Roland recently introduced the P-6 Creative Sampler, a device that they say “packs renowned Roland sampling technology into a pocket-size gadget, with sophisticated granular sound design options and a powerful sequencer.”
The Roland P-6 features an onboard mic, intuitive controls, a USB-C audio/MIDI interface, and a versatile selection of hands-on MFX, making the instrument a powerful and portable sampling option.
Here’s a roundup of early reviews for the Roland P-6, starting with the Loopop review, embedded above. As ever, host Ziv Eliraz offers an in-depth overview of the device, plenty of audio examples and shares his take on the device’s pros and cons. “I don’t think that there’s anything that comes close in terms of the feature set for the price,” notes Eliraz. He’s not so wowed by the device’s display, though.
Enrique Martinez (aka Ricky Tinez) calls it “a really cool device for the price”, but doesn’t love the screen and the feel of the buttons:
Topics covered:
00:00 I fell for it
00:45 This is definitely a “Roland” product haha
01:10 Drum Programming
02:55 Why is Copy Paste this many steps?
04:19 Sampling the 3rd Wave Synthesizer
04:46 Quick word on the sampling options AND the editor!
05:52 Laying down the Chord Sample
06:57 Editing Steps this way kinda sucks
08:09 Hawkeye is my coproducer
08:36 Bassline Time!
09:32 The Filter Env Depth. Am I alone in thinking this?
10:36 The Step Editor confused the hell out of me BUT it’s pretty dope and makes sense!
12:25 Poly mode is SUPER dope for something simple like this.
12:58 THESE DAMN QUANTIZE SETTINGS WTF
14:43 Messing with some MultiFX
15:49 Sampling with the Mic!
16:20 I HAVE to be doing this wrong… right?
18:40 Lining up the Shaker with Pitch
19:08 Awesome Probability settings
20:37 What the hell happened to my kick?
21:25 The BUSes are cool but slightly a letdown
23:25 My Final Thoughts on the Roland P-6
In his review, Jorb describes the P-6 as “basically a modern, pocket-sized SP-303”:
Finally, David Hilowitz shares his take, which features a great look at sampling with the P-6:
Hilowitz calls the P-6 “A fantastic sampling groovebox” for the price.
What do you think about the new Roland P-6? Check out the video and share your thoughts on Roland’s new pocket-sampler in the comments!
One thing i haven’t seen anyone talk about with this device is how it routes audio differently than the other aira compact devices. The rest of them will pass audio though so you can daisy chain them without needing to concern yourself with gain staging. The p-6 routes all incoming audio to the fx bus. If you out it at the end of the chain, you can use the fx section as a master fx.
I dont really like this for my workflow but it is pretty cool. It makes me want roland to make an aira compact mixer, 5-6 channels with two p-6 style fx buses, and a master delay/reverb.