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Arturia Keylab Essential 88


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VIDEO @ MusicRadar

 

KeyLab Essential 88 comes bundled with Analog Lab, which hosts over 6,500 synth and keyboard sounds, along with the full version of UVI"s Grand Piano Model D.

 

"hybrid synth-piano feel, is velocity sensitive and has pitch and mod wheels placed above the keys"

 

eight back-lit performance pads, transport controls, a parameter screen with browser jog wheel, plus a bank of nine fader/rotary channel strips

 

MCU/HUI compatibility

 

Chord Play mode, for simple arrangement and triggering of chords

 

The 88 is class-compliant allowing straightforward use with iOS and Android devices

 

$349

 

- I'd like them to swap location of the faders and the pads :keys2:

Yamaha CP88, Casio PX-560

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I think when I spotted this a day or two ago and delved a bit, I found that it has semi-weighted action.

Eugenio Upright, 60th Anniversary P-Bass, USA Geddy Lee J-Bass, Yamaha BBP35, D'angelico SS Bari, EXL1,

Select Strat, 70th Anniversary Esquire, LP 57, Eastman T486, T64, Ibanez PM2, Hammond XK4, Moog Voyager

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Yeah, I saw this yesterday. I sold my Keylab MKii 88 as the TP/100 LR became too much to fight against. Thought I might revisit a Nektar LX88+ but the one I bought a couple of years ago was a quick return due to a build defect and non confidence on my part. Now, the Keylab Essential 88 shows up. I"ll definitely give it a look, as there"s really no match for Arturia quality.

 

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Rod

Here for the gear.

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I've been considering a light 88-key controller for a while (I don't mind the semi-weighted action, if that's what you want to call it). Can't get on the Arturia site right now, but if it lacks an expression pedal jack it's a no-go. Too bad; it's the right weight, has a reasonable price, and the controllers I need. One missing jack, with negligible parts & r&d cost, kills the deal for me. That's marketing for you.
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I find it irritating that all these controllers don't have a good bank of definable Program Change buttons, I think it comes down to their being designed more for studio than live use. The new Roland is another example.

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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There was a thread awhile back (search didn"t reveal) that showed a box which allowed for multiple pedals to hook up to one jack. I don"t recall the manufacturer - hopefully someone will chime in here with that... :idk:

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Rod

Here for the gear.

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I've been considering a light 88-key controller for a while (I don't mind the semi-weighted action, if that's what you want to call it). Can't get on the Arturia site right now, but if it lacks an expression pedal jack it's a no-go. Too bad; it's the right weight, has a reasonable price, and the controllers I need. One missing jack, with negligible parts & r&d cost, kills the deal for me. That's marketing for you.

 

Maybe a [url:https://beatbars.com/en/dual-to-midi.html] Beatbar [/url]would work?

 

Work-arounds for new gear drives me nuts.

 

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Rod

Here for the gear.

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Maybe a [url:https://beatbars.com/en/dual-to-midi.html] Beatbar [/url]would work?

 

Workarounds for new gear drive me nuts.

Nice find. They have a smaller & cheaper adapter that does the expression pedal only: https://beatbars.com/en/expression-to-midi.html

 

But... now you have two USB cables coming from the keyboard. I'd also have to add a USB hub since my 2 USB ports are currently spoken for. More cables & doodads to carry, longer setup, and not a great stage look. All for the lack of a .50 part.

 

And what's up with arturia.com? It's still unreachable for me.

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I"ve had the same problem with Arturia today.

 

The solution box I was initially thinking about is like an adaptor you plug into your pedal jack. Each model gives you more options for ev, sustain, etc. All out of the one output jack on the keyboard. I saved the info somewhere...

____________________________________
Rod

Here for the gear.

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The solution box I was initially thinking about is like an adaptor you plug into your pedal jack. Each model gives you more options for ev, sustain, etc. All out of the one output jack on the keyboard. I saved the info somewhere...

I'm curious about that product, please post here if you find the details.

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The absense of a light, fully featured master controller, from anybody, is gob-smacking.

In 2020 I'd want:

1) 7x Keys.

2) Good Waterfall, or weighted Keys. A Ribbon seems like a no brainer.

3) Poly Aftertouch. My little JV1010 from 1999 takes it......this is a fundamental MIDI spec. Anything that purports use as master MIDI controller should have it. Many curves and adjustments for key sensitivity including AT. Mono AT has been done so bad in many boards it's not used.

4) Two banks of 9 sliders and at least equal number of rotary.

5) Complex full featured MIDI sequencer. Step edit is fine, but what's needed is something like the JJos Akai, near unlimited notes, 64 tracks per sequence, MIDI monitor and rerouting functions, program change on the fly. The 2003 Akai does all this and alot more with 128mb RAM, most of which is used for sampling. A good sequencer takes little overhead. Except for the sequentix, every thing else seems to lack one or more fundamental features.

6) Plenty of Jacks: 4 foot controllers, breath controller---two mod wheels one on each side seems obvious. CV in/out x4+. 32 MIDI channels (like old Akai).

7)The Montage has an audio interface on the board, and it seems dead obvious a top master controller would have at least Scarlet level interface inside, and mixing capablites. The Behringer TR18 uses Ipad anyway for interface, so the high-end controller should have a good mixer in there.

8) Splits without limit. Lots anyway.

9) A design which keeps modules as little cluttered as possible. A purpose built stand maybe, with shelves for your Model D and EUROrack add on.

10) A screen old people can read, would be nice too.

 

We see the setups people want to control all the time on Youtube. The selection of Synths now is incredible. The selection of controllers is a gathering of one and two trick ponies, and a few behemouths.

 

Low hanging fruit really, as the tech is far from new (perhaps MIDI 2.0 excepted)

RT-3/U-121/Leslie 21H and 760/Saltarelle Nuage/MOXF6/MIDIhub, 

SL-880/Nektar T4/Numa Cx2/Deepmind12/Virus TI 61/SL61 mk2

Stylophone R8/Behringer RD-8/Proteus 1/MP-7/Zynthian 4

MPC1k/JV1010/Unitor 8/Model D & 2600/WX-5&7/VL70m/DMP-18 Pedals

Natal drums/congas etc & misc bowed/plucked/blown instruments. 

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Good luck with that list. Why would any manufacturer go through the cost of r&d and manufacturing for something that relatively few will buy? Most of us that want those features have been connecting controller keyboards to computers for years (almost twenty in my case). Sure, it would be great to have it all in a controller keyboard and leave the computer home, but it can't be that big a deal to bring a laptop to a gig these days. IMO anyone needing the features you ask for already has a computer, with the software they're familiar with. Why go to the trouble of learning another OS's workflow to duplicate functions you have going with your favored software?

 

Now, if you're only connecting to hardware modules, I agree it would be nice to have all those functions in a keyboard. Exactly what percentage of the midi controller market do you think that would be? My guess is less than 10%.

 

BTW my priorities are not exactly aligned with yours (nor would I expect them to be â strokes & folks, etc.)... for me light weight is very important (that means a synth action, fine by me as long as the quality is there). The standard complement of sliders, knobs, and pads will do fine. I have no use for any arpeggiator and certainly don't need a sequencer. I wouldn't mind a ribbon but not having one is far from a deal-breaker.

 

One thing about your post I resonate with is the concept of simplifying things by leaving the laptop home. The few local gigs I do these days don't demand the power & versatility of my laptop rig â just decent APs & EPs, strings, organ and maybe a clav. I've been too spoiled by my software sounds to make the move but it's probably just a matter of time before a <15 lb (~7 kg) board with decent sounds of that type and not too expensive comes along. Someday I'll check out that Numa Compact IIx if I ever find a music store that stocks one!

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The solution box I was initially thinking about is like an adaptor you plug into your pedal jack. Each model gives you more options for ev, sustain, etc. All out of the one output jack on the keyboard. I saved the info somewhere...

I'm curious about that product, please post here if you find the details.

 

To follow up, I"ve found the website it"s not what I thought it was. [url:https://www.audiofront.net/MIDIExpression.php] AudioFront [/url]

 

EDIT: I"m dropping interest in this one - it appears the new Nektar has just come out with all the goods.

____________________________________
Rod

Here for the gear.

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I find it irritating that all these controllers don't have a good bank of definable Program Change buttons, I think it comes down to their being designed more for studio than live use. The new Roland is another example.

Hey Scott, just for clarification, could you extrapolate on this?

 

I know on my Keylab MK2, (and my Mark 1 tho I didn't use it that way), each pad and button can be assigned it's own MIDI Transmit Channel, LSB MSB, and PC# I've made us of this when changing between sub parts of a song in Setlist mode of Gig Performer. Very handy

 

 

David

Gig Rig:Casio Privia PX-5S | Yamaha MODX+ 6 | MacBook Pro 14" M1| Mainstage

 

 

 

 

 

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Good luck with that list. Why would any manufacturer go through the cost of r&d and manufacturing for something that relatively few will buy? Most of us that want those features have been connecting controller keyboards to computers for years (almost twenty in my case). Sure, it would be great to have it all in a controller keyboard and leave the computer home, but it can't be that big a deal to bring a laptop to a gig these days. IMO anyone needing the features you ask for already has a computer, with the software they're familiar with. Why go to the trouble of learning another OS's workflow to duplicate functions you have going with your favored software?

Ditto. I wanted everything and the kitchen sink, went software, and got it all. Now I'm supplementing with hardware, but the laptop is still the center of my rig. Been doing that for about 9 years, and never once regretted it. I could say "it's not for everyone", but I don't really believe that, I'm just trying to be nice. Anyone with a list like yours should switch to laptop yesterday.

Puck Funk! :)

 

Equipment: Laptop running lots of nerdy software, some keyboards, noise makersâ¦yada yada yadaâ¦maybe a cat?

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  • 5 months later...
I find it irritating that all these controllers don't have a good bank of definable Program Change buttons, I think it comes down to their being designed more for studio than live use. The new Roland is another example.

Hey Scott, just for clarification, could you extrapolate on this?

 

I know on my Keylab MK2, (and my Mark 1 tho I didn't use it that way), each pad and button can be assigned it's own MIDI Transmit Channel, LSB MSB, and PC# I've made us of this when changing between sub parts of a song in Setlist mode of Gig Performer. Very handy

Sorry, just saw this!

 

Now that I've seen the manual for the board, I see you can use the 8 pads for Program Changes, that's something. Still, that's only 8. Other than that, it looks like there's no way to recall a sound except (presumably) with the scroll wheel. 8 quickly accessible sounds isn't enough, and locating sounds with a scroll wheel during performance is a drag. Why not a 10-button keypad, with a mode that lets you punch in a number for whatever patch you want, and a second mode that lets you set it for a bank of ten favorites you can select with a single button press, with the ability to rotate it among multiple banks of ten? You know, like we've seen on so many actual performance keyboards? This, or something like it, has been available to us on boards from Korg, Kurzweil, Roland, Casio, Hammond, at least. Other companies have done similar things even if not based on ten... Yamaha has had boards with multiple quick-access banks of 16, Nord (a weaker entrant here, I admit) is doing it with banks of 4 or 5. The point is, the vast majority of multifunction performance-oriented boards give you a way to select from dozens of sounds (if not more) by pressing just a button or two. I miss that in these controllers that seem to be focused mainly on DAW use. (By multifunction boards, I'm just distinguishing from boards that are sonically limited by design, i.e. boards that are pretty much dedicated pianos or organs, where 8 presets might be plenty, as opposed to an environment that may well be drawing on a library of hundreds of sounds.)

Maybe this is the best place for a shameless plug! Our now not-so-new new video at https://youtu.be/3ZRC3b4p4EI is a 40 minute adaptation of T. S. Eliot's "Prufrock" - check it out! And hopefully I'll have something new here this year. ;-)

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