Deals of the Week: Portable Sounds
Been waiting for the right opportunity to make music with fungus?
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Snag these amazing deals on portable sounds from Roland, KORG, and Instruo.
Deals of the Week: Portable Sounds
Roland AIRA Compact P-6 Sampler on Sale
People may complain that Roland hasn’t been fulfilling their analog dreams (although the TR-1000 has been challenging that claim), but its line of compact synths, samplers and drum machines has been consistently popular for years now. And with good reason: they’re cheap, fun and easy to work with. That’s why this week I’m bringing the Roland AIRA Compact P-6 Creative Sampler to your attention. Currently on sale, it’s a great little machine – and now also a great bargain.
Part of the same team that also includes the T-8 drum machine and S-1 Tweak Synth, P-6 is a sampler – and a true sampler at that, with onboard microphone and audio in jack, plus sample import and even re-sampling through effects, just like the SP-404. You get six sample parts, each with its own pad and controls for pitch, start, end and level, plus lo-fi mode and gate/loop playback modes.
You can play chromatically (take that KORG Volca Sample) and polyphonically, or chop samples and spread them across the little keyboard. There’s also a polyphonic granular mode, with parameters for detune, grain shape, head position, head speed, spread and more. The P-6 is also well-apportioned with effects. There are 20 MFX, in fact. You also get a sequencer with motion recording and more.
The Roland P-6 is on sale for a great price. Check it: it’s $169 / £155 / €175 now at Thomann*.
- More from Roland
KORG Nu:Tekt NTS-3 at a Great Price
KORG recently announced its new KAOSS PAD V, an updated version of the venerable touchable hardware effects unit. It’s very cool all around, but it also has a price to match that cool factor. If you’re after KAOSS effects at a lower price point, today is your lucky day, as the Nu:Tekt NTS-3 is currently on sale.
If you’re unfamiliar with the Nu:Tekt series, this is KORG’s DIY lineup of easy-to-assemble kits. There’s no soldering involved, just snap-together sets that take about an hour to complete. NTS-3 is actually a KAOSS PAD, just a bit less robust than the full-featured V. It’s no slouch, though, with 35 total effects that you can stack up to four high. That’s pretty cool. You can also turn individual effects on and off, change routings and save groupings as presets. There are also controls for effect depth, mute, tap BPM and latch. It even has an open-source effects engine so you can design your own algorithms via the logueSDK software development kit, or download ones that others have made.
KORG Nu:Tekt NTS-3 is now on sale at Thomann* for $155 / £139 / €159.
- More from KORG
Instruo Pocket Scion for Less
One of the most surprising synth success stories of recent years has to be the Pocket Scion from boutique developer Instruo. Based on the original Eurorack module Scion, the pocket version breaks the original out of the modular world and into a portable, self-contained synthesizer version, one that was actually the number 10 best-selling synth at Thomann in 2025. Fantastic.
So what is it? Well, if you’ve ever wanted to make music with fungus, this is the easiest way to do it. A synth and controller that is activated by bioelectric feedback from plants and other living organisms, Pocket Scion lets you connect to a plant or other living being using the included sensor clips, and then responds to electric currents and frequencies supplied by the source organism. You can also use the attached touch plate to play it yourself.
There are four generative sound engines inside to create those portable sounds, and there’s a software editor for deeper tweaking. And yes, it’s also a controller, meaning that you can hook up your mushroom music to any MIDI-enabled device. Bring one of these along to your next party and everyone will think of you as a real fun guy. (Sorry, I had to.)
Instruo Pocket Scion is generally pretty affordable but it’s even more so now. Get it at Thomann* for $139 / £125 / €145. You’ll even get a free pack of AAA batteries to power it.
- More from Instruo
Want more deals? Check out Thomann* as well as the Gearnews deal zone for all of the latest.
*Note: This article contains advertising links that help us pay for this site. Don’t worry: the price for you will always be the same! If you buy something through these links, we will receive a small commission. Thank you for your support!
**Percentage discount will vary based on your territory and conversion rates on the day of purchase. Displayed percentage discounts are used for guidance only. Note that American prices may be subject to import duties.
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