Arturia has announced updated 49- and 61-key versions of its flagship MIDI controller, with an improved keybed, redesigned interface and more. Keylab mk3 is the successor to the KeyLab mk2, released in 2021.
Available in both black and white colourways, KeyLab mk3 sports a handsome new design somewhat reminiscent of the Arturia AstroLab, a stage keyboard unveiled earlier this year.
The layout of the controls is largely the same as the mk2, with a few notable differences. Arturia has dropped a row of pads, so you'll now have 12 velocity-sensitive pads to play with instead of 16. Despite this, Arturia has added four 'banks' of pads accessible through buttons alongside, so technically you'll now have 48 at your disposal.
Another striking addition is the 3.5", 480x320 screen in the centre, which is now in colour. Along with the upgraded screen, the most significant improvement to the mk3 is its enhanced, "pro-grade" keybed, which Arturia tells us gives you greater control of synth and piano sounds thanks to a full redesign affecting keyboard balance, weighting and spring tension. It's velocity-sensitive and semi-weighted with channel aftertouch, but there's no sign of the polyphonic aftertouch that many KeyLab users were hoping for.
KeyLab is a MIDI controller that specializes in DAW control, arriving with pre-mapped templates that can be used to control many of the major DAWs, including Logic Pro, FL Studio and Ableton Live. KeyLab has dedicated controls for transport, along with handy features like Undo, Redo, Save and Quantize. Along with its nine faders, its newly touch-sensitive set of nine 360° rotary potentiometers will be useful for tweaking sounds and balancing mixes.
Arturia has also added a new arpeggiator and Chord and Scale Modes. Chord Mode assigns chords to single keys across the keyboard while Scale Mode locks the keyboard to one of a selection of pre-defined scales, making it easier to perform chord sequences and solos.
KeyLab mk3 arrives bundled with Arturia's largest software bundle yet, a collection that includes Ableton Live Lite and Analog Lab V, a software instrument that offers thousands of presets taken from its V Collection bundle of synth plugins. You'll also get Mini V, Arturia's Minimoog emulation, along with two piano instruments and a two-month subscription to Loopcloud.
The 49-key version of KeyLab mk3 is priced at €449 and the 61-key is €549.
