Published
Thu, Jan 22, 2015, 13:53
- The MX-1 is part mixer, part controller, part audio interface and part "step-based effector."
Roland's AIRA line is growing by one at the NAMM Show this weekend.
The MX-1 Mix Performer joins the TR-8 drum machine, the TB-3 bass synth, the VT-3 effects unit and the SYSTEM-1 synth in the company's dance music-oriented hardware line. Unlike the other gear in the series, it's not a throwback to Roland's classics, but rather a device that ties the other four together. As the name implies, it features an 18-channel mixer, with mutes, LED-lit faders and a dual tone/filter knob on each channel that can operate one of ten different EQs, filters and isolators. (It also doubles as a control surface via MIDI.) The device takes six analog, one stereo digital and two PC channels, as well as four USB links specifically for AIRA devices, which send audio, MIDI, sync and (for the VT-3) bus power. You can apply six types of master effects, controlled by a big performance knob, and three beat-based effects (filter, side chain, slicer) that take commands from the onboard 16-step sequencer. Roland says it's designed to be as musical and playable as possible, and you can see what they mean in the video below.
The AIRA MX-1 Mix Performer is coming soon from Roland.