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 support@roli.com. 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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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