The moment we get a seqtrak with better build quality, less thick and a screen (be it for 1-200€ more) I’m in. The app is solid, but not enough for all the features they crammed in, just the central led stripe is just not enough. But yeah, outside of some lag the app was perfectly fine 
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Thse cheap compacts are priced so that you wont expect much. Its a bit of fun thats it. Cant see them investing time and money improving it much. If your fed up of it it will be put away or thrown in the bin. Thats the modern way.
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A thing that does surprise me about these smaller instruments is the lack of external total control - the exceptions being Seqtrak and OPZ (and possibly some others) with their respective apps* which allow a much greater level of control, and add the big screen everyone wants by repurposing the screen everyone already has, whilst still maintaining portability, and physical controls, and full or almost full functionality without requiring the app.
*However I think that a concern that is quite valid is that apps eventually stop getting updated and eventually stop working on current platforms, due to the rapid obsolescence of consumer technology.
It is encouraging that often these apps communicate with the device by either sysex or some other standard protocol, so it would be great if manufacturers either open sourced the back end control or had platform agnostic control apps which could run on a wider range of current and future hosts, such as webmidi, python, java or whatever.
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I get the impression this is meant to be a little toolbox for working on a single song idea and palette of samples, then wipe and put other samples on? i.e. definitely not a 2 week on holidays only box (unless you make techno and only need 3 samples)
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That’s my biggest concern with things like OP-Z and SeqTrak. Both devices look quite nice and fun, but I do worry about the associated apps getting obsoleted. I wondered the same about Modal with their ModalApp - especially of note after the bankruptcy turmoil. Thankfully, I believe their synths are fully functional without it, but that extra bit of control is a selling point for some people.
One thing that makes me less pessimistic about these examples is knowing that when a device is popular enough, if the manufacturer support dries up there will almost always be some dedicated hobbyists who create their own tools (if possible) to keep it functioning 
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With both devices with their build quality I would not worry to much 
the devices will die before the app
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I had one of these until maybe five years ago (when it died). I don’t think the build quality is all that different from these current Roland devices. Definitely not something you’d toss in the bin after a couple of years. Volcas are holding up well too.
The new Roland smokes the SU10 of course, and people were buying them up for a while for the sample rate reduction. The used prices around me aren’t that different from the Roland so has kept its value too.
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The Volca build quality looks pretty good. Is there more metal?
I think they are basically plastic, right?
That’s exactly what I’m saying. Ahead in so many ways, yet often (seemingly deliberately) crippled in other, very important ways.
I have a studio full of amazing, modern gear. I love it. We live in a great time for music making!
I make careful choices and try and buy gear I won’t end up selling fast.
It does bother me, therefore, when I see companies releasing new gear, full of amazing features, yet also designed to make you throw it in a drawer in a years time.
It’s not good for a lot of reasons.
This is perfectly correct.
It IS the modern way.
It’s fine if anyone wants to accept this, and go through a device or two a year (in some ways this learning process is fun anyway). I won’t crticize anyone for doing this.
However, for me, and many others, we try not to do it. It fuels the cycle and seems to make the next disposable device more likely to appear.
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I don’t think they were talking about the build quality, could be wrong though.
To be fair, Roland usually do have good build quality. Volcas are well built too. Even my POs, when cased, have lasted well.
They make it die after a year?! Crap. I guess I gotta return mine when it arrives. That sucks. Wish they would have said that in the advertising. Kinda lame to design something to die in a year but not even mention that anywhere?
Nothing on their website, nothing in the reviews - hell Loopop didn’t even catch it and he figures out everything.
When did Roland start these expiration date releases? Is that going to be their new model? Glad I got their 404 which doesn’t have the one year failsafe. Lucked out on that one.
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I bought my Digitakt the day it came out and everyone on the MPC forums basically crapped all over it at the time because they couldn’t believe a manufacturer would make a sampler with that little sample time, polyphony, no chop, etc. The specs were all wrong and not to mention you can’t make hip hop on an XoX sequencer. Basically the internet never changes.
All it did was encourage me more to make dope tracks on it.
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Fundamentally what makes or breaks this i feel is the Workflow. If your going to be chopping slices and getting zero crossings etc are you prepared to be frustrated?
For the ones using it already, it seems like the vinyl sim doesn’t have comp in it as it says « freq/flutter/noise » or similar in parameter.
However there seem to be a compressor fx. How does it hold up as a master comp? And does it bounce?
Thanks
Years of kungfu styled Electribe2 menu diving and finger acrobatics makes me laugh at this little guys ‘challenges’.
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I agree, the build quality of the Aira mini range is pretty solid, in a few years the only issue I think will be the battery but these should be easy enough to replace. 7 seg LED displays are notoriously long lasting and will be working decades after Oled displays have bit the dust, rubber membrane buttons are also pretty long lasting, more so than most most mechanical or tactile switches, the ABS enclosure is pretty rugged too.
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Yeah, it will be yeeears till the battery is a problem, and having to disassemble and put in a 10$ battery does not seem like a problem.
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Just ordered one unit, tired to wait for Roland updating my MC101 with Slicing and Pads and recording Editing just like this Aira
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anybody mention koala yet?
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