Hi Guys,
This is for owners of the new KL3.
What are your first honest impressions of KL3 please.
Regards
Mike
1 Like
To try to manage your expectations, most people only join here to begin with because they’ve got a problem or complaint. So there is a strong chance any replies you do get, will be from people with negative experiences, because virtually no one joins the forum to say ‘Hi Arturia I just joined to say how great your products are, I have no issues, and I am entirely satisfied.’ Maybe me posting this reply will encourage existing users and members who have bought the MkIII to post their positive experiences.
4 Likes
I agree, but have been waiting for KL3 for a long time & am a bit disappointed with the new product in the light of other companies progress i.e NI & Novation.
I want to hear positive feedback from owners of KL3.
I already have all of the software & a Beatstep, & like these products.
1 Like
As a product manager myself, targeting a product is a battle between functionality and price. Arturia could have added features to bring it more in line with NI etc. but the cost would have of course been affected.
I have just purchased the Mk3 this week (I bought the Mk2 4 months ago regretfully) and have so far been very impressed by the step up. Firstly, the weight of the keybed has vastly improved - one of the best now, in my opinion. The screen is obviously a big step up too - and how they’ve used the touch sensitive controls to display current parameter is the next best thing to a mini-display above the rotaries (which would’ve been nice, but would increase cost).
The main encoder feels good - a little wobble, but thta’s a minor gripe.
Chord, scale and Arp were much needed functions which have been deployed very well - particularly Arp which is SO intuitive easy to use. Haven’t gone to town on DAW control yet, but given the ability to customise and store presets in the memory I’m not concerned about this (yet).
the pads feel nice and the pressure feedback on the screen is awesome, great help for setting up your pad preferences.
The only thing I’m wanting so far is a bank selector for the rotaries and faders, but that’s totally possible as a FW update, so I imagine the good people at Arturia will get on to that.
Keen to hear others’ views - I’m not as experienced as a lot of you I imagine, so I’m sure there’s stuff I haven’t clocked on to yet.
2 Likes
I worry having had mk2. 10 user slots with no bank select on pads is now 6 user slots and no bank select on faders on mk3.
Is this memory limitation? (Not firmware)
Can any Ableton DAW users confirm script is good?
Track volume hits min/max relibly on faders:
Min -INF
Max +6db
And pots are acurate on panning?
Thanks.
1 Like
I just got my keylab 61 mk3. I bought it because I wasn’t happy with my Kontrol S61 mk3.
Pros:
Solid build quality. I like the keybed, it doesn’t make weird noises like my s61.
Bitwig integration works well.
Scales, chords and arpeggiator are awesome.
Cons:
I got the black model and the wood sides are the color of the white model except for the front edge that faces me. It’s like someone forgot to paint it.
Studio One is mostly incompatible, quantize, redo and tap tempo doesn’t work.
Arturia mode stops working in studio one. It’s essentially broken.
Can’t hit full velocity without setting a custom curve. None of the stock curves will allow velocity over 121 no matter how hard you hit keys.
3 Likes
Some good points here @Jonny. Have you let Arturia know via a support ticket? It’s early days on the FW so I’m sure they’re very keen to fix these early bugs.
I for one would love to see some deeper integration with Studio One - maybe that would be on the cards
I am returning the black model with the wrong color wood panels and have acquired a white model. The white version exhibits the same velocity issues and I’ve contacted Arturia in regards to this.
Some new things I’ve noticed:
-
In Bitwig, using Daw Mode, Pads don’t work in banks a-d. They work fine in the daw bank to launch clips.
-
Also in bitwig, using User Mode, if you map shortcuts to buttons it breaks Arturia Mode.
-
Using the knob next to the screen in Bitwig or Studio One in User mode breaks Arturia plugins causing midi notes to get cut off. Seems like some sort of stuck CC message as I can see the UI reacting.
-
Both units make clicking sounds when turning the 9 knobs above the faders. I guess maybe that’s normal since they both do it. Maybe the velocity thing is also normal…
I haven’t reported any of these issues occurring with Studio One and Bitwig as I was mostly concerned with build quality and key feel. I’m only reporting them here in case someone is researching and trying to decide if these controllers are right for them. DAW integration with my DAWs seems really half baked tbh and if I didn’t have other controllers to fill in the gaps I’d probably return it.
Thanks All for your answers to my question 
.
It feels like Arturia have built KL3 without listening to their existing customers.
i.e Drum pads still on the left & knobs & faders still on the right, again. 
Not good if you are playing with your right hand & want to move a fader with your left.
Rather than ground breaking, it’s a bit lacklustre with little innovation & some of the good bits on KL2 removed.
I really wanted to buy the New KL3 before it was launched & we were all guessing what it would look like based on other competitors new products, but probably won’t buy now. 
Kind regards
Mike
Seems to me it’s aimed at new-to-Arturia users and possibly upgraders from the Essential line. Although some owners of MkI and MkII may be tempted depending on what ticks their personal boxes, I don’t think we (mkI/mkII owners) were the core demographic.
1 Like
If that’s the case I hope they’ve hit the mark as I like Arturia in general, just not this time. 
Kind regards
Mike
Looks like quite a few teething issues with KL3 on the forum.
Kind regards
Mike
Some of use are still waiting for our KeyLab. seems that Canada is a no go zone for Arturia to actually deliver the product. Who knows, maybe this week will be the week they decide to ship some. So far we’ve gone from beginning of September to mid September to End of September expected delivery date.
Just curios. How long after you ordered it did it show up. (please don’t tell me you just bought it at a store as they are readily in stock)
Ordered 9t SEP, arrived 24th SEP Ireland. (Thoman Germany)
I have the KL 88 mk2. I don’t see a need to upgrade it seems that all same issues are still happening to new board as well. Ableton Daw mode is not always responsive. small screen. For live performance that little screen is annoying. the sustain is randomly triggered somehow & you have to completely stop playing to turn it off. I love Arturia, I have VX Collection & FX4 Collection. I was hoping for something more modern closer NI screens. Honestly every video compares the KL mk3 against the KL essential mk3 instead of the KL mk2 boards. I don’t understand that either. The new features along with taking away the CV inputs on the back of the board is not that impressive to me. Maybe I was looking for a whole new design. I am waiting for 88 mk3 to drop but its probably going to be exactly the same as all the others. NO new design just more of the same issues.
2 Likes
I ended up returning my keylabs. The custom velocity curve settings were too limiting and I have too many sample libraries that rely on velocity triggers.
This was a problem on the black model with wrong wooden panels and the white model I tried.
Software issues aside, I really liked the feel of the keybed so I’m a bit disappointed.
I did reach out to support and they confirmed its normal for it to be very difficult to hit full velocity. My experience is that I’d need a hammer to hit it hard enough since slamming the keys as hard and as fast as I could would typically result in 121 velocity.
Maybe the best of both worlds would be an Arturia Beatstep for pads & contoller knobs but no faders (for Arturia software) & a NI Kontrol S61 (for NI software) if money is not an issue.
Beatstep resting on top of the S61.
That would cover most issues with both controller keyboards
Regards
Mike
Personally I think we’ve now flogged this topic to death. And that includes me because I admit I was literally the first person to publicly on the forum throw my hands up in dispair at what I saw on launch-day: yesterday’s tech in a slightly-fresher package with literally nothing there to tease me to upgrade from my Mk1 KL88.
But it is what it is. It’s aimed at Arturia newbies or ‘Essential’ upgraders, not at existing KL1 / KL2 owners. Personally I think that’s a huge mistake, but I wasn’t part of their UR group (if they even had one at all) so I didn’t get chance to maybe try to drive product dev in a more adventurous direction.
Loving my new NI S88. The poly aftertouch alone elevates some of the Arturia instruments (particularly, and unsurprisingly, the CS80V) to a completely new level. Maybe one day I will return to the ‘fold’ but it seems unlikely considering Arturia are now effectively one generation behind competitors in terms of the general capabilities of their flagship controllers, if you exclude their tight V Collection and Analog Lab integration. Which is crazy really because my original decision to buy my KL88 all those years ago was driven by it being objectively the most advanced product of its type, for the money. But times change and competitors have chosen to take risks and jump chasms while Arturia has played the ‘safe’ card.