Roland AIRA Compact T-8 Beat Machine

Right now I'm in the middle of traveling out of my country for a few months, so I needed something portable that I would still enjoy back home. Been using it on planes, trains, outside, inside. Been a while since I had so much fun with a synth. + Small, portable and easy, just charge it, and it will last you for a decent amount of time, get a battery bank, and you are set for some LONG rides. + The drums are super fun to mess with, and they sound pretty good! + The bass synth is not deep, but it's more flexible than I expected, and with the tuning knob it can even take a lead sound! + The sequencer goes quite deep, and even has side chaining built in! (For drum machine beginners like me, it means you can make drums quiet down when a specific drum plays (for example, quiet everything whenever the kick hits) + This synth alone can sound like a whole beat, sometimes I found myself forgetting I have other synthes around since the drums + bass have a pretty full sound. And now for the neatpicks - honestly a part of me wishes they added 2 more drums to this machine, and turn the bass into its own device, like the s-1 If they replaced it with a bell+cowbell section, and maybe a clap or something, I feel like it'd be a more full drum machine (but a less full all rounder). - the device is deceptively hard to learn fully if you have no experiance with drum machines. The manual has almost 40 pages. - I buttons are a little too squishy for the size, i always end up with unregistered presses when I try to quickly punch in drums into the sequencer mid beat, just too small to be both soft AND comfortable. ---- Overall, for the price it's a no brainier, I recommend it to anyone who needs a budget drum machine, but might need portability. You'll easily make your first beat in minutes, and then slowly uncover how to utilize it well. I managed to teach a kid almost 4 years old to use it on a surface level! Her beate weren't great tho.

This is an example of a success as far as I'm concerned. For 200 dollars I can plug this right into a port on my R20 and add drums and synth base effortlessly to any song. No, it doesn't have a full 808 or 909 or any full X0X kit. It has a piecemeal combination of them. So you won't be using it to exactly duplicate some classic. But if you make your own new song, and want that feel, it's there. The 303 section is surprisingly good and complete. The stock patterns are surprisingly good also. I found 3-1 and two hours disappeared with me modifying it, then turning it into a monstrosity. I like a device that can do that. Make time disappear because it's fun to use. I love that I can recharge it with usb. I've had it die on me once, but i had been using it nonstop noon to midnight. Twelve hours of stopping and starting it, putting it down to edit tracks, picking it back up. That's pretty impressive. I'm hoping they are very smart and release an Aira T-7 that just has the 707 samples on it. I'd love that. It's the only thing I'm missing in my music. I couldn't justify spending double on the TR-6S. But if you want all the classic Roland drum machines, and aren't content with an amalgam of all of them, that's your best choice. If you just want to add some 80's to your songs, this is perfect. And again, it has a great 303 if you love those sounds. Most people do and don't know it. It's weird when a music product is good enough to use for production, but also inexpensive and convenient. Great work Roland. I'll probably end up replacing it at some point for a newer better one like I used to do decades ago with their drum machines, and I'll put this one on ebay for some promising new musician. If you are a youtuber looking to add a little DnB to your videos, this is probably the least expensive route that will sound this good, and be this easy to learn.

Check out the photo. I have a yellow TB-303 clone perched above the T-8. Yeah, the T-8 is really small. Are there software apps that are more full featured you could use on an iPad or iPhone? Absolutely. (Pure Acid, for example). Can you get a knobbier, more authentic 303 for cheaper? Yeah, no drums included, though. Is the T-8 limited, as far as drum sounds go and at the same time deceptively deep with semi-annoying menu diving? Completely. All of that said, it’s fun and nearly perfect if you are looking for something you can make a little drum and bass, pretty much anywhere. In bed? Yup. At work? Don’t tell my supervisor. I prefer physical controls, even the T-8’s tiny ones, to my iPad’s touchscreen any day. And the controls aren’t bad, I actually prefer making patterns on the T-8 compared to the original 303 and its clones. Why no five stars? If there were more drum choices, I would present the fifth star, but you are stuck with what you have. If I wanted better drums, I assume Roland wants me to get a TR-6S. I know built in speakers on something this small is usually nearly worthless, but that would have been nice, in case I forgot my headphones. $200 is considerable, for this couch synth/toy, but….it fits some very specific needs if you need something this small and reasonably adequate to make some beats.

I'm really happy with my purchase, this thing is so fun to play, Im really getting addicted to it The great: 1) No computer involved. Nor even a power source is needed. Just plug it before using it, so it charges the internal batt, and then you are good to go. Just plug your headphones to it, or plug the output to the input of a Bluetooth speaker (aux-in required in the speaker) 2) Sound quality is perfect for my uses. Not sure how close to the real 303 and 808 is, but for this price point, I'm really happy with how it sounds. 3) Versatile. Compact. Lightweight. 2in1. 4) fun. Addictive. Not so great: 1) knobs are small for my big hands. Everything seems a bit too small. 2) I wish it had a bigger display with more info. Veredict: I highly recommend it if you are in a budget (yes, I trully feel I've got something valuable) and need to have these classics covered as much as possible.

I'll admit, I bought this as a glorified metronome. Something to make practicing bass more interesting. With a 3.5mm M-M Hosa audio cable, the T-8 plugs right into the aux port on my Fender Rumble 25. And it does the trick, keeping my mind on the beat. But instead of the boring old tick, tick, tick of the metronome, I have all the iconic sounds of 80s new wave at my fingertips. Want to practice to the pounding of a New Order Blue Monday bass drum? No problem. Punch it in. Like those 808 hand claps? It does that too. The lights on the sequencer provide a nice visual indication of the tempo as well. Does it do other stuff? Sure, lots more. My teenager had the Donkey Kong theme going with synth bass in a matter of minutes. If you want to spice up your practice routine or just goof off, this is an amazing little device. I looked at some of the clones from other brands, but if you consider the T-8 is like having an 808 drum machine and a 303 bass synth stuffed into a single box the size of a paperback novel, you can't beat it. Big sound. Quality feel to the controls. Nice price.

I did not expect this machine to be so much fun. I am using it with an Ableton push pad and feel like I am producing a Klingon opera. I am enjoying it enough that I have order AIRA S-1 Synth. Thank you Cyber Monday. I like the fact that I can use the product with headphones and play with it like a toy.

Portable, small and very user friendly, limited sounds but nice to make beats on. Especially the tb303 sounds

I’m gonna say. This is a cool product. I may have kept it if I got it for $159. However it’s overpriced to competitors. I also wasn’t sure I would use often. If you into making digital music this is pretty awesome.

Me ha encantado, muy buena calidad.

By far my fav AIRA compact. Of all the Compact line this one is the most immediate and fun to endlessly mess around with. It's essential for any 303 fan (the acid is surprisingly good sounding). The random note generation feature is a great touch to get inspiration flowing.

Cool unit for the well healed and the uninitiated. Had alot of fun using this unit.

Excelente dispositivo electrónico, para el precio y si sabes bien su funcionamiento puedes divertirte creando tus patrones. Compralo si estas empezando o si no quieres gastar en algo mas profesional y que a lo mejor no vas a necesitar tanto, si quieres algo mas profesional y con mas parámetros a manipular existen otros dispositivos como la roland tr-8s

If your interested in electronic music, I would recommend this. Easy to get started, with plenty adjustable parameters to keep it interesting. Slightly limited with the variety of drum sounds, but I find it helps keep it more focused on the beat, and not endlessly tweaking things. A perfect start to what will probably be a long time passion.