ROLI BLOCKS - The Pros, The Cons, and Why I'm Returning It
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 มี.ค. 2018
- My review of Roli's latest innovation, Blocks, after three days of use. I am specifically discussing and playing the Songmaker Kit in this video.
I love Roli and the technology they bring is amazing. Blocks has its problems though, and ultimately, I will be returning it. Find out why and let me know what you think!
![fellow fellow - Proud [OFFICIAL MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/9uZF7BlUQPE/mqdefault.jpg)
You definitely need to more of these. I think unbiased information like this will def be helpful to someone.
K Soul yessir
He's review shows his lack of using the system. You can adjust sensitivity in the Noise software. You also only connect one block when they are magnetically connected. You connect individual blocks only if they are not magnetically connected saving battery life. I do agree their manual and instructions suck though.
Sorry but It shows clearly a connection problem in bluetooth , this kind of stuck note can not happen, imagine this kind of problem when your are live ? it needs to be improved but once you are in bluetooth you face connection problems, it should be wifi.
This is the first and only review so far that I found honest, authentic, and enjoyable to watch. Felt like you're talking to your audience and not just saying what people want to hear, it's genuine and informative. Thank you!
DJ Swissivory glad it was helpful!
I learned the "trick". I haven't found anyone else who had the issues that I've experience (besides yourself). The trick is to "press" the pads instead of tapping. This obviously creates pretty big limitations, but I kept mine for numerous other reasons.
you just wanted confirmation for an opinion you already had; he served it to you; I use the Seaboard block, and I am more than satisfied
DJ Swissivory bull crap !
my item works fine. there is a lag on bluetooth, but its not a probelm to wire it up
I swear to god this is the best review I ever watched in all kinds of aspect. You seem to be a reeeeally nice guy!
Joey Zhang thank you and thanks for watching!
Wow. This review is literally everything a review SHOULD be but almost never are. PACKED with info. You should review stuff for a living, dude.
Thanks!
Yeah most reviews just regurgitate the marketing information from the manufacturer. This review actually gives you the practical real world experience of using the device. Exactly what you need to hear when deciding whether to buy it.
Wow. Just wow. It doesn't take much to impress you huh? Lol
@@vmi4172 Yeah. And apparently a hundred and fifty-five other people. But somehow, just not you. Go figure.
@@captainterrific Totally wow.
16:40 man you're so sweet and humble, the best review I have ever heard, just the honesty is enough, do whatever you want to do with this way and style and you'll reach the sky man, hope for you all the best, anytime you want to visit Egypt just let me know, take care you happy human
I watched this, went to your page and am completely surprised that you dont have an expansive library of reviews. you killed it man. such a likable attitude
I am terribly grateful for your review and for including in the title that you were going to return it.
Glad I could help!
Wholesome review, my dude. Thank you! I love that you totally don't want to trash the product and gave great feedback to the company while letting us know what you found in your experience in it. I didn't think I was going to watch your whole video but your sincerity just pulled me right in, it was great!
Excellent video! Very helpful! I appreciate the care you took to be very specific about the pros and cons of each component of the system. Your passion for the product, and your disappointment in it, were clear and respectfully presented. I wish more TH-cam product reviews were up to this standard of integrity and professionalism. Thank you.
Thank you! So glad I could help!
Great job! Finally a music gear review that actually is informative and honest. If there were more reviews like these companies like Roli would make better improvements to their product and people would save money.
Mister Caruthers sir - A gorgeous, informative, entertaining and delicious review right here. You have a way for sure. Keep on and stay fabulous 🌻
Jeremy, really good "unbiased" review. I could feel your frustration. This instrument has so much potential that it has yet to be really understood by most of us. I tried the Roli in LA at the Guitar Center the day that they got it. No one could even make it work for the first hour! Anyway, after about 30 minutes using it, I was both "blown away" by the incredible promise and completely baffled by the learning curve. One thing for sure -- this is NOT like your Daddy's first synth! I agree with you on the flexibility of the Roli with the iPad -- which is why I even looked at your review. You nailed it with the cons.
Thanks for your fantastic review. I hope that Roli and Apple get back to work and make this thing mature to it's promise! Hopefully they won't just try and push it "AS IS" on everybody. Finally, you have a really good "stage presence" -- keep up the good work. BTW -- good looking studio with the giant screen in back of you!
Thanks for watching and commenting! I agree. And thanks for the studio compliment. I've done some new things, I need to post another video!
Never seen you before on anything, but I thought your review was fantastic. I really liked the stripped back style & the way you speak to the camera like your just being you & Having a conversation. You seem to have good knowledge and that's why people will be interested in your videos. If this is your first review, you killed it man. Keep it simple and state your opinion and give the reasons for them & you cant go far wrong. Keep doing what your doing mate Big love from the UK
Thanks for the feedback and encouragement!
This is a great review. I really enjoyed it, however, I think a lot of these problems were fixed with the new studio edition versions and M versions of the lightpad blocks. The different control blocks have also been changed, and the live block really helped me. But this is a genuine and an informative review.
Thanks!
please do more reviews like this, your bluntness makes them feel honest and you just saved me time and money so thank you very much.
Glad I could help. I plan on doing more when I get the time!
Thank you so much for making this review, Jeremy. Very helpful!
Thanks! Glad I could help.
Is so good to see genuine gear reviews, thank man.
I really appreciate your honesty about your hopes and frustrations, which helped me be even more confident in the things you liked.
Best review I’ve seen for this! I ordered the Seaboard block! I’m happy you still like that and I’m glad you were honest about the other blocks. I won’t waste my money buying anything else but the seaboard. Thanks 🙏🏾
Thanks from a pure beginner here. Well done
Thank u, glad I could help
Thanks, this is a good review, done honestly. Last month bought just the Block and hooked it into Logic 10's synths. I found it's it's own instrument after a lot of fiddling with the controls. I did a really nice piece with it (first time's free) but I can see the limitations you point out. It's fussy to program, and tricky to play but I might get it under the fingers. Yes, get the block by itself and use it as a 5D midi controller. Equator is bundled and there are several videos on the Logic interfaces, probably some on your favorite DAW too. Roli makes it easy to connect with MIDI.
By FAR the most informative and useful video on this stuff I've found. Thank you!
Glad I could help
@@JeremyCaruthers You did! Any word on whether some of these issues have been remedied in the 14 months since your review? I really want the Seaboard itself, and I'm unsure how much I'd use the other blocks, but the Songmaker Kit comes with all three + a case + the full version of the Equator player (a £69 upgrade on the free version that comes with the standalone Seaboard). It makes me wonder if it's worth just paying the £200 extra for the kit and saving on the case and the upgrade, making the two other blocks more like £100 combined.
Thank you for the honest review, really helpful. Keep on doing such reviews!
Thanks for the honest review. I was bugging about not buying this and almost got it for my birthday. You actually made me happy hearing the cons because people just were not being honest about it. Now I can invest the money in a new iPad without feeling that I’m missing out on the roli. I play music on my iPad all the time so touch is great and it just really does everything.
This was honestly the best review I've ever seen. Refreshingly genuine.
Thank you
I agree with the others that commented on your video. This one of the most honest review on this product. No other TH-camr’s said anything bad about the roli system. The stuck notes would have been a nice piece of info. Good job 👏
The BEST (and the only proper) ROLI review on TH-cam! Thanks a lot!!!!!
Incredibly thorough, informative and helpful. Really appreciate it man. Great review!
Glad I could help!
I was really looking for some reviews like this!! Thanks for making it!!
I own one of these things.
Everything he said is right.
You’re welcome.
Do you know if it works with fl studios or is the DAW limited with this board?
@@Corral1998 pretty sure it doesnt work with fl. works with most of the other big ones though
@@Corral1998 fl studio sucks balls for external midi instruments
@@MuthafuckinPuddings I just use LMMS. A bad workman blames his tools. XD
This was 100% more helpful than anything i have seen. Thank you
This was the best review of a product I have seen in a while. Awesome job just telling the facts as you saw it.
Thanks!
@@JeremyCaruthers No problem man. I was very interested in getting the song maker kit and had been holding off due to the cost. Since it's apparent you took the time to really use the product as opposed to rushing a review in the first week or two you gave us way more valuable information about the limitations of the devices. I guess I will have to save up for the Roli Seaboard 49 in order to keep those slides going. After watching this video I looked up your channel hoping to find more good reviews. Hoping you make some more as time allows.
from on e Jeremy to another. Great Job! this is one of the best honest reviews I've seen. Most are all about the WOOOO factor and not about the issues with the product. I'm new to Electronic music and have a nice setup at home with laptop and logic. But was looking at this too. With the issues you're describing and my current workflow, I think the Seaboard 25 makes more sense than 3 pieces that don't all work as expected. Great job!
This was on the money. Best unbiased review on this product.
Something that might help give your drum tracks the "hip hop swing" with quantization, is to change your time signature to 12/8. You can use tap tempo to set the quarter note speed, and then play the rhythm with the feel you need. The snapping should be the same feel as a swing 4/4. Hope that helps!
Excellent job...you play excellently, and you were honest...most reviewers act like they are afraid to be honest.. salute you on your honesty yet compassion towards rolo as a company 👍🏿
Brian Nice thanks bro!
The genuine and humble personality is a breath of fresh air.. subscribed and really looking forward to future reviews if you decide to do them. The only thing I could see to make them better would be if you did quick visual examples like showing the lightboard adjustment, then making the adjustment on the app to show the difference. That's a lot of editing though, so while it would absolutely put you on another level, it's the true to word character that really matters.
Fabulous review, thanks. I think knowing the limitations you’ve pointed out first will help me with my purchase decision. I still like the idea of the lightpad as a control surface, so,if I lower my expectations I should be happy if I can get one for a good price.
Honestly one of the best reviews ive watched. im so glad to hear that you had no cons with the seaboard itself, i just ordered one and it will be used wired most of the time. (also thinking of buying more, because a 120 key seaboard sounds nuts)
Can't wait for your review of the Osmose ;)
Really great review, exactly what I needed thank you 🙏
Kaine Joyes glad I could help!
Great review. Really useful, I have seen many of the other reviews and was on the fence, this was really helpful and real and I have decided to hold off. Thanks for been really honest 👍👍
Glad to help
Came here to chime in and agree with those below, GREAT REVIEW DUDE! I was pleasantly surprised at the clarity, sincerity, and honesty about the features. These are things often glossed over by those posting sponsored reviews that sound as though the feature list and video script got mixed up. I subbed, KEEP IT UP DUDER!
Thanks!
I appreciate your honesty in this review. You've earned my sub my friend. #respect
Thank you!
Yep I agree .. u earn mine too fam i don’t do that often ...big up n keep it up
You answered all my questions and learned me something new. Thanks :)
You 100% should start doing reviews. This was one of the best I've seen.
I am one of the Kickstarters for the LUMI keys and that issue where the played notes stick is STILL an issue in 2021. I am using the latest version of the ROLI software. Plus, this issue occurred for me even when the LUMI was directly connected (bluetooth was disabled). Excellent review, btw. :)
You're awesome! This was the most useful review of the ROLI Songmaker Kit that I found and I really appreciated your detail. I hope you continue doing this kind of thing as I think you could easily have more than 452 Subscribers! (You have 453 now, me!) Cheers!
Right on, thank you for this amazing unbiased review
great video!! i just got a hold of the Roli seaboard mini.. without the block.. and i figured the same regarding all issues you point out!!
the issue of stuck notes lol... thats a big one!! glad you pointed that out..
i going to connect for the first time to my seaboard mini... with all the helpful knowledge you have shared!!
cheeRs!!!!!
Thanks for the review!! I would never imagine.
Good review. Answered some questions I had. Thanks.
Glad I could help!
Thanks Jeremy, awesome, authentic, honest first product review ! More like that please. I'd personally like you to stuck with the kit and work through the issues but only because I like your presentation style and want to see more vids :)
Just noticed the date you posted vid. Guess im a bit late lol.
Thank you so much for this. What a wonderfully different (but awesome) way of putting these thoughts together. Also, that musical intro is fire.
Thank u
awesome review dude. i get the feeling you're very much not in the same music realm I am, but this review was ENORMOUSLY helpful as I almost bought one of these the other day. Thinking twice now!
Glad I could help. Maybe try to get your hands on one and see how it works for you.
Thank you-I love your style❣️
Thanks!
Excellent review. Well delivered and authentic viewpoint. Thanks! Going to pass on the kit and give the Block a try out.
BubbaSatori glad I could help!
One of the most honest reviews 😉
Hopefully it helped!
Fair and *valuable* product review! I almost bought this kit. Thanks!
Glad to help
Breathtaking review, thank you very much. You are an absolute legend saved me a lot of time and money.
Glad to help
AMAZING BRO! Just got my light block and going crazy tryin to configure this thing. Thank you. BTW You got my subscription
This thing seems pretty damn cool, it does cool things. But true... it does seem limited too. Thanks for the honest review
Great review Jeremy, really appreciate this
so informative! thank you. can't give you any pointers because I think you did a great job. looking for a comprehensive in depth review I think you hit all the important things, reiterated appropriately, and edited out any excess. awesome review
THX for this honest review. First helpfull i've seen.,
Man, after watching way too many hours of reviews, that intro rhodes playing really calmed me down. Thanks man :)
Awesome review, thank you! This really helped me with my decision 😊
Bonny awesome! Glad I could help
Great honest review. I own block seaboard and love it so far using as plugin with equator. Was thinking of getting block m but thanks to your review I wont. Love your studio setup btw..
Great job Jeremy with your review. Now 2020-This comment comes a couple years later. I bought the initial Seaboard 49 before all these newer products came out. My Seaboard 49 is physically USB connected to the computer, no Bluetooth back then. First keyboard I got did have a stuck key when I hit it and Roli quickly replaced the keyboard and have had no issues since then.
I like the Seaboard 49 cause it provides standard size keys on the keyboard, has 3 touch sliders to control different effect parameters, 2 buttons for going through patches, and 2 buttons to shift the entire keyboard note ranges up or down. You need to be tied to a computer to get the sounds, this keyboard itself is just a controller.
The Seaboard 49 is fun to play and very expressive with the 5 degrees of sound sensitivity. You do have to be careful with these sound settings turned up at times and have to play very accurate on the keys-otherwise the note played can quickly be shifted degrees out of tune-especially if you have pitch bend cranked up high. What I really like about the Roli keyboard is there are no normal "black keys sticking up" and in the way and can play all the keys and do things that you cant do on a standard keyboard. The 2 long slide bars above and below all the keys are the coolest features to experiment around with. I can hold down multiple notes and slide all their tones up or down along the slide bars.. This keyboard is super for doing any special effects on my tracks in my DAW.
Although the Seaboard 49 is designed around using their software(Equator-Dashboard), I can make several of the 5 degrees of sound to work with non Roli products-such as Kontakt.
I know the Seaboard 49 is expensive, but all in all over the years I have had this keyboard, I really enjoy playing on it. I did not go for getting any of the other Blocks products when they came out.
JC, great review and thanks for the honest approach... on "paper" the Roli system looks so good and I'm so tempted but the more I research this, and the more I see people like you how have invested so much time testing it out, the more I think I'll steer clear... real shame as it looks brilliant
Well, I would say you should go with the Seaboard BLOCK. Before watching this, I had tried the NOISE app and found that it masked all the apparent benefits of Touchpad/Lightpad. But I felt the Seaboard BLOCK is a totally amazing experience worth the dollars you pay. However I saw this video soon after I booked my block on June.
And honestly, the first-day experience was not so cool. The equator player was not as "loud" as I wanted. I experienced stuck notes and latency in switching between presets. It was at that time I checked this, and I was thinking whether I should pack everything back. NOISE was in my uncle's iPad. Most of its functionalities were not available in Equator player. I felt upset, as I thought I would have to buy an iPad to play the seaboard block for my purpose.
But then, the Roli had one more thing this year - their Roli Studio Player, which was on its beta version. (RSP) I decided to download that and try if that makes a difference - and it did! It is much amazing. You don't get those stuck notes anymore. The sound is perfect. There are still issues very occasionally with latency in switching from one preset to another, but you would excuse ROLI for that. RSP also provides most of the functionalities (except drum playing pad that you get in NOISE) and much more than what you get in NOISE, and that really makes the seaboard block meaningful.
Two-three months back, they upgraded the beta version of RSP to full version. Now, this is cooler than ever. Also two days before, they have released the Roli Studio drums for playing Drums using seaboard block. What makes me stick on to the product is not just the uniqueness and apparent usefulness, but also the commitment of ROLI. Their customer service is awesome. Their product grows with you, so you can expect all updates to be simultaneously loaded into the system with just a click. No fuss, no extra money.
Nice review man! I have been a ROLI user for a while and love it - that said I think you pointed out a number of improvements that could be made with the NOISE app! :)
Yak Thanks for watching! It was close. But not quite there for me. Excited to see where it goes tho!
Yak do you import sound or what i want to buy but need help
Bloody awesome, I was on may way to buy...but I think I shall wait till they tweek it a little, your info was so beneficial...was thinking of getting it for our daughter she’s a producer/songwriter here in Australia...I could imagine her getting frustrated with those problems as well however the convenience for travel and setup for live gigs will be fabulous. Let’s hope Roli take on board your cons, valuable info to better their system. Cheers bud welldone, I subscribed straight up thank you 🤘
Love how u really cared bout it, not just a hater, full respect man🔥
Did my best!
Wow, authentic and gentle by the way, thanks Jeremy, Subscribed after watching this video, i'm from India. God bless you.
Thank you
@@JeremyCaruthers did they ever fix the issues ?
Thx bro for such a honest and genuine opinion. I saw lots of reviews and yours is the only one that doesn’t feel like an advertisement to me. I was wondering if the block was worth it but I think that for the moment I’ll just try the seabord.
Thanks for your candor!
Thank you For your honesty. I will need heavily on reviews like this because I live on the mainland and can’t always get hands-on experience with the product.
I rely heavily on reviews like this so thank you
Thanks so much for the honesty. I enjoy playing midi instruments. Bluetooth has caused my other keyboard to have similar latency issues that make it unusable unplugged.
I’m just as big of a fan of this pioneering company as you. The video definitely brought to mind some things to consider and which application this device works best. This video definitely helped me considering the purchase!
Glad I could help!
Love your whisky voice bro - keep at it! Enjoyed this
Really awesome review man, it's great to see someone actually try to work with the company to get issues resolved on a product they have hope in- aside from just shitting on the given product like most do in reviews. I don't sub a lot but you sir get a like and sub for your honesty! Have happy holidays my friend, also keep up the great work! Love your setup.
Appreciate it! Glad I could help.
This was extremely helpful, thanks for making it :)
Thanks for the detail as I am thinking of getting the keyboard only used wired, so very useful video.
this was real, down to earth & hella informative. than kyou & keep be real
Your playing was pretty awesome, in the beginning of the video. Thanks for making this!
I made a review of the blocks as well, and had almost exactly the same feelings as you. Loop (and live) blocks are useless, the light block (I got the old one, unfortunately) is like trying to mash your fingers into concrete to thumb a beat, a beat which will MAYBE record all you thumbed in, but probably won't, and the Seaboard Block is a pleasure to use.
I didn't return mine, I just put them on a shelf to forget about them.
Noise is super disappointing, stuttering and recording stuff unreliably. I even made a "6 months later" review of Noise, more of a rant than a review, naming the same damn problems that still exist.
Your presentation of all these issues is way better than mine, and man, I feel you.
Thanks again for making this review.
P.S. Liked and subscribed.
Appreciate the feedback and kind words! Good to know I'm not crazy... Many people saying they're having the same issues. Thanks again!
Great review. Thanks very much.
I just got a Seaboard block for £135. Should be great fun. Really looking forward to using Alchemy & Air Vacuum Pro with it.
Great Review Helped me very much just resigned from songmaker kit and will go for seaboard block only propably.
I think that's probably the way to go. Thanks for watching!
Great review man ! I purchased the song maker kit 2 months ago and I agree with all your points. Still the seaboard and lightpad block are nice MPE controller and Equator do has nice sounds so I might keep them for doing ambiant stuff and add more expression to my tracks. As for stuck notes, I don't know what is your issue with the software but I never had that with the seaboard or lightpad. Keep it up bro !
Tony Mohamed thank you! I am looking forward to trying it again in the future.
Thank you for your honesty. I have the Roli Rise 49 key. It may be worth of it to you invest in it. The keys are longer and bigger than the two octave one you have. So that means you have more nuance control over the notes both sliding up or sideways. When I got my keyboard, they were still being manufactured in London, England, so I don't know what the quality difference may be now that Roli is being manufactured in Mexico. I hope this encourages you to try the Rise 49 key. I write music spanning from Hip Hop, Jazz, Punk to Classical and this Roli has been useful in all these genres. For the writing "beats", I recommend either just using a normal keyboard or a MPC controller.
Thanks so much! You just saved me hundreds of dollars from being wasted.
Great review man. Thanks. Real professional really helpful.
Really great feedback thank you so much
I've seen hundreds of reviews over the years and yours is the best. It is honest and true. I really want Roli to work for me. I haven't committed yet but have had my eye on it for a few years. They've made it more affordable in the Roli Block, but I really wish they would make it playable without a Mac or iPad. For me, I would have to buy a laptop or another iPad to play it since my current iPad displays songs and chords. That is pricey. However, I will peek into the Roli world every year for improvements. Thank you Jeremy.
Roli don't even thinking of getting their Equator software working on LINUX, the musician will be FORCED into buying MAC, iPAD, Microsoft Windows 11 OS and PC , and so on
Thank you! So glad I could change my order in time! Going for the Rise 49 instead. I am in Africa and the Songmaker kit would have been a very expensive mistake for me!
jce590@gmail.com glad I could help. Was in Africa for the first time last year (Tanzania and Mozambique). Spoke to a guy who wanted a drone but they were too expensive to import. So I understand!
Excellent review. Keep it going!
Thank you!
I recently got the Roli Songmaker Kit and ran into the same issues. I'm thinking future updates may fix the problems. Thanks for the concise and informative video.
Mitch Selko awesome! Thanks for watching.
Excellent review brother, very honest. many other videos just show the Pro's not the con's
Very well done review. I appreciate your directness...super helpful.
Glad I could help!
Can honestly see you as a great reviewer for music tech! This was an amazing review and that I hope you keep doing more man!
Thank you!
Bruh... you're the real MVP. I've subscribed
Thank you!
Hi Jeremy, Thanx for the review. I saw another review by a French guy who said using it with virtual instruments outside of their Equator and Noise, that there is much less control. You can't really slide, which is what the Rolli is supposed to do par excellence !!! BUMMER Thanx again.
my type of reviews ! Unbiased .. do more of these
Thanks bro. Doing a lot more stuff on The Miserable Company channel. Gear reviews coming soon there