Hello!
So, I’ve been using the Astrolab for about a week solid now and I LOVE the machine, it’s convenience and simplicity have been an enormous boon to both my live performances on stage and songwriting sessions at home and outside of a few minor gripes with the midi assignments that I’ve mentioned elsewhere, it’s been an absolute treat to play now that I’m free from being tethered to my laptop!
With that all said, one point of minor frustration comes from the current gaps in the support for the many virtual instruments usually available in analogue lab; many of the banks I’ve come to rely on are currently unavailable for the Astrolab. I’ve read in a few reviews that many of them will be added in future updates after further testing on your end, but a little bit of transparency on when the expectation of these additions will come would be enormously appreciated.
Also, will there be any exceptions to instruments being added, for example, minifreakV or mellotronv?
GREAT to hear your feedback on The AstroLab-61!
Glad you’re getting on with it so well and enjoying the experience, minor gripes aside of course.
I’m afraid that Arturia very rarely, if ever, announce these things before release, i myself, and all the other External Moderators, do not actually work for Arturia and are not privy to such info, so we can’t comment more than i’ve just done either.
So, the best ways to find these things out as they happen is to keep an eye on this forum and Arturia’s Social media pages regularly and to subscribe to our Newsletter to be the first to know about them.
I’ll have to rethink elements of my setup for now whilst keeping several fingers crossed that the added functionality comes sooner than later. Much obliged.
The main software used to communicate with AstroLab is Analog Lab Pro (latest version of Analog Lab V, currently version 5.10), which is included with AstroLab.
The current version of AstroLab is compatible with V-Collection 9 instruments (except Mellotron V, see below), and Pigments.
Legacy versions of instruments that have been upgraded and replaced by new versions are not supported in AstroLab. Only the latest versions available in V-Collection 9 are supported:
ARP 2600 V3
B-3 V2
CS-80 V4
Jup-8 V4
Matrix-12 V2
Mini V3
Modular V3
Piano V3
Prophet-5 V
Prophet-VS V
SEM V2
Solina V2
Stage-73 V2
Vox V2
Wurli V2
The other V-Collection 9 instruments that do not have a V2/V3/V4 are also supported:
Clavinet V
CMI V
CZ V
DX7 V
Emulator II V
Farfisa V
Jun-6 V
OP-Xa V
SQ80 V
Synclavier V
Vocoder V
as well as:
Augmented GRAND PIANO
Augmented STRINGS
Augmented VOICES
The following mono synths (but that have poly options in Analog Lab) are monophonic in AstroLab :
Buchla Easel V
Korg MS-20 V
Synthi V
V-Collection X added the following instruments to V-Collection 9:
Acid V
CP70 V
MiniFreak V
Mini V4
Wurli V3
as well as
Augmented Brass
Augmented Woodwinds
Although Arturia has not announced an official timetable for the release of AstroLab updates, it has been mentioned that V-Collection X instruments will be added to AstroLab in future updates.
As for Mellotron V, there has been no indication that it would be added in updates; however, the most common “Mello tapes” (Strings, Choir, Flutes, and even Wine Glasses), are already available in AstroLab via the new “Sampler” instrument.
It seems an absolutely spectacular faux pas to me that AstroLab isn’t compatible with all the VSTs in the current V Collection, which is VCX, straight out of the box. The fact that it’s based around VC9 seems to indicate it was slated for launch before the release of VCX but was delayed for 6 months or more.
I’m not in any way its target customer, but if I was, I’d be pretty p*ssed off right now that I just bought a two grand hybrid keyboard that isn’t fully compatible with VCX. Keeping AstroLab and V Collection ‘aligned’ with each other is going to be absolutely crucial to AstroLab’s ongoing success. Surely its product designers know this?
