Like it or not, Christmas shopping season is almost upon us, and ROLI looks like it’s making a pitch for some space in Santa’s sack with the Beatmaker Kit. Billed as an all-in-one solution - though you’ll still need to bring an iOS device or computer - this gives provides the hardware and software you need to start making electronic music.
The two hardware elements are ROLI’s Lightpad Block (the improved M version rather than the original model) and Loop Block, the first being designed for playing and tweaking sounds and the second enabling you to navigate your projects. You also get a 6-month subscription to Melodics, a software learning program for desktop platforms that features interactive lessons and will teach you various techniques including finger drumming and keyboard playing.
When you want to start making your own music you can make use of ROLI’s Noise iOS app, and you also get Player versions of ROLI’s Equator and FXpansion’s Strobe 2 and Cypher 2. Finally, there’s a copy of Ableton Live Lite in the box; this is customised to work with the Lightpad Block. Other DAWs are compatible, too.
The Beatmaker Kit will start shipping on 18 October and is priced at $299/£249. This is significantly less than you’d pay for purchasing the Lightpad Block M and Loop Block alone, so represents a pretty cost-effective way of getting into the Blocks ecosystem.
Find out more on the ROLI website.
