If your a avid music lover or a musician yourself, then this is something that will quite possibly amaze you.
The line between digital and acoustic has been crossed many times when it comes to music and musical instruments. But now, a London-based start-up, has developed a mind blowing instrument that might change the way musicians play and record.
Roli, a design-led technology start-up, has been operating since 2009 and specialize in hardware and software products that help bridge the interaction between people and technology.
Roli has announced the release of their Seaboard Grand. A type of new-age keyboard that has evolved from the traditional, piano keyboard.
The Seaboard Grand has soft, continuous rubber-like “˜waves‘ instead of real keys like a proper piano or keyboard. However, just like a classic grand piano or proper keyboard, it has 88 “˜keywaves‘ instead of 88 normal keys.
This (for a trained hand, of course) should make it easy for a pianist to play on the Seaboard.
The amazing thing about the Seaboard Grand is that you can not only play the keyboard, but also control pitch, volume and timbre. Something you would normal do at the recording studio.
Another feature that stands out about the Seaboard, is the fact that you can bend notes like a guitar. Thus, the Seaboard is giving you more ways to control or experiment with notes than a regular keyboard would.
But, is it any good? Well according to Roli, one of the first people to have tested the Seaboard Grand, was multi-award winning film composer, Hans Zimmer.
Zimmer, who is responsible for the beautiful scores of Disney classics like The Lion King and blockbusters such as The Dark Knight Rises, said that the Seaboard Grand was “œinspiring“
“œHaving the Seaboard in front of me is inspiring. It has a sensual touch which feels intuitive and very human. The Seaboard shows us how to get beyond the boundaries of the keyboard, a technology that was invented hundreds of years ago.“ Zimmer said.
However, if you are a musician looking for new inspiration in a high-tech device, you‘d have to be prepared to pay quite a bit. The Seaboard Grand is currently selling for $8 888.88 – or R89 186.65 for us South Africans.
Roland Lamb had the idea to create a keyboard that is more expressive than a piano; and it seems he‘s done just that. We can‘t wait to see the Seaboard Grand in a performance of Rachmaninoff‘s Piano Concerto no. 3 in D Minor.
Check out the video below for more insight on the Seaboard Grand:
