Hello,
I’m wondering if anyone has both Pigments 4 and Roli Equator 2?
If so, do they seem like there is very much difference?
Do they both do the same thing?
Do they basically produce the same types of sounds?
Is there any special tricks or setup in MIDI Guitar 2 to drive these to get fairly good results?
Thanks!
Hi @MGX
I have both, and I would say that there is significant differences. Both are great with MPE controllers, but there is where the likeness stops. For me personally, I would describe the Roli Equator sounds as more playable out of the box, and the Pigments more ornamental or better for sounddesign. I think Pigments parameters are easier to assign, and in general you can get really detailed but also with control. For Equator it is more often I find usable ready to go sounds, when browsing through their sound banks, but also many sounds that really doesn’t cut it. I was thinking of doing a comparison with the big MPE synths now, putting Pigments, Equator2, Cypher 2, Diva, Serum, Surge XT, and some Arturia synths side by side. But this is kind of a big undertaking, so if you have some specific details you are interested in, perhaps I can try and cast a light on those, before the video is ready?
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Hi @LoFiLeiF
Thank you for the info. I have a dilemma. I’m struggling with a way to simulate MPE functionality.
I’m torn between purchasing a Roli Rise 2 which comes with Equator 2 but I don’t want to give them the money and wait 2 months or more for the hardware. I also looked at the Jamstick for $800 but I don’t like some of the reviews and it seems like it may not be a full size neck and I have big hands so playing that might not work for me. And then there is the wait for MG3 which may be a while so I am hoping to figure out how to fake MPE functionality with MG2 or at least as much as possible.
So I just searched you tube for your videos, which I have watched all of them in the past but now I need to watch them again and take some notes. I thought you had demoed how to do separate output of the strings to separate MIDI channels. Especially about setting up MG2 and how to optimize my systems as best as I can. I try to use MG2 as a MIDI Input device and do some manual editing.
Last night, I actually created a project in Cubase 12 and put in a Cmin7 chord and have 3 instances of Pigments with the same preset where one of the instances has the middle notes and another has only the highest note and the other has the lowest note. Then I drew a slide for the highest note descending and the lowest note ascending using Cubase Note Expression. It came out ok, sounding like the movie audio that used to play on DVD’s. I think it was called THX? Yeah, its not real time but maybe I can figure out ways to filter notes to specific instances and write the Note Expression to one or two instances of Pigments or some other VST.
Looking forward to more of your videos!
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Oh, so there are a lot of stuff here to respond to. I 'll try the order in which they appear:
I really don’t want to give shopping advise, but consider this: if you are set on MG3 as your preferred software (once it is being released), wouldn’t it feel superfluous to have a Jamstik on top of that. There is really no gain other than satisfying a purchase itch right now. The Seaboard of the other hand, you can use as acomplemet in your setup. It Is also a fact that you are going to be able to play stuff you can’t play on MIDI Guitar with that. Pressing down on chord notes with varying degree of force, for instance.
Well, what platform are you on? This MINIMAL version was released a while ago for Mac, ad it has at least some partial MPE support:
Yes, I have a few videos on the subject, and all involves the GP-10 as the way to go. But first, this has nothing to do with MPE, really. Sure, it gives you a chance to bend strings within chord in a similar manner, but that is it. It is a way of approaching what the Fishman triple play offers in a way.
there are a few different approaches to filter notes like that. MIDI Guitar has some pretty good solutions in the MIDI Machines. Other than that, I use Abelton for rack splitting (keyboard mapping), and I am sure there are similar ways to solve that in Cubase, if that is what you prefer.
Maybe you can get something out of this?
I don’t have a Rise 2 nor a Jamstik but I do have several ROLI Seaboard Blocks which I quite enjoy and you might consider trying to find one or two on the secondary market (their batteries are (unofficially, I guess) replaceable according to a thread on Reddit https://www.reddit.com/r/ROLI/comments/jaimyn/they_said_the_batteries_in_the_roli_blocks_are/).
The biggest drawback I’ve found is not being able to bend between Blocks. I think the new Rise 2 allows you to bend the entire range. Also be warned before buying that the keys on ROLI Seaboard Blocks are smaller.
I tend to use my Seaboard Blocks with SWAM Audio Modeling Saxes, Trumpets, and some of the ROLI software and then Cello, Violin, and stringed ROLI patches on my fretless guitar and bass with MG2.
Are you enjoying Pigments? Don’t have that one yet.
Hello @Bolt,
Thank you for the reply. I purchased Pigments when it was on half price sale for $99 but apparently that sale has ended, I just checked. I think I’ve gone through about 500 of the 1400 patches and have marked about 50 or so as favorites. I may have marked more as favorites but its difficult to put them in any context when just playing them less than 30 seconds per patch. I think its worth the $99 though for sure.
Thanks for the info for Blocks. I think I’m going to wait a month or two to get a Rise 2 if I end up getting one. I checked with their pre-sales support and they say they plan to fulfill all their pre-orders before having stock. I may even wait until they have stock in the US. I just don’t like the idea of giving them $1400 and waiting for who knows how long before it gets shipped.
Ive also looked at the K-Board Pro for $600 but I’m not sure about it either. I wish I could go to a music store and try these out. Oh well. I’m going to get back into MG2 and review my settings and practice. Who knows, maybe MG3 will be out sometime this year. I can only hope.
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Hi @LoFiLeiF,
Thank you for the links. I watched several of your videos this evening and plan to go through my MG2 settings over the weekend. I’m hoping I can get things working better and come up with a setup and work flow that works for me.
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