README
¶
RP6
A touch-friendly controller for the Roland P-6 (AIRA Compact sampler). It also bundles a software sampler and step sequencer, so it works without the hardware too.
Runs on Linux desktop, in the browser (experimental), and on Android. Built with Fyne.
Talks to the Roland P-6 and the Adafruit Macropad over USB MIDI.
Note: RP6 is alpha quality. It works best on desktops and larger Android screens (tablets); the UI doesn't adapt gracefully to small resolutions yet.
Features
- 48 pads, banks A–H — a grid paged A–D / E–H (or a dense single-page view). Tap to trigger; the last hit is highlighted.
- Step sequencer — up to 8 tracks, each 1–4 bars and looping at its own length (polymeter), 16 steps/bar, tempo-synced, with per-track mute. Assign a pad to a track with a tap, program steps, press play. Save/load 16 sequence slots; your work autosaves and reloads on next launch. (sequencer guide)
- Transport & tempo — illuminated Play/Stop, a TEMPO knob and a PATTERN selector, driving the P-6 over MIDI clock.
- Effects — a per-pad effects rack (tempo-synced Roll) and global Delay / Reverb controls.
- Built-in emulator — no P-6 needed: RP6 bundles a playable "modular-hits" sample kit. Tap the device badge to switch between the emulator and a connected P-6.
- Shared jam sessions (experimental, desktop only) — play together over the internet. See the setup guide.
- Activity / VU meter — a level meter on the right (real USB-audio VU on desktop builds).
- Amber hardware-style UI — backlit rack panels, knobs and 7-segment readouts; works entirely by touch.
Running it
There are pre-built Android APK and Flatpak packages in releases.
Plug in the P-6 or an Adafruit MacroPad over USB and it connects automatically. Unplug it and RP6 falls back to the built-in emulator, reconnecting when it reappears. With no hardware at all, it just runs the emulator.
Using it with a P-6
For full control, set these on the P-6 (MENU):
- MIDI Clock Sync (SYnC) = USB — so Play/Stop and the TEMPO knob drive it.
- Rx Program Change = On — so the PATTERN selector switches patterns.
Pads always trigger by note, so you can play all 48 pads from the grid, a connected controller, or the sequencer regardless of the above.
Without a P-6 (emulator)
Without a P-6 connected, RP6 uses a built-in software sampler.
The bundled kit is one-shot hits from the “Modular-Hits” pack by publicsamples (https://github.com/publicsamples/Modular-Hits).
With the Adafruit Macropad
You'll need to set up your Macropad with the CircuitPython code here.
License
MIT — see LICENSE. RP6 is an independent project and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Roland.
Directories
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| Path | Synopsis |
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cmd
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rp6
command
Command rp6 is a touch-friendly Roland P-6 pad controller.
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Command rp6 is a touch-friendly Roland P-6 pad controller. |
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rp6-signal
command
Command rp6-signal is a tiny WebSocket signaling server for rp6 shared jam sessions.
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Command rp6-signal is a tiny WebSocket signaling server for rp6 shared jam sessions. |
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webserve
command
Command webserve is a tiny static file server for the rp6 web build.
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Command webserve is a tiny static file server for the rp6 web build. |
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internal
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androidusb
Package androidusb reads and writes USB-MIDI for devices plugged into an Android phone (a P-6, an Adafruit MacroPad, …) entirely from Go, and bridges them into the midibridge package (so the p6 + midiin backends work unchanged).
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Package androidusb reads and writes USB-MIDI for devices plugged into an Android phone (a P-6, an Adafruit MacroPad, …) entirely from Go, and bridges them into the midibridge package (so the p6 + midiin backends work unchanged). |
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audio
Package audio provides reusable audio-capture primitives, independent of any UI or MIDI code.
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Package audio provides reusable audio-capture primitives, independent of any UI or MIDI code. |
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audiofx
Package audiofx provides allocation-free, UI-agnostic audio processors for interleaved float32 PCM.
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Package audiofx provides allocation-free, UI-agnostic audio processors for interleaved float32 PCM. |
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effects
Package effects implements a small, device- and UI-agnostic effects engine for a pad controller.
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Package effects implements a small, device- and UI-agnostic effects engine for a pad controller. |
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emu
Package emu is a software emulator for the Roland P-6 that plays WAV samples through the computer's audio output, so rp6 is usable without the hardware.
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Package emu is a software emulator for the Roland P-6 that plays WAV samples through the computer's audio output, so rp6 is usable without the hardware. |
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jam
Package jam implements the transport-agnostic core of rp6's shared jam sessions: peers broadcast their live pad hits to each other so everyone hears (and sees a brief blink for) what the others play.
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Package jam implements the transport-agnostic core of rp6's shared jam sessions: peers broadcast their live pad hits to each other so everyone hears (and sees a brief blink for) what the others play. |
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jam/signal
Package signal implements the tiny WebSocket signaling hub for rp6 shared jam sessions.
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Package signal implements the tiny WebSocket signaling hub for rp6 shared jam sessions. |
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midiin
Package midiin is a small, pluggable framework for MIDI *input* controllers: external hardware (a macropad, a grid controller, a keyboard, …) that drives rp6's pads, on-screen keyboard and transport host-side.
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Package midiin is a small, pluggable framework for MIDI *input* controllers: external hardware (a macropad, a grid controller, a keyboard, …) that drives rp6's pads, on-screen keyboard and transport host-side. |
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midiin/arturia
Package arturia is the rp6 MIDI-input driver for Arturia USB keyboards — the KeyStep 37 and the MicroLab.
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Package arturia is the rp6 MIDI-input driver for Arturia USB keyboards — the KeyStep 37 and the MicroLab. |
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midiin/macropad
Package macropad is the rp6 MIDI-input driver for the Adafruit MacroPad RP2040 (the "DigiKey macropad", product 5100) running the rp6 CircuitPython firmware from docs/hardware/macropad.
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Package macropad is the rp6 MIDI-input driver for the Adafruit MacroPad RP2040 (the "DigiKey macropad", product 5100) running the rp6 CircuitPython firmware from docs/hardware/macropad. |
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midiin/webmidi
Package webmidi is the rp6 MIDI-input driver for external controllers (e.g.
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Package webmidi is the rp6 MIDI-input driver for external controllers (e.g. |
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samplepak
Package samplepak reads, writes and installs .rp6sp sample paks: ZIP archives that carry a set of P-6-style pad samples (WAV or FLAC, laid out A1..H6 — see internal/emu) plus a manifest.json describing the pak.
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Package samplepak reads, writes and installs .rp6sp sample paks: ZIP archives that carry a set of P-6-style pad samples (WAV or FLAC, laid out A1..H6 — see internal/emu) plus a manifest.json describing the pak. |
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sequencer
Package sequencer implements a small, device- and UI-agnostic step sequencer that drives a pad controller in software.
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Package sequencer implements a small, device- and UI-agnostic step sequencer that drives a pad controller in software. |
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store
SQLite-backed store (desktop).
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SQLite-backed store (desktop). |
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ui/components
Package components provides reusable Fyne widgets for the rp6 UI.
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Package components provides reusable Fyne widgets for the rp6 UI. |
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ui/layoutlang
Package layoutlang parses a small, Blueprint-inspired text language that describes Fyne layouts, and compiles it to the layoutspec node tree.
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Package layoutlang parses a small, Blueprint-inspired text language that describes Fyne layouts, and compiles it to the layoutspec node tree. |
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ui/layoutspec
Package layoutspec is a small, declarative description of a Fyne layout tree.
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Package layoutspec is a small, declarative description of a Fyne layout tree. |
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ui/theme
Package theme provides the rp6 application's Fyne theme: the standard dark theme with its blue accent replaced by the same amber used on the LCDs.
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Package theme provides the rp6 application's Fyne theme: the standard dark theme with its blue accent replaced by the same amber used on the LCDs. |
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Package midibridge is the platform bridge that lets a host-owned MIDI layer (initially the Android Activity, which owns android.media.midi.MidiManager) feed rp6's pure-Go MIDI backends.
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Package midibridge is the platform bridge that lets a host-owned MIDI layer (initially the Android Activity, which owns android.media.midi.MidiManager) feed rp6's pure-Go MIDI backends. |
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Package p6 provides a small, dependency-free client for controlling a Roland P-6 (AIRA Compact sampler) over its class-compliant USB MIDI port.
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Package p6 provides a small, dependency-free client for controlling a Roland P-6 (AIRA Compact sampler) over its class-compliant USB MIDI port. |
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