Roland GO:MIXER Pro X review

Roland GO:MIXER Pro X: What is it?

The premise behind Roland’s GO:MIXER series is simple: to give your smartphone as much audio I/O for every musical eventuality with video creation very much at its heart.

The latest version in the series, the Pro X, retains the same form factor as the two previous generations – clearly, Roland believes this is a winner – but adds some much-needed tweaks to compatibility.

For the uninitiated, the Roland GO:MIXER Pro X features 11 audio input channels (two more than the Pro) and three output channels (one more than the Pro). This is configured through two (L/mono, R) 1/4 inch jack inputs, two 3.5mm stereo line inputs, 1/4 inch Guitar/Bass input, a TRRS smartphone In/Out (stereo, CTIA) and a combo XLR/1/4 jack input. There’s also a headphone or headset jack (stereo, CTIA) and the obligatory micro USB socket to round off the I/O.

The unit can be powered by three AAA batteries, or straight from a host device, such as your smartphone or tablet and Roland gains extra points for supplying the appropriate cables, however, batteries are not included.

Five knobs adorn the top of the unit for control over the guitar/bass input, line inputs, mic input, headset input and an overall output level.

Roland GO:MIXER Pro X: Performance and verdict

As we’ve already mentioned, the three extra ins and outs are an improvement on the Pro, with the inclusion of the TRRS port, meaning that you can use a headphone mic or headset and the Smartphone I/O opens up use on any device with a TRRS connection. There’s also the much needed guitar/bass pad to help tame any high levels from active pickups etc. Further switching on the unit includes phantom power, on/off and the Loop Back function.

Switching off the Loop Back function is ideal when you just want to monitor a backing track whilst recording, so if you’re tracking vocals you will just capture the vocals. Of course, the alternative is to utilise the Loop Back function to record everything in a live scenario, including any arrangements or backing tracks from your smartphone.

With the announcement of the Pro X we had hoped that multi-channel audio support might have been included, but alas it has not been the case so all the channels are mixed into stereo. It’s by no means a real issue as the Pro X still performs admirably at the job of mixing multiple sources in multiple scenarios. Maybe it should’ve been referred to as the mk2?

The form factor hasn’t changed since the original, which is no bad thing really. But, if you’re using the smartphone/tablet cradle for shooting video and have everything plugged into the unit, it’s worth noting that it’s very easy to end up dragging it around by heavy cabling. A sturdier chassis here would be far more advantageous. You can forget shooting in portrait for TikTok, too, unless you have your own accessories to do so. 

You can use the Pro X with any camera or audio app like GarageBand, but Roland obviously pushes its own, especially the 4XCamera app, an ideal setup for content creators wanting to capture those synth jams for YouTube from multiple angles.

The GO:MIXER Pro X is one of the most feature-rich smartphone mixer/audio interfaces out there for video creators. The new X version vastly improves on its predecessor with what may seem like minor tweaks, but essential nonetheless.

MusicRadar verdict: One of the best value smartphone audio mixers has just got that bit smarter, leaving some of the previous models redundant.

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Roland GO:MIXER Pro X: Specifications

• KEY FEATURES Portable audio mixer and interface for smartphones and tablets of all types with multiple I/O connectivity for all recording situations
• CONTACT: Roland