You’ll be able to even browse presets immediately from KeyLab, filtering them by instrument, sound financial institution, or fashion. Native Devices presents a flashier and arguably extra superior model of those identical instruments on its Kontrol sequence, however I discover Arturia’s UI extra responsive.
Integration with Arturia’s particular person devices is a bit more patchy in the mean time. Just some, like Mini V and Piano V, will will let you browse presets and present graphics, although I’m certain updates will repair that quickly sufficient. Because the interfaces of the devices range extensively, the best way the controls are mapped additionally could be inconsistent. And for lots of the stand-alone devices there are extra parameters to cope with than there are hands-on controls. You’ll be able to simply remap these to your liking, nevertheless it does add an additional step.
The KeyLab mk3 additionally presents some management over your digital audio workstation (DAW), as long as your DAW is Ableton Dwell, Bitwig Studio, FL Studio, Cubase, or Logic Professional. Your particular alternative of recording software program will decide how tight the combination is. I solely examined Ableton Dwell, and issues largely labored as anticipated. The transport controls allowed me to play and file, and the knobs and faders have been mechanically 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 have been additionally made permitting you to simply choose and arm tracks utilizing the principle encoder.
Different Goodies
The brand new KeyLab mk3 has a number of 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 immediately speaking to {hardware} synths. Plus it comes with a stable software program bundle, together with Analog Professional V, Mini V, Piano V, Augmented Strings, Ableton Dwell Lite, and extra.
In the end, the explanation to select 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 really cheaper than comparative controllers from Novation and Native Devices.
If you happen to’re already a devoted person of Arturia’s software program devices and wish one thing somewhat extra premium than its plasticky KeyLab Important sequence, the KeyLab mk3 is an apparent alternative. However in the event you’re not already dedicated to a selected plug-in suite, the KeyLab is a stable proposition. It delivers high-quality {hardware} at a cheaper price than the competitors and comes packaged with among the best emulations of basic synths available on the market.
