People are missing the point. This is really a great tool for someone like me who doesn't like spending countless hours tweaking knobs. Jumping from a Juno, to Oberheim to a Prophet 5 with a twist of a knob is all that I want without the need to sit in front of my computer.
Totally. Sometimes one can get lost in "tweaking knobs" and end up getting nothing done. Nothing wrong with presets if they are good presets. And it's not like a good preset machine replaces everything else in a studio.
nice playing starsky, i never realized before what a great player you are, this keyboard certainly brings out the best in you :) great demo, thanks for the upload.
Hey Woody, thanks. The first thing I learned to do when I started electronic music production was to forget any fancy chords and only play with one hand 😂. Thanks for stopping by!- love your channel
I'm impressed how they managed to retrofit a Nest on one of their keyboards ;-) Nice bit of kit and I'm sure it's very good value. My pockets just ain't that deep!
Another great review - Starsky always seems to have a talent for picking up on the intended purpose (and potential) of an instrument, and highlighting those aspects as he's reviewing the piece of gear in question. I think the most important thing this synth offers is the incredible selection of sounds (done well) in a single place - which, in itself, is very powerful. I'm almost a little surprised that they didn't offer this in a silver colerway (25th anniversary being the "silver" anniversary). If it can look good on a Minilogue, it could look good on an Astrolab. EDIT: I would LOVE to see Starsky compare some of the sounds on this synth (such as the Solina) with Behringer's Solina (and Behringer's other clones). It would be interesting to see how Arturia's digital emulations of some of the old classics in this box compare with various Behringer boxes in a sort of combo video with the Astrolab taking on 4-5 of Behringer's boxes. (Prophet VS emulation vs Behringer's little VS clone would be another I'd like to see.)
Yah thanks... I went back and forth on this for a while until it clicked. What they've produced is a no compromise sound module so if you're not that interested I programming tones you have everything at hand (over 7000 in Analog Lab) and don't have to put up with mediocre sounds. If you want to edit them and you're a synth head, you've probably got a version of V Collection you can use to edit them.
I ordered mine as soon as I saw the announcement. I've been using V Collection for many years, and got Pigments when first released. I have many sounds I created over the year, and now I can take them with me without a computer, audio interface,... Will be a great synth keyboard to add to my current stage keyboard(s).
I've never used pigments, does this offer full control over it standalone or just loading stuff you designed on a computer? The $2k price tag seems steep for what is easily reproduced with a portable macbook air and a far smaller midi keyboard with the same knobs
The screen size alone would be a major deterrence for vst control, but I guess if you have $2k to spare on this stuff you can afford the minor convenience during... Ugh travel when you can lug around a giant keyboard without a laptop
@@daniel_dumile much easier to carry around a single 61-key keyboard vs a computer, audio interface and MIDI keyboard controller, no to mention the extra stands, cables and setup/teardown time. I already have my main stage keyboard rigs, and have to bring one of those too, with stands, and if I need my 25-note pedals, I also need to bring a bench...reducing what I need to bring makes a difference to me. for live control, I have MIDI floor controller that can do program changes and more; the updated Analog Lab Pro provides even more control to organize and access your patches without using or needing a touch screen. If I need MPE or poly aftertouch, I have a KMI K-Board-Pro-4, have yet to see if I can get it to work with the AstroLab. I also think it will be useful in my studio connected to a computer running my V Collection and Pigments software for creating new sounds as well. Clearly it's not for everyone, the AstroLab will be more useful than what I've been using.
@@daniel_dumile I don't do sound design or deep tweaking of patches in a live setting, I do that at home on the computer. Not having to bring a computer, audio interface and MIDI keyboard and everything else vs having to bring a 61-key AstroLab makes a difference for me. Just another tool that should simplify my live rig. They're only $1600 street in the US, and you can find 15% discounts too, like I did; vs a KeyLab 61 MkII which is around $600 new before discounts. I already have at least several MIDI keyboard controllers. AstroLab will work great for me in my live rig and in the studio, while I wait to see what Korg does for their next flagship workstation, and I don't mean Nautilus AT.
Doesn't come with v collection or pigments, just analog lab, so you will need to buy a pigments license to fully customise the sounds. It also has a bit of lag loading sounds so without seamless transitions it's a bit of a hard sell for live.
Thanks for the run through! This is great release by Arturia😮 fills a gap for people like me, very much a hardware person so to put their great emulations in a quality stand-alone keyboard is a great move. Personally I’m not sure about the aesthetics- just a bit too “ minimalist “ for me, but have to hand it to them for doing something different, yet tasteful😁
It does look great. The wheel thing is kinda dumb. Like a Samsung gear watch device dial on a $2k prime real estate board with all that wasted space? If it's for state you'd think they would want you to have a larger screen. But then I guess they expect you to tether your phone or iPad with the Astro App
Once you're set up you don't need to tether to anything. I see it as something you set up at home ... playlists/songs/sounds etc for the gig,. then just pack this. I really see it as something that's not marketed towards those of us who want to tweak sounds to the nth degree (like me) on the synth, but those looking for highest quality tones that they can edit if need be off-line (ie not at the gig).
haha.. the videoing lasted a whole day - it started out storm level outside (you can hear the vocals sound distorted at one point where the processing is attempting to get rid of the rain/wind in the background). It then got imperceptibly brighter but bright enough for the ISO settings on the camera to be far too high. I had to redo a couple of bits as it got soooo bright.. !
Such an impressive demonstration of every new tool and for this one, many virtual tools included into one machine. At first I thought to myself, "why do we want to reproduce what others have done?" but I understand the allure. One in such case I'd request would be Gary Numan "Metal," and etc? 😉 Well made show and much appreciated ....I'm headed to the mentioned patch downloads now. All the best to you! 🍻
As a big Pigments fan, I'd LOVE to have a hardware equivalency, but with an 8-voice polyphony limitation for more complex sound engines (if I understood correctly) and still needing a computer to fully modify patches, this is just a bit too limited for me. If I really wanted the Arturia V Collection at my finger tips, I would think a laptop running Virtual Sound Stage (or something similar) would better scratch the itch and likely offer more polyphony and definitely offer more control. But noooo denying this SOUNDS amazing and offers an incredible selection of engines and tones. I'll be curious to see where they take this idea...a bigger display and more polyphony hopefully being early changes. Great presentation SC...
Thanks, yeah polyphony on Pigments is 8 ... but like I showed you can double up to 16 by using 2 parts. I wonder if it would be possible for it to default to 16 if using a single part. I think this hits the spot where folks don't want the hassle of laptop and controller etc. I see it as an extension of the studio for live work. Upload all the sounds you need to this and leave the cables behind.
If the put the whole V collection in one of their controller keyboards and had a hdmi out or Bluetooth so you could edit visually then I'd be up for it.
Oddly, I’d probably go for something like this if it was 4 octaves instead of 5.. and a bit less expensive (especially considering you’d be enticed to buy vst collections), just for something different than my pure synth collection (Matriarch, Sub37, Trigon6, and Hydrasynth Keys) Sounds great Like the clean aesthetic too Nice vid my friend :) Cheers
Huh? You don't make sense. MIDI 1.0? that's a System Exclusive. It's not a bus protocol. Most companies ARE making it controllable over the Universal Serial Bus protocol and their associated software. MIDI 2.0 is almost out (practically already here) and it will have more universal commands between gear. But what are you exactly suggesting?
The "Flying Violins" patch is from "Flying ", a not so famous tune you can find in the "Magical Mystery Tour" album, a blues instrumental. One of the very few credited to all four of them, by the way.
looks like he was enjoying playing the artists presets so much that we almost lost Starsky down a Beatles nostalgia rabbit hole for a moment...the little furry in the background seemed to be enjoying it too
I was thinking 'this sounds great', but as a V Collection owner, I can already have this with a midi keyboard and a laptop. But I get why an Ikea keyboard would be attractive for live work. One day someone is going to bring out some VST-based keyboard that does all this and does it as well as the Roland System 8. By this, I mean lots of knobs that change function with each synth. If this already exists, please point me to it.
Thanks for clarifying polyphony within a SPLIT... I was curious if you got the full possible polyphony with each LAYER/SPLIT instrument. 👍 Might have been good to see the maximum polyphony for each instrument appear on the screen as you select a preset... under the preset title perhaps, near the CPU processing figure?
It’s nice but I would have loved it more if they would have put a giant touch screen on the blank space to your left. Plenty of room for it .. Maybe the next revision?
I was tempted to buy an ASM Hydrasynth and bought a copy of Pigments instead and got a Sledge 2.0 as a stage workhorse. If I didn't already have that cool looking beast, this would be very tempting. Especially if they did a black one with reverse colour keys!!
Thoughts: - Nice sound - Good for gigging - Sample player rather than an actual synth (I may be wrong) - Painful to watch my physical synths going through on the display - I like the user interface & display, friendlier than a lot of similar gear - 88-Key version would be nice but I suspect the price would be ouchy - Must have a heck of a processor in it, the big brands could learn from this - If they're aiming at the workstation market it should be properly multitimbral
It doesn't seem to be playing samples outside of the sound engines that are oriented around samples. that's why it shows you in the video around 10:50 in there are limitations to polyphony based on the sound engine selected.
Pretty awesome thing, curious how they embedded the instruments into this thing if they normally run on a Full PC / Mac, but for that price I'd expect it to come with the V Collection too, or at least Pigments. Does it even come with Analog Lab Pro??
It comes with Analog Lab Pro but not V Collection. It's got sounds from that, the Augmented series, Pigments and a sampler (for preset mellotron stuff etc). As I said in the video I think it would be nice if it could be used as a dongle so you have access to edit all those tones if you've got the synth. Maybe a v complex licensing/technical nightmare. But I think perhaps the intended users aren't that bothered about tweaking - there must be 1,000 pad tones in Analog Lab, 1,000 pianos/electric pianos, 500 organs, 1,00 bases etc.. so you'll definitely find something that suits without editing. You can edit the macros and the FX to suit your track using Analog Lab.
Absolutely gorgeous though I’d prefer it in black. Just seems too expensive considering I already own Pigments and V Collection, so it’s a 1500 for a midi controller except standalone. Build looks great, I’d maybe pay 1k for it if it feels as good as it looks. I’m also a bit disappointed at the lack of knobs. I don’t know… can’t nail down how I feel about it.
They need to discount for people who own the software, otherwise it's a joke. Why would you lock into presets on these with expensive hardware that has huge limits?
Feels like this might work nice in a pedal format given theres only a few knobs, something that looks like analog v design views, would love pigments as a hardware synth to do some sound design but i use a touch screen already to make it more tactile, i guess for stage musicians might be interesting
Just a shame they didn't include a Morphee like on the Polybrute, even if it only did cross-fades. It would allow Polybrute patches to be enjoyed fully. 😎
They probably left off a proper sequencer because they sell the great keystep and beatstep devices which would pair quite well with this. Especially in a live situation. Also, I fell like this is an amazing tool to pair with a sampler. Astrolab + Beatstep Pro + 404 MkII or similar would be a great time for a dawless setup
I own the V-Collection and this keyboard could really be a nice hardware counterpart - if it would be as seamlessly integrated as you talked about. I think we will see an update from Arturia addressing this.
I’m not a gigging musician so as a home Keyboard this is ideal ….who wants to go on a computer when you’ve got some hardware to play around with. I’ve had synths with loads of knobs for my sound designing… sometimes you just want to play and have fun. Just wish they made them more portable maybe 49 key with speakers ….now that would be great. I’m seriously considering buying it just gotta find the space.
yeah, that doesn't sound a lot, but its quite overwhelming at first! I think they've put a huge selection of tones in the machine to start you off... but placing all 7,000 from Analog Lab would be far too confusing. So if there are sounds missing etc you create your own playlist (sound bank) and drop what you need into the synth from the software as and when.
I take it, that with this piece of equipment, there is no latency anymore between hitting a key and sound evolving. Like in the good old days of analog and DX7.
@@oupahens9219 what delay is in virtual instruments? Your VST instruments have delay? Are you using a sample library like kontakt? Your virtual synths shouldn't have any noticable latency. Are you using USB 1.0? You on a Pentium 4 Windows 2000 NT? LOL
@@StarskyCarr do a test. Show this dude the pudding man . Get your phone on a stand and aim at your keybed in your highest frame rate and compare the delay from keystroke to registering audio blip impulse on the recorded video and find out the math where you deduct the speed of sound compared to the frames blah blah blah 😭😔 😂😂😂😆😆 Get outta here
I went back and forth on this myself.. bigger screen, touchscreen, more editing etc... that was until I spent enough time with it to 'get it'. Even without a V Collection license there are so many sounds in Analog Lab that will have you covered, and there are so many players that are just that - players not programmers. I think about my kids' friends and my friend's kids.. they're not into programming sounds... that's for old geeks! they're just into playing the tracks.
After been following them since this dropped idk if I will be able to use this board for gig purposes because of the screen and it doesn’t have faders like it’s big brother!!!
@@larsuk9578 I understand your comparison but it still makes no actual sense to design the primary source of information hard to see! By Arturia perpetuating the little screen format it is missing the opportunity of putting right a conceptual wrong. Screens should be large-ish, but the information displayed on them at any one time should be limited/restricted so as not to confuse or overload the player's senses. Logical!
As a daily arturia user i really feel this is a huge miss especially at the price point. I mean you could get a mac mini with the entire v collection and a midi controller with endless possibilities where this seems like a preset machine for who??? I mean aren’t live players like this looking for ck88’s or nord leads?
I just looked, $2000 for this?? 😂 Dont look to gear tubers for honesty. This is for synth nerds with poor financial self control. And I say that as a huge Arturia fan who has a few of their products in my main set up
Actually on second thought I don't think any synth nerd would touch this given its basically a preset box, so I guess maybe amateur bands with a keyboard player who spends all their time in a DAW and wants to pretend they are playing live? Or something
Yeah I agree with you. I’m a big fan of Arturia but wtf is this and who’s going to buy it. I was hoping for a groove box, something portable that connects with their plug ins. It’s like a lot of the large music companies they have certain artists steering them in the wrong direction.
After giving it a lot of thought, and wondering who this was aimed at I had a lightbulb moment. A friend's daughter was asking advice on a synth for her band a few weeks ago. She just wanted something with great sounds, but hasn't got a clue about programming (and no interest). She wanted something quality and no fuss that would sound great. She bought a mid-priced Roland. Although more expensive this would defo have been one her radar. I think us synth-heads are in a bit of a bubble - we know and love Arturia for the V Collection, Microfreak, Polybrute etc.. .all very synth nerd focussed, complex and hands on. But there may be an untapped market for those not interested in tweaking, more in playing (with both hands, not with one on the filter).
This would be the ultimate home keyboard for someone who wanted great bread and butter sounds but also wanted to toy around with synth sounds without getting too technical. Maybe it would benefit from some preset backing tracks to play along to.
Nice piece of kit, though when you already own Analog Lab 5/Pro etc and Pigments, does it present the same value?? As I am under the impression this is bundled with those... so I think in my situation I would be better off with a Keylab 88? or even a nice fatar synth ie Hydra etc (I hv a Keystep 37). Bends my head all this lol. Also first time I have noticed your cat!! Whats she called? 🖖👍
I think this is aimed at people who want to simplify their gigging rig but have access to the V Collection/Pigments/Augmented quality tones. A preset machine with the highest quality tones. BUT.. if you're a tweaker, you probably have or are thinking of getting a license for those anyway. If you need to tweak you can, but if not there's so many tones available you'll be covered. Ive got 2 cats - one male, one female (both neutered btw... I'm not insane!!) This one is Sala, he's the male - a savannah/begal mix - folks round the corner had a couple they didn't manage to keep apart! the other is Subah, and she's bengal (not pedigree). We went with these breeds as they're great fun with the kids. Like mini dogs almost. Sala is our guard cat. He sits outside the house checking out everyone that comes/goes or walks past. He runs up to welcome you then goes back to guard duty! He obviously had a busy night.
All of these famous artists that are listed such as Genesis, Pink Floyd, Duran Duran, etc. Are they included in Analog Lab, included in this keyboard or did you load them from some other sound libraries? Are splits limited to just two? Is there an audio interface included with the keyboard?
So it's a preset playing keyboard like... any other stage piano, except with less hands on control and it reads only Arturia (limited) presets. Don't really see the appeal, even for a stage keyboard. What prevents people from hooking up a MiDI kb to a laptop with Arturia's own vsts or others?
some of us use V Collection, Pigments and more, for many years, and have many patches we created; and don't like to bring a computer and audio interface for live use. My main stage rig is either a Hammond SKx (with or without the 25-note pedals) or a Vox Continental with a second MIDI keyboard; I use my Korg MiniLogue for synths when possible because it's fast and easy to set up. A laptop, audio interface and MIDI keyboard is not as quick to setup/tear down when you have to get on and off stage as quickly as possible. I purchased an AstroLab today; as soon as I heard about it.
that feature is sort of lackluster. some artists only have a few sounds to play with. for example, there's only 3 Tribute Tones for the band Rush. i didn't get to play with the sounds, but i scrolled through the whole list, and clicked on all of them just to see how many sounds in general were associated with the artist. on average, it was about three sounds. some had a little more, some had less.
Looks like Arturia enters the fray against Korg, Yamaha and Roland for workstation type keyboards. Nice. Love the sleek look of this, but they need a 70+ key version.
Well as a live player, having space on the keyboard is also nice to fit an iPad or effect box… I wish mine had less controls that I don’t use and more space.
Its tilting to the right...oh wait, the keyboard is missing controls on the left! Arturia V Collection has the same sound engine as a $199 keyboard. So who is paying 8x more to get the Astrolab?
WIRED CHOICES! They had the opportunity to completely disrupt the market, if they would have done : 1. A hardware with big touch responsive screen and many controls like IRIDIUM 2. All Arturia V collection inside + multi-sampling 4. 4 or 8 Part Multi Timbral with separate outouts 5. 16 analog filters/VCA in the final stage (the prophet VS cem 3389 filter is back in production is cheap and it sound phenomenal), this would have been a Prophet X in steroids BOOM than ask how much you want, that would have been 1 SYNTH to RULE THEM ALL 🤷♂️ Tho great as an interior design object””😅
Second hand Polybrutes can be had for $1,599. Arturia's marketing department need to lay off the pipe. I wonder if a teardown will reveal Raspberry Pi 5 internals.
So t tell me that I thought my PN was worth more! It’s a bit heavy to be holding Raspberry Pis in there.. unless they’re tricking us with a lump of iron!
I asked because I am in the market for a 61-73 key synth with sounds controller capabilities and wide range sound set capabilities. I am aiming to get the MODX7+, then when I compared one to one with this synth there was too much back and forth between the synth and Analog Lab and the lack of the ability to search my sounds is horrible. Finally, MODX has a beautiful touch screen and its easy to move high quality editable sounds around. There is a running discount on the MODX7+ until 6/30/24 for $1,500. It's a steal. Thanks for your review Mr. Carr. @@SWATTECHNOLOGIES
I think this is for a different market... not so much synth heads, more music heads. I see this in my kids friends, they want to play the tracks but couldn't be less bothered about how to create the tone. Possibly a big untapped market (although whether those people have the cash to splash is yet to be seen).
I think their flagship is the wonderful PolyBrute, but get your point. It's rare to get internal PSUs, and I think a lot has to do with complications with interference and noise. So external is just so much easier and cheaper.
@@StarskyCarr Right. There is just something reassuring about proper IEC mains cord versus the skinny lavalier mic cable used for power delivery. Maybe more of an aesthetic complaint these days.
its not a vst in a box its just the patch playback to be honest my opinion if this keyboard is that its a solution looking for a problem to solve and the problem it tries to solve isnt a problem that needs solving and its a dud now if you could install the vst as in you put the vst and its fully programmable and editable and could make sounds from scratch then it would be awesome and would solve the problem that its set out to solve but as it stands its a solution looking for a problem to solve and it doesnt solve the problem that its trying to find
Whoa there .. take a breath. 😀 I’ve just made a re-review considering the comments and I was planning on reading this quickly in a single breath but couldn’t 😂
@@StarskyCarr yeah i hear you i justtype fast and unfortunately never bother reading it but you can see my point though about that it would be ok if you could install the vst like you can with roland cloud and plugin thing like you can on the system 8 or the duff jupiter xs if they had done that then i think it would be a winner and from waht im seeing is it even possible to add or delete new patches from the vst or is it just ya got what ya getting and thats it
@@djdarksidejungle559 I totally get what you're saying. My initial thoughts were along the same lines... which is why I was going to use it. :) I just put a few short quotes up in the end.
@@StarskyCarr I think the fact that nobody stopped this nest thermostat from coming out and nobody could actually speak up at the company and just speak the obvious simple truths here suggests that the culture at the company is probably really messed up. I mean you really have to not care at all to let your company release something like this.
@@BananasananaB on one level I kind of want to like it. I mean I really do like my nest thermostat, but it is super fiddly to try to actually access menus and things so the logic of it all really should have been stopped early. It's such a small s***** screen.
It's a synth? NO It's a controller? NOPE It's a studio production tool? NIET It's a versatile Live Gig tool like Nords are ? NEIN! It's a Hands On plug-out keyboard like System-8? NAAAHH It's a Workstation like MPC Keys or Fantom is? NOPINOPINO! Has some of the best pianos? No it hasn't Has some of the best Rhodes and Organs? They're descent though you can't really control them. It's a CS80, a Juno or a Synclavier? Not really. You can't edit them from the board. It's a good looking, hipster, synth based rompler without natural and orchestral sounds? YES IT IS WHY?
😂 Starbucks seem to have done ok on the back of hipster coffee shops. I still think there could be an untapped market for a hipster synth without orchestral sounds. It’s definitely a gamble. It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out.
Certainly not aimed at studio work where you would just use VCX in your DAW with control surface(s) of your choice. What gigging pro would take this over an admittedly more costly, but more focused board covering your touring set? That leaves someone who plays live, but not professionally and cannot justify pro touring kit. Not sure how many of those there are, but we shall see...
@@StarskyCarr if in the studio this makes Analog Lab use LESS convenient; double so for VCX users. If gigging the mediocre at best keybed will be hard to ignore. Live the only things you care about are a top flight keybed, mod/pitch where expected, your needed number of foot inputs, and the button to move you through song programs with "good enough for live" sounds.
The sound is too digital for me. Probably the hardware uses cheap dacs or a very low samplerate/bit depth. It's a shame not having usb audio in-out, this keyboard has a pc inside.
I don't think there are any legal issue using band names. You can create a tone and call it 'Depeche Mode' bass, it's simply a descriptor, not a copyright infringement (sampling their tones would be different). 'Beatles style drums', 'Aphex Pads' ... etc I'm certain thats all OK.
I don't understand who this white steamer is for. As a life performer in dance parties, I would need an instrument with at least four multi-timbres.Yes, I play without using a laptop.That's my thing.But such a yacht is not relevant to me.And more.The black keys are just terrible for such an expensive instrument. Arturia was cheap.
What a disappointment. Nothing here for anyone. The answer to a question no-one is asking. 😢 It needs a massive touch screen and loads of continuous rotaries with mini screens under them and the whole v collection on board.😊
it is sooooo ugly uhhhhh why the frosty creamy white and the latency is super high and will increase over time I suspect like most Arturia products eventually making it unplayable in a live situation
![เปิดบ้าน นาราเครปกระเทย 1 ไร่ ขายขาดทุนหลัก10ล้าน เอามาใช้หนี้!!! l [Nickynachat]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/0jz84VFWVP4/mqdefault.jpg)
People are missing the point. This is really a great tool for someone like me who doesn't like spending countless hours tweaking knobs. Jumping from a Juno, to Oberheim to a Prophet 5 with a twist of a knob is all that I want without the need to sit in front of my computer.
Totally. Sometimes one can get lost in "tweaking knobs" and end up getting nothing done. Nothing wrong with presets if they are good presets. And it's not like a good preset machine replaces everything else in a studio.
For anyone who has a couple of analogue synthesizers, this does most of the rest.
@@rebeccaschade3987 agree totally , but but the way to lookup the presets is not so good, way too small screen
nice playing starsky, i never realized before what a great player you are, this keyboard certainly brings out the best in you :) great demo, thanks for the upload.
Hey Woody, thanks. The first thing I learned to do when I started electronic music production was to forget any fancy chords and only play with one hand 😂. Thanks for stopping by!- love your channel
I ❤ your videos. I appreciate your honesty. You’re the best!
Ahh, Space: 1999. I had a toy Eagle as a kid. Brilliant. "This Episode. This Episode."
Wasn't there a Dinky Toys model?
I'm impressed how they managed to retrofit a Nest on one of their keyboards ;-) Nice bit of kit and I'm sure it's very good value. My pockets just ain't that deep!
Love the mention of Moon Base Alpha our kid! Wish I could watch it all today... yeah, 50 something ;)
It’s all on ITVX 😊
@@StarskyCarr I'll check that out thanks! 🤗
@@soundfx68 It's all on TH-cam too.
Another great review - Starsky always seems to have a talent for picking up on the intended purpose (and potential) of an instrument, and highlighting those aspects as he's reviewing the piece of gear in question. I think the most important thing this synth offers is the incredible selection of sounds (done well) in a single place - which, in itself, is very powerful. I'm almost a little surprised that they didn't offer this in a silver colerway (25th anniversary being the "silver" anniversary). If it can look good on a Minilogue, it could look good on an Astrolab. EDIT: I would LOVE to see Starsky compare some of the sounds on this synth (such as the Solina) with Behringer's Solina (and Behringer's other clones). It would be interesting to see how Arturia's digital emulations of some of the old classics in this box compare with various Behringer boxes in a sort of combo video with the Astrolab taking on 4-5 of Behringer's boxes. (Prophet VS emulation vs Behringer's little VS clone would be another I'd like to see.)
Yah thanks... I went back and forth on this for a while until it clicked. What they've produced is a no compromise sound module so if you're not that interested I programming tones you have everything at hand (over 7000 in Analog Lab) and don't have to put up with mediocre sounds. If you want to edit them and you're a synth head, you've probably got a version of V Collection you can use to edit them.
I ordered mine as soon as I saw the announcement. I've been using V Collection for many years, and got Pigments when first released. I have many sounds I created over the year, and now I can take them with me without a computer, audio interface,...
Will be a great synth keyboard to add to my current stage keyboard(s).
I've never used pigments, does this offer full control over it standalone or just loading stuff you designed on a computer? The $2k price tag seems steep for what is easily reproduced with a portable macbook air and a far smaller midi keyboard with the same knobs
The screen size alone would be a major deterrence for vst control, but I guess if you have $2k to spare on this stuff you can afford the minor convenience during... Ugh travel when you can lug around a giant keyboard without a laptop
@@daniel_dumile much easier to carry around a single 61-key keyboard vs a computer, audio interface and MIDI keyboard controller, no to mention the extra stands, cables and setup/teardown time.
I already have my main stage keyboard rigs, and have to bring one of those too, with stands, and if I need my 25-note pedals, I also need to bring a bench...reducing what I need to bring makes a difference to me.
for live control, I have MIDI floor controller that can do program changes and more; the updated Analog Lab Pro provides even more control to organize and access your patches without using or needing a touch screen.
If I need MPE or poly aftertouch, I have a KMI K-Board-Pro-4, have yet to see if I can get it to work with the AstroLab.
I also think it will be useful in my studio connected to a computer running my V Collection and Pigments software for creating new sounds as well.
Clearly it's not for everyone, the AstroLab will be more useful than what I've been using.
@@daniel_dumile I don't do sound design or deep tweaking of patches in a live setting, I do that at home on the computer. Not having to bring a computer, audio interface and MIDI keyboard and everything else vs having to bring a 61-key AstroLab makes a difference for me. Just another tool that should simplify my live rig.
They're only $1600 street in the US, and you can find 15% discounts too, like I did; vs a KeyLab 61 MkII which is around $600 new before discounts. I already have at least several MIDI keyboard controllers.
AstroLab will work great for me in my live rig and in the studio, while I wait to see what Korg does for their next flagship workstation, and I don't mean Nautilus AT.
Doesn't come with v collection or pigments, just analog lab, so you will need to buy a pigments license to fully customise the sounds. It also has a bit of lag loading sounds so without seamless transitions it's a bit of a hard sell for live.
Thanks for the run through! This is great release by Arturia😮 fills a gap for people like me, very much a hardware person so to put their great emulations in a quality stand-alone keyboard is a great move. Personally I’m not sure about the aesthetics- just a bit too “ minimalist “ for me, but have to hand it to them for doing something different, yet tasteful😁
It does look great. The wheel thing is kinda dumb. Like a Samsung gear watch device dial on a $2k prime real estate board with all that wasted space? If it's for state you'd think they would want you to have a larger screen. But then I guess they expect you to tether your phone or iPad with the Astro App
Once you're set up you don't need to tether to anything. I see it as something you set up at home ... playlists/songs/sounds etc for the gig,. then just pack this. I really see it as something that's not marketed towards those of us who want to tweak sounds to the nth degree (like me) on the synth, but those looking for highest quality tones that they can edit if need be off-line (ie not at the gig).
Lovely Piece of Kit!😊... Hopefully they come-out with an 'Ebony Version' -got 'snowblind' starin' @ it!😱
Chernoble, not Chernobile, or what was that?
haha.. the videoing lasted a whole day - it started out storm level outside (you can hear the vocals sound distorted at one point where the processing is attempting to get rid of the rain/wind in the background). It then got imperceptibly brighter but bright enough for the ISO settings on the camera to be far too high. I had to redo a couple of bits as it got soooo bright.. !
LOL! 😏
Such an impressive demonstration of every new tool and for this one, many virtual tools included into one machine. At first I thought to myself, "why do we want to reproduce what others have done?" but I understand the allure. One in such case I'd request would be Gary Numan "Metal," and etc? 😉
Well made show and much appreciated ....I'm headed to the mentioned patch downloads now.
All the best to you! 🍻
As a big Pigments fan, I'd LOVE to have a hardware equivalency, but with an 8-voice polyphony limitation for more complex sound engines (if I understood correctly) and still needing a computer to fully modify patches, this is just a bit too limited for me. If I really wanted the Arturia V Collection at my finger tips, I would think a laptop running Virtual Sound Stage (or something similar) would better scratch the itch and likely offer more polyphony and definitely offer more control. But noooo denying this SOUNDS amazing and offers an incredible selection of engines and tones. I'll be curious to see where they take this idea...a bigger display and more polyphony hopefully being early changes.
Great presentation SC...
Thanks, yeah polyphony on Pigments is 8 ... but like I showed you can double up to 16 by using 2 parts. I wonder if it would be possible for it to default to 16 if using a single part. I think this hits the spot where folks don't want the hassle of laptop and controller etc. I see it as an extension of the studio for live work. Upload all the sounds you need to this and leave the cables behind.
If the put the whole V collection in one of their controller keyboards and had a hdmi out or Bluetooth so you could edit visually then I'd be up for it.
@@StarskyCarrI think Pigments goes up to 32 when it comes to polyphony.
Oddly, I’d probably go for something like this if it was 4 octaves instead of 5.. and a bit less expensive (especially considering you’d be enticed to buy vst collections), just for something different than my pure synth collection (Matriarch, Sub37, Trigon6, and Hydrasynth Keys)
Sounds great
Like the clean aesthetic too
Nice vid my friend :)
Cheers
You had me at Space 1999. Grooooovay! :-)
Thanks!
Kudos for the Space 1999 reference. My all time favourite show. Was hoping you were gonna try playing the season 1 theme!? :)
Super impressive keyboard! I wish all of the brands implementing Scale Mode would make it controllable by MIDI!
Huh? You don't make sense. MIDI 1.0? that's a System Exclusive. It's not a bus protocol. Most companies ARE making it controllable over the Universal Serial Bus protocol and their associated software. MIDI 2.0 is almost out (practically already here) and it will have more universal commands between gear. But what are you exactly suggesting?
The "Flying Violins" patch is from "Flying ", a not so famous tune you can find in the "Magical Mystery Tour" album, a blues instrumental. One of the very few credited to all four of them, by the way.
Cool nice info
looks like he was enjoying playing the artists presets so much that we almost lost Starsky down a Beatles nostalgia rabbit hole for a moment...the little furry in the background seemed to be enjoying it too
I actually disappeared down and Air rabbit hole the day before .. hence the video not coming out when all the others did!
I was thinking 'this sounds great', but as a V Collection owner, I can already have this with a midi keyboard and a laptop. But I get why an Ikea keyboard would be attractive for live work.
One day someone is going to bring out some VST-based keyboard that does all this and does it as well as the Roland System 8. By this, I mean lots of knobs that change function with each synth. If this already exists, please point me to it.
Thanks for clarifying polyphony within a SPLIT... I was curious if you got the full possible polyphony with each LAYER/SPLIT instrument. 👍 Might have been good to see the maximum polyphony for each instrument appear on the screen as you select a preset... under the preset title perhaps, near the CPU processing figure?
It’s nice but I would have loved it more if they would have put a giant touch screen on the blank space to your left.
Plenty of room for it ..
Maybe the next revision?
I’d have liked more sliders there. I wonder how it’ll sell and if they’ll update one day.
Most stage keyboards have very few sliders (unless for drawbar emulations) My Kurzweil has 8 and I never use them live.
I was tempted to buy an ASM Hydrasynth and bought a copy of Pigments instead and got a Sledge 2.0 as a stage workhorse. If I didn't already have that cool looking beast, this would be very tempting. Especially if they did a black one with reverse colour keys!!
The cat is totally unimpressed with the general Astrolab space keyboard. After all he has access to all those actual vintage synths in that room.
He's only impressed when I open a tin of tuna.
Thoughts:
- Nice sound
- Good for gigging
- Sample player rather than an actual synth (I may be wrong)
- Painful to watch my physical synths going through on the display
- I like the user interface & display, friendlier than a lot of similar gear
- 88-Key version would be nice but I suspect the price would be ouchy
- Must have a heck of a processor in it, the big brands could learn from this
- If they're aiming at the workstation market it should be properly multitimbral
It doesn't seem to be playing samples outside of the sound engines that are oriented around samples. that's why it shows you in the video around 10:50 in there are limitations to polyphony based on the sound engine selected.
Pretty awesome thing, curious how they embedded the instruments into this thing if they normally run on a Full PC / Mac, but for that price I'd expect it to come with the V Collection too, or at least Pigments. Does it even come with Analog Lab Pro??
Their site says no. But I find it interesting it doesn't even have as many sound engines as the MicroFreak lol
It comes with Analog Lab Pro but not V Collection. It's got sounds from that, the Augmented series, Pigments and a sampler (for preset mellotron stuff etc). As I said in the video I think it would be nice if it could be used as a dongle so you have access to edit all those tones if you've got the synth. Maybe a v complex licensing/technical nightmare. But I think perhaps the intended users aren't that bothered about tweaking - there must be 1,000 pad tones in Analog Lab, 1,000 pianos/electric pianos, 500 organs, 1,00 bases etc.. so you'll definitely find something that suits without editing. You can edit the macros and the FX to suit your track using Analog Lab.
Absolutely gorgeous though I’d prefer it in black. Just seems too expensive considering I already own Pigments and V Collection, so it’s a 1500 for a midi controller except standalone. Build looks great, I’d maybe pay 1k for it if it feels as good as it looks. I’m also a bit disappointed at the lack of knobs. I don’t know… can’t nail down how I feel about it.
They need to discount for people who own the software, otherwise it's a joke. Why would you lock into presets on these with expensive hardware that has huge limits?
Feels like this might work nice in a pedal format given theres only a few knobs, something that looks like analog v design views, would love pigments as a hardware synth to do some sound design but i use a touch screen already to make it more tactile, i guess for stage musicians might be interesting
Just a shame they didn't include a Morphee like on the Polybrute, even if it only did cross-fades. It would allow Polybrute patches to be enjoyed fully. 😎
They probably left off a proper sequencer because they sell the great keystep and beatstep devices which would pair quite well with this. Especially in a live situation. Also, I fell like this is an amazing tool to pair with a sampler. Astrolab + Beatstep Pro + 404 MkII or similar would be a great time for a dawless setup
I own the V-Collection and this keyboard could really be a nice hardware counterpart - if it would be as seamlessly integrated as you talked about. I think we will see an update from Arturia addressing this.
moonbase alpha ...That series used to scare me as a kid
I’m not a gigging musician so as a home Keyboard this is ideal ….who wants to go on a computer when you’ve got some hardware to play around with. I’ve had synths with loads of knobs for my sound designing… sometimes you just want to play and have fun. Just wish they made them more portable maybe 49 key with speakers ….now that would be great. I’m seriously considering buying it just gotta find the space.
1300 presets divided up over 27 emulations so around 48 presets per virtual instrument
yeah, that doesn't sound a lot, but its quite overwhelming at first! I think they've put a huge selection of tones in the machine to start you off... but placing all 7,000 from Analog Lab would be far too confusing. So if there are sounds missing etc you create your own playlist (sound bank) and drop what you need into the synth from the software as and when.
I take it, that with this piece of equipment, there is no latency anymore between hitting a key and sound evolving.
Like in the good old days of analog and DX7.
Latency in what? Good òl days? Are you saying there's been latency in gear for the last 40 years? You confusing bro
@@ET2carbon No, like in computer based VST's. There was no latency with the DX7 at all. Dude.
@@oupahens9219 what delay is in virtual instruments? Your VST instruments have delay? Are you using a sample library like kontakt? Your virtual synths shouldn't have any noticable latency. Are you using USB 1.0? You on a Pentium 4 Windows 2000 NT? LOL
There's a max 7ms as far as I can tell.
@@StarskyCarr do a test. Show this dude the pudding man
. Get your phone on a stand and aim at your keybed in your highest frame rate and compare the delay from keystroke to registering audio blip impulse on the recorded video and find out the math where you deduct the speed of sound compared to the frames blah blah blah 😭😔 😂😂😂😆😆
Get outta here
Impressive
10:54 the polyphony count is an important point as it is bitimbral. Probably plenty
That smartwatch-like dial is a shame: we need a bigger one. And there's enough room for drum pads. The price is very high compared to the competition.
I went back and forth on this myself.. bigger screen, touchscreen, more editing etc... that was until I spent enough time with it to 'get it'. Even without a V Collection license there are so many sounds in Analog Lab that will have you covered, and there are so many players that are just that - players not programmers. I think about my kids' friends and my friend's kids.. they're not into programming sounds... that's for old geeks! they're just into playing the tracks.
"Airport Voices" sounds like it's from the end sequence from Heat.
I'd have this as the counterpoint/addition to my Analog setup.
After been following them since this dropped idk if I will be able to use this board for gig purposes because of the screen and it doesn’t have faders like it’s big brother!!!
Impressive Keyboard
Go away buddy, you're not welcome here. Boooooooooo 😅
@@ET2carbon 💖
Looks great....but why that stupidly tiny screen?
Cut them some slack they're French
@@Dr-Stu What on Earth has their nationality got to do with anything?
@@theeventhorizon-valebridge9512 they do odd artsy shit and you can accept it or "Va te faire foutre", its in their DNA
Most stage keyboards have small screens as the focus is on playing vs editing or sequencing. Look at Nord or Yamaha CP, small black and white screens.
@@larsuk9578 I understand your comparison but it still makes no actual sense to design the primary source of information hard to see! By Arturia perpetuating the little screen format it is missing the opportunity of putting right a conceptual wrong. Screens should be large-ish, but the information displayed on them at any one time should be limited/restricted so as not to confuse or overload the player's senses. Logical!
Great review, quick question, isn't there a home button we can press if lost in all the menus and sounds?
Yes - shift + back
More control knobs would have been incredible. Seems like that open area to the left could have been a knob farm. Ahh well..
i am glad they didnt.
As a daily arturia user i really feel this is a huge miss especially at the price point. I mean you could get a mac mini with the entire v collection and a midi controller with endless possibilities where this seems like a preset machine for who??? I mean aren’t live players like this looking for ck88’s or nord leads?
I just looked, $2000 for this?? 😂
Dont look to gear tubers for honesty. This is for synth nerds with poor financial self control. And I say that as a huge Arturia fan who has a few of their products in my main set up
Actually on second thought I don't think any synth nerd would touch this given its basically a preset box, so I guess maybe amateur bands with a keyboard player who spends all their time in a DAW and wants to pretend they are playing live? Or something
Yeah I agree with you. I’m a big fan of Arturia but wtf is this and who’s going to buy it. I was hoping for a groove box, something portable that connects with their plug ins. It’s like a lot of the large music companies they have certain artists steering them in the wrong direction.
After giving it a lot of thought, and wondering who this was aimed at I had a lightbulb moment. A friend's daughter was asking advice on a synth for her band a few weeks ago. She just wanted something with great sounds, but hasn't got a clue about programming (and no interest). She wanted something quality and no fuss that would sound great. She bought a mid-priced Roland. Although more expensive this would defo have been one her radar. I think us synth-heads are in a bit of a bubble - we know and love Arturia for the V Collection, Microfreak, Polybrute etc.. .all very synth nerd focussed, complex and hands on. But there may be an untapped market for those not interested in tweaking, more in playing (with both hands, not with one on the filter).
This would be the ultimate home keyboard for someone who wanted great bread and butter sounds but also wanted to toy around with synth sounds without getting too technical. Maybe it would benefit from some preset backing tracks to play along to.
Does it have the Access virus TI built in looks like it has everything other synth built in it
Nice piece of kit, though when you already own Analog Lab 5/Pro etc and Pigments, does it present the same value?? As I am under the impression this is bundled with those... so I think in my situation I would be better off with a Keylab 88? or even a nice fatar synth ie Hydra etc (I hv a Keystep 37).
Bends my head all this lol.
Also first time I have noticed your cat!! Whats she called? 🖖👍
I think this is aimed at people who want to simplify their gigging rig but have access to the V Collection/Pigments/Augmented quality tones. A preset machine with the highest quality tones. BUT.. if you're a tweaker, you probably have or are thinking of getting a license for those anyway. If you need to tweak you can, but if not there's so many tones available you'll be covered.
Ive got 2 cats - one male, one female (both neutered btw... I'm not insane!!) This one is Sala, he's the male - a savannah/begal mix - folks round the corner had a couple they didn't manage to keep apart! the other is Subah, and she's bengal (not pedigree). We went with these breeds as they're great fun with the kids. Like mini dogs almost. Sala is our guard cat. He sits outside the house checking out everyone that comes/goes or walks past. He runs up to welcome you then goes back to guard duty! He obviously had a busy night.
1999 made me click..... SiFi future of the 70's is best SiFi future :D
I do like: Where's Wally. Been there, but that was b4 the Prophet 5. It was in 1971 at Weeley.
No mention of the accompanying app and its wi-fi connectivity?
Yes, I show it working with the iPhone at the start
Turn the temperature up on the nest controller.
arturia vst are something to have fun, nothing far from that
Did they just put a Nest Thermostat on that Keyboard?
can that looper layer other sounds on top or is it just for a single sound?
It’s a MIDI player. So just a single sound. I’ve not tried playing 2 parts, one on this and another live yet.
All of these famous artists that are listed such as Genesis, Pink Floyd, Duran Duran, etc. Are they included in Analog Lab, included in this keyboard or did you load them from some other sound libraries?
Are splits limited to just two?
Is there an audio interface included with the keyboard?
Yes, yes, and I’m not sure. You can Bluetooth your phone to it to play over the monitors, but I’ve not tried it as an audio interface. I
So it's a preset playing keyboard like... any other stage piano, except with less hands on control and it reads only Arturia (limited) presets.
Don't really see the appeal, even for a stage keyboard. What prevents people from hooking up a MiDI kb to a laptop with Arturia's own vsts or others?
some of us use V Collection, Pigments and more, for many years, and have many patches we created; and don't like to bring a computer and audio interface for live use.
My main stage rig is either a Hammond SKx (with or without the 25-note pedals) or a Vox Continental with a second MIDI keyboard; I use my Korg MiniLogue for synths when possible because it's fast and easy to set up. A laptop, audio interface and MIDI keyboard is not as quick to setup/tear down when you have to get on and off stage as quickly as possible.
I purchased an AstroLab today; as soon as I heard about it.
@@zoomzoom3950 yet it's just a preset reader. I'd rather a Kurzweil
@@jumpingman8160 which is what some of us want. Enjoy your Kurzweil.
@@zoomzoom3950 Right. This Astrolab is meant more for performers/players, not programmers.
@@BananasananaB agreed! Exactly why I ordered one.
Wish you went more in the artist presets
that feature is sort of lackluster. some artists only have a few sounds to play with. for example, there's only 3 Tribute Tones for the band Rush. i didn't get to play with the sounds, but i scrolled through the whole list, and clicked on all of them just to see how many sounds in general were associated with the artist. on average, it was about three sounds. some had a little more, some had less.
Looks like Arturia enters the fray against Korg, Yamaha and Roland for workstation type keyboards. Nice. Love the sleek look of this, but they need a 70+ key version.
Perhaps, I thought it was more a Komplete Kontrol competitor. EDIT: Didn't realise the sounds were onboard!
It actually looks more like Komplete Kontrol
@@soundfx68hey I just Said that lol
@@soundfx68 the site Even says it's NKS compatible
Actually, a MPE isomorphic key layout would put it in the lead for the future.
The gaping void on the unit's left seems like someone forgot the touch screen
It would be nice if it had some extra controls on there.
Well as a live player, having space on the keyboard is also nice to fit an iPad or effect box… I wish mine had less controls that I don’t use and more space.
Its tilting to the right...oh wait, the keyboard is missing controls on the left!
Arturia V Collection has the same sound engine as a $199 keyboard. So who is paying 8x more to get the Astrolab?
Oooooooo I like
WIRED CHOICES! They had the opportunity to completely disrupt the market, if they would have done :
1. A hardware with big touch responsive screen and many controls like IRIDIUM
2. All Arturia V collection inside + multi-sampling
4. 4 or 8 Part Multi Timbral with separate outouts
5. 16 analog filters/VCA in the final stage (the prophet VS cem 3389 filter is back in production is cheap and it sound phenomenal), this would have been a Prophet X in steroids
BOOM than ask how much you want, that would have been 1 SYNTH to RULE THEM ALL 🤷♂️
Tho great as an interior design object””😅
...which would cost more than a Genos2 😁
Second hand Polybrutes can be had for $1,599. Arturia's marketing department need to lay off the pipe. I wonder if a teardown will reveal Raspberry Pi 5 internals.
So t tell me that I thought my PN was worth more! It’s a bit heavy to be holding Raspberry Pis in there.. unless they’re tricking us with a lump of iron!
Mpc keys VS this… 😮
ACann you edit all the parameters on the keyboard
No, you need to use the bundled Analog Lab Pro software, and then you'll need the license for V Collection.
@@StarskyCarr so all that wasted space on the left. Too bad really this could have been a game changer
It doesn't look like it has search capability to look for presets on the synth.
No, the amount of presets is impressive but you’ll have to organise them to use live probably.
Yikes
I asked because I am in the market for a 61-73 key synth with sounds controller capabilities and wide range sound set capabilities. I am aiming to get the MODX7+, then when I compared one to one with this synth there was too much back and forth between the synth and Analog Lab and the lack of the ability to search my sounds is horrible. Finally, MODX has a beautiful touch screen and its easy to move high quality editable sounds around. There is a running discount on the MODX7+ until 6/30/24 for $1,500. It's a steal. Thanks for your review Mr. Carr. @@SWATTECHNOLOGIES
Do you get full control over v lab synths?
only if you have a v collection license
So a bunch of vst presets contolled by a nest thermostat. Im sure they'll shift some to le keystep fanbois;-)
I think this is for a different market... not so much synth heads, more music heads. I see this in my kids friends, they want to play the tracks but couldn't be less bothered about how to create the tone. Possibly a big untapped market (although whether those people have the cash to splash is yet to be seen).
So do you spend $2,000 USD and another $600 for Analog Lab to be able to substantially edit the presets or is Analog Lab V X included?
Not included.
@@framlucasse Analog Lab is included according to the arturia website. Maybe you're thinking of V Collection which is separate and not included.
Too rich for my blood.
"piano" version later? ala keylab 88?
There was a hardware certification site listing an 88 and a mini also. Not sure where those are or if they are still coming.
@@BananasananaB thnx
Damn...let's sale all synths 😂
Marketplace with a keyboard attached.
Arturia couldn't be arsed to include MIDI thru or internal PSU on their flagship hardware...
I think their flagship is the wonderful PolyBrute, but get your point. It's rare to get internal PSUs, and I think a lot has to do with complications with interference and noise. So external is just so much easier and cheaper.
@@StarskyCarr Right. There is just something reassuring about proper IEC mains cord versus the skinny lavalier mic cable used for power delivery. Maybe more of an aesthetic complaint these days.
DOES ANYONE REMEMBER THE ARTURIA ORIGIN ? watch?v=cLdrGDAIM1M
haha yep..
:)
-1 not calling out cheesedk external psu, proprietary no less
I do 🤷♂️watch again.
its not a vst in a box its just the patch playback to be honest my opinion if this keyboard is that its a solution looking for a problem to solve and the problem it tries to solve isnt a problem that needs solving and its a dud now if you could install the vst as in you put the vst and its fully programmable and editable and could make sounds from scratch then it would be awesome and would solve the problem that its set out to solve but as it stands its a solution looking for a problem to solve and it doesnt solve the problem that its trying to find
Whoa there .. take a breath. 😀 I’ve just made a re-review considering the comments and I was planning on reading this quickly in a single breath but couldn’t 😂
@@StarskyCarr yeah i hear you i justtype fast and unfortunately never bother reading it but you can see my point though about that
it would be ok if you could install the vst like you can with roland cloud and plugin thing like you can on the system 8 or the duff jupiter xs
if they had done that then i think it would be a winner and from waht im seeing is it even possible to add or delete new patches from the vst or is it just ya got what ya getting and thats it
@@djdarksidejungle559 I totally get what you're saying. My initial thoughts were along the same lines... which is why I was going to use it. :) I just put a few short quotes up in the end.
@@StarskyCarr all you can do really and see how it fit into your workflow and whether its a dud or not
To buy or not to buy?
Human Decision Required.
🌕🌖🌗🌘🌑🌒🌓🌔
If I had to buy that thing and look at it I would get so angry just looking at it
whats wrong with retro future thermostat cool :)
@@StarskyCarr I think the fact that nobody stopped this nest thermostat from coming out and nobody could actually speak up at the company and just speak the obvious simple truths here suggests that the culture at the company is probably really messed up. I mean you really have to not care at all to let your company release something like this.
@@supercompooper The French tend to have ..interesting.. design aesthetics. So it was probably really popular over there.
@@BananasananaB on one level I kind of want to like it. I mean I really do like my nest thermostat, but it is super fiddly to try to actually access menus and things so the logic of it all really should have been stopped early. It's such a small s***** screen.
7,000 things to do with a rotating bezel.
Haha… a new series.
Moon Base Alpha.. Lol... Showing your age there lad 😂
It's a synth? NO
It's a controller? NOPE
It's a studio production tool? NIET
It's a versatile Live Gig tool like Nords are ? NEIN!
It's a Hands On plug-out keyboard like System-8? NAAAHH
It's a Workstation like MPC Keys or Fantom is? NOPINOPINO!
Has some of the best pianos? No it hasn't
Has some of the best Rhodes and Organs? They're descent though you can't really control them.
It's a CS80, a Juno or a Synclavier? Not really. You can't edit them from the board.
It's a good looking, hipster, synth based rompler without natural and orchestral sounds?
YES IT IS
WHY?
😂 Starbucks seem to have done ok on the back of hipster coffee shops. I still think there could be an untapped market for a hipster synth without orchestral sounds. It’s definitely a gamble. It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out.
Certainly not aimed at studio work where you would just use VCX in your DAW with control surface(s) of your choice. What gigging pro would take this over an admittedly more costly, but more focused board covering your touring set? That leaves someone who plays live, but not professionally and cannot justify pro touring kit. Not sure how many of those there are, but we shall see...
Could be an untapped market for the who don't want to program but want access to top notch tones.
@@StarskyCarr if in the studio this makes Analog Lab use LESS convenient; double so for VCX users. If gigging the mediocre at best keybed will be hard to ignore. Live the only things you care about are a top flight keybed, mod/pitch where expected, your needed number of foot inputs, and the button to move you through song programs with "good enough for live" sounds.
The sound is too digital for me. Probably the hardware uses cheap dacs or a very low samplerate/bit depth. It's a shame not having usb audio in-out, this keyboard has a pc inside.
Why is it a shame no usb if it sounds too digital for you ?
I don't see how they can get away with using the band names.
They paid for it.
I don't think there are any legal issue using band names. You can create a tone and call it 'Depeche Mode' bass, it's simply a descriptor, not a copyright infringement (sampling their tones would be different). 'Beatles style drums', 'Aphex Pads' ... etc I'm certain thats all OK.
I'd rather have an Eagle or Maya.
haha... took me a while.. but we could all do with a Maya
Polyphonic aftertouch, or not. Very confusing. Not a necessary iron in the laundry.
Tiny screen which you have to push, no sliders, only 61 keys, no built-in power supply, 1600 euros? No thanks.
Astrolab - a $2,000 USD studio solution for a problem that doesn't exist. Anyone that would buy this already has a MIDI keyboard and a computer.
I don't understand who this white steamer is for. As a life performer in dance parties, I would need an instrument with at least four multi-timbres.Yes, I play without using a laptop.That's my thing.But such a yacht is not relevant to me.And more.The black keys are just terrible for such an expensive instrument.
Arturia was cheap.
What a disappointment. Nothing here for anyone. The answer to a question no-one is asking. 😢
It needs a massive touch screen and loads of continuous rotaries with mini screens under them and the whole v collection on board.😊
Just get a Roland Integra 7 instead. Much cheaper.
Yeah but no thermostat 😂
@@StarskyCarr ah yes but it has motional surround! 😝
This is a joke with the current prices of screens ... it's not like this is a car or has a ten year support contract
it is sooooo ugly uhhhhh why the frosty creamy white and the latency is super high and will increase over time I suspect like most Arturia products eventually making it unplayable in a live situation