ROLI Dashboard
Creator Manual
October, 2015
Version 1
Introduction
Hello creator, and welcome to the Creator Manual about ROLI
Dashboard, the application that comes with your Seaboard RISE. We
think of the people who buy and use ROLI’s products as creators rather
than customers. Our products are designed to expand the bandwidth
of creative expression and thereby empower people as the creators
they are. Everyone who buys and uses a Seaboard RISE is investing
in this vision of creativity and therefore is also a co-creator of ROLI.
You may already be exploring Dashboard and discovering all that it can
do. This comprehensive Creator Manual explains all of the details about
Dashboard to ensure that you get the most out of it.
ROLI Dashboard for RISE is a standalone application that lets you modify
and customise the settings of your Seaboard RISE. It works on both OS
X and Windows platforms. It is designed for convenience, so that you
can quickly find and modulate the sound parameters most important
to your music.
On the next page we have included a short list of terms specific
to Seaboard instruments and ROLI Dashboard. We will refer to these
terms throughout the Creator Manual.
Please note that this is a digital manual updated regularly to reflect
software updates and other improvements. Be sure to check for updates on My ROLI. This Manual is current up to Equator v1.2.0, ROLI
Dashboard v3.1.0, and RISE Firmware v1.0.4.
Support and Feedback
We want you to have the best experience possible with your Seaboard,
and our Support team is here to help you. If you have any questions,
are experiencing any problems, or have any feedback to give us about
our products,please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team.
You can contact us through our Support page at www.roli.com/support
or by writing us directly at support@roli.com. We will respond as soon
as possible. The resources on the Support page should also help answer many questions.
2ROLI Dashboard Creator Manual
Table of Contents
Selected ROLI Dashboard terms 4
1. Getting Started 6
1.1 System Requirements 6
1.2 The Seaboard RISE Software Bundle 6
1.3 Register on My ROLI 6
1.4 Login and Download Seaboard RISE Software Bundle 6
1.5 Installation: Mac & Windows 6
1.6 Connecting ROLI Dashboard to your Seaboard RISE 7
2. Features and Settings 8
2.1 Overview 8
2.2 The Visualiser 9
2.3 Expression Settings Panel 9
2.4 MIDI Settings Panel 11
2.5 Bluetooth Settings 14
3. The Dashboard Menu 15
4. ROLI Support 16
4.1 My ROLI and ROLI Support 16
4.2 Contact our support team 16
3ROLI Dashboard Creator Manual
Selected ROLI Dashboard terms
Keywave surface: The entire playing surface including all keywaves and ribbons.
The keywave surface corresponds to a keyboard.
Keywave: A wavelike element of the keywave surface that corresponds
to a single key on a standard keyboard. Each of the Five
Dimensions of Touch can be accessed on a single keywave.
Equator: ROLI’s custom-built, multidimensional software synthesiser
and sound engine. Equator enables refined control of the
expressive capabilities of the keywave surface. Equator and
Seaboard instruments work together to provide a seamlessly
integrated hardware-software experience.
MPE: Multi-Dimensional Polyphonic Expression (MPE) is a protocol
for using standard MIDI messages to communicate with and
enable the operation of multidimensional instruments such
as the Seaboard RISE.
Expression Mode: A mode of playing the Seaboard RISE in which three Touch
Faders control the dynamics of the Glide, Slide, and Press
dimensions of touch. Expression Mode lets you modify the
touch responsiveness of the Seaboard RISE to suit specific
sounds and your individual playing style.
Expression Curves: The graphical curves in ROLI Dashboard which represent the
behaviour and sensitivity of the Five Dimensions of Touch.
The five fundamental elements of physical interaction between
The Five Dimensions
of Touch (5D Touch):
MIDI CC Mappings: Mappings that determine which MIDI Continuous Controller
a finger and a surface: Strike, Press, Glide, Slide, and Lift.
Strike: The velocity and force with which a finger makes
contact with a keywave.
Press: The pressure and continuous touch applied to the
keywave after the initial Strike.
Glide: Horizontal movements fromside to side on a key-
wave or along the ribbons.
Slide: Vertical movements up and down a keywave.
Lift: The release velocity or speed of liftoff from
a keywave.
messages will be sent from the three Touch Faders and XY
Touchpad.
MIDI Mode: A mode of operation in which the Touch Faders can be
assigned to any MIDI CCs for additional customisation of sound.
ROLI Dashboard: An application for modifying and customising the internal set-
tings of the RISE.
4ROLI Dashboard Creator Manual
Selected ROLI Dashboard terms
Touch Fader: A control for adjusting the sensitivity of the keywave surface
to dimensions of touch.
Visualiser: A real-time graphical representation of the keywave surface
of the Seaboard RISE. It responds to the five dimensions of
touch: Strike, Press, Glide, Slide, and Lift.
5ROLI Dashboard Creator Manual
1. Getting Started
1.1 System Requirements
OS X
• Mac OS 10.8+
• Minimum RAM: 4GB
• Recommended RAM: 8GB
• Processor: 2.5GHz i5 or faster
• Bluetooth connectivity: OS 10.10+
Windows
• Windows 7, 8, or 10
• Minimum RAM: 4GB
• Recommended RAM: 8GB
• Recommended Processor: i5 and equivalent or above
1.2 The Seaboard RISE Software Bundle
Before making music on your Seaboard RISE with ROLI Dash-
board, you need to download the Seaboard RISE Software
Bundle. This software bundle is available on My ROLI. Please
follow the instructions below. If you have already installed the
Seaboard RISE Software Bundle you can skip to 1.5 “Connecting the RISE to ROLI Dashboard.”
*The install requires approximately 2 GB of disk space.
1.3 Register on My ROLI
Visit my.roli.com and sign up with a username and password
of your choice. When you have signed up and logged in, the
website will ask you to register your product. Use your Product Registration Code. The code is printed on the Registration
Card. This card is in the box marked Make Music Now, which
comes in the package with your RISE.(see Figure 1).
1.4 Login and Download Seaboard RISE Software Bundle
Now that you’ve created an account on My ROLI, you can log
in and download ROLI Dashboard and Equator for RISE, the
two applications included in the software bundle. Click either
“Download Software Bundle for Mac” or “Download Software
Bundle for Windows” depending on which operating system
you use.
1.5 Installation: Mac & Windows
When the download is complete, open the Downloads folder
on your computer and double click the installer file(s). Follow
the on-screen instructions and choose the location or disk
where you want to install the software. The install will require
approximately 2 GB of disk space.
xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx
my.roli.com/register
Figure 1
Pick up your Registration Card and
find your registration code. Visit this
web page to sign up for My ROLI, your
portal for software downloads and
product support, with a username
and password of your choice. Then
register using your registration code.
Mac: After double-clicking the installer, you may see a mes-
sage that says the installer is from an “unidentified developer.”
Don’t worry. The software is safe to install. You can bypass this
6ROLI Dashboard Creator Manual
Getting Started
message by right-clicking the installer from a Finder window
and selecting Open.
Windows: After double-clicking the installer, you may see a
message that says Windows has protected your PC by stopping an “unrecognised application” from opening. Don’t worry.
The software is safe to install. You can bypass this message
by clicking “more info” on the message, then clicking the “run
anyway” button.
1.6 Connecting ROLI Dashboard to your Seaboard RISE
The Seaboard RISE must be connected to a computer via USB
or Bluetooth in order to connect with ROLI Dashboard. Once
connected, the RISE will remember and retain any changes
made in ROLI Dashboard, even after it is powered off.
7ROLI Dashboard Creator Manual
2. Features and Settings
2.1 Overview
ROLI Dashboard is an application that lets you modify and
customise the settings on the Seaboard RISE (see Figure 2).
The settings that can be edited from ROLI Dashboard are:
• The Five Dimensions of Touch:
Strike
Press
Glide
Slide
Lift
• MIDI CC mappings for Touch Faders
• MIDI CC mappings for XY Touchpad
• Pedal MIDI CC mapping
• Pedal type
• Octave and Transpose
• MIDI Settings
Figure 2
Above, the main view of
ROLI Dashboard.
8ROLI Dashboard Creator Manual
Features and Settings
2.2 The Visualiser
The Visualiser is a real-time graphical representation of the
keywave surface of the RISE (see Figure 3). As you play on
the keywave surface, the Visualiser responds to the Five
Dimensions of Touch: Strike, Press, Glide, Slide, and Lift.
Experiment with the Visualiser by making any gesture on the
keywave surface.
2.3 Expression Settings Panel
The Expression Settings Panel is in the middle of the main
ROLI Dashboard screen (see Figure 4). You can use this panel
to adjust the dynamic response of Strike, Glide, Slide, Press
and Lift — and thereby change the expressiveness of the RISE
to match your work and your playing style. Edit the expression
curves by adjusting the illumination levels of the virtual Touch
Faders (which correspond to the physical Touch Faders on the
RISE Control Panel) to the left of the curves. You can control
the Glide, Slide, and Press dimensions of touch either from
this screen in ROLI Dashboard or by physically adjusting the
three touch-sensitive Touch Faders on the RISE Control Panel.
Figure 3
Above, the Visualiser
in ROLI Dashboard.
Figure 4
Above, the Expression Settings
in ROLI Dashboard.
Dynamics of the Touch Faders and Expression Curves
Strike: This Touch Fader and Expression Curve controls the dy-
namics of Strike, or the velocity and force with which a finger
makes contact with a keywave. When the Strike Touch Fader is
at its maximum setting you can access the full dynamic range
of velocities from MIDI velocity 0 to 127. As you reduce the
value of the Touch Fader you reach the maximum velocity of
127 with softer Strikes. When the Strike Touch Fader is at its
minimum setting you will reach MIDI velocity 127 regardless
of how firmly or softly you Strike.
9ROLI Dashboard Creator Manual
Features and Settings
Glide: This Touch Fader and Expression Curve controls the dy-
namics of Glide, or sideways movements of the finger on the
keywaves or along the ribbons. When the Glide Touch Fader
is at its minimum setting, sideways movements will not bend
pitch. The instrument is in Piano Mode, and it will respond like
a standard keyboard. When the Touch Fader is at its maximum
setting, the keywave surface is maximally sensitive to sideways
movements, and even minute movements will bend pitch like
vibrato on a string instrument. A medium setting allows for
pitch bend, but the instrument will correct pitch to a greater
or lesser degree. While usually assigned to pitch, the Glide
Touch Fader can also be assigned to other sound parameters.
Slide: This Touch Fader and Expression Curve controls the
dynamics of Slide, or vertical movements up and down a
keywave. When the Touch Fader is at a lower setting, the
spectrum of sound available for modulation along the Y axis
of a keywave is narrower. This means that you can reach the
maximum end of the range of modulation with a shorter move-
ment up or down the keywave. When the Touch Fader is at a
higher setting, the spectrum of sound available along the Y
axis is wider. This means that your finger must travel a greater
distance to reach the maximum end of the range of modulation, and you can access a wider range of intermediate sounds
along the vertical path of travel.
Press: This Touch Fader and Expression Curve controls the
dynamics of Press, or the response of the keywave surface
to continuous pressure applied after Strike. When the Press
Touch Fader is at a lower setting, the spectrum of sound available to modulate through pressure is narrower. This means
that you can reach the maximum end of the range of modu-
lation through lighter pressure on the keywave surface. When
the Press Touch Fader is at a higher setting, the spectrum of
sound available through pressure is wider. This means that you
will press more firmly to reach the maximum end of the range
of modulation, and you will be able to access a wider range
of intermediate sounds as you vary pressure on the keywave
surface.
Lift: This Touch Fader and Expression Curve controls the dy-
namics of Lift, which describes the release velocity or speed
of liftoff from a keywave. When the Lift Touch Fader is at its
maximum setting you can access the full dynamic range of
release velocities. As you reduce the value of the Touch Fader
you reduce the range of release velocities.
10ROLI Dashboard Creator Manual
Features and Settings
2.4 MIDI Settings Panel
A range of MIDI settings are available on the MIDI Settings
Panel, which is at the bottom of the ROLI Dashboard screen
(see Figure 5). You can assign MIDI CCs to three Touch Faders
(Glide, Slide, and Press) and the XY Touchpad. You can also
edit the pedal and select custom channel ranges and behaviour to optimise the RISE with third-party hardware and software synths.
Figure 5
Above, the MIDI settings
in ROLI Dashboard.
Figure 6
MIDI CC Mapping in ROLI Dashboard.
MIDI CC Mappings
You can map MIDI CC messages to the Glide, Slide, and Press
Touch Faders as well as the X and Y axes of the XY Touchpad
(see Figure 6). Click the arrows to access a pull-down menu of
possible MIDI CC mappings. The RISE will retain these map-
pings even after it is powered off.
11ROLI Dashboard Creator Manual
Features and Settings
Pedal & Pitch
You can assign the pedal to a MIDI CC and pedal type (see
Figure 7). The RISE automatically detects the pedal type when
you connect a new switch pedal. However, you can also manually choose between Switch (open, close) or Continuous (type
1, type 2) pedals.
The pitch can be transposed over +/- four octaves and
by semitone.
MIDI Settings
You can select channel mode and customise behaviour of the
RISE on the section of the MIDI Settings Panel called “MIDI
Settings”. You can use this section to optimise the RISE with
third-party hardware and software synths. The selection of
Channel Mode (Multi Channel or Single Channel) and the activation of Expressive MIDI (On or Off) is the primary function of
this section. Other features such as channel range and Glide
and Slide Tracking are detailed below.
Figure 7
The Pedal & Pitch panel in
ROLI Dashboard.
Multi Channel Mode — Expressive MIDI “On”
Selecting Multi Channel Mode and turning Expressive MIDI
on optimises the RISE with multidimensional, Expressive MIDI
hardware and software. This mode makes the RISE “plug and
play” with any other hardware or software that support Expres-
sive MIDI (see Figure 8).
When Expressive MIDI is on, the MIDI generated by the Touch
Faders, XY Touchpad and the Pedal is assigned to Channel 1.
Note, pitch bend, pressure, and Slide (MIDI CC 74) messages
are transmitted on a note-per-channel basis.
Channel range, Glide and Slide tracking, and Press tracking
If you use a channel range smaller than the maximum range of
15 channels, you can edit channel range, global channel, and
note priority for Glide & Slide Tracking and Press (pressure)
Tracking. The available values are:
Glide & Slide tracking: Highest Played Note, Lowest
Played Note, Disabled.
Press tracking: Highest Played Note, Lowest Played
Note, Hardest Played Note, Disabled.
Figure 8
The MIDI settings panel in ROLI Dash-
board showing Expressive MIDI “On”.
12ROLI Dashboard Creator Manual
Features and Settings
Multi Channel Mode — Expressive MIDI “Off”
If you use a multi-timbral synth that does not support
Expressive MIDI, you can select Multi Channel Mode
and turn Expressive MIDI off (see Figure 9).
In this mode you can control channel range, Glide & Slide tracking, Press mode, and Press tracking. The available values are:
Glide & Slide tracking: Highest played note, Lowest
played note, Disabled.
Press mode: Poly pressure, Channel pressure.
Press tracking: Highest played note, Lowest played
note, Hardest played note, Disabled. (Press or pressure tracking becomes available when Channel pressure is selected in Press mode)
Single Channel Mode
Figure 9
The MIDI settings panel in ROLI Dash-
board showing Expressive MIDI “Off”.
In Single Channel Mode the RISE transmits all MIDI data on a
single MIDI channel only (see Figure 10). This makes it compatible with mono-timbral synths. Pitch bend, channel pressure,
or Slide (MIDI CC 74) messages will apply to all notes held.
In this mode you can control the channel number, Glide &
Slide tracking, Press mode, and Press tracking. The available
values are:
Glide & Slide tracking: Highest played note, Lowest
played note, Disabled.
Press mode: Poly Pressure and Channel Pressure.
Press tracking: Highest played note, Lowest played
note, Hardest played note, or Disabled. (Press or pressure tracking becomes available when Channel pressure is selected for Press mode).
Figure 10
The MIDI settings panel in ROLI Dash-
board showing Single Channel Mode.
13ROLI Dashboard Creator Manual
Features and Settings
2.5 Bluetooth Settings
The RISE transmits MIDI over Bluetooth to compatible devices. Currently only Macs that are Bluetooth LE compatible and
running OS 10.10+ are compatible with MIDI over Bluetooth.
We expect more devices to become compatible in the future.
The device connected to the RISE largely determines the
procedure for activating MIDI over Bluetooth. We will soon
have detailed guides and videos for setting up each device on
our website. Below is an outline of how to set up the RISE for
Bluetooth over MIDI with a Mac. You can find a more detailed
guide on www.roli.com.
Initiating Bluetooth Over MIDI on the RISE
Jointly pressing and then releasing both Preset Switch buttons
begins the Bluetooth pairing process (see Figure 11). The
Power/Mode button blinks blue to indicate Bluetooth Pairing
Mode (see Figure 12).
When the USB cable is unplugged the RISE automatically
enters Bluetooth Pairing Mode. You must complete pairing the
RISE, however, through the settings options on the device you
wish to connect. This prevents accidental pairing to another
device within range of the signal.
Figure 11
Jointly pressing and then releasing
both Preset Switch buttons begins
the Bluetooth pairing process. Press
both buttons simultaneously again to
exit Bluetooth pairing mode.
Press and release both Preset Switch buttons simultaneously
to exit Bluetooth pairing mode. Disconnect Bluetooth through
the device you are connecting to the RISE.
In Mac OSX 10.10
• Press and release both Preset Switch
buttons simultaneously
• Open Audio MIDI Setup from the Utilities folder
inside Applications.
• Click Window » Show MIDI Studio.
• Double-click the Bluetooth icon
• A new window will open and scan for nearby
Bluetooth devices.
• When the RISE is detected, click connect.
Figure 12
The Power / Mode button blinks blue
to indicate Bluetooth Pairing Mode.
14ROLI Dashboard Creator Manual
3. The Dashboard Menu
The Dashboard Menu is located in the top right-hand corner
of ROLI Dashboard (see Figure 13). This menu has the
following functions:
Rename RISE: Here you can rename your RISE for
Bluetooth pairing purposes. Connect your RISE to a
device via USB, then type a name in the device field.
The RISE will remember this name the next time you
connect over Bluetooth.
Battery Status: Check the battery life of your RISE.
Update firmware: Check for available firmware
and software updates, including new versions
of ROLI Dashboard.
About: Shows the current version of ROLI Dashboard
and allows you to update to a new version if there
is one available.
Figure 13
The Dashboard Menu.
15ROLI Dashboard Creator Manual
4. ROLI Support
4.1 My ROLI and ROLI Support
The Seaboard RISE Creator Manual, the Equator for RISE
Creator Manual, and other resources on My ROLI should help
answer questions about your Seaboard RISE. Visit our Support
page at www.roli.com/support for a wider range of resources
about the RISE and its software. The Support page includes
frequently asked questions, tutorial videos, and guides for
connecting the RISE with third-party plug-ins and DAWs.
4.2 Contact our support team
Contact the ROLI support team directly on www.roli.com/support
for any questions. We will respond as soon as possible. Our
support team is here to help you.
16ROLI Dashboard Creator Manual
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