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Remote control of Dashboard parameters

I am using the seaboard 49 with Mainstage 3. I have a variety of patches and channel strips, within Mainstage, some of which use the Equator Synth engine as an input source, and others which use the Logic/Mainstage ESX24 sampler or one of the many other instruments available in Mainstage as an input source.

To make the Seaboard correctly control the Equator synth, I have to set the dashboard pitch bend range to 48. But, to correctly control most of the Logic/Mainstage instruments, I have to set the dashboard pitch bend range to 2.

I need some way to automatically change the dashboard pitch bend range when I call up the different patches in mainstage. Right now I have to have dashboard open as well as Mainstage and then jump between programs to make the dashboard pitch bend changes as the different channel strips require. This takes time between songs and opens up the door to user error with disastrous sonic consequences! I suppose with time I could re-create all of my channel strips to use the equator synth as an input (it is quite a powerful synth!), but that is not practical in the near future. So, what options do I have to be able to change the dashboard pitch bend range from within Mainstage? 

For that matter, it would be useful to be able to change the Dashboard  Mode settings and the Midi Settings remotely, via a sys exclusive command or CC message or Program change message, etc.



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+1 That would be an awesome addiction. For now I don't think it's doable unfortunately.

This would be a huge time saver for me as well. I'd mostly need to set MIDI channel ranges and MPE mode  as well as the pitch bend range. Say when I switch from Equator to Omnisphere (8 channels, pitchbend range +-24, MPE Off) or Kontakt (1 to 16 channels, pitch bend range +-12, MPE Off) and back.


Not sure about Rise, but Dashboard and ROLI Blocks already do communicate via SysEX, half of this communication keeps showing up at my DAW's MIDI input, forcing me to use a plugin to filter the chatter out. But as of now I wasn't able to make sense of the messages, not to mention sending a sysex to a block and have it react. Still I can't get rid of the itching feeling that at least some setting measures would be working right now if I just found the correct messages to send.


I have been asking for some SysEx documentation several times at different channels, but nothing appeared yet, as far as I know.

Thanks for the suggestions, and I definitely see how useful this could be. Our team will be looking at the possibility of including some of this functionality in a future version of Dashboard. 


In the meantime, as a starting point, we can summarize some of the main MIDI messages that Dashboard uses to set up the Seaboard RISE, so if you'd like to change the pitch bend range or channel range on the fly, for instance, you can send the RISE these messages. We'll post here once we've compiled a digestible list of these messages.


(BLOCKS work a little differently, as they enter into API mode when used with Dashboard, and so to set up BLOCKS one needs to enter API mode as well.)

That would be great! I believe there is a way to send unique MIDI messages from Mainstage so knowing what messages to send is a great start. 


For the future Dashboard update, I was imagining having the option to save all the Rise dashboard settings as a "Scene" or "Patch" and then being able to recall them by sending a simple MIDI patch change command from Mainstage directly to the Rise Keyboard. 



I hardly need this feature. Let's say, I'm playing live set. In one song I use Equator with 

48 pb range, in another I use other synt with another pb range. We hardly need function to translate pb range from daw to dashboard when we change the song. Thank you.

I agree with Kirill, this *IS* a must have.


If I play a quick demo for a Youtube video, I do not need this feature.


But, in live session I  would need to change the mode each time I change the expander configuration., for example from a guitar sound to a violin, using different polyphony (6 to 2),transposition and sensitivity setup. Without automatisable configuration, I have to change the mode manually between each song, and so I have to stop playing, and focuss on technical stuff :(


Configuration using MIDI messages would be sufficient,if it embraces all the configuration parameters. I think program changes relative to modes would be a better choice.


Going further, the use of split zones, each assignable to a mode would be the most versatile approach. With this feature, I could use the first octave in piano mode and the others using MPE to a violin. Without this feature, I need a companion keyboard managing splits with Mono Polyphonic expression...


@Red, could you please provide MIDI implementation soon ?

Here are the main MIDI messages used to configure the Seaboard RISE. 


  • Note 1: if you send the RISE a message that corresponds with a different (unpublished) message, it is possible to change the settings so as to make it temporarily unusable, in which case you may need to manually reinstall the firmware. Sending these messages is not officially supported, and so you do so at your own risk.

  • Note 2: BLOCKS use the BLOCKS API rather than these messages, and it's not currently feasible to control BLOCKS remotely outside of using the BLOCKS API. For details on developing with BLOCKS, please see https://juce.com/blocks

  • Helpful hint: you may use a MIDI monitor application like SNoize's MIDI Monitor to "spy" on the communication between ROLI Dashboard and the Seaboard RISE. You'll see these messages correspond to the changes you make within ROLI Dashboard.

And now to the RISE's configuration MIDI messages:

  • SysEx messages
    • 8: Pedal CC (0–119)
    • 14: Use global channel? (0–1)
    • 20: Left MIDI Touch Fader position (0–127)
    • 21: Middle MIDI Touch Fader position (0–127)
    • 22: Right MIDI Touch Fader position (0–127)
    • 23: Glide sensitivity (0–127)
    • 24: Slide sensitivity (0–127)
    • 25: Press sensitivity (0–127)
    • 26: Strike sensitivity (0–127)
    • 27: Lift sensitivity (0–127)
    • 28: Left Touch Fader MIDI CC (0–127)
    • 29: Middle MIDI Touch Fader CC (0–127)
    • 30: Right MIDI Touch Fader CC (0–127)
    • 35: XY Touchpad X CC (0–127)
    • 36: XY Touchpad Y CC (0–127)
  • RPN
    • 0: Pitch bend range (1–96)
    • 6: Zone start channel (sent on the desired zone start channel)
    • 6: Zone end channel
    • 6: Zone global channel
  • NRPN
    • 0: Glide/Slide tracking mode (0–4)
    • 2: Pitch octave (0–8); 4 is default
    • 3: Pitch semitone transposition (53–75); 64 is default
    • 4: Press tracking mode (0–4)

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Thank you, Red. Very important information 

Thank you,Red :)

Good Stuff. I don't work a lot with SysEx MIDI messages so there is a risk I might make a mistake .

To be safe, before I start I'd like to understand how to "manually reinstall the firmware" in the unlikely event that something goes wrong.

Hi John,


Please see instructions on manually resetting the RISE firmware below:


How to reset the firmware (MacOS)

  1. Download the latest firmware version attached to this post.
  2. Download and install SysEx Librarian by Snoize – it's a free application which will help us to push the firmware file to the Seaboard.
  3. Connect the RISE to your computer by USB and – while holding both octave shift buttons – switch it on. After switching it on you can release the octave buttons.
  4. Launch the SysEx Librarian application.
  5. Drag the “latest firmware version” file from your “Downloads” folder into the SysEx Librarian window.
  6. At the top centre of Sysex Librarian, set the “Destination” to “Seaboard RISE”.
  7. Click once on the “RISE latest firmware version” file in Sysex Librarian.
  8. Press “Play” in SysEx Librarian.
  9. The RISE should automatically restart when completed, which may take 30 seconds. Make sure not to touch the RISE until it has fully completed restarting. It may appear to have turned off, but it should restart after several seconds.

How to reset the firmware (Windows)

  1. Download the latest firmware version attached to this post.
  2. Download and install MIDIOX, a free application that will allow us to push files to the RISE
  3. Connect the RISE to your computer by USB and – while holding both octave shift buttons – switch it on
  4. Launch MIDIOX
  5. In MIDIOX, click Options ➝ MIDI Devices
  6. Under 'MIDI Outputs' select the Seaboard RISE
  7. Click OK
  8. Click Actions ➝ Send ➝ SysEx File
  9. A window will open. Navigate to the RISE latest firmware version file and click open
  10. The update will only take 20-30 seconds and you'll see a screen with some text on it when it is complete. Make sure not to touch the RISE until the process has fully completed. 
  11. Restart the RISE
syx
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I haven't tried it yet but I really like the idea of being able to use different tracking modes for different patches. I'm also going to try out controlling the Glide Sensitivity remotely, so I can use a pedal to choose between smoother glides and staying on pitch more easily. (Right now, I'm constantly reaching over on the left to adjust that.) I imagine it might be a little like (and not) using a pedal to control the Glide function on a MiniMoog.


Are there any (hidden and unsupported) ways to change the channel mode or turn MPE on and off remotely? I saw Frank G. asked about that but didn't see these included in your list of hidden and unsupported items. I regularly switch between newer and older synths with varying capabilities so this would be super helpful.


Lastly, in CC mode, I think it'd be nice to be able to update the slider LED display by sending the RISE regular MIDI messages (instead of SysEx) so we could easily have them reflect the correct value when another controller adjusts that parameter.

It will be excellent if we'll have dashboard plugin to insert it on track, and have all of these params stored in song template


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Really interesting comments above!


This is an issue for me because I'd like to perform with just the Roli keyboard, but have different modes of use for different synths and patches.


Since I have an iPad, I'm using Duet Display and then dragging Roli Dashboard there, and then can use my main computer screen fully for my daw and synth pages. So it's kind of like having a Dashboard iPad app in a way.

What I would love is a Block devoted to this -- several buttons that you can press that will instantly call up the modes on your Dashboard. (Maybe one of the existing Blocks could be customized to do this?)

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