The J-6 is an Inspirational MIDI Controller!

The J-6 is an Inspirational MIDI Controller!
Today I want to show you why I think the J-6 is such an inspirational MIDI controller! As someone who doesn't have a lot of advanced music theory knowledge, chords (particularly extensions and progressions) can be a tricky thing for me to work out. That's where the J-6 comes in and saves me. I can plug it into any polyphonic (or paraphonic in this case) synthesizer, and instantly get access to 100 different banks of chords that work together in various ways, and the amazing J-6 sequencer, allowing me to break through in new creative ways! Enjoy the video :)
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Roland J-6: amzn.to/3liW6G4
Arturia Microfreak: amzn.to/3Tfqfmp
Zoom Livetrak L-12 (audio recorder): amzn.to/3Jlc8ax
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[@magnetik5348]

fwiw I think you stated the reverse on the midi connector type. Arturia is type B and Roland is A.

[@FreeBeat]

YES you are correct, I cant believe I missed that in editing, thank you so much!

[@darwiniandude]

Also if you have a normal TRS 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable as shown at the start of the video, just cut it in half, separate the wires and strips the ends with sissors. You'll have an outer shield, tie those together. Then you'll have two separate wires, maybe coloured red and white. Anyway, connect the red to white, and the white to red. Tape them up. You now have an A to B patch cable.

[@mksln]

​@@darwiniandude exactly! Or for those that don't want to do the cable modifications there are pre-made 3.5mm crossover cables on Amazon and eBay for less than $10

Thanks for this. I'm also confirming the Type A 3.5mm TRS to 5-pin female adapter type for the J-6 is absolutely correct. I think it's worth restating because the only Roland article I could find that referred to types A or B, "Getting to Know AIRA Compact: J-6 Chord Synth", confusingly states "All AIRA Compacts use MIDI TRS TYPE B cables and won’t work with TYPE A cables," at the time I'm writing this. Maybe this doesn't apply to adapters. Anyway, I ordered both adapter types A and B to be certain and A is definitely the one that works with the J-6.

[@Mr10Winger]

@@mksln Hi, do you have a link to Amazon for this cable ?

[@loubang100]

The chord progressions in the J-6 are heavenly

[@FreeBeat]

Definitely!

[@krazywabbit]

Can’t say it enough. Your videos on the J6 helped me to keep this device. I was ready to sell because I was listening to the noise of social media complaining about the limitations of this device. When we open our minds to other possibilities beyond looks or sounds, it’s a free experience that beats anything out there. Bravo sir. The universe is in good hands with your inspiration.

[@FreeBeat]

Yeah I don't really get the hate on it, it's a very versatile tool!

[@sheepkillindog]

It really rounds out any live set. It’s always in my live rig

[@N.E.S.83930]

Workaround for the MIDI A/B issue, if you have a 3.5mm to RCA male cable, and also a 3.5mm to RCA female, then you can switch the right and left of the RCA and plug it in (red to white instead of red to red), it should work. These cables are common and you may already have them around the house.

[@FreeBeat]

Great tip!

[@sheepkillindog]

I took an old pair of blown headphones and pulled the cable off of it. Tested the ends from where the headphones were attached and figured out the tip, ring, sleeve configuration on the remaining 1/4” tip. Then I soldered a new tip on but reversed the tip and ring. This makes a midi flipper for this very problem. One cable (plus an extra1/4” stereo tip) and about 5 minutes of bench time.

[@glenesis]

Nice!!

[@muzzmacc6411]

Maybe just pull out one end of the 3.5 jack, until only one ‘ring’ is engaged at either end. Kind of like when you pull out a headphone cable, so that the sound only comes through one ear…

[@ElectronicChateau]

Theory's easy once you get your head around it. The breakthrough for me was learning how the major scale is made and how everything else relates to that i.e. Minor scale and how chords are built. you can defintely go a long way with a little bit. I think a lot of people go out of their way to make it sound more deep than it actually is.

[@ilovecatsandsynths9702]

I haven’t looked at the J6 manual, but I’m assuming/hoping that each of the built-in chord progressions/patterns are documented so you can learn what they are. A great way to learn would be to pick a pattern you like the sound of on the J6, then learn what the chords and progression are, and recreate them yourself on a regular keyboard. Great way to learn new progressions and how they’re played.

[@FreeBeat]

I mean I do have a high school level education, so I've got my scales down solid, its more the theory of actually moving from complex chord to complex chord that gets me. I've been studying a lot more jazz piano lately, and if I go slow, I can sort of wrap my head around it, but it's pretty difficult lol.

[@johngilbert184]

J-6 from crock to super tool in 13 minutes! Now rescuing mine from the "disapointing gear" heap...... Thank you.

[@FreeBeat]

Yay! Glad it's been saved haha.

[@glenesis]

Same!

[@macaronafterparty]

Def one of my fav videos to date from you. Great stuff!

[@FreeBeat]

Thanks so much!

[@ilovecatsandsynths9702]

Run audio from both the J6 and the Microfreak into your interface, then turn on the arpeggiator on the Microfreak. Then you can get chords + arpeggios at once!

[@Gainn]

Similar to what I'm doing tonight. Doing some semi ambient stuff and got a J6 running arps on a deepmind and chords on a Cobalt8. The sound from the J6 goes off as a sidechain.

[@FreeBeat]

Great idea!

[@SynthCarnage666]

I love this channel well done keep going man!

[@401dB]

Wow, this is great! Thanks for sharing!

[@vectorhold6489]

I used the J-6 on an Tropical House Synthwave EP I released a few months back. Came out sounding great.

[@FreeBeat]

Awesome!

[@kevinaaronson]

Where can I find this EP? Thanks!

[@vectorhold6489]

kzbin.info/aero/OLAK5uy_lUEO-gpB-699zyWBo6ism1PcPLBe4xPmc @@kevinaaronson

[@EchoKraft]

Your videos are awesome! Thank you for sharing this.

[@FreeBeat]

Thank you so much!

[@netako]

The J-6 is ironically one of the best MIDI controllers on the market despite not being an actual MIDI controller. x)

[@FreeBeat]

Definitely!

[@thomascox1229]

Great ideas! Thanks!

[@darwiniandude]

Thanks for the video. Very cool. Never heard of the J-6 before.

[@FreeBeat]

Thanks for watching!

[@andrewstanworth529]

We had the same idea!!! Cool video, mah friend. Very cool!!

[@FreeBeat]

Thank you!

[@ryanmoran2403]

When I first caught wind of these new Roland boxes I wasn’t very interested in the J6 very much. However after exploring it further on KZbin, I’m more excited about this one than the S1!!!!!

[@adambuscher]

The J6 has been a huge inspiration kickstarter. Set 4 chords on one of the strumming patterns and solo over top. Literally drool-fuel.

[@LiftedNoise]

Is there a way of strumming individual chords?

[@adambuscher]

@@LiftedNoise if the Variation mode is set ON, you can press the keys individually to play the strumming variation. Up to 4 note polyphony

[@LiftedNoise]

@@adambuscher so it's a preset variation, no actual control of the strumming? Thanks for the reply.

[@adambuscher]

@@LiftedNoise that is correct, there are 20 different variations (banks 8 and 9) I actually find the variations in banks 6 & 7 the most usable for a simple jam backtrack

[@LiftedNoise]

@Adam Buscher thank You 🙏 I really appreciate your insight 🙏

[@PostingCringeOnMain]

I found this out by combining the J-6 and the Volca FM2 which addresses two major issues - gives the Volca FM2 a much better control surface and the J-6 a much nicer sound set.

[@FreeBeat]

Awesome!

[@matzer8846]

Great idea ... this J-6 chord function is great and being able to use it on other MIDI synths is cool Me got this MIDI polarity issue too .. its just a PIDA ...

[@FreeBeat]

Thanks for watching!

[@maschinenbeats]

Very usefull. Thank you 🎉

[@wiggesobk]

This is so cool!

[@FreeBeat]

Thanks Wigges!

[@AndyHolt72]

I had the same idea;not interested in the onboard sounds really, just use it as an inspiration machine / midi controller with my other synths and i capture it’s midi output into the Retrokits RK08. It’s so useful. cheers.

[@brendanr7199]

If anyone is interested, type a and b trs midi just swaps the tip and ring wiring. They sell trs midi a to b adapters or you can take an aux cable and splice it back together with the tip and ring connections crossed if you want to go full diy

[@Gainn]

Companies still using different standards for TRS midi pisses me off. Just standardise one and be done. (Roland not including an adapter is another bone I'd like to pick)

[@FreeBeat]

Aggreed!

[@returnofthegoth2220]

Hmmmm...I had not tried my J6 in this capacity but now I gotta try. To the Batcave!

[@FreeBeat]

Do it!

[@lwpweb]

nice microfreak demo

[@LiftedNoise]

Here we go! 😎

[@FreeBeat]

I hope you liked the video!

[@kevinanderson519]

I have the J6 and absolutely love it. Similar to you, it’s an inspiration tool to get me out of a rut. Using it with my MPC One has been a lot of fun. And I just won a Microfreak in a competition, should be here next week, so I’ll definitely be pairing the two of them up. Thanks for another great video.

[@FreeBeat]

Congrats on the Microfreak! I hope you have fun with that combo, it's a blast :D

[@marcosrotllan]

I understand you hate the mpc one worlflow and you use the j6 for enhance it. I can understand that, could you explain a bit more your workflow with them?

[@Eli_B3000]

I'm not sure if you saw it, but someone online ported all the chord sets to MPC One format and you can load them all in pretty easily.

[@floyd101954]

I own the S-1, T-8 and E-4. I also own 5 Boutique Series including the JU-06A so I didn’t think this J6 was something I needed or wanted as I can get its sound and a whole lot more from my JU-06A…..Until I watched this video demo. I too am like you, a Drummer with a bit of music theory knowledge and some minimal keyboard (guitar and bass too) skills. I knew that this J6 could interface with my DAW, but I really prefer my hands on Hardware Synths over anything Abletons or Logics Virtual Instruments offer me. I didn’t realize how easy it is to hook it up to external synths and use the Chord functionality to control them. I have a Microfreak too and as much as I like the Capacitance keyboard because of its Polyphonic Aftertouch, it’s not the greatest keyboard for chords for players like myself. To be able to use all of the J6’s Chord structures with the Microfreak (and I assume my Hydrasynth) opens up a whole new set of musical possibilities for me. I’m ordering a J6 right now!

[@FreeBeat]

That's awesome! It's been several months since I put this video out and my feelings on the j-6 are still the same, I use it all the time. Thanks for watching:)

[@rexcellencemagee6729]

I thought some of you might find this helpful. Midi a,b and c are crock and I hate it! But there is a fairly easy solution. I recently went 100 percent Bluetooth and this a problem I kept running into. I bought 2 WIDI 1 in 5 out but they are all 5 pin. Amazon has WIDI host in two format and one of them is 2.5 and you can get 2.5 to 1/4 cables for an extra ten bucks with it in one set or 2.5 to 2.5 or 2.5 to 5 DIN. Here’s what’s special about this unit! It’s Bluetooth or connecter, but it has an a to b and c on it! If you have Korg, Arturia, Roland, in my case a variety of pedals, Beetronics, Chase Bliss, etc… that uses 1/4 midi, one uses mini usb, that type thing. So in Bluetooth I only an in, the outs are BT. Most of these I only need to change my midi cc preferences (by the way FB, that would work on your Akai controller as well. Once their set up you don’t need the computer anymore) but in this videos case plain and simple you would be prepared for ANY MIDI situation. I’ve found it’s best to have at least one of every connection whether I need it or not! Lol, someday I’ll be happy I did! I hope that helped! DIN 5 is from 1982 so the fact it still exists at all is surprising. By the way, really good video! If I didn’t already have a variety ways to do saved chords this video would have convinced me! I did end up getting one of these because of all the sound I have in Komplete 14, the Intege 7, and the Korg Nautilus and Kronos. I think Metioned before the Widi 1/8 Bluetooth device does A and b, you can just switch between the two as needed! peace, I was thinking the opposite for inspiration using them as arpregios.

[@FreeBeat]

Thanks as always!

[@swantons1119]

This is music to my ears. Definitely ordering a j6 now! Are there any additional utility settings you have to change on the microfreak and/or the j6 to pair these machines up successfully? Thanks

[@FreeBeat]

Nothing outside of making sure that they're both on the same MIDI channel :)

[@swantons1119]

@@FreeBeat thanks for the response. Another quick question, could this be used the other way round aswel, for example, could I use the microfreaks arp/sequencer spice and dice with the j6 sounds, delays cut off etc?

[@kidzorro]

Thanks for sharing this! I'm considering the option of getting two J-6s instead of using a separate MIDI keyboard. Do you think they can be synced so that you essentially have two octaves side by side? For example, using an S-1 and T-8 along with two J-6 units together would be a really compact option, both playable and with good connectivity.

[@planetxxx8424]

hi @freebeat. have you used the j-6 as a midi controller for the deluge? i tried today and got zero sound so i wondered if it was likely the same issue as with the microfreak?

[@floyd101954]

Sweetwater sells a top quality Type A “Dongle” connector for only $5.00…. Make Noise 0-Coast MIDI Cable - Type A 3.5mm TRS to 5-pin MIDI I have several of them and they work great!

[@Volcaniced]

Thank you so much for the Video. It seems you have the same problem with the finish on the MicroFreak keyboard as I do. I had to replace my keyboard for the 3rd time.

[@FreeBeat]

It's definitely wearing down, but it's just cosmetic, as far as I know. Doesn't really bug me haha. Thanks for watching!

[@Volcaniced]

@@FreeBeat my pleasure .. btw you got the today's shout-out on my channel 😸 congrats 👏

[@bartjanc]

Does the J-6 also have options about what it sends out through the MIDI? Like have it send out just the root note (to use for a bass) while the J-6 is doing some sort of chord stabs or arpeggios? Or even better would be if it could send the root note on channel 1, chord stabs on channel 2, arpeggios on channel 3, etc. I'm not seeing much on the MIDI out in the manual, thus i guess it doesn't do that. But it would be cool nonetheless. The T-8 does see pattern changes and can change the (303) bassline, right? If the midi out doesn't do that, it could be possible to do it on some ipad app or using eurorack. That way the J-6 could be used as sort of a central hub for multiple different musical parts (all in key) while jamming 🤔

[@FreeBeat]

I'm honestly not sure, I haven't looked too much into it.

[@nodoze123]

Could you please post the link to the correct cable you have for the J=6? Thank you...

[@leesaltmemes8327]

Just a heads up that Amazon sells a brand of 3.5mm a-b midi converters called PolarNoise that seem to have good reviews if you don't want to use those giant, clunky dongles. Also, doesn't the MF have a chord mode by itself or was that a recent addition?

[@coskuarsiray]

To convert two tyoes of midi, use mini trs to rca female stereo, and another mini trs with rca male. Switch L and R and it will work.

[@FreeBeat]

Thanks for watching!

[@LilHoss]

Have you ever used Scaler 2 VST? Great chords and music theory.

[@LilHoss]

MPC ONE also has good chords and chord progressions....👍

[@FreeBeat]

Nope, maybe I'll check it out sometime.

[@LilHoss]

@@FreeBeat It's available on plugin boutique.... I've seen it for $29 recently, it's $59 now, but if you get with them they would probably hook you up. Well worth the money!!!

[@MagnaXaesthete]

Hey bud should I use the same method to Sync the J6 to my minilogue xd ?

[@moonbob_chris]

Do you know if you can change the number of beats per step on a per step basis? I can't work it out maybe its a global setting which would be a bummer

[@FreeBeat]

I don't believe you can do it per step :(

[@user-rk2xj8gr3h]

Explan thomething about your Connection if all that stuff. Thanks!

[@oscarjmg]

Do you know, if there's a way to know in which scale are the chords of the genres and presets of chords, so I can scale lock my sequencer for melody?

[@FreeBeat]

Roland has them listed in a pdf on their website I believe.

[@oscarjmg]

@@FreeBeat I saw the chords but not the scale they are in :(

[@symbiat0]

I’ve decided to rename the Roland Aira Compact to Rolcas, they’re like Roland’s answer to the Volcas 😂

[@FreeBeat]

Haha I think a lot of folks call them that!

[@girlinagale]

And now we have Bolcas, Beringer's answer to the Rolcas.

[@stuartcarter7053]

I'm guessing you can transpose so the chords are in a different key?

[@FreeBeat]

Yes!

[@otherotternl]

Is this still a must have now that you can use chord modes in microfreak?

[@FreeBeat]

They work very differently :)

[@otherotternl]

So that answere is yes?

[@EarJuice]

This is one of the main reasons I got one. Plug it into the Korg Wavestate......... but as he corrected Roland is Type A not B.

[@Xtr4s4]

The webshop Thomannmusic and another page describes J-6 as type A. So I’m a little uncertain myself.

[@EarJuice]

@@Xtr4s4 I think he got it wrong way around. Most mainline brands are type A. I think Artura is B n one or 2 others.

[@FreeBeat]

Yeah, like I said in the pinned comment I misspoke and missed it in editing.

[@Tuvalu977]

I wonder why there are so few videos on YT about using the J6 as a MIDI controller (almost none at all...). Is it because people are unaware of that functionality, or because the appeal wears off way too quickly? For me, considering to buy a J6, it seems like an amazing feature with almost no limits... (chord inversions like on the model:cycles would be great though)

[@TrevorDBEYDAG]

Did you say some people doesn’t like the internal sound? Really? This is why you are making this video to use this device is a midi controller? J6’s sounds heritage of all the big brothers, Jupiter and so. So my message to these people who doesn’t like the sound of J6 ; don’t buy it, or if you did use for its beautiful sound😊

[@Cysubtor_8vb]

You're really trying to get me to buy a Roland J-6 🤣

[@FreeBeat]

It's pretty great!

[@TrentDabs]

That's no frigging good!

[@symbiat0]

The Microfreak uses the “wrong” TRS MIDI. Retrokits sell TRS A to TRS B cables.

[@FreeBeat]

Yeah I misspoke and missed it in editing. I mentioned it in the pinned comment response so hopefully people see it.

[@ATJ-sTAt]

Roland's MIDI bank setup is such a pain. It's just like when apple changed the Bluetoth-standard in their products so only other Apple could send/receive...

[@FreeBeat]

Yeah it's a little frustrating!

[@raypierce5818]

I do have a micro freak but this seams to be more of a video on that than the J-6. I learned very little about it.

[@Tconcept]

Barry Manilow would love this.

[@girlinagale]

Mr Loopop Hands.

[@WoodyAki]

Doing pretty much the same with Scaler 2 on iOS instead of the J-6...

[@FreeBeat]

Cool! What's with the three dots at the end haha.

[@WoodyAki]

@@FreeBeat That's because I fade into the ether after the comment 😉

[@AutisticCuriosity]

Now go listen to Bad Gear episode to hear what it’s really like!

[@FreeBeat]

What do you mean by that?

[@eightcoins4401]

If only it didnt have a minijack midi out

[@DIMI.MUSIC_]

So a easy way to explain J-6 is a chord maker?

[@girlinagale]

Chord maker and sequencer.

[@DIMI.MUSIC_]

@@girlinagale thank you :)

[@user-cn4or8iq4t]

I like your practical approach to this but I must say...to my ears the micro freak does not sound better than the J-6. It pretty much sounds the same, Try the S-1 it's dope.

[@NathanielPrinceCoulter]

Nothing can help you use something that you don’t understand. Now you’re still just guessing with a different tool.

[@ATJ-sTAt]

I beg to differ. Everytime you try some new setup with your KeystepX you jam with no effort and it usually sounds great, so quit the false modesty! ;)

[@FreeBeat]

It's definitely not false modesty haha, I am genuinely daunted by and in the dark about proper complex chord changes. My little jams with the Keystep are usually just me noodling around basic scales haha.

[@googlepigs7027]

🎵 ! FREE BEAT ! 🎵 TOTALLY AWESOME !!! 👋👍👋👍 SOLD !!!

[@FreeBeat]

Thanks for watching!