Roland Aira Compact - Don't judge them!

This is my first look at the new Aira Compact series from Roland.
We just got three new devices!
A drum machine, a chord synthesizer and a vocal processor - All tiny, battery powered, competent but with a few limitations.
I'm going over each one of them, testing them out for a bit and I managed to put a tiny little jam together too. Not my best piece of music but good enough for a quick demo :D
Disclaimer: Roland sent me these devices for review.
00:00 Introduction and unboxing
00:37 Product overview
02:20 Beat Machine T-8
04:20 Chord Synthesizer J-6
06:40 Vocal Tweaker E-4
09:00 Let's jam!
12:35 Conclusion
Here goes the usual spiel:
Affiliate link:
Get studio gear on Thomann
thmn.to/thocf/d5myolk2cb
-- Hyperfollow -- (Links to everything)
hyperfollow.com/Accurate
-- PATREON --
/ accurate
-- My Free Sample Pack --
accuratebeats.gumroad.com/l/f...
-- MERCH ---
US
accuratebeats.myspreadshop.com
EU/UK
accuratebeats.myspreadshop.net
-- MY EP "Weeks of Beats" --
Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, Amazon music, KZbin Music,
distrokid.com/hyperfollow/acc...
-- MY WEBSITE --
www.accuratebeats.com

[@danieljung2810]

My goodness the editing and production of this video is amazing!

[@tomlavelle8340]

A great intro of synthesis for the masses!

[@EnochDark]

Want the J-6 bc it's the only one bringing something "new" to the table. What I see is something like an Omnichord (which I love) on steroids!!!

[@essentialdang]

Great review, thank you. Just ordered the J-6, it looks like interesting.

[@loopdatshit]

That flipping-Fades are very accurate dude🔥

[@ickebins6948]

Great video, thanks Accurate.

[@andre-le-bone-aparte]

100K BABY - Another sub for you sir! Best reviews on youtube!

[@Nightmare1up00]

These transitions are crazzzy

[@donaldpriola1807]

I wishI was young now, with all these great, cheap tools. Back in the 80s, this kind of stuff was out of reach for most musicians. I know Roland gets viewed harshly, but they make decent stuff, and these look like a lot of fun.

[@sectiondrecords4580]

The average person still can’t get most Roland devices due to Rolands poor supply chain management

@@sectiondrecords4580 you think it's Roland's supply chain , not the chip shortages , global recession and a new addition of war 🤔 nah it just be all Roland's fault

[@sectiondrecords4580]

Yep, Elektron, Polyend, even some other Roland products don’t have “chip” problems. Someone at Roland didn’t estimate demand correctly and didn’t adjust when demand was obvious.

[@coolchib15]

Fantastic review! Those flip transitions are 🔥.

[@audreyazwell]

I was just about to comment the same about those transitions, sick af

[@ahareally]

@@audreyazwell Same :D Incredibly well done.

[@pirateradioFPV]

I'm glad Roland is still working on the future Audiopilz episodes 👀🤭

[@VTOLKits]

🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@CraaaaaabPeople]

😂

[@thepeopleschoice431]

Sounds cool. Nice job

[@nondoctor]

Really good video on these three. Thank you. I appreciate all of your work.

[@gapster77]

I’ve been tinkering with the T-8, it’s really good. Been using it lately at around 95bps, with only the 303 sent to the delay, and the 303 and the Bass Drum sent to the Reverb; The Bass Drum at about 1/2 the available intensity, and the 303 on full. If you tweak the delay so the first bounce back lands a fraction of a second before the next step in the sequence the 303 sounds amazing! I’ve been getting some seriously chill ambient sounds out of it! You have the full octave range on the 303, so you can use it at higher pitches as well, which is not the norm for a 303, giving a chime like sound, and it’s very interesting. Haven’t touched on probabilities yet, or worked out how to pan either, but it’s eye opening exactly how much you can do with this. Roland have made a strong entry into the market for Volca sized instruments.

[@user-uz5nh2rl2u]

Rather than a million words of useless explanations, the essential tone guides you eloquently❤

[@GrimSingmuf]

Great video!

[@cresshead]

Superb!

[@user-rk2xj8gr3h]

Thanks Dude. It were good to See it working with a Midi Controller.

[@Staysharp3211]

Great vid bro bro

[@nym053]

That snare really smacks

[@wesleynass5971]

Transition at 6:44 was incredible

[@wesleynass5971]

6:43

[@Thetriangleguy_]

THE FLIP TRANSITION

[@AccurateBeats]

Yeah!!! 🤪

[@gleannmhuire]

Nice flips.

[@victorblancoarcas]

Hello, to synchronize I need some special cable or does a normal 3.5 cable work? What parameters should I configure in the menu? thank you

[@NovemberXXVII]

The o e feature I would have loved in the J-6 is if it supported custom chord sets. As someone coming from guitar and piano, it would be so convenient to program in the same chord sheet I'd use to play and just have those chords ready to fire. As is, all it allows is hand-keying chords, shift-ing around octaves to intvert them, and writing them to the sequencer...it's doable but the synth could be better as accompaniment which I think is kinda it's niche.

[@LuminorBeats]

9:10 look at that cable mess, i really dont get why companies insist on putting their i/o on the front. it doesn't look good, it doesn't feel good, you have to dodge cables all the time, with risk to accidentally disconnect one. i just don't understand it, there's no reason for it to be that way.

[@MegaTechnoteacher]

Nice flip transition effect!

[@aaronpeipert]

Excellent review as always, but those flip edits 👌

[@WalkinonSunshyne]

right they were so good. Best transtitions

[@dracul74]

I picked up a tr6s about 6 months ago... it’s completely changed my workflow. Loved it so much I got a mc 707. Really enjoying it so far. Not sure how I would use these new units... I would love if Roland did an fx focused unit like the Korg kp3 from days of old...

[@LUCKYLEFTY2GUNZ]

For real tho!!

[@remy5356]

Hey Mr Aaurate, how do you get back to chord after choosing a variation? If i program something it stays in the styles/variation and doesnt return to chord.

[@lionorgazellemusic4453]

Also thank you for making this

[@dinogoldie9716]

This was a really good demo of the drum machine and chord machine. Not so much of the vocoder.

[@JerseyVin]

So does the E-4 work equally well as an effects unit for synthesizers and drum machines as it does for vocals?

[@AccurateBeats]

Not really. Its way better for vocals. I just refuse to sing :)

[@cresshead]

BTW - just ordered the T-8 Beat Compact :) thanks for your insight .

[@cresshead]

Andertons say delivery is tomorrow - 19th may - ooh err!

[@jjhcw]

Nice!!

[@TheGreatPanicker]

Sooooo, when do these actually come out for the general public to purchase? Like in the usa?

[@thepcgamer2169]

Roland Aira Compact T-8 Does it contain any TR 909 hihats & snare or are they already preset by whats already inside ?

[@cresshead]

tr909 kick tr808 hand clap tr 606, snare, toms, hi hat tb303 bass

[@SonicVibe]

I seen that edit when ya flipped the device up ⬆️ smooth lol

[@cresshead]

yeh loved that... i'd drop em here.. so brave move!

[@blueworm99]

Yeah that was slick

[@AveMcree]

yeah that was dope

[@SomeOne-pd6vm]

4:19 damn that was smooth

[@adamquek1095]

I wonder if there's any blooper clips. Would love to see those failed flips.

[@mont-doggBeats]

They need to just release an updated version of the Roland MV-8800, not a new Roland-Mv model but the actual Mv-8800 or variation updated. They did it for the Tr-808 with all those Tr-8 variations

[@Iofflight78]

Yeah I tried to ignore these but they looked fun.

[@jayc9184]

why do so few people get the S1 with the set?

[@vinylarchaeologist]

3:50 “But on the OTHER HAND” - ooooh, see what you did there 😅

[@samprock]

Jam is sweet, Accurate! I like J6, reminds of an iPhone app I liked to mess with making chord/arp sequences.

[@lionorgazellemusic4453]

Can you send midi to another synth with the j 6

[@cresshead]

yes

[@user-rk2xj8gr3h]

Siunds good, dude.if you d show us hiw all if it are ti connect ti each other and also via MIDI. Thanks! And what's about S-1?By the way all of it has 64 Sounds Architecture.

[@crowfoot7355]

Sago Accurate thanks.

[@nobbystyles4807]

does the drum machine have swing ? could be a deal breaker for me.

[@DuckAlertBeats]

We will never know

[@olleandersson4991]

It has swing..

[@almightyEsquilax]

nice Ricky Tinez hat!

[@whereisko]

I was all into this trio, ready to make it rain then I saw £179 each and was like eeeeek 👀 but who knows

[@NathanChisholm041]

Who just sits in a park and jams? You would be lucky if you weren't robbed at gun point lol. I've bought all so the T-8 J-6 and the S-1 which you seem to not have atm. I might get the vocoder one even though I'm not a singer but man with the three hooked up its awsome for jamming outside under my patio amongst the greenery. Cheers....

[@GregFries]

e-4 is cool

[@MasaTheSlayer]

That E-4 would be something, but not sure how it would fit on my set.

[@justaname1862]

Never trust anyone with a moustache and tough stickers :-)

[@Drrolfski]

As portable, and probably fun to play around with as they are, I'm afraid their limitations wear these devices off rather quickly. Ending up as more of a gimmick than a useful instrument. When looking at the Beat Machine T-8, a few standard 606, 808, and 909 drum sounds and a single 808 bass are really not much to play with for a drum computer. (Heck, the cowbell is not even in there.) At least it would have been nice if you could load in your own drum samples. The Chord Synthesizer J-6 seems to be a bit more useful in an on-the-go DAWless set-up, maybe as a companion for the SP404MK2 for instance. But it's more for cooking up progressions and melodies, for sound design it's just too limited. The Vocal Tweaker E-4 definitely has creative potential but only if you want to work with voices. As a looper or music fx device, again it's just too limited. All-in-all, a refreshing entry of Roland into this market but a bit too much on the Fisher-Price side I'm afraid. But then again, some of this can probably also be said of the Volca series.

[@johnnybagwash2456]

love your videos as always question how do u change from sawtooth to square please

[@FredAlert]

Hare gött!

[@vineyardrecordingstudio]

Hmm totally not convinced … dont know what the point of this things is.

[@spectralknights2]

The point? It's cheap and it's for us who doesn't have the aira or any Roland digital gears. This could be my first Roland hardware (the T8)

[@slateand808]

If you dream of creating an acid techno festival out in nowhere, bringing a T8 and pair of powerful battery driven speakers could be enough.

[@Drrolfski]

​@@spectralknights2 I'm afraid the T-8 might wear you off rather quickly. Only a very few standard Roland sounds in there and no way to load in your own drum samples or synthesize your own.

[@cresshead]

It will save the universe from the evil Emperor Tharrg invading Titan via his galactic war ship. nothing but nothing can beat a 909 kick.

[@inthefade]

I really think they're just for newer musicians to try electronic music.

[@michaeltrenier]

I’m all in on the J6 for the road with my MPC One

[@robbrobb7587]

The compact sounds great, but the form factor is the real issue mush as things in eurorack. The size trade off isn't quite worth the loss of tweakability. It's hard to dial things in on these, but you can use midi of course though some parameters may not have midi cc. Going to have to check one of these out first hand.

[@MichaMaschiene-jd8wd]

volca , no Akai 2000 in Roland , use Roland Space Echo 🎉 and Atari Midi St , Seq, best midi clock

[@nexuzeb79]

The J-6 is just a rompler but a really nice one, I like it :)

[@mentalfortitude5718]

Just a comment to help the algorithm

[@lairdkilbarchan]

I agree.😁

[@AveMcree]

Make sure to get his likes up too lol.. This my guy right here.

[@suussh1084]

replying to help 🙆🏽‍♂️

[@mentalfortitude5718]

@@AveMcree oh shit, I used to watch your vids all the time when I was learning how to make beats. I Just play piano now, but Thanks for the tips and tricks!

[@THE_ONLY_GOD]

Should have made the T8 blue or White or silver instead of orange…obviously

[@lairdkilbarchan]

Roland Volcas, whodathunkit?

[@mistergrooveman1018]

The moment you make music with it's amazing ! sometimes people make a better music with simple instrument so don't laugh ! Caus' often the musicien is more important than the instrument !

[@annother3350]

Acid music was born out of the cheapest drum machines and synths, around (the 303) and yes it was magical bit its not 1986 any more....

[@Vapor-Fi]

I don't get it, you can get a full groove box from sonicware for the same price as these. The Bass and Beats is $199 and gives you full control of the Bass and has a bunch of drum kits. Roland is so late to the game with these.

[@THE_ONLY_GOD]

Which one is that?

[@edthewave]

Sonicware SmplTrek hasn't been released yet, has it? It's still a Kickstarter.

[@plastiktoyz]

@@edthewave No but the Bass&Beats from sonicware has, I have one. For the same price as this roland T-8 I get more drum kits and full synth edit ability.

[@plastiktoyz]

@@THE_ONLY_GOD The Sonicware Liven Bass&Beats

[@themainman3900]

@@plastiktoyz I wouldn’t say that the bass and beats cater to the same market as these. Those are very much for people who already know what they are doing and want a portable unit whereas these cater both experienced and newer users. The B&B alpha numeric menu diving system is crazy and makes the Roland equivalent look like a cake walk. Also, for what it’s worth I had one for literally a day and had to send it back since it just stopped turning on. I might pick another one up when they become more readily available at US outlets though. It is a cool machine that sounds great, but not very easy to navigate without the manual on hand IMO.

[@AveMcree]

btw☕☕☕

[@AveMcree]

Only one I like is the J-6.. Would be a great for SP404MK2

[@schmapps1]

How do you see those two working together?

[@SonicVibe]

He want them chord progressions lol

[@schmapps1]

@@SonicVibe How would that even work with the SP though? Like put single one-shot notes on the SP pads, and then use MIDI from the J-6 to trigger them?

[@SonicVibe]

@@schmapps1 that was my thinking 🤔 if possible he might also have volcas too

[@AveMcree]

@@schmapps1 you sample the chords then chop them

I like them , what baffles me is the volca users slating them lmao like comparing a noisy crap circuit with a juno emulation

[@scowlsmcjowls2626]

Dude are u in the illuminatae? U got an eye tattoo

[@brawndothethirstmutilator9848]

We are all in. You’re the only one that doesn’t get to join.

[@zzzwy777]

roland volca

[@mastercylinder1939]

Rolands Korg volcas.

[@dinogoldie9716]

What's the lifespan of these internal batteries and what happens when they die?

[@MrScarabey]

Maybe Roland could replace them if a gear meets guarantee terms (idk how to say it right), and it would be a pain for everybody. But mostly when battery dies, gear goes to trash

[@BendApparatus]

@@MrScarabey correct me if I'm wrong but it has to plugged in to charge...most units with a chargeable battery use a bypass so it can be used while charging. Most things that run off internal batteries can be used when plugged in even if the internal battery no longer holds a real charge...so... Of course...that means any standalone portability goes out the window...

[@MrScarabey]

@@BendApparatus oh, if that's so, it's lifespan is ok then

[@MrScarabey]

Drum machine is the weakest imo, stands on par with Volca Beats, which is good, but not great (well, like all of them, except VKick and VSample), but knows more tricks tho. But Chord machine and vocoder/looper/fx are the big deal, more for vocoder, i think

[@brawndothethirstmutilator9848]

Agreed. $200 for the T-8, or $350 for a TR-6s or MC-101? Easy to see where the value is at there.

[@WildernessMusic_GentleSerene]

Roland Volca? The reason in my 54 years of playing keyboards I never bought a Korg Volca....because I don't want an abbreviated synth. For $300 to $400 I can buy a Roland Boutique which is a full featured synth. Wish Roland would have stayed with the line of Boutiques without adding confusion to novices with these compact synth/groove box/vocoder, vocal processor. Maybe because of the intended line of compact synths from Behringer, Roland felt the marketing need for these. Small synths with limited sound design is not my cup of tea. I am looking forward to Roland's next unique innovative digital synth with massive sound, extended oscillators, and massive modulation options and full physical control of the sound....like a Gaia on steroids. A Gaia with more layers, LED indicators on all controls, and a routing matrix like the Arturia MatrixBrute, and with poly after-touch keyboard and ribbon like a HydraSynth.

[@inthefade]

The Volca Keys is a real gem. Limited, but just such a dirty and thick sound.

[@polabear7921]

You didn't mention the T8 also having a TB 303 in it as well..but coo video.love your videos

[@cresshead]

he did, try re watching it at 3mins 19 seconds

[@Rr0gu3_5uture]

The last Roland product I bought new was the SH-32 which was utter dogshit. I am tempted to buy the Vocal Tweaker E-4 though. Think I'll use it for live Metal Mickey/Dalek backing vocals in my weirdo Punk band though. Would've been better if it had an XLR input mind you.

[@KevinJohnsrude]

I'll judge. The three Aira Compacts will cost you US $600. You can get an Akai MPC One for $700 and do a lot more. The Aira Compacts should have been priced at $100 apiece.

[@BlackWhiteCloud]

But you don't need to buy the three.

[@KevinJohnsrude]

@@BlackWhiteCloud unless you want to do all three things. Which the Akai does and more.

[@scowlsmcjowls2626]

Rolands long delay of a reply to korgs volcas but also not

[@asantecarter7013]

Still the same sounds packed in a new box. Roland get over it!

[@strangersun7721]

I don't get the appeal of things like these. It's hardware, but without the fun of hardware because of the tiny size and limitations. They aren't fun limitations. They're annoying and limiting. Save a bit more for a bigger more fully featured machine or buy a cheap iPad. You'll get way more out of them.

[@okinawa1312]

The Planet is dying...we need more battery powered shenanigans!

[@Jason75913]

with user-replaceable batteries

[@erikkarapetian2113]

✔️ pr໐๓໐Ş๓

[@DuckAlertBeats]

Does anyone actually take their music equipment to the park?

[@AccurateBeats]

Yeah :p kzbin.info/www/bejne/jZqlaGmkgax8rZI

[@annother3350]

Don't judge them? You just said these bullshit boxes are the best in class!!! They're ridiculously limited

[@Manjarow]

rebirth clone

[@cresshead]

T-8 sorta is - nice!

[@Manjarow]

@@cresshead I was thinkin about buyin one but then I realized, I already got a mc 808 and 2 sp808's maybe a little overkill? the workflow will get allot better wont you think?

[@cresshead]

@@Manjarow i'll let ya know.. my T-8 should be here tomorrow - thursday 19th may

[@Jason75913]

"Don't judge them!" THEY WILL BE JUDGED. AND I JUDGE THEM: _not for me_

[@tiseme]

30 seconds of video then 40 seconds of ads. Do us a favour.

[@cristianocaldas]

No more hip hop please...always every tutorial video use hip hop for exemplo

[@djyucatec4999]

WORST JAM PAL...GO PLAY THE FLUTE