Roland announced the new Aira Compact P-6. Which is a portable sampler with HUGE FEATURE. I'm too tired to type a description!!! OG video: • Introducing Roland AIR...
If all you did was take that giant folder of drum packs every producer has, made a bunch of kits, and just used the p-6 as a traditional drum machine - its a nice box
I’m going out of town for a business trip two days and I’m sure as hell not going to bring my Digitakt & Tasty Chips GR-1, but I’d thrown this P-6 in my bag in a quickness. That and the S-1. Don’t need them but I’m liking the portability and price points.
@inputsandoutputs the MC-101 is a dream box that doesn't get the respect it deserves. However if it could sample via line in or mic it would be out of this world 🚀
This piece is hot for the sheer fact that it can resample, add instant lo-fi and has a built-in microphone. You could literally take a beat made somewhere else (i.e. MPC) and export it into this and resample that beat to make another beat on the fly. You could use this to sample from wherever, then chop your loops and have them instantly ready for your main workstation. This thing is a beast for the resample and lofi elements alone. At $220, I might be cheap and wait for the eBay edition but damn. This one is fire. 🔥
My first sampler was the Yamaha VSS-30, in the mid 1980's. Been sampling with many different machines since, plus messed with countless synths, beat boxes, and effects. When Roland started making these volca-sized AIRA'S I couldn't resist. I have T-8, S-1, and J-6 so far, and I will tell you right now, I'm not selling any of them. I use Blackbox for my sampling, but I think this is also worth adding to my rig. (Immediate fun-factor is high on this one, having sampling/re-sampling, and a good little sequencer.)
For pre production ideas and travel in a small package, this price point will be appealing to a lot of people for sure. Pretty cool unit... Looks like a good amount of learning curves but holds a lot of potential for those who have patience and discipline. 👊🧡👍
@@dn30001 got the J-6 first and then got the S-1… Bro the S-1 is amazing. So much more sound design ability and even has a Motion feature that lets you use fx by holding the unit at an angle. Paired up those 2 have been helping me create a lot of dope tracks.
To be fair 80% of all synth content is a meme these days. I guess it's just copium for 40 something dudes with too much money to spend on toys. That said, Roland totally will get those 200 bucks from me.
Sooooo I've avoided the AIRA S-1 and others due to the workflow/immediacy or navigating, but on paper? This thing gives my LOFI-12 XT a run for its money. Obviously the XT is better, but this thing is both very affordable and a good addition to Roland's ecosystem at $200ish.
I have T-8, S-1, and J-6. Are you saying they are not "immediate enough" for you? There is no menu-diving to speak of. Just a shift function, and a simple system menu, with a small handful of extra options in it. I love all of mine. They are very immediate, and minimalist in structure. simple, and quick to operate, with several manual parameter changes at once (sweeps, etc) My only single piece of advice, is invest in caps for all the encoder shafts, from Thonk over in the U.K. I followed Rolands color-coding, and put caps of all the correct color on each. Feels far better to tweak, with caps, and looks a big step up from stock.
I have an 8bw, and an XFM. Had both since they were first originally released, and have played both A LOT. These AIRA's are far more straight-forward, and quick to learn, than either of my Liven instruments. I'll never sell either, btw. But they are weird, and not very logically conceived in some respects (sort of a pain in the ass, in different scenarios, because of non-typical system functions, and weird patch access/sequence storage, etc.) Roland has several decades behind setting up useful, and expressive interfaces on powerful gear.
Actually the menu dive on all is pretty much the same and pretty easy to remember along with the hot keys. Once you get over that fear you'll start to really feel and understand the power of these little machines.
The max sample time is 5.9 secs in mono. That seems like a serious limitation for a modern sampler. My SP-303 has a lot of limitations, but I feel like this new P-6 is more limited than I’d enjoy. However big up to Roland for packing a ton of functionality into such a small package. This seems super powerful in a lot of ways, just not what I’m looking for.
That's per pad, and can be increased to 24 secs at the lowest quality setting. If you multiply 6 pads by 4 banks, that makes it from 142 to 600 seconds, not bad at all!
@@PiriakaTrackwrecker Yeah, the overall sampling time is plenty, I just would like the ability to record longer samples on occasion. At least on my 303, the lowest sample quality setting gets barely used. Just seems like it would be nice to be able to sample at 44k for a few minutes sometimes, just so I can record whatever gear I’m jamming on and then go back later and chop it down to how I want. But honestly I’m fine with what I have. This would basically just be an extra tool for me, mostly for my travel setup. KO-II might be closer to what I’m looking for. Need to try one out.
Heh.... between Sonicware's Smpltreks, TE's Medieval Knockouts, and now a Rolca sampler, the fabled MPC Live mini will have some good competition if/when it comes out. :)
It's unfair to compare, because the audience is of a different kind, but I'm still gonna agree with Ave here that they are clearly trying to take a piece of Elektron's pie. Seriously how am I not even halfway through the video and this tiny thing already does much more and then some than a Digitakt 2. Of course to many the analog parts and the sturdy metal box and look of the Digitakt 2 are worth those 800 dollars more, but man this thing is far more flexible, it's battery powered (right?) and I could fit almost 4 of these in one Digitakt 2 carrying case. Do I wish that the granular engine had more features, yes. Do I wish the screen showed more parameters, yes. Do I wish their design department did more drugs growing up, probably yes. But this as an alternative to or complimenting your current, sampler of choice. I think that's a no brainer.
I have a tr-8s running into a TS patchbay with all 6 assignable outs being sent through individual overdrive pedals before hitting the interface, and an MC-707 controlling three other synths. And I STILL want one of these. Lotta power in that little box, got an S-1, i know the compacts are fire. Awesome video. Edited: spelling.
That's hysterical that he sampled a kalimba. They definitely do that a lot. I used to work at B&H I'm surprised they put it up without a picture. You caught them REALLY early
Almost as soon as they went up on Amazon, they were out. I refreshed for a day, and got one. NOT looking forward to being caught in AIRA menu Hell, but still.... like you said, great pocket noodler to have on a flight or waiting at the DMV or something. Then, when I'm comfy at home, right into the MPCs and go!
☝️☝️Definitely This ☝️☝️ I know I imposed a “No more hardware” rule after if and when I get a Roland SP 404 mk 2…but I’ll be damned if this wouldn’t look good beside the mk 2 and my OG Novation Circuit as a “sketch pad set up”
ahahahaaa I had the same thought about the kalimba when I watched the video, then I came over and watched your take and here you are pointing out the same shit, I about died laughing. Gold!
Made me think about my sp404 and whether or not I rather have this. Compact gear is the way of the future for sure and my wife be buggin on all this big ass gear 🤣🤣🤣
See this has me mad at teenage engineering whyyyyyyy in the whole fuck couldn't they have had a sample mode like this ,this machine is way smaller than the knock out look at how much bs they pack in it ! Wtf
They have some really cool small modules, but a lot of people will buy one because they want one and never end up using it. But they do have a lot of potential. It's the sort of thing a grandchild will find in 20 or 30 years time, and use to make music tracks with. Ultimately Roland wants to make big profits for its shareholders
This seems like a culmination of all of their best tech in a very small package. I’m actually kind of interested and intrigued by it. And I don’t usually look at new pieces of gear because usually something I already has does exactly what it does and it’s just a rehash in my mind but this. Feels a lot more useful. Maybe it’s something I would consider in a month or two not in a rush to be a first run user. I’ll wait for people to deal with some of the bugs first.
LMFAO those guys and their kalimbas They should make these a bit bigger cause the only thing holding me back other than questioning sampling time is the size.
Korg Volca Sample found lying in a ditch lol. I think this is also going to get a lot of folks who might have otherwise gone for the lower-rung Elektrons.
Looks good, but it's not a necessity. Really, the best thing about the series is the internal battery. That's the main selling point for me. Eliminating an extra chord is so simple but makes a big difference. I'll pick one up eventually. But for now, pairing the SP with the Microfreak, Lemondrop, or Pro VSmini is way more than adequate - and still provides backpack portability.
I saw a video for it this morning and I googled it with the feeling i might spend out on one. But being realistic I don't need one and I don't really want one. But in a way I do want one lol. Maybe its the name Roland. Seeing it in so many music videos in the 80's and 90's
a spicy take from AVE MCREE?? Never... and LOL I saw a kalimba on some sampler starter pack picture recently haha it's like a baby Octatrack, I love it LMAO that look on your face at the drum break :D that "just put a bunch of samples on one pad, one at a time" was awesome. It's about damned time someone took a solid shot at Volcas Thanks for sharing, I want one :D zZounds has it listed at $220, backorder until Sept 30
What I read about it, at the highest quality setting you get like 5.9 seconds mono and half of that stereo. I hope the Chinese make a copy version and sell it for like $35 including postage lol
Yo. Lmao your excitement was so genuine. “I’m MF tied, but ima check it out!” 😂😂 but yea. I was excited as well. Not that I need it but another color for the palette, right?
I am not the biggest fan of little hardware boxes but I already have the drum machine and synth from these, and I am really thinking of getting the sampler too, it is going to be around €200 here, which is a lot of sampler for the money.
The name probability sounds like bollox, but there probably is something in that name for the function. Or maybe it is just bollox, although it appears to be a very interesting function
I had the same concerns. After googling for "Roland Aira Battery", the first result leads to instructions, how to replace it. It's easy to do, and it's a standard battery.
I want to get a budget sampler, primarily for Jungle breaks, but also wouldn’t mind making interesting sounds. Should I get a Circuit Rhythm or Roland P6? I love the Circuit Tracks and The roland S-1. Or do I just get both? Or neither?
This seems really cool I wish I got more stats like the number of effects you can assign, Max polyphony, internal storage, and sample time. Looks like we aren't getting any more support for the MK2
@@AveMcree my main sampler is the old Korg MS1, we'll see if this eventually displaces it. I still love the Smpltrek as a midi sequencer and sketch pad, but yeah.
Ngl this, this looks _damn good_ and I can see some SP 404 mks 1 and 2 users (hi Jade Wii, Sarah Hill, and Ricky Tinez 👋) picking this little thing up to use as a “partner in Grime” with their SPs
@space_pulse in the meantime check out the new Zoom Livetrak L6 (a small 10 channel lithium ion powered mixer that you can put in a backpack {Roland Aira might want to consider the design for when they bring out a new compact Aira mixer} 😉)
They could add the sends and filter per pad to the MKii but you know they won't, this thing is custom designed to be not needed by MKii owners but they will all buy it anyway ....
After further investigation, I can't pull the trigger. The Sample Tool for uploading samples is a problem on Linux. So the 404 is still on top of my list (SD card solution).
