Although the Seaboard RISE 25/49, LUMI Keys and Lightpad do not have traditional 5-pin MIDI DIN connectors, they can still be used with hardware that requires them – this article will show you how.
Once you are connected, check out our guide on setting your synth to be controlled by the Seaboard or Lightpad or browse hardware setup guides.
The Seaboard BLOCK M and Seaboard RISE 2 both have a MIDI Out jack, so they can connect directly to another hardware instrument directly using a standard 5-Pin MIDI cable and the included TRS to MIDI DIN dongle.MIDI Interface
One option is to connect the Seaboard RISE, LUMI Keys or Lightpad to a computer and transmit MIDI via a MIDI interface. This way you can quickly adjust the controller's MIDI settings to suit the needs of your other hardware instrument.
Some DAWs can be used to send MIDI directly out via a MIDI interface. There are also some helpful applications which do the same, like MIDI Patchbay.
USB MIDI Host
To avoid needing a computer when you perform, you can use a USB MIDI host, which converts MIDI over USB to traditional 5-pin DIN connectors.
The Kenton MIDI USB Host or midiplus USB MIDI Host, for example, can be connected directly to the Seaboard/LUMI/Lightpad's USB port and will transmit this data to its 5-pin MIDI outputs.
The settings you choose in ROLI Dashboard (like press mode or channel range) are saved in the Seaboard/LUMI/Lightpad when it is disconnected from the computer. This means that if your hardware instrument requires particular settings – for example if it is 4-part multi-timbral and so requires a channel range of 1–4 – you can set this in ROLI Dashboard, unplug the Seaboard/LUMI/Lightpad and reconnect to your hardware instrument, and these settings will still be active.