You possibly can even browse presets straight from KeyLab, filtering them by instrument, sound financial institution, or type. Native Devices gives a flashier and arguably extra superior model of those identical instruments on its Kontrol series, however I discover Arturia’s UI extra responsive.
Integration with Arturia’s particular person devices is a bit more patchy for the time being. Just some, like Mini V and Piano V, will help you browse presets and present graphics, although I’m certain updates will repair that quickly sufficient. For the reason that interfaces of the devices differ broadly, the best way the controls are mapped additionally could be inconsistent. And for most of the stand-alone devices there are extra parameters to take care of than there are hands-on controls. You possibly can simply remap these to your liking, nevertheless it does add an additional step.
The KeyLab mk3 additionally gives some management over your digital audio workstation (DAW), as long as your DAW is Ableton Stay, Bitwig Studio, FL Studio, Cubase, or Logic Professional. Your particular selection of recording software program will decide how tight the combination is. I solely examined Ableton Stay, and issues principally labored as anticipated. The transport controls allowed me to play and file, and the knobs and faders had been routinely mapped to controls for Ableton’s native devices and results. The pads can be utilized to set off scenes and clips in Ableton’s clip view, and massive enhancements had been additionally made permitting you to simply choose and arm tracks utilizing the principle encoder.
Different Goodies
The brand new KeyLab mk3 has just a few different good options, together with scale mode to maintain you from taking part in out of key and a very good arpeggiator with randomization instruments. Along with serving as a controller in your DAW and plug-ins, it has 5-pin MIDI out and in ports for straight speaking to {hardware} synths. Plus it comes with a strong software program bundle, together with Analog Professional V, Mini V, Piano V, Augmented Strings, Ableton Stay Lite, and extra.
Finally, the explanation to choose the KeyLab mk3 isn’t the arpeggiator (I feel Native Devices’ arpeggiator is best). It’s high-quality {hardware} and seamless integration with Analog Lab. At $499 for the 49-key model and $599 for the 61-key, they’re truly cheaper than comparative controllers from Novation and Native Devices.
In case you’re already a devoted consumer of Arturia’s software program devices and need one thing a bit extra premium than its plasticky KeyLab Important sequence, the KeyLab mk3 is an apparent selection. However should you’re not already dedicated to a selected plug-in suite, the KeyLab is a strong proposition. It delivers high-quality {hardware} at a lower cost than the competitors and comes packaged with among the best emulations of traditional synths available on the market.
