Review: Roland AIRA Compact
The AIRA Compact series starts with three different instruments that are meant to complement each other: T-8 is a small groovebox and combines a TR drum computer with a TB-303-inspired bass synthesizer along with a matching sequencer. J-6 is a Juno-60 inspired four-voice polyphonic synthesizer with various chord sets and arpeggios for interesting harmonies and melodies. The E-4 Voice Tweaker, which offers a variety of effects from vocoder to harmonizer and from looper to a scatter for rhythmic chopping of the input signal, is the final feature.
Ultra compact
All three devices have the identical dimensions of approximately 19 x 11 x 4 cm and are, therefore, about as wide as the Korg Volcas, but slightly less deep. The display is a 7-segment display, so only numbers like tempo and preset number, as well as simple strings can be displayed. Like the Volcas or Roland‘s Boutique series, all three devices have a 3.5mm mini-jack headphone jack for an audio output, placed in the upper right corner next to the small volume control.
USB-C for MIDI/Audio
Alternatively, the audio signal can also be tapped digitally via the USB-C port and integrated losslessly into the DAW. This compact device functions as an audio interface and can also be supplied with power via USB. The latter can be deactivated to conserve the battery of the connected mobile device, such as iPad or iPhone, and to avoid error messages due to excessive power consumption. In this case, the Roland synthesizer receives power from its built-in battery. The USB port is
