Arturia Keylab 88 mkii Black Edition, Wooden Legs & Analog Lab V Review

[@mgabrysSF]

Protip - when installing the legs - use the packaging 'c-clamp' foam lifters that isolate the gear from the sides of the box. It raises the keyboard (or the PolyBrute) so you're not putting all that weight on your pots (or trying to balance it on an edge). Perhaps less of an issue with the aprox 30 pound MKII but certainly more-so with the 45 pound-plus PolyBrute (which has pots-a-plenty).

[@ChrisMutchJones]

Great idea!

[@rossbrooks950]

Looking forward to seeing this great piece of gear in a couple of weeks! Thanks for this review. Helped me realize it was time for an upgrade.

[@JacobK]

Broooo, I love your energy man! Straight up subscribed lol! Keep up the good work, will be looking for more reviews 🤘🤘👌👌

[@ChrisMutchJones]

Thanks dude! Working on some at the moment!

[@ed7163]

Really like watching your vids, Chris. They’re extremely useful, well edited and above all presented in a friendly and dare I say it, professional manner. If I have to be nit-picky, quoting what you’ve said in this vid yourself :-), I was wondering if there’s any chance you could edit out/delete the lip/tongue smacking? It may just be me (suffering from misophonia?) but they’re quite loud in places and I probably should, but I can’t seem to ignore them. Cheers! Looking forward to more of your vids in any case!

[@ChrisMutchJones]

Thanks for watching! I’ll see what I can do about that!

[@mobileoscar]

Great review! As a guy coming from playing ordinary uprights, grand pianos, Fender Rhodes 88 and NordStage, I wonder a little bit about how heavy the keys feel playing. I suppose I'm ok with heavy keys coming from my background. What worries me was a review I listened to giving the impression that it was somewhat problematic playing quick passages, like I often do when playing jazz. They didn't sound good, according to the reviewer. But, perhaps, this is what you talk about getting fixed with the new firmware?

[@mgabrysSF]

The velocity settings are also adjustable - but I've never seen that demoed (yet - or I haven't found one that shows it both in where the settings are and the performance aspect).

[@hosnyambrocio3344]

Great review!

[@davidasteed]

nice review! interesting note about the firmware upgrade: do you feel this helps to address any of the various "heavy/spongey/sluggish feel" negatives that other reviewers I've watched/read have noted?

[@ChrisMutchJones]

I definitely felt the difference! But I think it’s worth clarifying that this is still a weighty board. It plays much more like old school Roland’s rather than a nord for example!

[@davidasteed]

@@ChrisMutchJones as a piano newbie I've opted to get a lighted keyboard and get some proficiency for a few months, decide if I would want heavier keys, etc. before making a buy decision for a songwriting controller, but no matter what this one is a finalist due to your feedback. thanks!

[@ChristopheTornieri]

Unfortunately, the feeling is still the same. Any entry level digital piano has a better hammer action keyboard… I am an experienced classically trained pianist and I played on a lot of different pianos and keyboards. The issue with this keyboard is not the fact that the key bed is heavy. My Yamaha grand piano has a heavier key bed. The real issue is the sluggishness of the key bed. It is an extremely slow key bed. It is impossible to play fast and accurate on it.

[@JamesBermingham]

Amazing review. I’m getting this

[@MikeyCreator]

"Serious lunge to make it happen standing up" I'm 5'3 I think ill be alright lol Short people for the win there. Btw what bench you using?

[@ChristopheTornieri]

I really like the build quality and the design/features of the keyboard. But the key bed is not really good. Even after the update, the key bed still feels sluggish and very slow. It is almost impossible to play fast and accurately. It is not a question of heaviness of the key bed. My Yamaha grand piano has a heavier action but I can play 10 times faster without any velocity issue. I tried a lot of piano both digital and acoustic and I think any mid range digital piano from Yamaha, Roland or Casio has a far better and accurate hammer action key bed.

[@headsman2023]

I really hope they make this right with the mk3

[@pinocarella_00]

ciao, quello che vorrei chiederti è: la mappatura è automatica o la devo fare ogni volta che uso un vst che non è Arturia? Inoltre, con eventuali expanders hardware esterni.. se voglio pilotarli con la KeyLab 88 a quali problemi potrei andare incontro? Infine, com'è la compatibilità con Cubase Pro su windows? Bisogna per forza avere windows 10 o 11? Con windows 7 come si comporta? Grazie.

[@timnewsom6422]

Why does Arturia continue to install a tiny lcd screen? This was of the main reasons I bought another product 5 years ago even though I use the Arturia collection 9. If the screen allowed for more views on functions. This Does have more features and looks good but still falls short. Fix the damn screen!

[@france4me117]

I loved your review and such a fun person you are. So super sexy the black edition and I sooo very much home that the key-bed is not too heavy :) God Bless and thank you for such a brilliant review. From Melbourne, Australia

[@JesusPiano]

Hi mate, could you perhaps please if possible answer me a few questions such as: 1 -From the floor to the very top of the white keys, what its very the exact measurement? 2 - Whats the width from within the both wider legs (either the two front or two back)? 3 - Whats the biggest deep distance (at the very bottom I suppose) between the back legs and the front legs? 4 - Do you think some sort of small wheels could be attached to the bottom of the 4 legs? Thanks so much in advance :)

[@Pro-bn4jp]

Just google it up

[@JesusPiano]

@@Pro-bn4jp And if I dont want to? You are as arrogant as your ugly answer FYI, not that you deserv the waste of time, these sort of things cant be googled as I tried many times before asking. Anyway, it so happens, see how small its the world in a question that I made 7 months ago, JUST YESTERDAY I got one. Bye bye good person!

[@anniedarkhorse6791]

Just ordered one. I hope you still think as highly of this as you did two years ago. Do you still think it's a good choice in today's market?

[@ChrisMutchJones]

Well to let you know, I still have mine! It’s been great to use both in the studio and live! Definitely spend some time with the software that comes with it. The MIDI control centre can take some understanding but once you get it it can be very helpful in terms of setting up your velocity curves on the keybed and assigning midi channels to certain knobs & sliders! Enjoy!

[@anniedarkhorse6791]

@@ChrisMutchJonesThanks for replying. I've been using all the software with the Keystep Pro and am happy with it. I guess my main concern is the keybed. I'm a female and I want to improve my playing. I am considering swapping for the Komplete Kontrol but I'm concerned about the NKS compatibility. Is the keyboard hammer action much heavier?

[@ChrisMutchJones]

So the Komplete kontrol and Keylab both have the same hammer action so there’s no difference there.

[@anniedarkhorse6791]

@@ChrisMutchJones Oh cool. I thought the Arturia was supposed to be heavier. I think I'll be sticking with the Arturia, then. Cheers.

[@user-qm2yz3vb2o]

Здравствуйте,в комплекте с ней идёт Analog Lab demo или же всё-таки полная версия?

[@lowbias]

I've been trying to figure out which controller to buy. This is very helpful, thank you! Where I live, the black edition is $200 less than the white. Do you know if there is any difference aside from color?

[@ChrisMutchJones]

No difference at all! I prefer the black for sure!

[@lowbias]

@@ChrisMutchJones I prefer the black too! And for less...works for me. Thank you again for your video and for the quick response. You've helped me get around a lot of uncertainty. New subscriber for sure.

[@ChrisMutchJones]

Thanks a lot!

[@JamesBermingham]

Black editions should be widely available and not limited. I wanna black one..

[@ChrisMutchJones]

Where are you based? There were still places on the uk that had them last time I looked…

[@JamesBermingham]

@@ChrisMutchJones Ireland. Your affiliate link with Amazon has them out of stock. Thomann out of stock too. :( Ill pick up a white one if I have to. Great Demo.

[@allenjoshua4651]

@@ChrisMutchJones do the firmware updates also available in white version? Or just in the limited (black) version? Do the keybed have difference with the white version? Also do the white version have legs? Or just in limited version only? Thank you so much in advance!

[@ChrisMutchJones]

Yes the firmware works on the white version. No, the keybed is the same for both white and black. Same legs for both white and black. Thanks for watching!

[@TheBassman0327]

Did you have trouble downloading Analog V did it take a long time to download and install on your computer

[@dosbentee]

Hi, now that it has been a year more - I am looking for a beginner MIDI piano that will be portable and allowed in economy class hand carry airlines specifically from saudi or canada to philippines, my country. I want something to learn with as a beginner and will last a lifetime - same with roland fp30x but I want it to be way lighter - either synth or real weighted piano. Pls help ❤ I am looking forward to buying this Arturia mkii black 61 keys color to be shipped to saudi arabia khobar. I just bought roland fp30x from a music store yesterday - but i will return it back because good review videos I watched for asturia mkii ❤️ I never played piano but I am really willing to learn. 1.) One also concern is - if you take this piano to your gigs - what is the most portable piano stand for the arturia mkii 61 keys - that can be modified to carry apple laptop too? If not please recommend the best/sturdy portable keyboard stand & separate laptop stand - both should be sturdy and easy to carry. Please refer yravel cases too for the keyboard stand and laptop stand. 2.) Changing that built-in battery how hard is it to replace? Is it easily replaceable in any battery shops? Or the charger? 3.) For travel - please refer to me a hard case & a softcase but padded in case i can take it as a carry on luggage. 4.) What other accessories should I buy together with the keyboard including speakers and such because i do not know well. Assume that I have this keyboard asturia mkii 61 keys and an macbook laptop - what else would i need to buy to complete my initiial setup and that O can play and learn? With much anticipation and excitement, Isagani

[@bottomsupbass]

Great guy and presentation but I found myself cringing on a few arguments. In my mind- ya the stand is sitting only.... forget the 200£ accessory and buy a tour ready hydronic stand that moves 360 or a riser stand. But their legs are obscenly priced despite the excellent tendencies in the controller. I went through Nova, native instruments, ... for a multi decade musician.... the mk2 is the only under 500 controller

[@bottomsupbass]

For anyone with basic carpentry skills or a local home depot... piece together the leg accessory fur under$ 25 u.s. must parts are on hand at Lowes or hardware shop. I felt if the kid bought the controller, Arturia could offer rebate or discount getting them down to a breathable 75-125 price point. The layering surpasses any controller in its class. I found it very thin on good, usable vst or plug for bass, guitar, etc you know; musical instruments. Luckily they offered their usb interface which has a decent soft pack included. I do miss the deep rabbit hole native instruments provude you at a production level the worlflow and ease of compatibility with mk2 61 controller is a no brainer. Mac/pc iOS and android fluidity. So put that in Andrew huangs vape and keep creating fooks!!!

[@ChrisMutchJones]

Thanks for the feedback buddy! I’d love to see a pic of that leg hack from Home Depot! Sounds fun!

[@FrancescaBettiMusic]

Hi thank you for the video! Is the keybed good? I know you said but many people said it is loud I wanted to buy it but I’m kinda confused now

[@ChrisMutchJones]

It’s a great keybed! It is a bit loud when you press the keys but to be honest, I find all midi controllers to be like this because they aren’t REAL hammer action keys!

[@frankieseymour3324]

I don't find the keys loud at all.

[@ChrisMutchJones]

I think it’s all about perception! I really love the feel of this board now!

[@frankieseymour3324]

@@ChrisMutchJones I had to wait almost 3 months to get mine because of the pandemic! You better believe I love mine too! 🤣

[@Zarabozo]

Hi Chris. Have you tried to use your Arturia with something like an external sound module? Or with any plugin configured to use different sounds on different midi channels? I'm hoping someone that has one can tell me if it works properly so I buy one. Let me explain: I'm extremely dissapointed with the Komplete Kontrol S88 because it SUCKS as a midi controller. The mod and pitch wheels are ALWAYS on channel 1, you cannot change that. And the pedals can be set to a desired channel, but you have to choose a channel and leave it there! This means that, if you configure the keyboard to change between channel 1 and 2 (or other channels), only the keyboard switches channel but your pitch/mod wheels and your pedals don't change channel with the keyboard, which makes it the worst controller ever. Same thing happens if you split your keyboard to play one channel on the left half and another channel on the right half: your pedals won't send signal to both channels, only one, and your pitch/mod wheels will stay always on channel 1. Also, you cannot use the midi cable unless you disconnect the USB cable, and, in that case, you are stuck on channel 1 and all buttons and knobs are disabled! I hope you can let me know if all of this works properly on your Arturia. I want a controller that can work fully featured (midi controller wise) with my Roland Integra 7 and other hardware modules. Thanks! :-)

[@Rialas]

I’d get a Roland controller if I were you. Sounds like the headaches I’ve had with keylab mk2 assigning midi channels and using analog lab.

[@Zarabozo]

@@Rialas I bought the Roland A800pro about two years ago and I hated it. I never expected such a bad keyboard quality and feeling from Roland. It has keys that are much shorter in depth than the standard and it results in different pressure feeling on white and black keys. I love the feeling, quality and playability of their flagship models (any XP, Fantom X/G/#), but their midi controllers are far, far from that. I would happily pay $1,000 for a 61 key midi controller that has that quality on the hardware and has everything right in the daw/software/midi-controlling area, but seems like such a product doesn't exist.

[@eduosan]

thanks friend, the operation of different virtual synthesizers vst is optimal? playing drums with the pads are soft to the touch? Because the pads of my fantom x8 are very hard and the whole keyboard shakes, finally, do the keys that you have on your arturia mk2 feel resistant?

[@rachelsvocal]

Great stuff!

[@amz7092]

Any suggestions for adjustable stands?

[@tuneunleashed]

Damn….I want the black one

[@ChrisMutchJones]

It looks even nicer in real life!

[@Nariiez1626]

Chris trying to beatbox 3:40

[@ChrisMutchJones]

Ahaha!! That’s made my day! Thanks for that dude! 👌

[@Nariiez1626]

@Chris Mutch-Jones I- um- Brr- tried to beatbox too… nah, I just stuttered bc I didn’t expect u to reply

[@Dekon7]

How is this feel? In am planning to buy. Is there anything better?

[@ChrisMutchJones]

The feel is good. It’s quite firm so if you’re not used to that it might feel tough. You could also look into the Numa keyboards but they are a very light touch controller.

[@peterkirdan]

Have you tried this with mainstage 3?

[@ChrisMutchJones]

Yeah, I use it with mainStage 3 all the time! It’s a great controller for MainStage!

[@peterkirdan]

Thank you so much for your reply. I am new to main stage and media controllers but I have both now. Would you consider making a video for a step-by-step set up of main stage and keylab 88 MkII Unless you know of anyone who is already made a video like that, please share. Thank you so much for making these videos

[@ChrisMutchJones]

No worries! I’ve been thinking of making a video on how to get the most out of a Keylab with MainStage! I’m working on a few videos at the moment though so it may be a while! There are lots of videos showing how to set up general controllers in MainStage that could help you to understand the concepts though!

[@mitchell061675]

What model sustain pedal are you using for your key lab

[@ChrisMutchJones]

I use the nord sustain pedal!

[@armijoseph27]

What brand of music monitor speakers are underneath the Arturia Keylab 88?

[@ChrisMutchJones]

They’re the Bose S1 Pro!

[@leobuniak3566]

hey, I got the arturia keylab 88 MK1, do you think I can use these legs on it? tnx

[@ChrisMutchJones]

I don’t believe you can…

[@eclecticaro]

Can the legs be used with Keylab 61 mkII?

[@ChrisMutchJones]

No

[@jesusbautista7962]

Where did you get the black version?

[@ChrisMutchJones]

It’s a limited edition one that I got from a uk retailer. I have a feeling they will make more in the future as the 49 and 61 key versions started off as limited edition too!

[@jesusbautista7962]

@@ChrisMutchJones thanks

[@ginises83]

How many layers can we have in same time ?

[@ChrisMutchJones]

In analog lab? Only two. But if you use mainstage or any other DAW you could open multiple instances of analog lab and have as many layers as your computer will handle!

[@dividedbytimestudios]

How do you plug it into a PA? Or speakers?

[@ChrisMutchJones]

So this is a midi controller. Meaning it doesn’t have sounds built in. So you have to connect it to a laptop to make sounds. Then you can connect that to a PA system for gigs etc.

[@dividedbytimestudios]

@@ChrisMutchJones yea I’m aware it’s a controller, my 61 mkii just showed up and I’m gonna open it up Today, I’m a guitar player, so the part I don’t get how a laptop can connect to a PA

[@ChrisMutchJones]

Ah! Ok so the easiest way is to get a 3.5mm jack cable that goes to a dual TRS Jack cable. Plug the mini jack into your laptop and the dual TRS jack into a DI Box (this will turn the signal into a balanced XLR signal) then you can plug that into a sound desk!

[@bottomsupbass]

I agree on analog v and it's all s bit misleading in the things includ3d. Especially viable small lab with 7500 voices........ well, not exactly. BTW I was lead to BBC Archive which has the only good orchestration and choral package under 200$ worth its salt. Free. Countless hrs of crate digging (file queries) and unique finds a plenty @bbc , London freeware orchestral suite

[@bottomsupbass]

Sorry. URO CORRECT IS EXPERIMENTING again. Rather the vlab and analog lab are a bit anorexic. A few redundancies and apart from that, I choose this as my main controller. Oz7 phantoms.... leave them at home . Bring arturia

[@jeanmarccorbou5508]

y a pas un son qui sort!

[@eleven9286]

Analog Lab Vee

[@ChrisMutchJones]

Is there a question here?

[@eleven9286]

Just making fun of your pronunciation. Us Romans call "V" Five.

[@ChrisMutchJones]

Aha! Don’t worry, I’m a fan of the Roman numeral system but that’s how Arturia like it phrased! ;)

[@adr7657]

Can you have Analog V with this keyboard?

[@RetroPlus]

That's quite sexy indeed

[@ChrisMutchJones]

Yes it is!

[@paullebon323]

X stands are for suckers. And those wooden legs look dodgy and not adjustable. I'll keep my sturdy Z stand, thank you very much. Also, saying that you prefer it to the shite Fatar keybed in a Nord Stage 3 isn't saying much.

[@ChrisMutchJones]

Haha

[@Michael-le5ph]

Is there anything you do like, Scrooge?

[@netflixandchill2289]

What a weirdly dickish comment. What is wrong with you?