Hello!
I recently received my keylab essential mk3 and I’ve been having an extremely hard time setting it up. I followed all the set-up instructions mentioned on the website. Analog lab works but there is some latency which I am unable to fix. In addition to that, I installed Ableton Live Lite which comes with the keyboard but it works nothing like the How to control Ableton Live video from Arturia’s official YouTube channel. The midi device is recognized in Ableton, but the faders, knobs, record, start, stop and other buttons don’t work the way they’re supposed to even after I changed the control surface, input and output to keylab essential in the preferences tab of Ableton. The contextual buttons don’t even light up when I open Ableton and set the keyboard to daw mode. The only thing that works is the keys when I load an instrument in the midi channel but that too with noticeable latency. I’ve spent hours looking up videos on YouTube and Reddit on how to fix this but found no solution.
I would like to fix this problem and help from your end is greatly appreciated. I really love the keyboard and I hope it works the way it is supposed to.
Please let me know what I can do to fix the issue with Ableton, latency, etc. Thanks in advance.
Hi @hari.shreyas and welcome to our Sound Explorers community!
Let’s go through your issues one at a time.
Firstly, the latency. What interface are you using? You should have some kind of control software that should let you change your latency, also make sure you are using the correct driver for your interface.
If you could list your system specs in your profile, that could be helpful too.
Ps
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Hi! At the moment, I do not have an audio interface. Is it required for smooth workflow?
I am currently running Windows 11 version 22H2 on a Dell 15 12th Gen Intel Core i5-12500H 2.50 GHz
16 GB RAM 64-bit OS.
Hi again @hari.shreyas
Onboard sound really isn’t ideal for making music with, as you’re finding out.
You could try using Asio4All, as some people have had some success with it, but you would be much better of with a dedicated audio interface, it will give you much lower latency and likely better sound quality.
There are an insane amount on the market ranging from under a hundred euros to thousands of euros.
If you’re currently using laptop speakers, you’ll also need some kind of speaker system or reasonable quality headphones.
You could try looking at Arturia’s own line of interfaces to see if anything suits your needs or budget. Arturia interfaces
HTH!
I already have Asio4All and use it for connecting my Yamaha arranger keyboard to my computer. How can I use Asio4All with the MIDI keyboard? I also have a Yamaha MG10XU Mixer. I know it’s a mixer but can it be used instead of an audio interface? If not, I might consider buying an M Audio or Presonus interface.
I have decent headphones and a Boss Katana guitar amp which I can use if I want to so I don’t think speakers are a problem.
Also, how can I fix the Ableton-related issues? I want to get into live looping so I’d like to configure Live for that purpose.
Thanks again!
HI again @hari.shreyas
Ok, it’s not about your midi keyboard, rather about your inbuilt sound card, the latency issue is caused by this.
AFAIK it’s possible to adjust the latency from the Asio4All control software.
Your Yamaha mixer would be a much better device for this purpose, you’d need to consult the mixers’ manual for help setting that up, it really shouldn’t be too difficult though, just take your time.
It SHOULD give you much lower latency than the onboard sound, which is really only designed for watching videos, listening to music, gaming etc. Making music demands much more of the ‘sound card’, so a dedicated interface is a much better idea. You’ll find the vast majority of people who make music with computers use them.
Your guitar amp isn’t really suitable either as it’s voiced for guitars, unless of course you’re not planning on recording anything.
If you add a set of powered monitor speakers, or speakers and an amp to your mixer, you’ll have a much more suitable setup for making music. You will also be able to use the mixer to record other sources such as your guitar amp, vocals (with a suitable mic), hardware synths etc.
I’m afraid i do not use Ableton, so you’d be better off hitting their forum for specific help with that.
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thanks for the help. I’ll hopefully figure this out soon. Have a nice day!
Hi again @hari.shreyas
Just stick with it mate, break it down into one ‘problem’ at a time and it won’t seem so daunting, we all have to start somewhere, sometime 
Try connecting your mixer first and using that as an interface until you’re comfortable with it. Then move onto the next step…, stick with it and it will happen!
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Hey! I managed to fix the latency issue in Analog Lab by changing some settings. Not going to lie Analog Lab is BEAUTIFUL.
My mixer has only XLR, Quater inch, RCA and USB B 2.0 (typically used in printers) inputs. Given that the keylab essential has only USB C and MIDI Out ports, what cable would you recommend I buy?
Thanks for helping me out. Im slowly figuring this out. I really appreciate it 
HI again @hari.shreyas
Yes Analog Lab IS rather nice indeed!
Ok, the best thing for you to try would be to install your mixer and use that as your audio interface.
Your KeyLab should plug into your computer as usual, all that this does is to replace your internal sound card with your mixer, which is MUCH better suited for the process of music making.
You’re correct in that you will need a USB cable to connect your mixer to your computer, just use the one that came with it or a good quality one, don’t waste money on a highly expensive gold plated one, they won’t work any better than the ones that came with your mixer or KeyLab.
You will need some way to hear the audio coming out of your mixer, now that you are using it as an audio interface/sound card (they’re the same thing essentially), so you’ll need either headphones (plugged into your mixer) or some kind of amp and speakers. IIRC your mixer has phono outs as well as XLR/quarter inch so you could connect it to a hifi amp and speakers if you have them. Just watch the output level of your mixer isn’t too loud.
HTH!
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I will look for a cable then and get it connected to the mixer. Also, I figured out Ableton integration. The keyboard works fine now and I’m excited to use it. Thank you so much for the help!! Have a nice day
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That’s great to hear!
Time to go and make some music now! 
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Hey, what did you do to solve the integration issue? I have the very same problem and in fact some almost 6 keys are doing something else instead of triggering notes. I’d even thought they were not functioning and opened the controller apart, only to find out that it was okay.
I use Ableton and the integration is really not straight forward like they said. How did you manage it?