Arturia Keylab Essential 88 Review & Demo
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- Опубліковано 17 чер 2024
- / starskycarr
Here's the latest in Arturia's Keylab Essential range. It's the 88 key version, and works just like the others, but is BIGGER!!
It's quite hefty for a MIDI controller, but portable considering it's keyboard is 88 keys. There's no aftertouch and its semi-weighted, not hammer action, but comes in at a great price. So if you can live without those extras and you want a full range keyboard it's well worth a look.
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► Clubbing TV From the Studio:
• From The Studio
0:00 What's the Essential Range?
0:58 Build Quality and Keybed
2:20 Software Control
8:51 Hardware Control
10:24 Chord, Arp and Part
#review #arturia #keylab
detail review, i like it
The price point and DAW control for LPX & AL is what sold me!!!! This will be my upgrade!!!
Same! It's sitting in my studio and I can't wait to use it!
i got the keylab essential 88 2 versions ago - it's great but as a pianist I can't vouch for its keybed. The problem being the only reason to go for the flagship is the Fatar keybed which would be an additional £700 ish. I just plug in my big heavy old 88 note fatar keyboard if I'm doing something serious. I can also skip the gym that day too having done a challenging deadlift. Great review - made me realise I've got more midi control than I've used sitting there. I think you should keep the over-exposure in these videos for posterity - proof that we in the northwest have seen the sun!
Another great review Starsky. I don't suppose you know how many different MIDI zones you can split this into do you. My guess would be 4, but it would work even better for me if it was 8?
I’ve not looked that in-depth into MIDI zones tbh. Only the parts… and that’s just 2. So no idea if you can split it into more I’ll have to check the control centre.
It's a bad review ! the keyboard did has aftertouch ............ but he didn't realize even today !!!
@@livmar2 I love idiotic comments like this!! Haha ... really??? It's a bad comment... the keyboard doesn't have aftertouch...... but he didn't look into it and decided to leave a stupid comment instead even today!!! beautiful example of a clueless keyboard warrior giving out about something they know nothing about. Love it. Or are you a trainee troll?? in which case, good work.. you got a response :)
0:01 Some of Arturia's "Essential" keybeds have what I could consider "terrible" action. On one of the smaller versions, the keys go completely flat which is beyond weird. I tried the Essential 61, and found my MODX6 much hated keybed by some far superior. The 88 obviously would have to be different.
The message is....be sure to try before you buy.
I don't know which generation the ones I tried were if that makes a difference, but I was amazed Arturia would put out a product with that bad of a keybed. And I'm not fusy like many people are. I like the features and price, but the keybeds I tried were beyond anything even I could deal with. Ideally, as a future improvement I also wish the 9 sliders were more in the middle but I could live with to the right if I had to. I use the M-Audio Axiom 61 1st gen. This keyboard has similar features and a low price. I'm not sure what even I could replace the Axiom with if I had to.
Thoughts on iOS support?
the midi usb drivers works on win 7 too or only on win 10?
@12:11 sounds familiar😆
Excellent review Starsky...just my humble opinion but I would think the main reason for buying an 88-key midi controller is for the feel which you can only get with weighted keys. Therefore the better choice if you're looking for everything else the Arturia Essential or KeyLab line is capable of is the 61 or 49 key controller? Again, just an opinion and not written in stone.
Yeah… I get that. I’ve bought an 88 key weighted for just that reason. But if you’re looking for something more portable, not as heavy, or just don’t have the cash this slips into a very useful category.
@@StarskyCarr agree and thank you for this review best one I’ve seen on it! Much respect.
If you had the option to only get either the Native Instruments Kontrol 61 mk3 or the Keylab Essential 88 Mk3, which one would you get, assuming I didn't care about the $200-300 price difference?
Don't knock the sunshine :)
Haha.. On the news today the Uk had an average of just 139 hours in Jan!
you can upgrade v to pro, at least if you have the pro version of the 88. when i bought mine 2 years ago, i got lab 4 and v. and i could up v to pro 3 weeks ago or so. i think its just the newer version of the old v versions. maybe thats possible for this controller too
I think you’re right, I just haven’t updated the software centre for analog lab pro yet.
Don't your external synth settings in Logic go off when you switch to Essential mk3?
I mean when you're working with multiple external synths in Logic.
No, but there can be confusion between stuff if there’s a lot of controllers or conflicting messages. For example controlling an external synth using a user program can do weird stuff.
@@StarskyCarr I have three external synths, connected to a 5x5 MIDI interface Motu microlite, and then to my Motu 828 mk3 hybrid. I have programmed 4 persets on the midi keyboard.
1 Logic
2. Nord Modular G2 (connected via midi)
3. Waldorf Blofeld (connected via USB)
4. DSI Tetra (connected via midi).
When I switch a preset from the midi keyboard, for example selecting preset 3, I have the patch settings in Program Change in Logic reset. This is in my M Audio Axiom 61 (keyboard 18 years old), I bought an Arturia Mk3 61 essential - same shit. What the hell is this?
I programmed all the knobs, faders from my synths, but Logic behaves very strangely. I don't know where to look, because I'm buying a midi keyboard to work with my external synths, not for vitrual synths. I ended up resetting all the settings and giving the Arturia mk3 61 back to the shop. Especially since it has horrible keys, like on children's synths. What's the point of selling a midi keyboard to work with DAW if the hardware doesn't work properly with it?
I hope I've explained it clearly. I want to twist knobs on a midi keyboard, but I end up twisting them on my synths.
Some people like to control the DAW with the controller. For me it’s not so important so I tend not to do that and turn off the DAW control in logics settings. I much prefer accessing hard to use parameters in hardware using MIdI controllers.
@@StarskyCarr Ok, thank you
8:56 "KELYAB"
My tpying is terrbile
No scales or strum?
Yes scales are in there. I forgot to demo them.. oops. But no strum.
No expression pedal input? C’mon!
The pedal input can be set to sustain/expression etc in the software. But you can only have one obviously.
todays midi controllers have only one midi out and only one usb out, well...
It depends. The keystep pro has more as does the more expensive Keylab range. I guess most users don’t need more.
I don't like keybed of Arturia controllers like Keylab 61. Too soft. You cannot play a piano part with some dynamics. As an example I mention Native Instruments Kontrol 61 mkII or III where some dynamics is available. And it's perfectly fine for me.
This 88 essential is strange in keybed but for me hugely better than 61. You can play a piano part. I would buy it but...
Something fundamental for me is missing: the expression pedal input. You cannot play live without it. No way.
To have one sustain and one expression pedal is a missing feature on most controllers. They put chords thing that is cheap (software) but useless for people who can play a keyboard.
If it's the latest, then why doesn't it have MIDI 2.0 ?
But then again, even their so called flagship model doesn't come with MIDI 2.0.
Arturia, if you want my hard earned cash you'll need to do better than this. And Ableton is for hippies. Give us decent software instead.
Having said this: thanks for reviewing this gear.
Thanks… I never considered MIdI 2.0 tbh. As you can probably tell 🤦♂️😂. Not sure I’ve anything that uses it, I’ve never looked into it.
This is their budget line. And most gear still doesn't use midi 2.0. in fact I think the newer korg midi controller is the only one available with 2.0. so expecting a budget line to have it is a bit unreasonable.
@@leftovernoise You're making assumptions here. There doesn't need to be any extra cost to implement midi 2.0.
But even if there is an extra cost it would not be unreasonable to expect their flagship to have midi 2.0 .
Arturia is weird. They release new versions of these basic Ableton controllers almost every year with minimal changes, but the controllers for synth nerds have mini keys and never get updated. The Beatstep is so old it has a Mini-B power connector from 1995.
I use a Keylab Essential 61 or a non-mini Launchkey 25 for most things. Arturia's software is less awful than Roland Cloud, but still much more tedious than Novation Components to configure. There's certainly zero innovation in the space. Eventually Behringer will copy the Cirklon and the Dark Time and sell a million and everybody will try harder. 😂
I really do not think these new ones look good, the big ugly black slab in the middle looks extremely cheap to me. Looks like a Casio to me.
My first synth was a Casio 😀