WOW!!! I am floored. 😮 This thing is AMAZING 🙌 🎶 I've been debating groove boxes, drum machines, and mixers for the past year, trying to find a brain for my rig. I just found it 👍✨ Update: I found one on Reverb and picked it up! I LOVE this mixer! 🤘🤩
Oh my goodness i love Roland! I thought about this in my head.."man if only i had a mixer for my synths that i could use live like a multitrack looper with filters, triggers and on board effects..." then i stumbled onto this bad boy...This thing is STACKED! The onboard sequencer too...Its like it turns everything into a sample to be manipulated in real time...this is a dream for anyone who wants to do live anolog stuff
WANT -- I bought one piece of Roland gear a while ago and spent months trying to figure it out to no avail, ive been hooked on Korg ever since. BUT this new AIRA system is EXACTLY what ive been looking for in gear and i WILL own it!
I thought Roland gear and Cakewalk software would have this type of synergy that AIRA has with Ableton. Ok, so the AIRA line was the prototype for these drivers and plug & play connectivity features. Roland should now make those features standard to ALL their future gear.
I have to agree with the other posters. This was a really good demo for this. I had seen some videos of it from NAMM and didn't really see the appeal or get what they were going for with it, but after seeing this it makes more sense and is a neat piece of kit.
Nice remember at the time when the 303, 606, 808 and 909 was in huge demand, the price of a 303 went from $100 up to $4000 lol, I dont know how many times people were calling out to Roland to re-release these fine machines back in 1993. Besides that grey workstation (forgot name) they released (which was shit) it took them what? 20years to do it lol! I wish I still had my Roland JD-800 -hoping for a re-release of that synth someday too..
And one more question... can use it to combine audio from FL STudio, and audio from external synths ( that are controlled by FL studio) that also can be recorded .... sorry, but mixers didnt look like this last time I checked
I suppose it can actually. It has analogue inputs (guitar jack), and via USB you have 18 channels open to you, so in theory you should be fine running FL, reason, caustic etc into it. Or if you have any of those running via Ableton Live/lite first, then I to mx1, then you are fully up and running
Great review @Sweetwater! Question: With the release of the Roland DJ series, what sort of MIDI control would one theoretically have with say the DJ-202, which has a hidden TR with their ACB kits for the 909, 808, 707 & 606. I can access the sequencer using the drum pads but its awkward. Could I use a TR-8S or MX-1 to control the DJ-202’s TR unit and which do you think would be the most useful in this scenario? I theorize that with its built in soundcard, DAW controls and effects the MX-1 sounds like a better buy if this is theoretically possible. By the way, I’m dabbling in DJ and production, but only have tables an Akai AMX/AFX setup and the aforementioned DJ-202. Sorry for the long post but there’s no info on this online. Roland’s forums are pretty dead too. Thanks for your time and consideration.
Hi do you know if you can Midi Map the faders and mute button whist in Ableton Live mode? If the MX-1 is set to Ext > aBleton live mode the track faders and their mute (disarm track) buttons do not correspond with my DAW. I have updated but the solo, sends, record, solo and play button only seems to work. thanks
Looks like I would get a lot more options and I/O routing with an X18 mixer instead. I can already do the step sequenced FX using the FX track on my Analog Keys which could be routed to using one of the X18's AUX sends.
Would this set up allow you to sequence the synths with Ableton?The System 1 that is being used is not sequenced by anything so could you asign it to an Ableton chanel and have it recieve midi notes through the lead going from S1 output to MX1 input?
this looks like it handles everything i want to do and more, but a little too much more. for one i don't have any AIRA gear / roland gear, at all. I just want to be able to handle minimum 6 maximum 8 channels in ableton, hopefully something with built in effects that sound great, or something where i can map MIDI to ableton with little latency issues (my cpu isn't great). any suggestions for other mixer things that might do the trick?
Paul Gillett just get this and a cheap generic midi controller with all the knobs and faders you want. You won’t have to spend time having to figure out how to make the mx-1 do this and you’ll have all audio on mx1 and dedicated controls your effects in ableton
I have to say it looks amazing and I'll most likely get one for my setup. However, what I would like to know more about it is the DAW integration. All of the on-line demos for this device talk about how it allows you to use your old analogue gear along side AIRA products and your VST synths coming from your DAW etc...but the big question is, does it provide any kind of VST shell which allows you to render music from your DAW featuring your VST synths and the gear that is put through the mixer? I currently own a System-1 and a TB3 and despite being a huge fan of both synths I've found it hard to integrate them into my workflow because I essentially have to sample from them.
Hello, you would be wanting to eventually avoid your VST synths. You've got the TB-3 where you get your bass and leads and you've also got ample amounts of bass and leads from the System-1 including pads. Your next buy should be the TR-8 but you'll have to invest in this MX-1 even if you don't play live or need the effects.
This is such a confusing question. The audio from vst and analog inputs would be on there own channels and summed into stereo output of mx-1. Direct the output of either the analog input or master output back into ableton if you wanna record anything. Don’t make it so complicated or over think it so much. if you can’t sync two individual sound sources, then solo each track, record the pattern, warp it, and put it on the timeline already. Or loop whatever does sync and have it playing back while you record one long live take that you can later edit/warp. You don’t need everything in your studio to be midi clock synced to make a song. Just record.
Hey there i use 5 symths in my set sent into my Zed 14 desk straight into ableton. the problem im facing is it only gives me a stereo output so i cant control tracks individually. Would i be able to plug all my synths into this and control them individually in ableton? thanks for the vid?
Ok cool all these effects,rolls and fancy sounds but this time will it be possible to record straight into Ableton without ANY sync issues? Will the effects be recorded in Ableton?. Can you actually make a whole song with this live and record it totally into Ableton? Or is this more of a performance show tool ? If so than I will pass ... I bought all the AIRA gear but it has soo much problems in Ableton on the pc. I have a really fast one but it frustrates me, and if I contact costumer support they just send me a reply with another question that has nothing to do with the problem so... I hope their support will also get better. Besides all this I do love the AIRA gear...
Very cool demo:) So let's say that you have 2 Aira gears connected to this, plus one another via analog, and one track going in the mixer from ableton. Can you output all these back into ableton for recording and processing or will this all be on one analog out or on only one master track out? Thanks in advance
Hey, Markus. Thanks for reaching out and checking us out online. Under the system settings you can turn off the midi channels and the midi thru. This should disable the MX-1 from transmitting any midi data out of the unit. Thanks, Grant Embury, Sweetwater Sales Engineer, (800) 222-4700 ext. 1647, Grant_embury@Sweetwater.com
Dunno if this is any help, but I do know that, for eg, if you've tb3 synced to tr8, then tb3 will duck the tr8, but haven't tried it via the mx1 yet. I'm still finding my way around my set up.
+womble dung hey, thanks for the reply. I get the feeling it's just an effect locked to the track and doesn't trigger on input....would be cool if otherwise!
Hello, Jules! Yes, you could run a prophet 6 and MPC into the AIRA MX-1. Thanks for the interest! Spunde, Sweetwater Sales Engineer, (800) 222-4700 ext. 1732, Spunde@Sweetwater.com
Hey, Albert! You certainly have that ability, and I'd love to talk with you more about it to see if this is the correct piece of gear for you. Would you mind giving me a shout at the contact info below so we can walk through your setup? Rock on! 🎶🤘 Cassie O'Hanlon, Sweetwater Sales Engineer, (800) 222-4700 ext. 3020, cassie_ohanlon@sweetwater.com
MrBoxxed I don't know. I think this is perfect for small studio set-ups. You can plug all your other gear into any of the other audio-ports. All my gear is 'micro'; microKORG, JD-Xi, miniKP, Tascam DP006, Alesis SR18. So a mixer like this seems more than adequate. But perhaps your needs differ. My only issue is it seems cheap for something so feature packed, perhaps the build quality is lacks?
Indeed u can. It has guitar jacks out and in. Also, there are efx modules that were released to go along with this setup, and they work gorgeously with guitar and bass. Though you'll need quality 1/8th to 1/4 inch adapters or vice versa. And even the voice transformer (vt-3) is bloody gorgeous with guitar straight into it. In short, the mx1 still operates as any mixing desk, though you've of a few analogue inputs. But you could compensate by running your guitar in via a DAW (your multi channel studio on your pc/laptop) digitally and that opens you up to 18 inputs. Hope that helped.
My only issue with my aira gear is that the tr8 isn't gritty and ass kicking enough. I'm into making a mire gritty rustic punky grinding acid-techno kind of driving energy, and SO FAR my tr8 hasn't delivered. It's too clean, too "anal". I may pass it in and get an older more "dangerous" sounding machine.
The sound is so clean and uncolored because it’s made with the assumption you’re gonna use your own effects. If it did what you wanted it wouldn’t be very versatile.
All this incredible technology and you can't switch the horrible lights off....??? A lot of people don't like THE LIGHTS!!! Love the roland range though can't fault it..... JUST THE LIGHTS!!😩😤😡
