Roland’s Aira Compact P-6 puts ‘creative sampling’ in your pocket

Roland’s Aira Compact range already had a couple of synths, a beat machine and a voice tweaker, and now it’s got a sampler, too. The P-6 Creative Sampler, to be precise - a pocket-sized, portable device that enables you to capture, tweak, play and sequence sounds on the go.

That’s likely to sound like a pretty enticing combination to a lot of people. You can sample using the built-in mic, analogue inputs or from your smartphone over USB-C, and these samples can be chopped and triggered using the built-in keyboard.

There are step sampling and resampling features, while the hands-on effects include Vinyl Simulator, DJFX Looper, Stopper, Lo-fi, Scatter, Phaser, Resonator and more. Granular sampling tools enable you to indulge in some “microscopic sound design”; as well as being able to detune samples you can also adjust the grain shape and play with the head position, head speed and spread.

The 64-step sequencer, meanwhile, comes with creative features such as motion recording, probability, micro-timing, off-grid sequencing and sub-steps. The Step Function enables real-time manipulation so that you can improvise live and generate stutter effects.

We certainly like the sound of being able to sample directly into the P-6, but if you’d rather prepare sounds on a Mac or PC, you can do so in the dedicated SampleTool software. As well as offering click removal, editing and normalisation features, this also has a downsampling option for a grittier, lo-fi sound.

Of course, a lot of what’s described above can be achieved in several mobile apps, but there’s an argument to say that sampling on the P-6 will be a more fun and tactile experience. What’s more, you can connect and sync it to the other Aira Compacts - the S-1 Tweak Synth , T-8 Beat Machine, J-6 Chord Synthesizer, and E-4 Voice Tweaker - if you happen to own one or more of those.

The P-6 Creative Sampler is available now priced at $220. Find out more on the Roland website.