ROLI Equator for RISE Users Manual

Equator for RISE

Creator Manual

October, 2015

Version 1

Introduction

Hello creator, and welcome to the Creator Manual about the Equator
software synthesiser 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 Equator and discovering its creative pos­sibilities. This comprehensive Creator Manual explains all of the details
about Equator to ensure that you get the most out of it.

Equator is ROLI’s custom-built, multidimensional software synthesiser
and sound engine. Equator and Seaboard instruments work together
to provide a seamlessly integrated hardware-software experience. With
its blend of subtractive, sample, and FM synthesis and its focus on the
modulation of multiple parameters in real time, Equator is a flexible and
highly expressive synthesiser. It works as a standalone OS X and Windows
application and as a plugin for a suite of industry-standard DAWs.

On the next page we have included a short list of terms specific
to Equator and Seaboard instruments. 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 [e-mail]. We will respond as soon
as possible. The resources on the Support page should also help an­swer many questions.

2Equator for RISE Creator Manual

Table of Contents

1. Getting Started 7

1.1 System Requirements 7

1.2 The Seaboard RISE Software Bundle 7

1.3 Register on My ROLI 7

1.4 Installation Mac & Windows 7

2. Overview and Layout 9

2.1 The Navigation Bar 10

2.2 Interacting with Equator 10

2.3 Preset Management 11

3. The Synth Panel 13

3.1 Oscillators 13

3.2 Frequency Modulation (FM) Module 13

3.4 Noise Generator 14

3.5 Filters 14

4. Effects 16

5. Mixer 20

5.1 Sends 20

5.2 Filter Configuration 20

5.3 Output Gains 20

6. Global Controls 21

6.1 Voice Mode 21

6.2 FX Modulation Mode 21

6.3 Preset Master 21

7. Modulation 22

7.1 The Five Dimensions of Touch 22

7.2 Transfer Curves for 5D Touch 23

7.4 Envelopes 1–5 24

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Table of Contents

7.6 Keytracking 27

7.7 Modulation List View 28

8. Equator Menu 29

9. ROLI Support 30

9.2 Contact our support team 30

4Equator for RISE Creator Manual

Selected Equator for RISE 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 that 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 mes-

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 from side to side

on a keywave and left right movement along the
ribbons.

Slide: Vertical movements up and down a keywave.

Lift: The release velocity or speed of liftoff from

a keywave.

sages 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.

Modulation Panel: A panel on the main view of Equator that lets you change the

settings for the RISE controls, the Five Dimensions of Touch,
LFOs, envelopes, and keytracking.

5Equator for RISE Creator Manual

Selected Equator for RISE terms

ROLI Dashboard: An application for modifying and customising the internal set-

tings of the RISE.

Touch Fader: A control for adjusting the sensitivity of the keywave surface

to dimensions of touch.

6Equator for RISE 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 and Equator, 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 “2. Hardware”.

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).

Login and Download ROLI Software

Now that you’ve created an account on My ROLI, you can log
in and download Equator for RISE and ROLI Dashboard, the
two applications included in the software bundle. Click either

“Download Software Bundle for Mac” or “Download Software

Bundle for Windows” depending upon which operating sys­tem you use.

1.4 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 mes­sage that says the installer is from an “unidentified developer.”
Don’t worry. The software is safe to install. You can bypass this
message by right-clicking the installer from a Finder window
and selecting Open.

7Equator for RISE Creator Manual

Getting started

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.

Equator will by default install as a standalone app in the Ap­plications folder. It will also install as a plug-in in the following
folders:

Mac OS X

• Macintosh HD/Library/Audio/Plug-ins/VST

• Macintosh HD/Library/Audio/Plug-ins/Components

Presets and a copy of this guide will be saved in the following
folder: ~/Documents/ROLI/Equator for RISE

Windows 32 bit

• C:/Programfilesx86/VST Plugins

Presets and a copy of this guide will be saved in the following
folder: ~This PC/Documents/ROLI/Equator for RISE

Windows 64 bit

• C:/Programfiles/VST plug ins

Presets and a copy of this guide will be saved in the following
folder: ~This PC/Documents/ROLI/Equator for RISE

8Equator for RISE Creator Manual

2. Overview and Layout

Above is the main view of Equator (see Figure 2), showing the
Synth Panel at the top half of the screen and the Modulation
Panel at the bottom half of the screen.

The Navigation Bar at the very top of the screen shows a

range of available settings including presets and Audio/MIDI
settings. More details on the navigation bar can be found
in Sections 5 and 6.

While this view shows the Synth Panel, the top half of the
Equator screen can show either the Synth Panel or the Mixer
Panel. You can toggle between them. The Synth Panel gives
you access to the parameters of the modules in the signal
chain. The Mixer Panel routes, configures and mixes these
modules. More information about these panels is found in this
section and Section 3.

In the lower half of the screen are two modulation views. While
this view shows the Modulation Panel, the bottom half of the
screen can show either the Modulation Panel or the Modula­tion List. You can toggle between them. The Modulation Panel
gives you access to multiple modulation sources and their pa­rameters. It also lets you create modulation paths quickly. You
can view all of these paths in the Modulation List. More infor­mation about these panels is found in Section 5 and 7.

Figure 2

Above, the main view
of Equator for RISE.

9Equator for RISE Creator Manual

Overview and Layout

2.1 The Navigation Bar

The following icons are located in the top right corner of the

Navigation Bar:

Compare: This icon compares an original pre-

set with changes to that preset. Click and hold
the icon to preview your changes to the preset.

Master Volume: In the standalone application

of Equator, this slider adjusts the overall output
level of the instrument. This parameter is not
saved in the presets. Double clicking on the
volume fader resets the volume level to its
default position.

MIDI Panic: This button will clear the MIDI

buffer and remove any active notes. Click the
button to reset stuck notes and unusual MIDI
messages.

Equator Menu: This icon takes you to Equator

functions including New, Save As, and Undo/
Redo and Audio/MIDI Settings.

Figure 3

An example of a modulation panel in

Equator for RISE.

Preset settings in the Navigation Bar

The Navigation Bar displays the current preset in the center

of the bar (In Figure 2 above, the preset is “Smoky Rhodes”).
Arrows on either side let you quickly switchpresets. Clicking on
the preset also brings up the Preset Browser window, which
we explain in detail in Section 6.1.

2.2 Interacting with Equator

Changing Parameters

In any panel of Equator, you can change parameters by man­ually adjusting a dial on the screen or typing in the numerical
value of the parameter (see Figure 3).

• Navigate to the parameter.

• Click on the dial to adjust the base value.

• Hold down the cmd (Command) key while clicking on
the inner circle of the dial for fine adjustment.

• Alternatively, click on the numerical field underneath the
dial and type in the numerical value of the parameter.

Figure 4

An orange border indicates that a
modulation source is selected.

• Double click inside the inner circle of the dial to reset
the parameter to its default value

Figure 5

The orange, outer circle of a dial
adjusts the modulation depth
for a parameter.

10Equator for RISE Creator Manual

Overview and Layout

Modulating Parameters

You can quickly modulate parameters in the main view of
Equator by setting a modulation source. Follow these steps:

1 Select the modulation source by clicking on it.

When activated, the box containing the modulation
source will be highlighted in an orange border. (see
Figure 4).

2 Click the outer circle of the dial to adjust the mod-

ulation depth for that parameter. An orange arc will
appear on the dial showing the value of the param­eter you are modulating (see Figure 5).

Modulation can be both positive and negative.

Double clicking in the outer circle will reset the

modulation amount.

2.3 Preset Management

Changing presets

Figure 6

Above, the Preset Broswer in Equator
for RISE.

Open the Preset Browser by clicking on the preset name
in the center of the Navigation Bar. Click the preset name
to load the preset (see Figure 6).

Filtering presets

Filter your presets by selecting tags in each of the four cate­gories of Instrument, Source, Articulation and Timbre.

11Equator for RISE Creator Manual

Overview and Layout

Saving presets

Save your presets by clicking Save As in the Equator menu.

The tags that you assign to each preset help you discover the

preset within the Preset Browser.

When you save a preset, the values for the three Touch Faders
and the XY Touchpad are also stored.

Note: When using the VST/AU plug-in version of Equator, it’s

important to note that if you change the Touch Faders from
their default setting one the currently selected patch and then
change to a new patch, the new patch will use the “changed”

Touch Fader settings.

12Equator for RISE Creator Manual

3. The Synth Panel

The Synth Panel shows Equator’s primary sound generation and

sound shaping tools. These include three oscillators, two stereo
Sample Playback Modules, a Frequency Modulation Module,
a Noise Generator, five filters, and six effects (see Figure 7).

3.1 Oscillators

You can set the three wavetable oscillators (see Figure 8)
to waveforms including classic analogue waves (pulse, sine,
square, triangle and sawtooth) and multiple complex waveforms.

The following parameters are available for each oscillator:

• Level: -∞ to 0dB

• Pan: Full Left to Full Right

• Fine Pitch: -99 to +99 Cents

• Coarse Pitch: -48 to +48 Semitones

• Width: Changes the pulse width of the pulse
waveform (0% to 100%)

3.2 Frequency Modulation (FM) Module

Using the FM tool, you can set the frequency of one oscillator
to modulate the frequency of another. This changes the timbre.

The four available FM configurations are shown in (see Figure 9).

Figure 7

Above, the Synth Panel in Equator

for RISE.

Figure 8

An oscillator in Equator for RISE
showing a complex waveform.

For each configuration you can control the modulation depth
through Depth A and B dials (see Figure 10).

Figure 9

FM configurations in Equator for RISE.

13Equator for RISE Creator Manual

The Synth Panel

3.3 Sample Playback Module

The two Sample Playback Modules contain many preinstalled

samples ranging from acoustic instruments to synthesised and
layered sounds (see Figure 11).

The following parameters are available for each Sample Play-

back Module:

• Level: -∞ to 0dB

• Pan: Full Left to Full Right

• Fine Pitch: -99 to +99 cents

• Coarse Pitch: -48 to +48 semitones

• Filter parameters (see Section 2.5)

3.4 Noise Generator

The Noise Generator outputs either stereo white noise or ste-

reo pink noise with adjustable stereo width and a dedicated
filter section (see Figure 12). The following parameters are
available:

Figure 10

The Frequency Modulation (FM)
Module in Equator for RISE.

• Noise type: White or Pink

• Level: -∞ to 0dB

• Stereo Width: 0% (Mono) to 100% (Stereo)

• Filter parameters (see Section 2.5)

3.5 Filters

Equator contains five identical filters (see Figure 13). Two

filters are assigned to the Sample Playback Modules, one is
assigned to the Noise Module, and two are used for general
routing. Set the routing of these two filters in the Mixer Panel
(see Section 3.2). All filters can be modulated.

The following filter types are available for the five filters:

• Low-pass 12dB/octave

• Low-pass 24dB/octave

• Band-pass

• Notch

• Hi-pass 12dB/octave

• Hi-pass 24dB/octave

• Comb Filter

• State-variable low-pass 12dB/octave

• State-variable band-pass 12dB/octave

• State-variable high-pass 12dB/octave

• State-variable low-pass 24dB/octave

• State-variable band-pass 24dB/octave

• State-variable hi-pass 24dB/octave

Figure 11

The Sample Playback Module in

Equator for RISE.

Figure 12

The Noise Generator panel in Equator
for RISE.

Figure 13

The Filters panel in Equator
for RISE.

14Equator for RISE Creator Manual

The Synth Panel

The low-pass, high-pass, band-pass and notch filters have the

following parameters:

• Cut-off (or Centre Frequency) of the chosen filter:

20Hz to 15kHz

• Resonance: 0% to 100%

The Comb Filter has a different set of parameters:

• Delay: the length of the delay line

• Mix: the amount of delayed (wet) signal added to the
input (dry) signal (can be positive or negative)

• Feedback: the amount of delayed signal fed back to
the input of the delay line (can be positive or negative)

15Equator for RISE Creator Manual

4. Effects

The effects tools in Equator contain the following stereo

effects in series:

• Bit Crusher

• Distortion

• EQ

• Chorus

• Delay

• Reverb

The effects section comes at the end of the signal chain.

It is global for all voices. The configuration of all effects
is explained in more detail in Section 3.

4.1 Bit Crusher

(see Figure 14)

Figure 14

The Bit Crusher panel in Equator
for RISE.

The following parameters are available in Bit Crusher:

• Drive controls the amount of waveshaping. Lower set­tings can be used to add warmth. Higher setting will
result in an overdriven or distorted sound.

• Crush controls the effective bit depth of the signal.
Higher settings will result in lower resolution and
therefore more distortion.

• Reduce controls the amount of sample rate reduction.

• Tone controls the overall colour of the wet signal.

• Blend controls the relative amount of the dry and
wet signal.

• Level controls the overall level of the effect.

16Equator for RISE Creator Manual

Effects

4.2 Distortion

(see Figure 15)

The following parameters are available in Distortion:

• Drive controls the amount of distortion.

• Bass controls the amount of low-frequency boost.

• Tone controls the overall color of the wet signal. High-
er settings will result in a harsher sound.

Figure 15

The Distortion panel in Equator
for RISE.

• Fuzz controls the amount of even harmonics. Higher
settings will result in a dirtier sound.

• Bite controls the amount of mid-frequency boost.

• Blend controls the relative amount of the dry and wet
signal.

• Level controls the overall level of the effect.

4.3 EQ

(see Figure 16)

Figure 16

The EQ panel in Equator
for RISE.

The EQ section is a five-band parametric equaliser. Each band

has the following parameters:

• Gain: -24dB to +24dB

• Center Frequency: 20Hz to 15kHz

• Q factor: this parameter adjusts the bandwidth
of the bell shape

17Equator for RISE Creator Manual

Effects

4.4 Chorus

(see Figure 17)

The following parameters are available for the stereo Chorus:

• Depth controls the amount of pitch modulation ap­plied by the effect (0% to 100%).

• Speed controls the rate of pitch modulation (0.2Hz to

50Hz).

Figure 17

The Chorus panel in Equator
for RISE.

• Stereo Width controls the width of the stereo field of
the effect (0% [Mono] to 100% [Stereo]).

• Wet controls the amount of processed signal added to
the dry signal (0% to 100%).

4.5 Delay

(see Figure 18)

Delay consists of two independent delay lines (left and right).

The following parameters are available for each channel:

Figure 18

The Delay panel in Equator
for RISE.

• Delay Time controls the time between the initial signal
and the repeated signal (0 to 2000ms).

• Feedback controls the gain of the repeated signal (0%

to 100%).

• Wet controls the amount of processed signal added to

the dry signal (0% to 100%).

You can link the parameters of the two channels by clicking on
the middle icon. When linked, parameter changes made on
one side will also apply to the other.

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Effects

4.6 Reverb

(see Figure 19)

The stereo Reverb has the following parameters:

• Pre-delay controls the delay between the direct signal
and the reverberant signal (0 to 100ms).

• Size controls the reverb time of the reverberant signal

(0% to 100%).

Figure 19

The Reverb panel in Equator
for RISE.

• Damp controls the amount of low-pass filtering (ab­sorption) applied (0% to 100%).

• Wet controls the amount of processed signal added to
the dry signal (0% to 100%).

19Equator for RISE Creator Manual

5. Mixer

5.1 Sends

The Mixer Panel (see Figure 20) routes the output of each

audio source (Oscillators, Sample Playback Modules, Noise
Generator, Ring Modulator*) independently to any of the
following destinations:

• Filter 1

• Filter 2

• Effects Section (EQ, Chorus and Delay)

• Reverb

• Main Output

*The Ring Modulator multiplies the outputs of Oscillator 1 and 2.

5.2 Filter Configuration

The routing of Filter 1 and Filter 2 can be configured in the

following ways:

• Serial: Filter 1 feeds into Filter 2. In this configuration
the Sends to Filter 2 are disabled.

Figure 20

Above, the Mixer Panel in Equator
for RISE.

• Parallel: The signal flow of Filter 1 and Filter 2 are sep­arate and their outputs can be mixed separately.

• Summed: Filter 1 and 2 are parallel but their outputs
are summed together.

• Mixed: Filter 1 has its own output but also feeds into
Filter 2.

The pots below each filter output determine the output level

feeding into the effects, reverb and main output.

5.3 Output Gains

You can vary the overall gain going to the effects, reverb and
main output with the final dials in the signal chain.

20Equator for RISE Creator Manual

6. Global Controls

The Global tab (see Figure 21) lets you access controls that are

global to the current preset. These include:

6.1 Voice Mode

• Polyphonic: Maximum of 16 voices with a new active
note triggering each voice.

• Mono Retrigger: Monophonic (one voice) with
a new active note retriggering all envelopes.

• Mono Legato: Monophonic (one voice) with all enve­lopes only retriggered when there are no active notes.

6.2 FX Modulation Mode

Figure 21

The Global Controls tab in
Equator for RISE.

FX Modulation Mode controls how the effects (which are glob­al to all voices) react when modulated by per voice modulation
sources such as Strike, Press, Glide, Slide, and Lift.

• Most Recent Note: The last voice activated modulates
the effect.

• Lowest Note: The lowest note activated modulates
the effect.

• Highest Note: The highest note activated modulates
the effect.

• Average: The average of all voices modulates
the effect.

6.3 Preset Master

• Octave Shift shifts the pitch by octave steps

(+/- 3 octaves).

• Coarse Pitch adjusts the overall pitch of the preset
(+/- 11 semitones).

• Fine Pitch adjusts the overall pitch of the preset
(+/- 99 cents).

• Preset Level adjusts the level of the preset
(-inf to +6dB).

21Equator for RISE Creator Manual

7. Modulation

The Modulation section in the lower half of Equator (see Figure

22) makes it easy to shape sounds and apply modulation
to different parameters. The sources of modulation include:

• The Five Dimensions of Touch (Strike, Press, Slide,

Glide, and Lift)

• RISE Controls

• Envelopes

• Low Frequency Oscillators (LFOs)

• Keytracking

Figure 22

Above, the Modulation Panel
in Equator for RISE.

7.1 The Five Dimensions of Touch

The Seaboard RISE is a multidimensional instrument that lets

you modulate sound through five dimensions of touch (see
Figure 23). Through simple movements and gestures, you can
shape sound easily and discover new modes of expression.

The Five Dimensions of Touch are:

Strike: The velocity and force with which a finger

makes contact with a keywave. This dimension of
touch corresponds to Strike on a standard keyboard.

Press: The pressure applied to the keywave after the

initial Strike. The keywaves respond to each moment
of continuous touch, transmitting minute variations of

Figure 23

Above, the Five Dimensions of Touch.

22Equator for RISE Creator Manual

Modulation

pressure to sound. This continuous pressure-sensitivity
allows for swells, fades, and other detailed expressions.

Glide: Horizontal movements from side to side on a

keywave and left right movement along the ribbons.
Glide movements bend and adjust pitch as naturally

as on a string instrument, allowing effects such as

vibrato and glissando, all on a polyphonic basis. Glide

is typically assigned to pitch, but it can be assigned to
other sound parameters.

Slide: Vertical movements up and down a keywave.

You can assign Slide to most sound parameters in

Equator. For example, an upward movement can open
a filter that turns an organ sound into a brassy sound,

while a downward movement can close the filter. Your

initial point of contact with the keywave, no matter

where this point is, becomes the basis for sound mod-

ulation on the Y axis above and below that point.

Lift: The release velocity or speed of liftoff from a key-

wave. You can assign Lift to most sound parameters in

Equator. For example, a rapid lift can create a lingering

resonance or a hard pluck.

7.2 Transfer Curves for 5D Touch

Each of the Five Dimensions of Touch has four independent
transfer curves that you can assign to different modulation des­tinations. These act like master controls with individual transfer
curves available in the modulation list view. Use the transfer
curves to fine-tune the responsiveness of each dimension of
touch. To select one of the four curves, click on the icon in the
top right-hand corner of the box for Strike, Press, Glide, Slide,
and Lift. Then click on the curve you wish to use (see Figure 24).

Figure 24

The Slide panel in Equator for RISE.

Figure 25

RISE Controls in Equator for RISE.

For each source, you can add points along the transfer
curve by double-clicking on the curve. This can be used
to create unipolar responses and more complex transfer
curves. To remove a point, just double-click on the one that
needs removing.

7.3 RISE Controls

(see Figure 25)

The RISE Controls feature lets you map the Touch Faders and

XY Touchpad to any of Equator’s assignable parameters while
in MIDI Mode. Refer to the Seaboard RISE Creator Manual for
details about the Touch Faders, XY Touchpad, and MIDI Mode.

The Switch View button (in the top right-hand corner of the RISE

Controls section) displays the assignable macros (see Figure

26). Macros can be assigned to MIDI CC messages of any ex­ternal MIDI controller connected to the RISE. Macros default to
these settings:

Macro 1: RISE Glide (Left) Fader
Macro 2: RISE Slide (Middle) Fader
Macro 3: RISE Press (Right) Fader

Figure 26

The Macros panel in Equator for RISE.

23Equator for RISE Creator Manual

Modulation

Macro 4: RISE XY Touchpad X Axis
Macro 5: RISE XY Touchpad Y Axis
Macro 6: Assignable
Macro 7: Assignable
Macro 8: Assignable

The MIDI Learn button automatically assigns Equator parame-

ters to external controls from Seaboard RISE and other com­patible MIDI controllers.

7.4 Envelopes 1–5

Equator has five independent envelopes. You can view them

as a curve or a dial (Curve View and Dial View). To switch
between the two views click on the icon in the top right-hand
section of the envelope panel (see Figure 27).

The following envelope types are available:

• ADS-R: This mode works as a typical ADSR envelope.
Hitting a note triggers the Attack-Decay-Sustain sec­tion. Releasing the note triggers the Release section.

• ADR (one-shot): The Attack-Decay-Release section is
played once without pause even if the note has not
been released.

• ADADR (looped): The Attack-Decay section is repeated
until you release the note, triggering the Release section.

Fast Attack: fast repeat note
Slow Attack: slow repeat note
Fast Decay: fast repeat note
Slow Decay: slow repeat note

• ADS-PR (pluck-off): Acts like an ADSR envelope, but
when you release a note the envelope will peak with

a set level and width before the release section. You
can use ADS-PR to simulate such gestures and sounds
as the fret sound produced on plucked instruments.

For each envelope the following parameters are controllable
and can also be modulated:

• Level: 0% to 100%

• Attack Time: 0-5 seconds

Figure 27

Top, Amp Envelope Curve View.
Bottom, Amp Envelope Dial View.

• Decay Time: 0-5 seconds

• Sustain Level: 0% to 100%

• Release Time: 0-5 seconds

• “Pluck Off” Level: 0% to 100%. This parameter only
works when using ADS-PR.

• “Pluck Off” Width: 0-2 seconds. This parameter only
works when using ADS-PR.

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Modulation

By default the envelope lines for Attack, Decay and Release
increase and decrease at a constant rate. By clicking and drag­ging above and below each line, however, you can change the
curve and therefore the response.

Note: The difference between envelope modes is:

• The dial envelope can be used to modulate

its ADSR stages but this can not be achieved
in the graphic envelopes.

• The graphic envelope can be used to set the exponen-

tial, linear, or logarithmic curves. This can’t be done
in the dial envelope mode.

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Modulation

7.5 LFO 1–2

(see Figure 28)

The two independent Low Frequency Oscillators (LFOs) have

the following waveforms available:

• Square

• Rising sawtooth

• Falling sawtooth

• Sine

• Triangle

• Random (Smooth Waveform)

• Random (Sample and Hold) / (Stepped Waveform)

Each LFO has the following additional parameters:

• Frequency: 0 to 10 Hz

• Level: 0% to 100%

• Fade In: This determines the time it takes for the level

of the LFO to rise from zero to the desired level (0–5
Seconds)

Figure 28

The LFO panel in in Equator for RISE.

• Trigger:
On: the LFO for each voice is triggered when the voice

becomes active

Off: the LFO is free running, meaning the LFOs across

all voices are in phase

• Polarity:

Bi: the output of the LFO is bipolar
Uni: the output of the LFO is unipolar

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Modulation

7.6 Keytracking

Each keywave displays the current note being played. You can
also use each keywave as a modulation source to perform
keytracking on a parameter. Set the behaviour and level of the
keytracking on the multi-point curve that overlays the keywave
display. When you double-click anywhere on the curve you
will add nodes, and you can then use those nodes to edit the
slope of the curve (see Figure 29).

Equator allows up to four independent sources for keytracking,
and each can have its own response (see Figure 30). The but­ton at the top right-hand corner of the keytracking section lets
you switch between four different assignments for keytracking.

Four modes are available for each keytracking source. The
modes change how keytracking behaves as a modulation
source when each is applied with another source to a modula­tion destination (for example, keytracking and Press applied to
the Filter 1 Cut-off). These modes are:

Figure 29

Above, Keytracking
in Equator for RISE.

Figure 30

Above, tracking multiple keys.

• Add: Keytracking is added to all other connected mod-

ulation sources.

• Scale: Keytracking scales the effective value of all oth-

er modulation sources.

• Limit MAX: Keytracking sets the maximum modulation

depth of all other modulation sources. The modulated
parameter cannot exceed the value set by keytracking.

• Limit MIN: Keytracking limits the minimum modulation

depth of all other modulation. The modulated parame­ter cannot go below the value set by keytracking.

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Modulation

7.7 Modulation List View

The Modulation List (see Figure 31) shows all modulation paths

of the preset you are using. You can edit each path and create
new ones. The structure of the Modulation List is shown below:

• Source lists all modulation sources used in the preset
you are using. You can change the modulation source

for a group of paths by opening up the drop-down
menu for each source and choosing from the list of
available modulation sources. Sort the list of modula­tion paths by clicking on the source selection header.

• Transfer function adjusts the transfer between a mod-

ulation source and a destination to have a non-linear
response. Click on the Edit icon to access this function.

• Destination lists all modulation destinations used in

the current preset. You can change the destination for
each modulation path by clicking on the drop-down
menu and selecting from the list of available destina­tions. Sort the list of modulation paths by clicking on
the destination section header.

• Modulation amount determines the modulation depth

of the corresponding path. To edit the depth, dou­ble-click and enter the new value. Or click and drag up
or down in the box.

Figure 31

Above, the Modulation List in Equator
for RISE.

• Remove deletes the modulation path. The Remove

icon is at the far right side of each row.

New Modulation Paths can be added by scrolling to the
bottom of the list and clicking on the “Select New Source”
or “Select New Destination” box.

28Equator for RISE Creator Manual

8. Equator Menu

Clicking the far right icon in the Navigation Panel opens up the
Equator Menu (see Figure 32), giving you access to the preset
management, editing and Audio/MIDI settings of Equator.

Presets

• New reverts the synth to the Init (Initial) preset, letting
you build a patch from scratch.

• Browse opens up the browser windows, where you

can search all presets through the tags you have cho­sen to identify them.

• Save (Mac: cmd+s, PC : ctrl+s) saves the changes to

the current preset and the values of the three Touch
Faders in standalone mode only.

• Save As allows presets to be named and tagged.

• Delete Current Preset deletes the currently selected

preset.

Edit

• Undo (Mac: cmd+z, PC ctrl+z) will undo the last

change made to a preset in standalone mode only.

• Redo (Mac: cmd+y, PC ctrl+y) will redo the last change

made to a preset in standalone mode only.

Settings

• Audio/MIDI Settings lets you access the audio output

device, the sample rate, buffer size and the available

MIDI inputs. Please ensure you have selected “Sea-

board RISE” from the list of MIDI devices to use Equa­tor. (This menu is not available when using Equator as

a plug-in, because MIDI devices are managed by the
host.)

• Disable/Enable Animation lets you disable or enable
the animations that come with Equator. Equator in-

cludes many animations to show you how to modulate
sound parameters.

Figure 32

The Equator Menu.

• About shows you the version number of Equator that
you are using. It also links you directly to ROLI Support.

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9. ROLI Support

The Seaboard RISE Creator Manual and other resources on

My ROLI should help answer questions about the initial set­up of Equator and your Seaboard RISE. Visit our Support
page at www.roli.com/support for a wider range of resources
that should help answer questions about Equator and the
Seaboard RISE. The page includes frequently asked ques­tions, tutorial videos, and guides for connecting the RISE with
third-party plug-ins and DAWs.

9.2 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.

30Equator for RISE Creator Manual