ROLI Reinvents Its Ecosystem With ROLI Studio Player – Now Available In Public Beta

ROLI just announced a big change to its software ecosystem. The UK-based company is going to ‘merge’ Equator, Cypher2, and Strobe2 in one application, ROLI Studio Player, that will give ROLI users centralized, easy access to all the existing (and future) sounds and effects.

The new application combines the MPE-enabled sound engines of Equator, Cypher2 and Strobe2 in one simplified interface. The early beta version includes 280 sounds, and more will be available at launch.

More Than Just Sounds

ROLI Studio Player is not just a collection of sounds and effects. It also features new songwriter-friendly tools such as Smart Chords (to generate easy chord progressions and Multi-Layered Arpeggiator (offering three independent layers of arpeggiation!).

What’s Going To Happen To Equator and co.?

From what we can see, it seems that ROLI Studio Player is a free, simplified approach to ‘everything ROLI’, with limited editing possibilities (the word Player is there for a reason). If you’re looking for more in-depth editing, you will still have to use the original applications. This means that Equator and co. won’t go away. Commercial details haven’t been announced yet, but I have a feeling that it’s going to be like this: ROLI Studio Player will be free, and come with a certain number of free sounds. As new sounds become available, users will have a chance to buy them.

The full synths will be available for purchase (probably at discounted rates for ROLI hardware owners). Needless to say, you’ll also still have access to the full versions of Equator, Strobe2 and Cypher2 if you already own a license.

Available Now

The first public beta version of ROLI Studio Player is available for download to all Seaboard and BLOCKS owners. To install ROLI Studio Player, you’ll first need to download ROLI Connect, the cloud-based platform that connects all ROLI hardware and software. You can read more about ROLI Studio Player here.