OK. No KeyLab MKIII today. But AstroLab shows, what we can expect in terms of display and connectivity. I guess Arturia will use AstroLabās round display in the new KeyLab as well. Though it looks nice, it is still kind of small in comparison to NIās Flagship.
Also very interesting: the mobile app connecting with AstroLab. I imagine we will see something similar for KeyLab.
AstroLab has no faders. I guess since it is not meant for controlling DAWs it is understandable.
Also interesting: As a standalone Stage Keyboard AstroLab is very reasonably priced. So we might see our KeyLab MKIII in quite an affordable price range.(?)
I just saw: AstroLab seems to have some decent LED action for knobs and even keyboard. Maybe there is hope for a light-guide. I have to admit I am a sucker for blinky-blink.
Just saw on Creative Sauce: You can use your Ipad as a big screen for controlling the AstroLab. Now that is getting really handy. Imagine you can do that to the KeyLab MKIII as well !
I made a video in German about AstroLab and possible implications for a future Keylab MKIII. I also see a very good reason for the combination of the small-screened selector control.
Hello !
I come to contribut to the topicā¦
The Astrolab is maybe goodā¦ Idonāt know because itās not fully compatible with my workflow and Iām waiting for a real main keyboardā¦
āFor meā all featuring like blutooth, wifi, I pad connect or short cuts to waze are totaly uselessā¦
I need faders, I need heavy touching, I need a fonctionaly screen for analoglabā¦ midi2, aftertouch polyā¦ I need design and the highness quality possibleā¦ and color black pls !
Iām sincerely sad with the astrolabās realease and I pray Arturiaās god to give us a real hope to see the Keylab MK3 soon.
@ZickAnalyst I understand that you are not the intended target group for the AstroLab. Neither am I. And that is all there to be said about the AstroLab.
But if I were to go on stage every week, I would love it.
We discussing this from a very comfortable situation. We already own quite capable keyboards. When the new KeyLab will be here, it will be nice. But it is like with your car. If you buy a new one it is shiny and has some new quality of life features. But in essence it is a car that gets you from A to B. Same with any new keyboard. It will be shiny and will have some quality of life features. But in essence it will be a MIDI controller and we already own one. We wonāt become better musicians through it. We wonāt create other stuff with it. And three weeks after we bought it, we will have forgotten the difference between todayās keyboard and the new one.
Thatās hugely dependent on what features they add. If they put basically the same thing in a different box (with or without the stupid tiny screen from the AstroLab) then yes. But features such as poly-aftertouch would be paradigm-changing for playing especially the CS80V, and wouldnāt be forgotten in three weeks. Thatās literally all I want from a new controller that my current Mk1 KL88 canāt deliver. I donāt even use the sliders and knobs much, because I have my control surfaces for that.
a musical instrument remains an instrument suitable for creating music, it is the user who makes the difference between good music and bad music, however the āfunctionalā characteristics of an instrument can determine the quality of the track that is composed. A screen larger, polyphonic aftertouch, greater integration with Analog lab can make the difference from day to night and I donāt think they will be forgotten quickly. They will certainly produce an excellent product, the only two fears are āwhenā and the disproportionate increase of the price.
You do not have to wait for anything to make your best music.
I know. Same way as I could build a wooden shed with some bare timber and a handsaw. But if the option becomes available, Iām going to use a table-saw. Better tools provide a better experience during the building process.
Comparing the actual Keylab to a handsaw and a the future one to a table-saw is a bit of an exaggeration. There is something that is called the law of diminishing returns on investment/improvement and I think, it applies here very much. Mozart had to write his music on paper. I do not even know if they had pre-printed note sheets then. There you see a real difference to today. Today we have quite sophisticated DAWs and equally sophisticated MIDI controller. Mine already has channel aftertouch. I even bought it for it. But I can say if it hadnāt, I would hardly miss it. Because the difference it makes it so small as I can edit things later in my DAW. It is a little bit different if I play live though. I love to use aftertouch with a saxophone preset in Xpand! 2. It makes a difference. Still, I often see the same result if others just use the mod wheel.
Actually, I am not sure if I will be able to really control the result when playing with PA. Of course, I will learn. But I stil think it, the difference will be marginal.
The point of my analogy was that we each use the best tools available to us for the job. As soon as something come s along that improves our journey towards achieving the end results, then all other considerations aside (money, chiefly), we will choose it. Mozart scribed symphonies by hand because there were no better tools available. In 2024 heād be willingly sat in front of a DAW like the rest of us.
I agree improvements at this stage are going to be incremental. But poly aftertouch would be paradigm-changing for an Arturia controller and would have their premium controllers competing with competitorsā products. Thatās pretty big to me. Albeit not the difference between a hand saw and a table saw.
PA is an excellent feature, I think many people donāt grasp what can be done with it.
I was talking to someone recently who completely misunderstood the benefit of PA, thinking that people wanted to say play C, E, G with right hand and two Cās an octave apart with the left, but wanting after touch on one of the left hand Cās and aftertouch on C and G with the right.
Their understanding was that people wanting PA , all want to do weird combinations of notes , where various notes in each hand are triggering PA, and other notes in each hand arenāt.
.
While Iām sure some people will attempt to use PA for that sort of thing, I explained that for me and I think a lot of others itās sort of the opposite
With channel aftertouch , I press down one key hard enough to trigger aftertouch, and aftertouch is triggered on every note thatās playing.
Whereas, with PA I only have aftertouch on the note or chord that I press the keys down hard enough to trigger . Any other notes Iām playing at the same time remain totally unaffected and are aftertouch free.
I have to admit I am a sucker for blinky-blink. 
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