Got to my gig last night and plugged in my AstroLab/Keylab combo. No power. Switched outlets and stage power boxes, still no luck. Had my wife run to the car to get the brand-new spare AstroLab power supply I keep in the car just for moments like this and that one didn’t work either. Fortunately, the venue had a Yahaha MODX8. They brought it and set it up. I was able to complete the gig without issues. Now that I’m back home. I need to figure out why my AstroLab won’t turn on. I do have a spare AstroLab in my studio, but none of my playlists or presets are loaded on it and I have to leave for another show in 4 hours. Not good Arturia.
So fully tested this morning. My Astrolabe main power supply AND unused backup power supply do not work at all. Grabbed the PSU from my studio Astrolabe and it powers up instantly. Also, the spare PSU for my studio Astrolabe powers it up right away as well.
I’ve had 3 Astrolabe power supplies fail in approx. 1 year of almost daily use. For today’s show, I’ll be taking my 2 backup psus and putting my Yahaha MODX6 in the car in case neither of them wants to work when I get to the venue.
I’d strongly suggest to Arturia to ditch the proprietary PSU that ships with the Astrolab and switch to a standard 3-prong IEC cable for future revisions.
I’ll also file another tech ticket to get my 2 bad PSUs replaced…again.
Hi @darrelldiaz
Sorry to hear about this, you’ve clearly contacted support already, so thanks for that!
I’m sure Arturia will be most interested to look at this.
Please keep us updated.
My shrewd guess: the actual Astrolab is 12V DC powered, and demands 3A. Having the PSU as an external unit (which wouldn’t be the case, if the machine was directly mains powered) has various benefits from a manufacturing, distribution and (potentially) performance point of view. You seem especially unlucky, so maybe - non-accusational suggestion, mind - it’s something about your use of your ‘on the road’ machine, or the mains you’re plugging it into, which is frying the PSUs, considering your studio PSU survives without issues. And if that’s the case, you’re actually better off if the PSU remains external, otherwise you’re talking about sending the full unit for a warranty repair every time the PSU fries, not just a case of you swapping the PSU for one you already own which still works.
(General observation: PSUs seemed to be way more reliable when they had user-adjusted voltage selectors instead of auto voltage switching. I wish everywhere would go back to that.)
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Some good points to consider there @Jon_Vincent
If not already, i think it would be worth the OP getting some kind of mains conditioner to take on the road with them. I’ve usually used some kind of Furman unit, but they ain’t cheap! Still cheaper than blowing expensive instruments up, and you can run multiple units from them too though.
I use a Furman power conditioner at all my gigs already since my amp is very susceptible to brown outs.
In in over 40 years of touring all around the world, I’ve never had any repetitive failures like this. All of my Korg, Yamaha, Roland synths are still working perfectly. Even my Synclaviers are still running.
I still the Arturia should switch to standard IEC power cords with internal power supplies. Based on my experience of their reliability. I’ve never been stranded at a gig with an instrument that wouldn’t power on. (Except when someone stepped on my Yamaha MOX6 power supply at a wedding and broke the pins!)
I was one of the first pros using the AstroLab as soon as it was released, which is why I bought 2! I can’t trust them anymore though. I’m gonna have to rethink my 2026 touring rig and leave AstroLab at home.