Sam Gutman Unleashes the ROLI Airwave: Yamaha Montage Gets a Gesture Overhaul

The ROLI Airwave isn’t just another MIDI controller—it’s a full-on gesture recognition weapon, ready to turn your synth rig into a sci-fi playground. Sam Gutman wastes no time introducing this bit of kit, promising a new way to interact with sound that’s more physical, more expressive, and a lot more fun than your average knob-twiddling session. The Airwave picks up six distinct gestures—raise, tilt, glide, slide, flex, and grasp—each mapped to whatever parameter you fancy. Infrared cameras track your hands, so you’re literally waving your sound into existence.

What makes this combo slap is how the Airwave’s gestures can be mapped to the Yamaha Montage’s deep engine. We’re talking filter sweeps, wavetable scans, and modulations galore. Sam points out that the Airwave shines brightest when paired with synths that can handle serious layering and modulation, and the Montage is basically built for that. If you’re tired of static performances and want to inject some movement into your sound, this is the kind of tech that’ll get your crowd’s attention.

Sam’s setup guide is a masterclass in not losing your mind. He makes it clear: the process isn’t rocket science, but it’s packed with little traps for the unwary. First, you need to update your Montage’s firmware—no, really, do it, or the patches won’t load. Then it’s a dance of downloading Airwave-specific patches, importing them via USB, and making sure your drivers are up to date. Miss a step, and you’ll be tearing your hair out wondering why nothing works.

The ROLI software side isn’t much more forgiving. Everything needs to be current—Airwave Player, Airwave Control, the lot. Sam’s advice? Follow the steps exactly, or prepare for a troubleshooting session with ChatGPT. Even the physical placement of the Airwave matters: it needs to sit flush with the Montage for proper tracking. The whole process is a reminder that cutting-edge control comes with a price—mainly, your patience.

Once you’ve survived the gauntlet, though, the payoff is huge. The Montage starts receiving MIDI from the Airwave, and suddenly your synth is responding to every flick and twist of your hands. It’s a setup that rewards attention to detail, but the end result is worth every minute spent updating drivers and calibrating sensors.

With the Airwave dialled in, the real fun begins. Each gesture can be mapped to any parameter in the Montage, letting you sculpt sound in ways that would take three hands and a dozen knobs otherwise. Want to open a filter with a tilt, or morph a wavetable with a flex? Easy. The Airwave’s recognition is sharp, and the Montage’s engine is more than up to the task.

This isn’t just a party trick—it’s a serious tool for live performance and deep sound design. The physicality of waving your hands to modulate layers brings a new dimension to playing. If you’re into expressive control and want your synth to react like a living thing, this combo is pure gold.