Roland Future Design Lab is dusting off its DIY playbook with Project LYDIA, a hardware prototype built with AI audio startup Neutone that uses “neural sampling” to morph sounds in real time.
Project LYDIA (a nod to both “DIY” and “AI”) revives Roland’s AMDEK heritage from the 1980s, when the company sold build-it-yourself synth kits to encourage experimentation. This time, however, the bet is on artificial intelligence as the new frontier for sonic exploration.
Announced today, the platform learns the tonal characteristics of any audio source and applies those qualities to other sounds on the fly. Think transferring the timbre of a saxophone onto a synth pad, or making a drum loop sound like it’s being played through a vintage amp.
The tech runs on Neutone’s Morpho engine, which powers the neural sampling process. Roland’s contribution is the hardware wrapper, utilizing a Raspberry Pi 5-based prototype with a tactile control interface that aims to make AI audio manipulation stage-ready. Audio I/O currently routes through a USB-connected Roland Rubix interface, though the team plans to integrate everything into a single box, according to a press release.
Credit: Roland Future Design Lab/NeutoneIt’s still a technology preview, but the collaboration signals where Roland thinks music creation is headed: more accessible AI tools that don’t require a studio full of VSTs or a computer science degree. For music producers and live performers tired of menu-diving, that could be a welcome shift.
To that end, Project LYDIA is a major leap for Roland’s swelling AI ambitions. The company in 2024 joined forces with Universal Music Group to introduce the Principles for Music Creation with AI, a framework outlining shared commitments to ethical and artist-centered innovation.
“Roland has taken a leadership role globally in practicing responsible development with AI for music creation,” said Paul McCabe, Senior Vice President of Research and Innovation at Roland. “Part of being responsible is getting input from creators on what they find useful, helpful, or inspiring, and what ideas may not be welcome in their workflows. Releasing Project LYDIA as a technology preview allows us to demonstrate possibilities, seek community input, optimize, and improve.”
You can find out more about Project LYDIA here.
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