ROLI Support

(The drawings and notes that I will be referring to in this post are attached)

WARNING: WALL OF TEXT

BACKSTORY: 

This Idea is the result of me buying the Ableton Push 2 and being subsequently disappointed after finding out that Bitwig is a superior DAW for the ROLI and my workflow. I  own a RISE 49 and I love it, but I have been frustrated with the clumsiness of using it in Ableton. Recently, I discovered Bitwig and boy do I love it. So here I am having owned a Push 2 for three days only to discover Ableton is not for my setup. I'm going to sell the Push 2 and was thinking of buying four Lightpad Block Ms in order to still have drum pads with awesome features when paired with Bitwig. To make a long story shorter, I don't want to buy four Lightpad Ms if ROLI has a larger LIghtpad in the works. If they don't I wanted to present my idea and see if there is enough demand to make it happen.

I wanted to create something that would:

• Integrate with ROLI's modular product lineOffer more features than just four lightpad blocks put together
• Have a scalable pad resolution (See FIG. 3 and 4)
• Be more enticing to a home studio producer as opposed to a mobile producer
  

More Explanation:

FIG. 1 shows the dimensions of the Lightpad MAX (concept name) as well as the LED grid. I made the LED grid 32 X 32 because putting putting four Lightpads together makes a 30 X 30 LED GRID, and I wanted this to be 8in x 8in while retaining nearly the same LED density. Also, the 32 X 32 grid allows for the user to scale between a 64 pad grid and a 16 pad grid without seams/gaps between pads (FIG. 3 and 4).  It makes more sense to have seams on the odd number pad grids like 5 X 5 and 3 X 3 because fewer programs fully integrate those configs. I also put my fingers in FIG. 4 to have size reference for the pads in each config.

How do you tell the pads apart, you say? Well, just allow the user to choose a checkerboard scheme, randomize the color of the pads with no two pads sharing the same color, or make a beautiful gradient.

In FIG. 2 I put question marks where the DNA connectors would be because while designing I didn't consider that ROLI would likely want a product like this to integrate with their "Modular Music Studio," but it makes a lot of sense and this is still a company after all: they need to make money. 

Things I would like to see if/when ROLI makes a product similar to this:

• DAW integration that takes advantage of all those LEDS (More faders, UIs etc.)
  
• Priced between $500-700. 
  

That's honestly all I can think of for now because I am one producer who has one workflow and everything else I wanted I included in the design or described earlier. Although, uses and features I didn't know I needed or wanted would be awesome! ;)

What do you guys think? What features did I miss that you want to see in a bigger LightPad? Is there even a demand for such a thing? Remember this isn't just a big. expensive drumpad, it's an instrument!

ROLI: Do you have anything like this in the works? Can you say? Should I buy four lightpad blocks, or should I hold out? Let me know. Also, let me know if you want to hire me for ideas; I have a lot of ideas.

TLDR: I designed a bigger Lightpad Block

I had the exact same idea from the moment the lightpad block was released and wrote Roli a mail about the idea at that point. I owned a linnstrument 128 for a while but didn't care for the look and lack of haptic feedback, but obviously the octave range is awesome. I would immediately buy a 32x32 led sized lightpad block. Roli, please make this!

+Elliott well presented case. l Agree! I'd like to think there is a market for your Lightpad S (studio version). Because Roli has the M version it makes me wonder if a studio version was anticipated. I'd think their entire line of Blocks could be scaled up for studio use. I'd also like to see a Roli control surface similar to Blocks Controls with encoders to bridge the software gap and map well to their own FXpansion and DAW functions. The Blocks Controls are small and seem limited for studio use. The original product suggestion would be great in my opinion.

Thanks Roli! I pre-ordered my Rise 25 in 2015 and later bought a 50. No looking back. And I have no plan to sell either model. Equator is fantastic out of the box and mostly improving with every update. 

I believe ROLI have prototyped such a device - the equivalent of 4 lightpads. To me this would elevate the lightpad into something much more usable and flexible. I'm not sure why it hasn't made it to market yet. ROLI - please do this!