Roland AIRA Compact T-8 J-6 E-4, S1 and bears - oh my!

[Kattefjaes]

Damn if these aren't adorable:



I think someone at Roland accidentally made something fun again. All three are appealing in their own semi-casual way.

[Luap]

The T-8 is like ReBirth in a box!

[Kattefjaes]

The T-8 is like ReBirth in a box!

200 pounds or so, internal battery, as I recall. Tell me that you're not tempted! Obviously you're limited, no alternative kits etc., but honestly, for that price, Roland Volca Acid(tm) looks stupidly fun. Sounds pretty decent in the video, too.

[Chopper]

the tr is definitely not for me (too small and I am way covered for 808/909/303), but I applause Roland for finally switching to usb C, and most importantly, using rechargeable instead of the 6AA the volcas and others are plaguing us with. I've been waiting this feature since forever.
I might have a go at the chord thingy, looks interesting, and I shall investigate the midi out features...

[renaissancemono]

There’s a point at which a UI becomes so limited and feature-poor that you’re better off using one of the million plug-ins that does the same thing. Pretty much all Roland gear since the System 1m falls under that category for me.

[syrusate]

The T-8 is like ReBirth in a box!

I was thinking the same thing. I even planned to by a Roland TR-09 and another TB-03 to add to my current TR-08 and TB-03, but honestly this is a way cheaper and smaller alternative to something that would just be a dream to have a hardware version of the app that got me into electronic music.

[syrusate]

There’s a point at which hardware becomes so limited and feature-poor that you’re better off using one of the million plug-ins that does the same thing. Pretty much all Roland gear since the System 1m falls under that category for me.

Yeh that's true, but I think the plusses for these are just fun little machines, sketch out ideas on the couch or coffee shop, and even introduce people to making electronic music.

[exper]

Idk. Might point down for the T8. I mean, the 303 section alone with overdrive, delay and reverb is worth more than the TB03, which I’m assuming is the same engine. The E4 would’ve been cool if it was stereo I/O.

The J6 seems the most useless to me. Presets with minimal editing, generic edm ‘patterns’, etc. I’d rather spend a little more for the JU06A.

[TheRosskonian]

Idk. Might point down for the T8. I mean, the 303 section alone with overdrive, delay and reverb is worth more than the TB03, which I’m assuming is the same engine. The E4 would’ve been cool if it was stereo I/O.

The J6 seems the most useless to me. Presets with minimal editing, generic edm ‘patterns’, etc. I’d rather spend a little more for the JU06A.

Got excited this morning when these were released, but looking at the details, I will be waiting to see some initial impressions. The J6 is the weirdest one to me. Seems like the auto-chord progression and arpeggiator generation would be a both fun and frustrating to jam with. Seems very easy to have it come up with a pattern, but how do you know what scale it's following? The ability to edit the synth itself being the most disappointing though, maybe a JU06A would be better.

Stereo would have been welcome on the E4, but the E4 still seems like it might be the most interesting of the three as an FX box for some mono synth. Considering the price, it offers a lot of diversity over what a single pedal would, especially in the same physical footprint.

[kcearl]

The T8 would be fun if you could multi track it out the usb but it looks like only stereo.

Ive had the vt3 and the vt4 so I dig the E4

[h4ndcrafted]

Can you change the models of the drums on the Rebirth like thing ? May get it just for the 303 emulation anyway.

I don’t mind the chord sequencer thing , could be fun.

We def need a new mixer from Roland , one that fits the look of the tr8s and mc707 would be ok with more audio ins , or even a looper in there too.

[tim gueguen]

Moog Audio and Long&McQuade both list them at $259.99 Canadian. This puts them in the same range as the Volcas, Modal's Craftsynth 2.0 and Skulpt SE, and the IK Media Unosynth.

I suspect the E4 will be the weak seller amongst them.

[h4ndcrafted]

So looking at the T-8 yr stuck with the same drum tones I.e. only a 909 kick, still worth for the 303 emulation imo though.

[Jay F.]

This puts them in the same range as the Volcas, [...]

Given the size, connectivity, price and feature set, this is clearly Roland's response to Korg's Volca line.

[emperor bohe]

looks kinda cool but I don't think that they would fit in my setup at the moment. I think the E4 may have some potential to be used as a weird audio manipulation device tho, so I'll keep checking in on it.

[Exit Chamber]

At last, someone at Roland has listened to my complaints about the Boutiques just being too damn big.

[obscurerobot]

All three of these are easy impulse buys - if I didn't have a lot on my plate right now.

It would be cool if Yamaha entered the fray, either updating the Reface line or bringing something new entirely.

[onthebandwagon]

What's the difference aside from size between the E-4 and the VT-4 which you can get for $50 more?

[exper]

The VT4 seems like it lacks the looper and scatter effects.

But I guess it adds a few preset settings.

[onthebandwagon]

The VT4 seems like it lacks the looper and scatter effects.

But I guess it adds a few preset settings.

Oh ok, I did think the scatter effect seemed cool. The thing I don't like is using that splitter with the headphone jack for the line in. Just another thing for me to misplace...

[zedius]

Roland keeps releasing vocoders without inputs for external carriers. Do people just not want that? I feel like I wouldn't want to buy a vocoder that was limited to internal carriers, but maybe it doesn't really matter in the long run?

[Katherine Alicia]

The internal Lithium cell puts me right off the whole idea, what`s wrong with using AA`s or an 18650 that you can swap out? I think I`ll stick to my MC-101 for portable music making, it does more and it`s cheaper.

[Christopher W.]

Hand on heart this is the first piece of Roland gear (the T-8) I've wanted in a long, long time.

It's not especially groundbreaking, clever, or powerful, but it does look fun to use. And that's what holds the greatest appeal to me these days.

[Chopper]

The internal Lithium cell puts me right off the whole idea, what`s wrong with using AA`s or an 18650 that you can swap out? I think I`ll stick to my MC-101 for portable music making, it does more and it`s cheaper.

rechargeable battery is cheaper in the long run, but most importantly, environment friendly.

[Katherine Alicia]

The internal Lithium cell puts me right off the whole idea, what`s wrong with using AA`s or an 18650 that you can swap out? I think I`ll stick to my MC-101 for portable music making, it does more and it`s cheaper.

rechargeable battery is cheaper in the long run, but most importantly, environment friendly.

I agree, that`s why I don`t even posses any single use batts and haven`t for nearly 4 years now, and also why I said about using an 18650.