I wonder if Arturia has considered (or is even considering)to launch AstroLab in module form? There should be quite a market out there, like those who already own Arturia Keylab 49/61/88 range but also those who have other controller types and like to add new dimension to their Daw-less setups. Makes sense to me, why buy a new keyboard instrument if you have a decent keyboard controller already, a “Moon unit” at say half the price, would be the obvious choice here.
Hi @jonv2911
I’m afraid we’re all in the dark as much as you with this as Arturia never make ‘pre-announcements’ for their products, so the easiest way to know when these things do happen is to make sure to subscribe to our Newsletter to be the first to know about them!
HTH!
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I’m supporting this idea ! Basically, autonomous analog lab in a box would be awesome !
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Module = Buy.
Have a good MPE kb already, for Pigments. As far as I understand, the AstroLab kb has only channel AT, which is definitely a regress.
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I’m probably missing something very obvious (wouldn’t be the first time),
The Astrolab is basically a PC of some kind running Arturias own operating system (or possibly Linux tweaked to their needs etc)
The Astrolab round screen isn’t on other Arturia controller keyboards (at least I don’t think any have this) , and if it’s also going to work with other companies controllers, if you had a module, it would have to be midi learned to each one (even if they had templates for their own controllers, most non Arturia controllers would still have to use midi learn)
So, if you buy a laptop that’ runs Analog labs, v collection etc, haven’t you basically got what you are asking for?
OK, stability will hopefully be a plus point of a module over a laptop, but PCs and Laptops whether macs, windows or Linux, tend to be a lot more stable than years gone by.
I honestly can’t think of the last time my win 10 pro hung/crashed. Had to reboot occasionally when my audio interface isn’t recognised (due to me forgetting to turn it on first), but hanging or crashing, doesn’t seem to happen.)
I know I’ve said this before, but to me it’s a very valid point, I sold my Korg Kronos for one reason, it took about twice as long to turn on than my actual PC did. I’d get an idea, rush to the keyboard, turn it on, by the time I could play on it, 9 times out of 10 my idea was gone.
While I know some people use their Kronos happily on stage, the thought of a power glitch and then me standing there like a lemon while waiting for it to be up working again, well I don’t play live anymore but if I did, that would be too big a worry for me, and again a decent Laptop would boot in half the time.
I don’t know how long it takes Analog labs from switching on to be able to play, things have improved a lot since the Kronos was released such as faster ram and NVMe storage etc.
But the same can also be said for a decent laptop
Again, pretty sure it’s me being stupid and missing something obvious as usual
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Always like your inputs Sir! Admittedly, this is a kind of “life-style” thing but even so, isn’t that what AstroLab is partly about? I think many of us “oldies” would be more than open to this option. For some years I have been looking (waiting) for a stand alone keyboard like the Nord, but less expensive… Well, (hypothetically) I happen to have this excellent midi controller, Keylab88 mkII. Enter AstroModule, SOLD.
As for the technical side, all you need is a midi cable. That’s it! Something tells me this would lead to much more frequent use … more music, more creativity, better mentality, richer life.
Yeah I find myself in agreement with @HobGoblyn. Seems to me the whole USP of this product is that everything is built into the keyboard. If I’m going to be plugging a controller into another device that’s basically just running Analog Lab, that device is going to be a laptop, not a module with a screen the size of a watch, and not least because of the difficulty ensuring tight integration between the two when there’s next to no user-interface on the module.
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Imagine the Astrolab sporting an RJ45 port (or even connectivity via WIFI) so you could connect to and control it like you can connect to a Windows Pro PC via RDP.
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Windows is coming to an end. I like to have a box to simply switch on and ready to go, without daily updates, incompatibility issues, etc.
I just fell in love with PolyBrute 12 
oh yeah, this is my dream, but unfortunately too expensive for me.
Today I saw AstroLab face to face for the first time. I thought it was somehow smaller than I expected… well, I guess it’s not my cup of tea. The positive side; I’m more convinced than ever that I will put my focus on a 88 key controller… with real weight on the keys! So, Arturia. We know you are working hard on the KL Mk3, well appreciated. Guess gOoD tHiNgS come - if you wait!
I totally agree with you. I don’t need another keyboard (let alone one with only 61 keys) and I have no confidence in the stability of a computer, too many bad experiences in recent years on stage.
I don’t want to feed your paranoia but any Astrolab module would still basically be just a computer running what is fundamentally a custom version of Analog Lab in Linux.
Maybe when the computer is of an unconventional shape and doesn’t have a mouse / screen / keyboard, it gives people false confidence that it’s not ever going to crash on them. Not that I’ve actually heard of an AstroLab crashing, but then again I haven’t had that problem with a regular computer either, not ever since I left Windows Vista behind in 2011 for a Mac (and I’m absolutely sure Windows must have got its act together in the many years since then as well.)