At Superbooth 2026, Roland Future Design Lab and Tokyo-based AI music technology company Neutone have announced Project LYDIA Phase 2, an update on their experimental AI-powered neural sampling pedal concept.
Project LYDIA Phase 2 builds on the technology preview first unveiled in November 2025, and end-user feedback.
Roland says that, rather than positioning AI as a replacement for musicianship, “Project LYDIA emphasizes augmentation and control, allowing performers to interact with neural models in immediate, physical, and musically expressive ways. The familiar pedal format puts AI processing into a workflow many musicians already trust, bringing transparency and tactility to technology often associated with screens and abstraction.”
Here’s the official intro video:
Project LYDIA Phase 2 introduces several key hardware enhancements:
- Refined hardware design with enhanced flexibility, supporting easier Raspberry Pi 5 installation and standalone USB MIDI controller operation
- Fully integrated audio I/O, eliminating the need for an external USB audio interface
- Onboard LCD display for clearer navigation and real-time parameter feedback
- User Preset memories for saving control settings and more
- MIDI connectivity for deeper control, automation, and integration with existing studio and live rigs
See the project site for details.
That last example is quite lovely!
“We took Korg’s idea of putting a raspberry PI in a keyboard to the next level by putting TWO raspberry PIs in a guitar pedal!”
I’m being glib of course, it’s all software but it looks great. Please put two raspberry PIs in a keyboard version for me before you finish please.
this is going in the right direction 🙂
an expression pedal input would be nice,
so you can interact with your feet with it …
and have your hands free to do something else …
“bringing transparency and tactility to technology often associated with screens and abstraction.”