ROLI Announces Gregg Stein to Join as Head of Sales Americas, Launches Ground-Breaking Equator Synth

On the Equator synth (first mentioned here):

"ROLI also announced the launch of an alpha version of Equator, the world’s first synthesis engine dedicated to multi-dimensional instruments. Equator alpha will be available to all existing and new Seaboard GRAND customers free-of-charge. Speaking from the NAMM Show where the Seaboard GRAND is on display, Roland continued 'Equator is a game-changer, because it has been designed from the ground up to enable multiple parameters to be modulated in an intuitive and synchronous way. This release is just the beginning of a journey that will redefine the possibilities of real time expressive control of synthesis.'"

I'm curious if Equator will be a preset synth engine for the Seaboard, or if it will allow deeper synth programming via dedicated software on the PC or iPad. If so, the Seaboard will become a full blown synthesizer.

The following is the full press release:

"Anaheim, Calif., January 22, 2015  -- ROLI, design-led music technology leader and developer of the award-winning Seaboard GRAND, today announced that Gregg Stein will join the ROLI team as Head of Sales, Americas. This follows a breakthrough 2014 which has seen units shipping around the world to customers, and leading artists such as Oscar-winning composer A.R. Rahman performing on the Seaboard to global audiences. ROLI recently secured $16.5m in from leading venture capital firms in 2014, and acquired JUCE, an acclaimed C++ framework used by leading audio companies such as Korg, Pioneer and Akai Professional.

Gregg brings a wealth of experience from within the music technology industry, having most recently led the omni-channel distribution expansion as CEO, Americas at Libratone Inc. He has also previously held global senior leadership roles at Numark Industries (now called inMusic Brands), the Loop Loft, ION Audio, the MUSIC Group, Line 6 and the Avedis Zildjian Company. Gregg holds a degree from Berklee College of Music and, when not on the road or with his family, continues to perform as a professional drummer.

He will work closely with Sarah Yule, ROLI’s Head of Sales EMEA and Rest of World, who herself recently joined ROLI from inMusic Brands where she was International Sales Manager, handling their entire professional brand portfolio, including Akai Professional, Alesis, Alto Professional, Denon DJ, Numark and M Audio. Gregg said 'I’m thrilled to be bringing genuine disruptive innovation to the world of musical instruments and beyond – the Seaboard is an unprecedented product, and I’m truly excited to be able to help get it into people’s hands.'

ROLI Founder and CEO, Roland Lamb, said 'I am delighted to welcome Gregg and Sarah to the ROLI team. They each bring exceptional leadership and in-depth industry knowledge as we scale up our ability to get Seaboards to customers and deliver on an exciting product roadmap in 2015 and beyond. With a world-class sales team in place, ROLI is now poised to expand globally, building partnerships across all key direct and export markets.'

ROLI also announced the launch of an alpha version of Equator, the world’s first synthesis engine dedicated to multi-dimensional instruments. Equator alpha will be available to all existing and new Seaboard GRAND customers free-of-charge. Speaking from the NAMM Show where the Seaboard GRAND is on display, Roland continued 'Equator is a game-changer, because it has been designed from the ground up to enable multiple parameters to be modulated in an intuitive and synchronous way. This release is just the beginning of a journey that will redefine the possibilities of real time expressive control of synthesis.'

Visitors to the NAMM Show will be able to experience Equator alpha for the first time during limited, pre-booked demonstrations at the ROLI booth, No. 397, 3rd floor at the entrance of Lounge 88. ROLI will also be hosting Seaboard demonstrations from specialists Heen-Wah Wai, Marco Parisi and Eren Başbuğ throughout the show, together with artist performances from Grammy-winning keyboard phenom Cory Henry of the Brooklyn-based band Snarky Puppy and Jordan Rudess, acclaimed keyboardist with Dream Theater.

About ROLI

ROLI is a design-led music technology start-up based in Dalston, London. ROLI makes hardware and software products designed to increase the bandwidth of interaction between people and technology.

ROLI’s first product, the Seaboard GRAND, is a radically new musical instrument that reimagines the piano keyboard as a soft, continuous surface. The Seaboard’s polyphonic pitch bend, vibrato and per-note dynamic changes are all available at the user’s fingertips, marrying the intuitiveness of a traditional instrument with the versatility of digital technology. ROLI has brought together years of innovation in several disciplines to realise this powerful concept as an award-winning product.

To learn more about ROLI, visit www.roli.com"