ROLI Lightpad Block M Studio Edition

The Lightpad Block M Studio Edition is one of the latest controller innovations from the engineering eggheads over at ROLI. It provides you with the platform to craft and model exciting drum tracks, creating layered and dynamic soundscapes from the ground-up. This can all be achieved with just the touch of your finger! Fully compatible with the leading DAW’s and software suites, you’ll be delivering supreme sonics in no time at all!

Small but Mighty

A compact design allows the Lightpad Block to slot nicely into any home-studio setup – taking up next-to no space in the process. This reduced footprint even means you can play it comfortably from the palm of your hand if you want to. Portability like this ensures you can create whenever and wherever inspiration strikes you.

Alternate Dimensions

Boasting a soft, highly playable, touch-responsive surface, the block is a joy to play. You can quickly make and alter unique, varied grooves in seconds using a range of intuitive controls. Strike to sound a single note; glide your fingers to bend the pitch; slide up and down for modulation; press and hold to add more depth to a sound; lift your fingertips and increase or decrease the level of resonance.

Expansion Pack

The Lightpad Block is part of the ROLI family of modular controllers; this makes it possible to expand its potential and playing surface using the built-in magnetic connectors. You could connect it to the Live Block, Seaboard Block, or up to 4 other Lightpads. Each will open up a tonne of extra creative options, letting you assign functions, tweak performances in real-time and shape production parameters, depending on your choices.

Software Selection

A range of powerful and smart software has been included to really enhance your productions and increase the blocks versatility. ROLI Studio (split into 2 plugins – ROLI Studio Drums and ROLI Studio Player) packs together pioneering tools, easy-to-read interfaces, intriguing effects and 500 plus sounds (alongside 300+ MPE variants) into one streamlined package.

ROLI Studio drums is a world-first MPE (MIDI polyphonic expression) plugin which revolutionises the way that you program your beats. An in-depth, but easy to master system known as 5D touch allows you to warp and manipulate drum sounds to your hearts content; you can even apply and adjust up to 4 audio effects at the same time.

On the other hand, ROLI Studio Player is made for melodies. Add texture and detail to your drum tracks with premium melodic tones. There’s over 200 acoustic, synth and hybrid-acoustic presets for you to explore and experiment with here. That’s not to mention the inclusion of Ableton Live Lite 9, Max MSP and Strobe2 as well!

You’ll be composing and producing more efficiently and effectively too. ROLI Studio provides smart chords (suggesting which chord to select after each note you perform), a multi-layered arpeggiator (producing rhythms with 3 arp layers) and effects/macros (ensuring you can tweak your sound in real-time).

Features

• A lightweight and compact design fits comfortably into one hand.
• Its small size makes it highly portable; create whenever, wherever!
• Create and craft unique grooves in seconds using intuitive touch controls.
• Expand your playing surface, joining together with other compatible ROLI blocks using the magnetic connectors.
• An LED-illuminated playing surface built for studio production and live performance. You can even reprogram it to suit each scenario and your personal preferences.   
• 5D Touch Tech encourages dynamic sound shaping.
• Comes with ROLI Studio Drums (the very first MPE drum plugin).
• ROLI Studio contains hundreds of high-quality MPE sounds, including acoustic, synth and hybrid-acoustic presets when using ROLI Studio Player.
• Compatible with the most popular DAW’s and plugins. Customise your block and use it to control the parameters of your favourite DAW’s and software.
• Onboard audio effects (plus four XY controllable layers).

Specifications

• Battery Powered (4 Hours Battery Life, 2 Hour Charging Time)
• 8 Blocks DNA Connectors
• Complete MIDI Compatibility over both USB & Bluetooth LE
• USB-C Port
• MIDI Out & Power
• Includes a USB-C to USB-A Cable, a Quick Start Guide and One Year Full Warranty

Software Included

• ROLI Connect: manage your blocks, download software suite etc.
• ROLI Dashboard: configure blocks to suit your workflow and control both plugins and DAW’s.
• Max MSP 8 (Free Six-Month Trial): powerful plug-in development.
• Ableton Live Lite 9: use your block as a controller for this popular DAW.
• Strobe2 Full: contains 1100+ synth sounds and an analogue modelling engine to build your own.
• ROLI Studio (Including ROLI Studio Player & ROLI Studio Drums)
• Equator Player: a highly respected MPE synth designed by ROLI.
• Cypher2 Player

Mobile/Tablet Requirements

• Google Pixel/Pixel 2 (Limited Support)
• iPhone 6 or Newer
• iPad Mini 4 or Newer
• iPad Air 2 or Newer
• iPad Pro (12.9", 10.5" or 9.7")
• iOS 9.0 or Higher
• Please Note – ROLI Studio is Only Available on Desktop

Desktop Requirements

• 2GB of Hard Drive Space
• 4GB of RAM (8GB Recommended)
• Intel Dual Core i5 2.5GHz+
• Windows 10 / Mac OSX 10.12+
• Please Note – An Internet Connection is Needed to Download & Register Your Software