ARTURIA ASTROLAB - A Pro Keyboard Players First Impressions!
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- Опубликовано: 31 май 2024
- Arturia Astrolab is a performance synth/keyboard that gives you the world of Analog Lab in one instrument. But is it any good? Don't miss a discount on todays sponsor DistroKid: A great way to upload and release your music. Use my link and support the channel: distrokid.com/vip/bobeats
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TODAYS GUEST
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CONTENT
00:00 What is the Arturia Astrolab?
03:58 A Pro Keyboard Players Perspective
16:00 Connecting the AstroLab to an iPad
SYNTH MERCH
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Ahhhh at last! Finally a beautiful looking new release that left me completely GAS free
Are you sure you are OK?!
@@BoBeats lol, yes! Thanks for checking in though, I even consulted with a Doctor over my lack of GAS concern. That doctor was Doctor Mix doing his Astrolab play-through. Fortunately the lack of GAS was cured by viewing your Elta Music Solar 42 video again and the GAS flared up again, going to get one even though I've never done any modular/ambient gear before
The Nest thermostat dial is a nice touch
Loved seeing you and your pal having fun and jamming!
After a few days…i think is very clear the reason of buying an Astrolab. I play in band with my nord electro 6 and a mono synth that also acts as a controller for my ipad. I could replace all that with this Astrolab. I don’t need deep editing for this use but i do enjoy having a nice quality for the sounds. I think this is really on the spot for keyboard and gigging players.
How will you deal without organ drawbars that your electro has? Also, what about the time delay switching sounds? and, playlists - why so complicated? This is from the manual -To load a Playlist, hold Shift and press the Back button to bring up the Home Screen. Use the
Screen Encoder to navigate to User. Select it, and you will see a menu similar to this: Navigate to the playlist you want, select it, and a list of Songs appears with the Playlist name at the top: In the menu above, select the desired Song using the Screen encoder, which will then
change to a modified Preset view that also displays the Playlist and Song:
I think some people are not understanding the true use case for this keyboard. This is a stage keyboard that is built for performing live. This is not a synth with a million and one parameter settings. If you are looking for great synth, get the Polybrute.😊
This
Performing live - seen it been called a performers keyboard however I'd say what performer is going to say got my Astrolab by Arturua - Arturia Who? I'll stick with my Yamaha, Roland or Korg.
Nice one BoBeats! 🤗
I notice a lot of tunnel vision in the community’s reactions. Look to the future: with this underlying technology, Arturia could potentially make a hardware Pigments! That would get the synth community drooling.
As is, it is a great device for many people who prepare a patch list upfront to bring to a live performance.
Quit huffing the gas. This SHOULD have been a hardware synth for ALL their VST's. They are asking 2k my friend. For that price you'd expect more hands on controls for customizing. No MPE support, no polyphonic touch, SMALLLLLL screen....Asking you to use a phone/tablet for preset diving???? Come onnnnnnnn
Why would they have so few hands-on controls? This is a step back to me
Probably because they'll do an XL version in the near future.
IF you compare this to a digital piano or student keyboard and it's amazing but for us synth nerds, you're correct. THey have potential to create a lot more synth nerds with this and possibly make a lot more money. Oh Shit, just looked at price....$2k? Go home Arturia, you're drunk.
personally the more knobs i see, the more i love my op1. im a synth guy, i love synths, but at this point its absurd the amount of editable parameters you get with hardware synths, you get yourself lost in editing and not making any actual music. not to mention that every new piece of equipment that comes out you need to learn all of it and develop muscle memory to tweak it how u like it. if i want to get super specific and picky with sound design i use a softsynth and fuck it. for composing, recording and live situations, less is more.
Im not impressed for the price Ill stick with roland
yooo! That's so dope!
$2,000 for 61 keys, no mpe, large touch screen, sliders, Bluetooth connection in place of usb-c cable, speakers, etc.? Noooo, thank you.
Any way to provide drawbars control for the organ presets ? the lack of physycal controls will make you need a computer anyways
Good vid meight, defo touches on the concerns I have, hoping for more sweet firmware updates and hopefully I can make the app work I guess!
Good review. I will keep my eye on this, but for now I'm ordering an Arturia Keylab Essential 3 61 Key which comes with Analog Lab V. And if I get the hang of things, I will be looking at the Astrolab.
@7:00 I have the Arturia mk2 and this the lab V and love this. Not having to dedicate a pc to this. And having the minimum adsr and that screen. Nice. Harutos flute is one of favorite. I think having a screen also is nice. Especially w pigments.
Such a friendly video!
Awesome video! Thanks, Bo!
As it is clearly demonstrated here( 6:03 ), to control a keyboard that has the controllers to the right you need to grow an extra hand
Take note Roland! A scroll dial for the SP-404MK3
I don't follow what the synth emulation includes. Does it have all the factory patches from each instrument? Can you change what the performance knobs are mapped to? Poly aftertouch?
It has presets from their collection. If you have the subscription to any collection already you will be able to change mapping and have more control over the instrument. If you do not have a subscription you will only have access to the presets in their default mapping.
you can edit the patches; including what the knobs do, in analog lab (the software), but that requires you to own each plugin or the collection I believe. Only the effects are fully tweakable on the device. It apparently has pretty much every factory patch you own (the mellotron has not been ported and is replaced by a sampler instruments)
Can you make multi samples (import your wav samples in sampler or CMI V sampler and have multisample option...diffrent key-different sample?). Thanks
This is great option for performing live and creating music outside the box.
Bo get yourself a non-latching foot switch, BOSS makes a chunky one that works well with modular synths but you can also use it as a sustain pedal in a pinch. In modular you can patch it into a footswitch interface and then use it to trigger Freeze on MI Clouds, or you can use it for start/stop transport controls in a DAW.
Thanks for the advice!!
Du är en suverän pedagog, Bo! Tack för en bra presentation!!!
I'm glad to see some of Arturia's soft synths in hardware form... even if it's only a collection of tweakable presets. Hopefully next they'll make a deeper one which allows full patch creation.
In a way they already did: Origin
Yeah…. You can create custom patches in the box and transfer them to the keyboard. 😊
That was a very nice review! While this is not an instrument for me, I enjoyed you two guys jamming together a lot! I‘d love to see more videos with you and one of your buddies. Thanks, that made me feel good! 🥰
having a Linux computer inside, I wonder how long it takes to startup. Korg kronos can take up to 4-5 minutes depending on the preloaded library.
Oh my goodness, _finally_ a review that shows whom this keyboard is for, and doesn't apologise for the fact that the reviewer's audience had their fragile little egos bruised. It's a fab instrument, just not for me.
Not sure about performance keyboard, but I like some of those presets. Kinda retro grainy ones and low res are cool.
The most expensive car in the world, a Bugatti, uses the same kind of dial system!! What that means, or indicates, I don't know, but it's pretty COOL!!
Nice and if I didn`t own a Nord Electro 6D 73 already then I may have considered it
I would love to see something like this but with all the controls from the Keylab MkII. Personally that would be the perfect Controller/ Performance keyboard for me. I Really like this concept though and I really hope they expand on it in the next iteration.
The best thing about this is that i can see some of these things making it into a Keylab MK3. The encoders with the lights particularly.
They pitched this as a followup for the origin, but what they didnt realize is that even if they intended the origin to be a stage/church device it was used by generative artists.
Live performance for generative artists is so overlooked.
I would have loved an "origin 2: dawn for v collection" and an origin 2: dusk for fx collection. With a 1 to 1 layout for pigments. A device with a perferated OLED screen that covered the entire top surface that had punchout holes for encoders to stick through and the oled adapted to whatever instrument you were controlling. Could also shine through the knobs to give more info / minimal look.
As it stands the astrolab is a good similar device to say the roli seaboard grand, but in reality everyone is waiting for the model more geared toward creative generative artists. Hopefully at a cheaper price as well. Keylab mk3 on the horizon.
$2,000 for 61 keys, no touch screen, mpe, wireless Bluetooth connection, speakers? That’s a hard no for me.
@AprilRoxStudios it is $1600, I don't think it is useful at any price. Realistically this is for worship stage use and to sell packs to people who will buy them. I think it is a good move for Arturia, but not for 70% of their customer base. Again, the Keylab mk3 is the thing to look out for with some of these features and hardware.
Looks and sounds beautiful. Another great episode, brother. And ur friend plays beautifully. But i must say! Put out a clip critiquing the newest SP-404 MK2 firmware update! Thx man, for all u do :)
Thank you!!
@@BoBeats ur the best, Bo. For real, my brother.
Looks and sounds awesome, but I noticed that both of you had to get close to the dial to read it. The dial just seems too small from what I can tell from the video.
The dial is indeed not that big and menu is pretty small.
This is a very good RUclips video. They nailed the design, though some more knobs would have been nice. Also 9:22 - Spotify release, when? ;-)
12:44 I thought he was going for Silent Shout by The Knife! I had to stop this video and go listen to that awesome song again.
Finally someone who can play on this channel
I think it's a good move from Arturia; if I'd still be a performing keyboard player it would definitely have my interest. I have the impression that most commenters that complain about the lack of controls aren't the target audience for this instrument. When you are in an on-stage performance, you really don't need 42 knobs to tweak your sound. Same as guitar players don't need hand-on access to all the knobs on their pedalboard during performance. You set it the way you like it, and concentrate on your playing.
Indeed! Pretty much what Armend said
Lovely keyboard but I’m happy with my 25 key Novation and my instrument one. A bit pricy for me (my entire gear collection probably cost less 😊) Plus I’ve just bought an mpc one ( my mc101 is now listed on eBay so it’s a pretty cheap upgrade) so no more new gear for a bit, except for the stylophone I’ve preordered oh and the Katana go I’ve reserved at my local music store and the archtop guitar kit I ordered too, hmmm. Ah you have to live a little 😊
This video was great if only to hear the wonderful keyboarding... and to see him break out his "B Boy" hands and start freestyling 😂 That was awesome and unexpected. But for owners of the V Collection and any of the Arturia controllers (in my case the keylab mkii), this release was very anticlimactic. I can't really describe how excited I was when I saw the anticipation building 25th anniversary vid promo. I was like "Yeah!! New product!", only to be a little let down by the products limitations and lack of innovation. But it's cool, I guess for limited perfomances or for someone who has money to throw at seemingly redundant tech and studio eye candy.
Excellent video though, still 👍🏾
Personally not sure what Arturia were thinking with this release - it kind falls short of the mark on all accounts. If it came with full versions of Pigments and V Collection and full editing and easy transfer of patches then 👍. People say its for the Arturia sound but these people already own pigments and/or v collection and the Arturia sound There is no reason to buy an Astrolab!
Interesting product however I was really hoping a MicroFreak style drum machine.
Yes!
Great work, even just having Pigments in a synth is amazing. I think it would benefit from having more encoders etc.
One thing I don't like in Analog Lab or standalone Arturia vst's is the Piano instrument, it doesn't sound that authentic.
thanks for watching!!
You put this out before ARTURIA even announced, lol
Clearly that was the plan from Arturia.
I'm not quite feeling this but I think the concept is great. if they could make a 76 key version with piano/Rhodes sounds which are at Nord Electro level it would be interesting. I've never liked the V Collection piano/Rhodes though,... Would love to have the Yamaha CP70 on gigs.
They've just added the Amazon basics timer in the middle. But i like it
I was longing for that for some time. Now that it is true, of course I cannot afford it.
Feel like they should've started smaller. Not necessarily in size, but scope. If this was a hardware Pigments with a full set of knobs and better display, it would've been a no-brainer. The problem here is that it lacks the control options they themselves provide with Keylab and then cost more than the sum of parts without adding all that much convenience.
Maybe a smaller, more MicroKorg priced edition will come down the road.
"If this was a hardware Pigments with a full set of knobs and better display, it would've been a no-brainer" this is a completely different concept; it's not a synth per say; it's a stage keyboard and a preset player, the goal is playing a live set with your band as a keyboardist and have some basic control over your presets. the whole patch creation part happens on the computer (unless they develop the app so you can do that as well on your ipad). You then create a playlist and switch sounds on the fly. I too would like a hardware pigments but develloping a full UI for it would be quite a headache. I don't think they will go this way at all; they already have hardware synths like the minifreak selling like hot cakes with an interface thought out for hardware. Apparently they already have patents for 61, a 88 and a "mini" version so this is what you can expect next (I'm thinking maybe 37 keys)
It's $1600 and only comes with Analog Lab Pro, not the V collection. Very little hands on editing (need a computer). Only 61 keys. Basically a preset player. Korg Nautilus 61 key is about $1700. I guess if you really like just Arturia sounds and want them on the go, then this is for you.
I think thats a fair assessment!
Although you can get the Arturia sound for much less and able to fully edit if required.
Will the software play nicely with Linux yet? I ended up selling my much-loved Keylab because of the truly frustrating lack of software cooperation in a Linux environment.
Can you power your V collection on this keyboard?
it runs v-collection / analog lab basically
@@BoBeatsI have the V collection. Wondering If I need to be attached to computer to run the V collection or will it recognize it through WiFi. Excited about this.
Yes, it can. You have also edit on pc, then put on astrolab.
@@angelfmusic apparently you can tweak macros live in analog lab but not the full synth (requires you to save the preset). maybe that will change.
Without poly aftertouch. 😢 Arturia CS80 😰
How much is it, please Bo? The link isn’t operational.
$1999
Really 2k?
@@JayTheLane yeah, its up on the Arturia site
i didnt get a final price but north of 1500 at least
thomann US says 1444 $. in EU 1599 €
Digitakt 2 baby! what a machine.. when can we see it?
I ordered one as soon as I saw it. Maybe I can manage a vid before superbooth
I think this is great for playing gigs but I don’t think I’m gonna get this as I work in the studio
Yeah that make sense!
Nice presets, but I feel that market is pretty narrow
Are the keys weighted???
Dont matter its a vast in a box
semi weighted
I have noticed on several reviews that to do some of the things you REA:LY want to do, like finding presets fast, organizing playlists/sets and true sound editing, you have to LEAVE the synth and GO TO the computer, then GO BACK to the synth. That is my deal breaker. I am getting the MODX7+ for the same price and was curious about this release but...No.
Yes. As shown and discussed in the vid navigation is a big issue
With the physical limitation of the rotary knob and base design, I do not see how they fix this. Even if they put more extensive editing capabilities on the unit, the menu diving to do it would be horrendous. I've programmed on Pigments a lot and I cannot imagine doing similar things on that tiny rotary dial screen. Joe
@@SWATTECHNOLOGIES The answer is: You do not program sounds on this. Its meant as a preset player with limited ability to tweak sounds. So dont expect it to be anything more than that in terms of sound design on the actual keyboard.
@@BoBeats I understand
Why all commercial reviews always positive 😕, specially when all bloggers release it at same time 🧐
very nice sweat
Want.
Once again, Arturia gets so much of the hardware right - looks and feels premium - until that shot at 1:45 where the keybed looks like a 150 year old piano. The keys are all different heights, which is not a good look for any pro keyboard - and it hasn't even been played yet!
I really like their synths; I've owned a MatrixBrute, PolyBrute, and several Keylabs for mobile studio work - and the keybeds on all of them were cheap-feeling, and no amount of tweaking would fix their velocity curves. It's a shame, because otherwise they were really well-made.
I also agree with others who are scratching their heads at the very few available knobs/controllers. This thing should at least have controls for envelopes and filters...
Price?
i thought it would be 1500-1600 but its looking like 2000? Not sure!
$1999 on the Arturia website
@@bigbasil1908 1 646,90 euro at thomann
@@BoBeats The price will probably drop a bit in the coming months. I guess they are testing to see how much they can sell them for
Pigments.... No polyphonic after touch...
I don’t own a sustain pedal…..who doesn’t own a sustain pedal!
I DONT!!
oh wait
No sustain pedal at bo's house? Wow. 🙂
also
No guitar!
How on earth .... can you forget the sustain pedal in this demo? Or not have it? 😔 Nevertheless, nice 'keyboard' this is!
i know!! i will be better i promise!
How does the keybed feel bro? ok, good, great?
Ok , a bit plastic.
Bro was clearly not part of the Arturia deal.
At least they proved that they can easily put all these models into one mediocre smartwatch rompler hybrid.
Its not a rompler. But it does have an interface a bit like a smart watch, so points for being half right i guess
Sounds and looks quite good and your in such a good vibe on it 🫵😎😆 give us more Dr Mix
👍i LoVe !
💙⚪❤
💙💛
But why make the interface so clunky you have to use an external device to make it useable - kind of like having the sounds in your computer and using an external device to use them (jk)! I mean I understand why it exists. But I also understand why making it "premium looking" was an absolute necessity;)
It will indeed be interesting seeing how its received by the less synth nerdy crowd! Its a big group!
it's not designed to create sounds from the ground up; it's basically a preset player; which make sense if for stage use in a band. it's not a synth. You can create your sounds with the computer; which makes it not for everyone.
@@valdir7426 Yeah, I know. My issue is: if you have to use an iPad to (comfortably) scroll and use said presets, there's still two units to deal with!
@@ALT-pg3ee I feel like you can scroll ok on the device. Although if they can port the full sound edition to the ipad editor that would be a big bonus
@@valdir7426 Yeah I guess with time comes speed, but just designing something that is meant to be standalone, just to make it kind of NOT standalone seems sub-optimal^^
Who’s the pro keyboardist?
The sounds are amazing (fueled by Arturia analog Labs which is spectacular), but who is this built for?
- Not 88 keys/not weighted, so not really a digital piano.
- Limited onboard controls (no drawbars), so it's not good for organs
- Not a lot of knobs for synth heads, and it's not a great controller for software either
- Premium price
So... a great piece of gear, but what's the market? What's the use case?
Its good questions! I am unsure myself. Its a lovely piece of tech but I am very curious to see who buys them. I have learned that the market for performance oriented keyboard-synths is quite big tho,.
@@BoBeats thanks, Bo. Let me know if you need to borrow a sustain pedal. I got you ;)
the 88 keys is coming (probably weighted); along a 61 and mini versions (according to some patents they registered)
I think it’s for keyboard players in bands/cover bands, and I think they’ll like it. Plenty of people in those gigs don’t need drawbars or a full 88 weighted keys, what they want is easy to access, accurate representation of classic synth sounds. Arturia has already put all the work into emulating just about anything you could want just about as good as you could hope for, putting those sounds in a box is pretty great.
As for the price, I think it’s premium in the synth world but in the stage keyboardist world it’s in the lower tier category. I think this would make a fantastic main board for a smaller time band keyboardist, and the size, weight, and keys make it a perfect 2nd/upper board for a bigger act. Let a full size nord do the piano and organ and do all the synth things you could dream of with this and you’re all set.
That said, I don’t play keyboard in cover bands anymore so I won’t buy this but I think it will sell to that market. Great demo though, Bo, loved the jams!
So they put their Analog Lab inside a keyboard? So it’s really is a VST in a keyboard. Interesting.
Yeah, in a very literal way it is. Not a bad thing tho, as its done nicely
@@BoBeatsI actually dig it.
That’s quite literally how every single digital keyboard works. It’s all sampling at the end of the day. A sound engine in a digital keyboard is basically a VST
@@flarfadelic5654 so my Hydrasynth and 3rd Wave is a vst in a keyboard? Good to know.
@@wren23_bass-synths Yes, it's all code although DA Ad converters can make a big difference tonally.
Can think of no reason to buy this .
Me neither. Seems better to just bring a key lab and plug it into a laptop
Yeah for the price I’d buy a Roland Fantom 0 or a Yamaha Modx for similar uses. Cheaper bigger more sound editing.
Just a preset warehouse. Best remedy against GAS.
I love real Arturia synths though. Waiting for the PB 12 …
Where is Keylab 88 mk3 with improved interface and keybed?
But it’s so good to see Bo
no midi thru
This is for standalone situations, people wanting only one device, one computer. My opinion at least.
VST rompler in a box.
Not a rompler! Some sounds are sample based but just like V-Collection most synth sounds are virtual analog / physical modelling etc which sets it apart technically from alot of sample based workstations (for example Yamaha Modx is mostly sample based beside its FM engine)
no it's the full synth engines with basically not much way to tweak it.
Just curious why we do not see BO playing and demonstrating the keyboard and all that unboxing nonsense taking up several wasted minutes. Sorry but this was not a great review just a friend of his playing odd melodies and BO on an Elektron 🙄
Hey Lee! The answer is in the video and its title. I thought it would be good to team up with someone who this product is actually for
@@BoBeats I see well fair enough, and thanks for the reply 👍
No problem! I appreciate the feedback.
a midi controller and a laptop into the same box. Not so much to be amazed of
it's sluggish...
not good!
TLDR: Arturia preset vst host in a 61 keyboard for 1600 euros
Yeah can't see myself paying for this when I already have the sounds in the computer and a good midi keyboard to play them.
Looked up how much I paid for Analog Lab V out of interest and it was 69 euros (on offer). That is quite the markup
absolute rubbish
Another plastic toy for people who can’t play that’ll end up on eBay in 3 months.
It would be cheaper to buy a laptop the V collection and a midi keyboard
And far more versatile
But for gigs I hear you say.
Yeah, because the laptop is heaviest part of any gigging rig, right???