Added the full size Roli Piano that was announced today and is currently available for pre-order.
I hope it feels nicer than the original Lumi (that was later rebranded Piano M), at least they go on about this one having full plunge depth on keys, as limited key travel was one of the things that made me not like playing the smaller one.
It does. I think they went with aluminum instead of cheap plastic. The thing weighs a ton, for something they tout as being portable.
(I couldnāt tell how playable it was, as the demo unit they had on the creative side was horribly miscalibrated. Or the one sound we were allowed to play with was. Either way.)
Gut feeling, itās probably worth the preorder price, but absolutely isnāt worth MSRP.
Moved the postings over here to discuss the ROLI Piano further.
Will be interesting how well this would work as a lower budget Osmose substitute. And how the Osmose sounds would work with that with an EaganMatrix Micro.
Hope the touch response was improved over the Lumis then - these were no competition to the Osmose from a playing experienceā¦
Also it would have been nice if they would have kept the clipping mechanism of the Lumis - 4 octaves are nice, 2x4 octaves would allow to actually play piano pieces on this.
It canāt do pressure glide for another four years.
But maybe with Airwave and a fair amount of custom scripting, one hand can play chords while the other bends diatonically? (Add in a sustain pedal, and maybe each hand can make sloppy chord transitions independently.)
Itās an interesting thought.
I forgot to ask about the sustain pedal while I was there. Is it strictly on/off, or does it support āhalf-damperā (as is required for Osmoseās āSostenutoā behavior)? No idea.
Also interesting to note that Airwave is the first official accessory to add pedal support to Lumi / Piano M - it was an obvious and much demanded addition to the BLOCK line, and their teaching platform simply went without it this whole time.
Fortunately, the new Roli Piano has a port for Sustain without requiring Airwave.
But does the port in Airwave then map to control something else, if you have both? I didnāt think to ask this, either.
(Note, itās a 3.5mm jack, requiring a bulky adapter to make most any sustain pedal compatible. Not sure why they went there, given the height of both devices.)
Edited to add
I guess what Iād actually want from that combination is some combination of sustain/sostenuto, and a chromatic āx as pitch bendā toggle which only affects the most recently triggered note before the pedal is pressed.
Not sure if it needs one pedal or two for that.
ā¦or whether it should be controlled by Airwave to begin with.
Like, maybe I just want a bend wheel that only affects the one note until disengaged?
That seems more playable.
I guess the conclusion Iām slowly reaching is that, rather than jump on these discounts for the new Roli Piano, I should just put aside that same money for buying an Expressive E TouchĆ© to sit next to the old version I already have.
(I canāt justify Airwave, either.)
Okay, I will add the ROLI Piano as an entry to my list of MPE hardware synthesizers on February 4th, 2025 during the next monthly Zoom meeting.
Iām having a hard time tracking down information on this, but is the new 4 octave Roli piano capable of displaying any scale on the keys? If you are working with custom or microtonal scale, can they be displayed or do you have to have Airwave? It seems like the assignment of scales may be limited without Airwave.
You can already display scales with the Lumi, I guess the software is the same, so yes. Not sure about custom scales and even microtone scales though. But you can set the color of each key individually, so you might be able to set it up in a way that best depicts what you have in mind.
You can also change the colors dynamically from a DAW by sending sysex messages: LUMI-lights/SYSEX.txt at master Ā· benob/LUMI-lights Ā· GitHub
Thank you! Do you need some sort of subscription with it? Itās not letting me check out without adding one.
For the Lumi this was optional. Access to various pieces requires a subscription but the basic software with a more limited selection of songs also works without one.
The first video on their page says that the learning app will teach you any scale thatās ever existed.
Like, 0:48 is the timestamp.
If true, that should help with the tracking down information.
ā¦but Iād be shocked if itās true.
oh, I made those same assumptions during the Lumi Kickstarter campaign.
They remain false.
(Look closer at that link you gave. It does not address each key individually. You can set the root note, and you can select from the incredibly limited list of scales that are embedded in firmware. Thatās it. To the best of my knowledge, they have never updated that firmware, much less added more scales to it.)
They have since added the default Lumi firmware toā¦ somewhere on GitHub. I canāt find it right now to save my life. But I did see it within the last year there.
Whether or not any of that applies to the new device, I can only guess.
Oh, sorry, havenāt played with the Lumi for quite some time, remembered it wrong then 
You have a Roli Piano?
No, I maintain separate lists of MPE hardware at KVR Audio Forum:
Nobody does, as of yet. I believe the first round of preorders ship in a few months.
At this moment, NAMM attendees have had a limited hands-on visit with it, and thatās about it.
(I donāt think anyone here works for Roli directly.)
Ahh, I see! Sorry, Iām new to this forum and thought you were about to do a stream showcasing the new Roli Piano 
(which Iāve pre-ordered as an early bird).
Iām hoping it will be an acceptable alternative to the Osmose, while also being more travel-friendly, as I plan to be traveling with it a lot. However, Iām keeping my expectations low since the limited information Roli has shared doesnāt reveal much about the actual playing and control experience. It almost feels like those aspects are mentioned as side notes to the light-up keys (piano teaching) and the Airwave thing (another product)āwhich, personally, I donāt care much about.
So, since Roli hasnāt emphasized how well the pitch bend and aftertouch perform, Iām not expecting too much. They did however mention that itās essentially an upscaled, 49-key version of the Piano M, with a deeper plunge depth. But Iāve never tried the Piano M, so Iām not sure what to expect. From what Iāve heard though, many found it somewhat toy-likeāmaybe someone here has more experience?
Or even better, maybe someone here has experience with the actual Roli Piano, maybe at NAMM?
This being said, I do find the Seaboard 2 quite satisfying, so Roli definitely has some capable sensor tech.
(And just to be clear, thereās no expectation that the Roli Piano will match the Osmose in terms of expressivenessāthatās simply not realistic or expected.)
Anyway, great job with the lists!
I think this is the thread I gave my impressions from NAMM in.
To summarizeā¦
I think itās a huge improvement over Lumi / Piano M.
I donāt think itās comparable to Osmose.
Specifically, the pressure sensors on Osmose are very smooth and precisely controllable. Roliās offerings are less predictable, letās say. But depending on your sound libraries, that can be fun, too.
I think itās more comparable to the K Board Pro 4 (and might be more favorably comparable, at that). But if what you want is an Osmose, youāre in for a disappointment.
Agreed, Airwave is pointless, as implemented. If Iām taking my hands off the keys to interact with a secondary controller for expression, TouchĆ© is going to be a better choice.
(I do think Airwave has a lot of potential, but the features I want out of it, Roliās never going to support.)
Thank you greaterthanzero!
Yes you did:
So I was looking/hoping for some additional input.
What I am looking for is something that will fit in my suitcase while still having as good playability as possible; preferably including pressure and per key pitch bend. (My current option is Korg microKEY2 37 + Expressive E TouchƩ SE)
Anyway, thank you for your added summarization ā I really appreciate it! And while Iām at it, also big thanks for all the info you contribute on many different topics here (this applies to @FranklyFlawless and others too though)! <3
That would be Linnstrument, on both counts. But presumably, youāre looking for something more piano-shaped, and affordable, so Roli Piano isnāt the worst option.
I donāt know how well it will survive getting squished in your luggage, though. You probably want a dedicated hard case.
ā¦though, if Decksavers ends up making a cover for Roli Piano, that might well be enough.
(they do have one for the 49 key Rise models, so it seems likely to happen.)
Iāve owned a Linnstrument 128, but yeah ā something more piano-shaped still takes priority in my luggage. I did, however, jump on a super early-bird Erae IIā¦ but then cancelled it (I was about to leave for a year-long trip and wasnāt sure when or where I would be able to receive it).
Now, I just noticed Embodme has the Erae II listed with āimmediateā shipping, and Iām really tempted to pull the trigger ā but at full price insteadā¦ And then maybe even try to use the Erae II with the microKEY instead of the TouchĆ© ā and of course, using it on its own too, since I do love the āLinnstrument layoutā as well.
That said, Iām still on the fence. Iāve seen a few users mention issues with sensitivity and other concerns, which makes me hesitant at this price point. I guess Iām just waiting for a thorough video review to help me decide on the Erae II.