ROLAND AIRA COMPACT - a portable mini synth setup with J6 Synth, T8 drum machine and E4 vocal FX 

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I was totally unprepared for Bo singing soulfully while staring straight into the camera. In my sleep-deprived state, nearly hallucinating after an all-nighter, that was super trippy.

I love seeing more of your creative side in your videos Bo!!! It really helps demonstrate what’s possible with the gear too. You rock man!

Nice touch with the sip from the cup to explain why the continuity of the cup placement changed 😄👌

I’ve wanted something like the T-8 for ages… can’t believe Roland made it! Thanks for the great video!

Hey, Bo, you ventured out of your comfort zone and did a *great job* demoing the capabilities of E-4! I genuinely like how you used it and how it sounded.

Thanks Bo. Enjoyed the way you integrated your process into the review. Very helpful. I like the format of the Compacts. The T8 seems to be simply there for a beat rather than to explore what a drum machine does. I enjoyed the J6 and E4 very much. They sound inspiring.

Ive just found these now. Im impressed with the sound quality. I'll have to add the J-6 and T-6 to my wishlist, hopefully I'll be able get em before 2023 :)

Thank you SO much for showing the audio routing!

Bo really went ham on that vocoder thing. Nice to see someone having so much fun with gear. I will for sure get one 👍😆

Really like these. The mix through addresses that external mixer issue that the volcas have always had.

Hey man, honestly, I loved hearing you sing! Keep it up.

Amazing sounds you get out of these little machines. But wait............. your voice, cool touch BO! Again a serious lovely tutorial, amazing how you get pure magic out off the instruments. Keep up this work, its great.

I'm really liking the J-6. Very cute and useful. Roland are giving me GAS in the morning!

Your through to the next round, with that heartfelt voice. These look good. Not sure I need one, but great to see.

As always nice demo thanks.

EXCELLENT Demo, Bo❗️

All I can say, we live in really great times! Very exciting to see appearance of more and more new very small but very capable devices! And so great that it's Roland, otherwise those could be TE toys with 5x price :)

Roland-flavoured Volcas!...Cute I find these more appealing than the Boutique line, especially the T-8.

Love the design. I don't see T8 or J6 in my setup, but they look soooo tempting... Physical buttons instead of touch panels, ease of use, compact size and overall aesthethics easily turning all these devices into objects of desire. E4 is another story... When I first saw it, I thought that E4 is the least interesting one of them, but your video just sold it to me - awesome demonstration of it's capabilities (and awesome singing too)! If it's possible to sync E4 with MC-101, I think it will find a place in my gear collection someday

J6 synth looks like a Pioneer Dave Smith AS-1 had a baby with a Casio 320. Awesome review Mr. Bo. Keep up the great work.

I loved hearing you sing! Please, do it more!

excellent demo! brilliant !

For me this is exciting to add to my backpack setup. I ride my bike to locations in nature and compose stuff. The six batteries each required per Volca is exhausting to deal with. The built-in battery is a great idea.

That’s a dope song. That vocoder sounds dope too. Way cleaner than the Microkorg or Mininova ones

Good one! Nice singing, Bob.

The music in this review - I like it. It's soulful and humorous - nice!

Great vocal jam!

secret link. If you want to hear Underbara Vinterland its on Spotify. Its from a different life: open.spotify.com/track/16s84srTpBh4fWf4u62rLL?si=FRd7pzhnTeW3SJi5fe92bQ&context=spotify%3Asearch%3Abobo%2Bmarika%2Bunderbara%2Bvinterland

These look like so much fun!!

Thanks for sharing - more gear to play with and get creative.

Great work as always Bo! I think this video really highlights the main features of these mini synths. My favorite may be the E-4 as I don’t have a vocal processor and I can see that being used with its reverb for some live setups. The drum machine T-8 is gonna be really popular I can already tell. I also could see myself messing around on that for some straightforward beats. The J-6 probably appealed to me the least but that’s just my taste. I have no need for another compact synth when there are great options already out there. Perhaps for the loyalists out there. Overall, $200 each is not that bad! Seems to match what’s already out there for mini synths but they are gonna have some tough competition still with the Volca’s and Behringer’s new mini synths.

Bob SLOW DOWN THIS IS SO MANY NEW THINGS. 😅 The mix-in jacks are great, one of the best features of the boutiques. Sounds great to me

Now they just need to combine them all plus 37 or 25 key mini keyboard, and maybe the option for a couple more plugouts, to make an Aira-xi!

All these tiny synths are so cool.

Nice to hear your song (in swedish?) - love the way the vocal machine open up vocal possibilties for pretty much anyone

great vibes bo, imagine what roland could be if you would be involved in their product development and not only presenting them!

Some great lyrics . I just lost a great friend and that jam did the trick . Thank you

Bo I didn‘t know you have such a beautiful singing voice. Omg, it‘s really nice. 🥺💜 The Rolands look cool af too.

Wow! I think that may be the best vocoder I've ever heard (or maybe it's just your skill...or both? ;-) ). Also very cool to hear someone singing in Swedish. ❤

Many thanks Bo. Your demo has made me change my mind about the E-4. I assume that you can change the reverb as the demo I previously heard had a terrible slapback sound on it, which reminded me of a cheap Realistic Electronic Reverb that I bought in the 1980s. Cheers.

Wow, the new Roland Volca range!

Hi …So nice of you to have made this comparison. So I recently got the T8 as my first drum machine. I am a guitarist trying to create a lofi jazz music (where previously I will take drums samples from splice and then compose jazz chords and solo on top of it). I wanted to get away from the DAW and got this box. I also have the SP404MK2. I played around with the T8 for a day learning and creating and within 24 hours I felt I could not use this for my regular music production because the sounds felt very acid/techno focussed. I was trying to create jazz and bossanova drum patterns. Also, I felt I can’t time-stretch the same note say over the (e,&,a) like I could on a DAW. I was struggling to understand how to do this and could not find a way. It felt like each beat tightly snaps to the pads and they can’t be extended or clubbed. If I want the same best on both 1 and e, and I place them on both then they are separate best and not the same beat over both of them. Which makes the beats very rigid. I tried decay and ascent on the notes but they are not able to solve the problem. Was there something I missed here? Anyway, I have now scheduled a return for the T8 because I felt limited with the sound. Instead I ordered, the volca drums and the volca sample 2, because I did not know which one will solve my problem (I will return one of them) I basically want to create rock/blues/jazz type on drums on this. Or even if that’s not fully possible, create beats which are not fully acid like the T8, but something where I can play ambient, post rock/indie rock type of guitar on top of it. Will you have any recommendations on how I should approach this ? And also among the T8, drum and sample2, which one will be the ideal one for me to pair with my sp404mk2 ? BTW, I had a lot of fun with the T8 for the 24 hours it was with me. I was pretty productive and also did a acid/techno ish live set :) So returning it felt bad in way. But I felt it was not going to help me create the type of sound I was chasing.

Thank you. 😊

Very nice product

DOPE STUFF..

The t-8 looks like so much fun

I definitely want to get the J6 and T8 to pair with my Volca Keys, Kick and Bass.

I DEFINITELY need that drum machine its Acid House in one box and would totally save me a lot of space I've been chasing that 303 sound for a while

Roland Juno , T8 , nice Toys with Volca kick🎉

Bo: _I am not even here now. I don't know where I went._ Me: Superbooth. You went to Superbooth, you lucky bastard. :P

T-8 is all you need for an acid party 😋

Do the J-6's chords trigger from an external midi source? Would make it a tasty addon for mono sequencing devices (Elektron gear, Polyend tracker etc)

kinda want the J6 to just use it as a sequencer, some really cool patterns

Lol, your demo is like 1000x times better than Rolands own demo-video!. When I watched Rolands video I was like.. what is this crap, lucky I watched this video also, cause the modules sounds nice when you played them :)

i just want the T8 and the E4 to use with my minilogue that shit would be dope. The J6 is tempting but I can get all those sounds from my minilogue and a good reverb pedal

Hey Bo, thanks for sharing this with us. I'd like to add a Dreadbox Typhon, thus, please how can I connect it with the T-8 to sync both and maybe run audio through the Typhon. I want to bypass completely the use of a mixer in this setup, or maybe use a small one like Gemini M101BT or a 402VLZ4 for example. In the future I'd probably add a Moog DFAM. It's a good setup for improvising Techno and also want to make it the simplest setup possible. Keep it coming bro

Great clip, thanks. I am new to this but looks so easy and affordable so thought to order. However with all the cables, gosh... What is needed in addition to this little nice friends? 4 times 3,5 jack/line and a mic?

not for me but a great video and demo as usual Bo!

I think Roland are on to a winner with the T8. Okay the X0X/303 combination has been done to death, but hell, that T8 thing is SOooo cute!!

Pre-ordered the J-6 and Volca FM2, I know they will play nice together. The Flow/Chord sequencer looks so cool and easy. I'd get it even if the synth engine sucked to control other gear. Of course the engine doesn't suck sounds quite good. To be honest I'm glad its simple. Just want something for quick live on the fly progressions/harmonies.

These are necessary for beginers! Ive been making music since 1997 and own three the S-1 j-6 t-8 and have had a ball making music with them. And the Volcas are horrible I took mine back as they sounded weak and mushy sounding especially the drum machine. These Rolands kill the Korgs and sound much better. cheers...

9:42 actually, if I understand this unit correctly, you CAN record melody forming single notes per step too! Thanks for nice review!!

Nice that they made the vocoder to actually carry the notes this time. It's a huge hassle to get the VT-3 to play like a real vocoder. Probably going to trade that for this one as a small vocoder for live gigs is still something I can make use of. And I agree that it's very intelligible sounding. A lot of digital vocoders sound cool but are also difficult to tell what people are actually saying through them. This one is clear. The Boutique VP-03 is the same in that way and I use it a lot. Really dug that little synthpop tune, Bo.

Great. New stuff for upcoming BAD GEAR episodes :)

T-8 J-6 and a kaoss pad mini S2 haha what a pocket set up haha ☺️

Hello! Great video and thanks, is it possible to have two or more J6 to have independent patterns per synth and sync them? Regards!

Look cool, can we have miniature mx-1 hehe

I would love to know of I can feed the j-6 a single midi note from an external keyboard and have the j-6 play a chord based on the chord sets? I've not seen it explained in a demo or the manual how external midi is handled....having this option available is an absolute must buy for those of us with tons of cool sequencers that can only play monophonic lines....imagine this with an old school EXS using the mono ribbon controller to send notes that get turned into full chords here....I was literally just looking to see if a scale aware chord synth was available anywhere....

Thanks for the video! Is there a way to know what chord is being played by the J6? Does it output the midi notes? You could tell that way I guess.

Tung synt! I like!

Fin låt Bo

that is so freaking cool, that J6 SOUNDS SO FAT, also your presentation was amazing. lovely singing bro

Busy week for you! And it's only Tuesday.

Is the Swedish song ready in time for the European song festival? 😀 Seriously sounded very nice

Another question I can't fathom...are all chords only in relation to C... So , for example if I pick major chords ...am I always going to get the C as major, D as minor , Enas minor F as major etc....or is there a "root" select step too,. So that for instance if I want to play in G major... Then using the same example above..G would now be a major chord, A minor, B minor C a major etc...

Roland AIRA Compact T-8 J-6 Beat Machine Is it possible to record directly to the computer? And what should be connected and how? Do I need to connect to a sound card first? And the sound card for the computer? Thank you.

The E-4 looks like a clear successor to the VT range. I got the VT-4 vocal transformer recently and it’s very cool and capable - and has very similar features to the E-4. The cool thing about the VT-4 is that it’s accessible on the surface, but extremely capable under the hood. You can go in with midi sysex messages and tweak a massive amount of parameters that aren’t accessible with the knobs. If the E-4 has these as well I might look into upgrading. (The only big issue I’m seeing is the lack of an XLR mic input, which the VT series does have.)

Ahhhh Roland are expanding the Volca competition... Good 👍 But they made the same stupid mistake with using rubbish 7 segment LEDS instead of a nice little $2 OLED screen !

J6 is most interesting of these little boxes. How could I make skips through notes? Thank you

If one really believes in dawless setup one will admire the character you get specifically from the limitations in gear. It speaks to your professionalism that you focus on that aspect, Bo. It speaks volumes. Some other reviewers don't.

Do you know if it is possible to trigger chords with midi single notes on the J6? I want to do exactly that with my midi bass pedal. I used a Circuit in sequenzer mode for that, but it needs to much tweaking for using it live.

Any idea if there’s an editor yet for the J6? Thanks Bo

It's funny that compact $200 device has polyphony and the recent $1000 Elektron Syntakt doesn't.

Hi! Thanks for the video! I have a question; What would be a more complete "starter pack" (trying to create Techno / House beats , This Aira compact Kit, or Roland T6s ? Thanks again! 😄✌

That E-4 is going in my Circuit Tracks setup. I can have full vocals in my jams!!!!!!!!

Bo would love to see you use the T-8 with a some volca's

Do you know if it is possible to sequence patterns? Like make it play multiple patterns in a row and loop them?

I pre-ordered a T8 and a T6 but I'm not too sure how I hook them up can you explain on a video how you hook one into another not using a computer

Nice idea but too small controls, live situations could be really difficult to manage✌🏻

simplicity doesn't mean it has to be just for beginners - i love the idea of a battery powered clutch of x0x sounds and can see a place for the t8 in my studio. but.... no automation of knob moves puts it below volca par imho. that said, ill prob still get the t8

I hope someone compares the E-4 to the VT-4. They seem similar.

Can you sequence notes on the J-6?

I think you kind of missed the point of the J-6 as a chord progression and idea generator device. Plug it into your DAW or dawless setup of choice using a simple USB cable and use the J-6 to generate new music ideas with zero music theory knowledge. You mention the midi connectivity in passing in the end, but this I think is the key selling point. Those 64 presets are just included to make it truly standalone so you can generate ideas on the go, I don't think Roland was even remotely trying to create a synthesizer here, so seeing that as a con is sort of missing the point, IMHO. That said, I agree it should have the ability to save those music sketches in song sort of song mode!

To me the T-8 and J-6 are very appealing on their own, but the combination seems a bit odd to me. The T-8 by itself seems like a lot of fun, but if I would add a bass to the J-6 I think I would rather take a Model D clone, Bass/Mono Station, SE-02 or a Volca Keys or Bass. Something with at least a second oscillator and a bit more variety in sound. I just like a heavier bass. And when I make acid I don't think chords add all that much. But I'm considering getting both, just for very different scenario's. T-8 to sequence a Model D clone and for the drums and then a J-6 would be a super sweet 3 machine setup for me. Hmmmm I may have just sold me on these boxes.

Who is this new vocalist? Sign him up!

I have a T-8, but when I sync it to volcas or pocket operators the T8 plays at half the tempo. Is there a setting somewhere on the T-8 to fix this? Thanks

Can they send midi to each other? Which one is the source in your set up? Can they midi send to another machine like TR8s?

I'd like to like them, but I think they seem a little too basic for the price. Better get some of the more feature-rich big brothers. These will compete with Korg's mini-synths and with the upcoming Behringer Micro-synths, but the latter with beat these with their promised 49 and 99 euro prices. So much choice out there nowadays! The intro took the word cheesy to whole new level, though :-)

If I was to plug one of these into a mic and have it plugged into a speaker would it come out through the speaker?