusty sidekick in the form of the Lightpad Block. This features a two-octave grid, a nine-note scale grid, 4x4 drum pads, 3x3 drum pads and a set of smart controls, providing a versatile tool that is equally as adept at playing melodies as it is for bashing out drum patterns. The final component is the sound technicianesque Loop Block. Not only does this allow you to select the mode of the Lightpad Block, it also brings essential Garageband controls to your fingertips, linking kit with app so that you don’t even have to look up from your instrument. The essential controls featured include Play/pause, Record, Volume, Loop and ‘+’ and ‘–’ buttons to select the next or previous instrument tracks in your Garageband project. If you are new to Garageband then tapping the mortarboard icon will enable Garageband’s Quick Help onscreen prompts. Getting into the groove really couldn’t be easier.
a new challenge
As well as letting you compose using the instruments and effects already present in your Mac Garageband app, Songmaker Kit also brings a fresh new array of sonics to the party. Through this package you have access to hundreds of new sounds, from synths to string sections, plus three signature soundpacks from Grimes, Steve Aoki and Rudimental – all custom-made to get the most out of the hardware. What works really well with the Songmaker Kit is that it challenges you to create music in a different way. Looking at the Seaboard Block, you expect it to play like a conventional keyboard, but the extra degree of control that you have over shaping the notes takes you away from the traditional ways of creating music.
The way that the kit works with Garageband is also very impressive. When using the Loop Block to cycle through the various modes of the Lightpad Block you’ll find the special Gb-only mode, which turns the pad into an array of sliders to alter the parapets in Garageband.
These controls include volume for each track plus panning, solo and mute for each track. Sliders can also be used to control the parameters for the instrument you’re currently playing, which could mean adjusting the knobs on a virtual guitar or synthesiser – a very nice touch and another good example of how your focus never needs to stray too far from the kit.
Sadly, the Songmaker Kit isn’t currently compatible with the IOS version of Garageband, but ROLI does offer a neat collection of mobile apps to help get you used to using the blocks and composing and recording music using both of the primary pads. ROLI PLAY connects to your kit via Bluetooth and introduces you to the 5D touch system of the Lightpad. It also lets you experiment with different sounds, learning how to shape and deepen them before recording your own compositions. The Seaboard 5D app focuses on the keyboard and how it can be used to create whole new dimensions to your music, transforming your iphone or ipad into a portable sound engine for the Seaboard MIDI controller.
A third app, Noise, acts as a musical sketchpad for you to work up ideas and craft
them into full compositions. For this purpose you can use your device as the instrument, but that seems mightily superfluous when you have the Songmaker Kit in front of you. Pair the kit with the app and you’ll be able to enjoy the complete recording studio experience using just your iphone and the portability of the blocks.
We really enjoyed using Songmaker Kit. The way in which it allows you to bend and shimmy notes made us feel giddy and opened up a tantalising trove of possibilities to embellish and strengthen compositions we had long since consigned to the ether. It even made us hesitate in plugging our guitars into Garageband as the Seaboard manages to out-smooth a glistening maple fret board on occasion. A gob-smackingly gorgeous bit of kit.
Verdict an ultra-responsive trio of MIDI controllers that unleash the true potential of Garageband on your mac and let you compose and create on the move.