We have covered several versions of the Seaboard keyboard and updates on different iterations the company has released these past few months. We even featured the Seaboard RISE as one of the gadgets to get for the keyboardist in your life. The concept behind this device is unique and functional, so it is not surprising to find Seaboard quickly becoming very popular among artists.
That said, there was always a whiff of fun and games about the device. The concept is interesting, but the gadgets themselves are seen more as toys than an actual musical instrument. The Seaboard GRAND Stage and Seaboard GRAND LFE appeared to have changed that.
The Name Says It All
The Seaboard GRAND Stage is designed with a bigger surface, more keys, and a more premium feel than the Seaboard RISE series. It is designed to bridge the gap between acoustic and electronic music, giving the artists that use this instrument more freedom in creating and manipulating sound in real-time.
The Seaboard GRAND Stage is just as simple as its siblings. You don’t get many knobs and buttons to worry about. Instead, you get a clean surface and a set of 61 Keywaves. Yes, Seaboard named the keys Keywaves because you interact with them through gestures and other input methods.
The gestures are Seaboard’s signature feature. As mentioned earlier, you can do so much more than pressing the keys. The Keywaves supports strikes, glides, presses, and even lifts. These gestures add multiple new dimensions to the musical instrument, so you have endless new ways to create and play sounds with the GRAND Stage.
Built-In Sound Samples
The Seaboard GRAND LFE is the one top performers will be interested in. It is now being marketed as a limited edition, but it is easy to see why many artists are already getting in line for one. While the GRAND Stage has to make do with only 61 Keywaves, the GRAND LFE offers 81 keys. Seaboard will only make 88 of the GRAND LFE, so this will indeed be a limited-edition instrument not everyone can have.
The secret that makes both the GRAND Stage and the GRAND LFE so special, however, is the Equator sound engine. We tried Seaboard GRAND Stage’s free sounds and they are incredibly detailed and rich. Being able to manipulate tones and sounds in fluid motions changes the whole experience of creating and playing music.
Going Mainstream
The Seaboard GRAND Stage has captured the attention of many artists and is now being used to produce commercial music already. Even students pursuing their online masters degree in music from reputable names such as Kent State University can now try the Seaboard GRAND Stage and learn to master this new instrument. It will only get better for the GRAND series because future masters in music education will have the skills to teach others to play the Seaboard.
The Seaboard GRAND Stage is the leap forward we have been looking for. It won’t be long before a new wave of creations is made available with the help of the GRAND Stage and the exclusive GRAND LFE.
