SuperBooth 2022: Aira Compact
Roland’s super compact and portable line has just been announced!
Roland has just joined the game of the super-portable compact instruments with its brand new Aira Compact lineup! The first instruments are the T-8, the J-6, and the E-4. A drum machine/ bass synth, a 4-voice synth, and a vocoder.
Once again, Roland uses its Analogue Circuit Behaviour (ACB) technology to offer some of the iconic sounds of its TR drum machines, the TB basses, the Juno, and the VT vocoder.
All three models are tiny, battery-powered, and colorful! Meant to be used for outdoor jams, dawless setups, and small studios, they all fit into a large pocket and definitely your backpack. A big plus is that they use lithium batteries you can charge instead of standard triple-A batteries and have syncing and audio routing options to link them all together and jam away.
So let’s go through each one of them:
T-8
The T-8 has 6 drum tracks and a bass track with a 32-step sequencer. In it, you can find sounds from Roland’s legendary 808, 909, and 606 drum machines and the bass voice is of course based on the 303.
The sequencer is the classic Roland drum machine step sequencer that will all know and on it, you can also program your bassline with a note per step process that feels a bit clumsy. There are also two accent tracks, one for the drums and one for the bassline to bring some movement to your sequences.
To add to that, there are also some effects available like overdrive, sidechain compression, reverb, and delay to quickly spice things up. Another interesting feature is the randomization you can have to your rhythm or bass that creates some random sequences for when you feel completely uninspired.
First Thoughts:
To be honest, I can’t really see the value of this one. All its sounds are way overused nowadays and accessible to everyone as samples so another 808-909 drum machine and 303 bassline seems a bit uninspiring. The obsession with those sounds has become frustrating and I would love for someone to take the same principles and foundation of those legendary instruments and create something new and fresh. For someone that just needs a very basic drum module to lay down a beat really fast is ok. But that’s where its usability stops for me.
J-6
J-6 is a 4-voice poly-synth based on the beloved Roland Juno. It has 64 presets from the original Juno that you can slightly tweak the filter cutoff and resonance, and the Amp Envelope’s attack and decay. You also have your standard effects - Reverb and Delay and then there is the sequencer and the keyboard.
On the keyboard, you can play single notes but you can also play chords using one key. The most interesting feature is the arpeggiator where there are two typical arpeggiators and some more unique styles, as they call them, where your chords are played back in numerous different ways and rhythms using the variations offered.
The sequencer is also quite useful. You can program notes or chords and combine them with the arpeggiator to create some very cool patterns.
First Thoughts:
The J-6 is basically a Juno preset playback machine. There is no actual tweaking of the sounds and you cannot build your own sounds using the Juno engine in the Ju-06a. But that can also be an advantage. For someone that desperately needs the Juno sound, it is a cool little gadget to play some classic sounds on a budget. The sequencer and arpeggiator on the other hand are quite advanced and inspiring and you can also use them to MIDI sequence other gear which is great. I can definitely find the benefit of having this little synth in your studio, especially if you are a Juno fan!
E-4
For me, the E-4 is the most interesting module of the lineup. It is an autotune machine, a vocoder, and a looper with added effects that also can get quite weird and unexpected with the Scatter knob that creates rhythm and pitch variations.
You also have a harmony option to duplicate your vocals in harmony, a formant slider to drastically change your voice’s tone, and a pitch slider to re-pitch your vocals.
This portable instrument is simple but also deep and highly effective when you want to process vocals and the compact form really comes in handy for vocalists who just want a small unit to carry around and sing.
First Thoughts:
I’m definitely buying the E-4. Hardware autotune and harmonizer for 200€ is amazing. I can’t really find any cons for this one when you consider its price. It is a great tool, easy to use, and gets its job done how it’s supposed to. So for us who can’t really sing it is a great solution!
Conclusion
After Korg’s Volca range and Behringer’s new Volca-style modules, Roland joins the party with the Aira Compact. I’m pretty sure more of these will follow, just like in the Boutique series and I’m also sure they will be very successful for the young musicians and producers. In general, I’m a bit disappointed that Roland keeps chasing its own tail, again and again recreating its vintage synths and drum machines in literally every size and format. It is a legendary company that certainly has the people and funds to push the industry forward but they just decide to drain all their vintage legacy.
