hello it's Patrick here from the GarageBandguide.com this is the roli
song maker kit GarageBand Edition and in this video I'm gonna show you what's
in the box and give an overview of how it works
if you're not familiar with Roli, since 2013 they've set out to reimagine the
piano keyboard with this seaboard a touch responsive controller that allows
the player to affect the sounds they're playing in real time they've just
released this GarageBand focused version of the song maker kit
and I've got to say that it's quite rare and quite nice to see a company
specifically designing hardware or at least tailoring existing hardware
specifically around Apple software and especially around GarageBand the
hardware in this kit connects seamlessly with GarageBand on Mac OS and allows you
to not only play both the existing smart instruments tones that come with
GarageBand but also sounds from three of Roli's own software synths that are
bundled in with the kit there's a ton of really cool rouille tech packed into
this wee box so let's crack her open and see what's inside
and when you first open the box they are greeted with a lot of information an
info sheet that tells you to unleash your music and beneath that is where
you'll find the three modular bits of hardware that make up this song maker
GarageBand Edition this is the Seaboard block as a slimmed-down lightweight
version of Roli seaboard rise keyboard it boasts the same five dimensional
touch technology that you'd find on its bigger brother though not only that it
connects to other modular groovy blocks via the little connectors on the side
and the top there I've never had a chance to try one of these before and
I've got to be honest it does feel pretty strange it's quite kind of
squishy quite can attack tale not what I expected at all I can definitely see
there's gonna be a learning curve involved here when it comes to playing
this thing definitely feels pretty hefty definitely feels premium though yeah
looking forward to getting to grips with it this is the lake pad block it's
another touch sensitive controller that attaches to the Seaboard block via the
connectors on the side there it's great for playing beats on for tapping out
drums on but also plays a really big part in controlling track parameters
adjusting volume levels and customizing smart controls inside GarageBand itself
more on that later the last member of hardware in the box is the loop block
which helps you navigate around your GarageBand projects at the touch of a
button as well as including shortcuts the garage bands main controls and
production tools so you'll be using the buttons here to start and stop your
project you can record using the buttons here as well as undoing switching the
metronome on and switching the metronome sorry on and off stuff like that you
also get two USB see two USB cables bundled in as well there's also a USB C
to USB adapter in here too so if you are using one of the new MacBook Pros
MacBooks MacBook Air and you're gonna need this to
plug the song maker kit in there's a little information booklet here as well
that's give you a bit more info on what you'll be using the different parts of
the kit for
and there's other dreadfully exciting bits of paper in there your warranty and
fall and that kind of stuff too
you also get this pretty snazzy snap case for carrying your song maker cat
around if you so desire actually feels really high-quality it reminds me of
Apple's iPad cases specifically the keyboard case it's got that same high
quality premium feel to it which is a good thing
the next step is to install Rolly connect a program that you'll need to
set this song maker kit up with your Mac and GarageBand it also allows you to
access tutorials register your devices and download the generous amount of free
software that comes with the kit speaking of which you get access to the
full version of rulli's equator synth and light versions of their sister
companies FX pan shins strobe 2 and safer too you also get three months free
subscription to Mille oryx which is an online education platform that will help
you brush up on your keyboard and finger drumming skills I for one will be taking
advantage of that thank you very much if you plan to use this kit with your iOS
device as well it pairs wirelessly with noise a free app that includes hundreds
of sounds that you can play with now be remind here that the song maker kit
doesn't have the same functionality in GarageBand for iOS as it does in
GarageBand for Mac OS so your mileage may vary if you choose to use it in
GarageBand for iOS unless you played a seaboard instrument before to be
forgiven for finding the setup a little bit intimidating I know I did for sure
luckily the song maker kit GarageBand Edition comes with Lords of step-by-step
tutorials and project templates for you to hone your skills on
I'm definitely still learning how to get the most out of the song maker kit but
here's a wee demo of me getting to grips with it in some projects and giving you
an idea of how some of the features work
you
Oh
so first impressions of the song maker kits GarageBand Edition are really good
initially I did have some reservations about the price of the bundle it
currently retails for five hundred and fifty quid here in the UK though rouille
are doing a cashback deal up until Christmas on the face of it that does
seem expensive but when you consider the value on offer and the song maker kit
the premium Hardware the hundreds of pounds worth of included software and
the depth of the integration with GarageBand you get the sense that this
isn't just another bit of gear to add to your studio it's more of an investment
and while this particular kit has GarageBand Edition swept all over it you
get the same functionality and integration in Logic Pro 10 so if you do
decide to move on to logic at some point in your music production career you can
take the setup right with you and you'll be able to plug it in and get going
straight away I'm really looking forward to spending more time with this kit so
there you have it that's everything you'll find in the Roli song maker
kit GarageBand edition and my first impressions I want to know what you
think about it having watched this video leave a comment below and let me know
I've been Patrick from the GarageBandguide.com and I'll see you next time
bye for now