GUIDE · ROLAND AIRA
HOW TO RECORD
ROLAND AIRA
ON iPHONE.
Roland’s AIRA T-8, J-6, S-1 and P-6 are class-compliant over USB-C, so there is no driver and nothing to set. Run one cable to the phone, and the accent rides, the chord changes and the tweak you will never land the same way twice all end up in one take.
LAST UPDATED 5 OCTOBER 2026
What you need
No interface, no laptop and no Roland driver. The AIRA and the phone both have USB-C, so one USB-C to USB-C cable does it, as long as it carries data. Plenty of cables in a drawer only carry power.
Six steps, none of them a menu
Four machines, one chain
Each one goes straight in
All four send their own sound over USB-C as class-compliant audio, and Roland lists all four as compatible with current iOS.
- T-8 Beat Machine. Drums and bass in one take.
- J-6 Chord Synth. The chord changes, as you played them.
- S-1 Tweak Synth. Every filter ride and motion move.
- P-6 Creative Sampler. Its own sound, and whatever arrives at its MIX IN. That makes it the one to end a chain on.
Chains: put the P-6 last
The AIRAs chain through MIX IN and MIX OUT, and the last one in the chain is the one you plug into the phone. But only the P-6 passes what arrives at its MIX IN on to USB. On the T-8, J-6 and S-1, audio at MIX IN goes to MIX OUT and the headphones only, so the phone hears that unit’s own sound and nothing else in the chain.
So make the P-6 the last box and plug that one into the phone, and the whole chain lands in the take. No P-6? Run the last unit’s MIX OUT into a class-compliant USB-C interface and plug the interface into the phone instead. The USB audio guide covers that route.
Roland and AIRA are trademarks of Roland Corporation and are mentioned for compatibility reference only. REK. is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, Roland.
Recording the performance, not the pattern
Why record the pass
The patterns are saved on the box. The performance is not: the accent you pushed on the T-8, the filter you rode on the S-1, the chord you held a bar too long on the J-6. That only exists while you play it. Recording the pass as it happens keeps it.
Levels
The record path is 32-bit float, so a loud pass has no ceiling to clip against on the way into the phone. GAIN in REK. moves what you hear by ±12 dB and leaves the file alone. If the PK lamp lights, it latches so you know a peak happened; the take is still intact.
Distortion the Roland makes itself, from its own effects or a level pushed too far, is in the audio before it reaches the cable. If you can hear it on the machine, it will be in the take.
Hearing what you play
Monitoring is AUTO, ON or OFF. AUTO steps aside when you play a take back. If you would rather listen on the Roland’s own headphone jack, set monitoring to OFF and the phone stays quiet while it records.
Long sets
The free version records one minute per take, which is enough to prove the setup works. One payment of $9.99 lifts the limit for good. Takes stream from disk, so an hour-long set plays back as easily as a minute, and low storage warns rather than refuses.
When it does not work
The AIRA does not appear as an input
Check the cable first: it has to carry data and not only power. Then unplug and reconnect with REK. open. The T-8, J-6, S-1 and P-6 need no driver and have no USB mode to set, so there is nothing on the Roland to change.
The rest of my chain is missing from the take
Only the P-6 sends what arrives at its MIX IN jack on to USB. On the T-8, J-6 and S-1, MIX IN goes to MIX OUT and the headphones only, so the phone hears that unit and nothing else. Make the P-6 the last box in the chain and plug it into the phone, or run the last unit’s MIX OUT into a class-compliant USB-C interface.
I hear the Roland twice while I record
The T-8, J-6, S-1 and P-6 can play the phone’s audio through their own outputs, so with monitoring on you may hear the machine directly and REK.’s copy of it a moment later. Set monitoring in REK. to OFF and listen on the Roland’s own headphone jack.
There is a hum when the AIRAs are chained
Roland traces this to a ground loop, when several AIRA units are linked by MIX cables and also connected over USB. With a phone, only one unit needs a USB cable. Run the others on their own batteries rather than on chargers, and if the hum stays, take the MIX cables out one at a time to find the loop.
Can I record each instrument separately?
No. REK. records the stereo performance as one take. That is the point here: the performance is the mix you made by hand.
The take sounds distorted
If the PK lamp lit but the take sounds clean, nothing was lost: REK. records in 32-bit float, so there is no clipping ceiling on the way in. If you can hear the distortion on the Roland itself, it is in the audio before it leaves the machine. Check its effects and its level.
Other guides
- A synth recorder for iPhone
- How to record your EP-133 on iPhone
- How to record Digitakt performances on iPhone
- Record your groovebox without a DAW
- USB audio recording on iPhone
- Something else wrong? Support has the common situations and a human on the other end.
START
RECORDING.
Plug the AIRA in, open REK., press the red one. There is nothing else to set up.
$9.99unlimited recording
Free1 minute per take