Hey all,
Seeing as KL Essential MK3 is out a while, wondering is there any info or speculation if KLMKIII might be coming soon?
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Hey @MiR
Nope, zero happening at the moment, so there’s nothing to tell. I’d quite like to know myself actually as i’m thinking about a new midi controller.
The KeyLab MkIII will almost certainly come out at some point. The fact that the Essential MkIII already emerged is a strong signal for that. The previous announcements:
Essential 49/61 – May 2017
KeyLab MkII 49/61 – June 2018
KeyLab 88 MkII – June 2019
KeyLab Essential 88 – January 2020
My bet is we won’t see a KeyLab MkIII 49/61 until mid-2024. I hope an 88 comes out then, but maybe that will depend on sales trends on the other units.
Don’t expect to get any signals anywhere until it happens. No company tells people in advance of their release plans – it would kill sales on the current units. (This is why it’s so silly to complain, “Waah, I just bought this unit, and they came out with a new one!” Well of course – some people will always be caught in that situation, because of this very fact of releasing products!)
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I am patiently waiting too!!
I hope not ! I just bought a Keyla 88 MkII 
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Oh i think you’re safe… it’ll be just after i buy one! 
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No company tells people in advance of their release plans – it would kill sales on the current units.
Counting myself only, which is an admittedly microscopic sample size, its already impacting sales even though they haven’t announced anything.
Given how long its been since the mkii came out, and given that their biggest competitor just came out with their new version, there is no way I’d buy a new mkii now. I might pick up a used one if I can find one cheap enough that I’ll still be able to get most of my money out of it if/when a mkiii is released. But no way would put $1000 into a new 88 mkii at this point.
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@jsholz This is also why you tend to see deep discounts on the older units during runup periods to a new release. Distributors are trying to clear the stock they bought before there’s no reason for people to take it off their hands.
Of course, reasons abound to buy a unit that’s already out. There are known issues… but not unknown issues. 
Less costly too. The question is, do I want to chase features, or make music?
I bought mine to replace the Komplete Kontrol MkII 88.
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I’m also patiently waiting for the Keylab mkIII. I was hoping it’ll be out before Christmas, but it’s more likely to come out before summer, roughly a year after Essentials.
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The question is, do I want to chase features, or make music?
Why not both? My current controller is about 30 years old. Its still working (mostly) so I’m able to make as much music as I ever was. But as you’d expect from a machine that was out of production long before the first soft synth even a gleam in some developers eye, its kind of lacking in modern features.
Whether Arturia considers it that way or not, I see the mkii’s as end of lifecycle products now and I can’t ever see paying full retail for something that’s end of lifecycle when I’m already using something that’s long past end of lifecycle.
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Hi @RZee
Great to see you made it to the new Sound Explorers Forum.
I’m afraid there’s nothing to say at the moment.
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Give them time to make it right. There are issues with both the Keylab mkII and the Minilab 3 that have not been resolved even to this day.
Presuming you also have Komplete software, how did you find going from the S88 mk2 with its Komplete integration to using the Arturia?
Did you miss the keyboard browsing, was it easy to get used to mapping instruments in Kontakt etc?
Currently trying to decide whether to replace my s61 mk2 with either Komplete mk2 or mk3 s88 or Arturia Keylab , but I am used to browsing from my s61.
Thanks
I didn’t use it that much so far. But I find the keyboard way better than the Komplete one.
You can still use Komplete Kontrol as a plugin, so browsing is not a real issue here, for me.
I am really glad I’ve the change, for the faders and pads.
There is some issue with Logic Pro though, but I’ll check that later.
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New here too… subscribed… what about NAMM? Is Arturia attending this year?
They are listed as an exhibitor this year (booth 11907).
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Perhaps NAMM will bring some happy news.
HI @Northwood
It would seem @Talahamut is ahead of the curve there
I don’t actually work for Arturia, none of us external moderators do, so we’re not privy to various things.
Assuming the NAMM website is showing 2024 info and not last year’s… 
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