Totally Amateur Arturia Astrolab Review

In this video, I go through the reasons why I think the Astrolab is actually a pretty awesome addition to my own setup. I'm sure others may disagree, I've even experienced a bit of mockery over my choice of buying one, we're all married to our own opinions. :D
Anyhow, I try to be as comprehensive as I can about the Astrolab, there's a lot to unload, and hopefully this video will be both informative AND entertaining.
Feel free to share your opinions in the comments section.
As always, thank you very much for watching!

[@SanjayC]

Love to see reviews from you! Nice one man...hope you're doing well!

[@CaidicusProductions]

Hey Sanjay! Yep, I'm doing alright. I've been hitting the gym, trying to get into shape. Just bought an apartment and moved in there, it's really nice. How're you and your wife doing?

[@marconoto4261]

Really appreciate your perspective. I am trying to avoid long learning curves and tech for the sake of tech. I have been using an Arturia controller with my MacBook and Ableton. While this combo is super powerful, I am spending way too much time trying to get a solid baseline understanding of all that stuff. This keyboard with my Roland drum machine and Boss looper is a simpler solution for my use case (live performance).

[@neilamon123]

I’ve watched a lot of Review Videos on this instrument and this is one of the best ones I’ve seen. I like your honest approach and it’s very informative. If possible would you possibly do a video that shows how you can record into a DAW with it and utilise the Audio Inputs and USB-C connectivity? I don’t know whether it’s possible to just record the Audio of everything you are doing and effecting coming in via the Audio inputs via USB for instance

[@CaidicusProductions]

Hey, brotherman. Unfortunately, I don't have a DAW to test this with, as I use an MPC Live in place of a DAW. That said, I don't see why whatever's going into the inputs on the Astrolab wouldn't also come out of any and all outputs of the device, including the USB. You might need to set it in the settings, though you might not need to, either. If you plug the Astrolab into USB, and plug something else into the audio inputs, then hook the USB up to a PC, whatever comes out of the Astrolab should go into whatever DAW you're using, so long as you've set it up to receive on the track you're trying to record into. Should, being the keyword. :P

[@samplidium]

At least one neutral video not sponsored, congratulations!

[@CaidicusProductions]

I'm too small to be sponsored and, being completely honest, I've no need to accept any money to talk about the gear I love. :D

[@samplidium]

​@@CaidicusProductions We see too many demos that are actually not sincere but commercial, it is why I prefer demos like yours, keep your integrity! ;-)

[@CaidicusProductions]

@@samplidium :D I wouldn't know what other way to be. Thank you again for these comments, I feel like I don't deserve such kindness, but I'm extremely appreciative.

[@mr_floydst]

Nice to see this review! That keyboard certainly scores in the looks department - I'd totally put that into my living room for people to marvel at. Such a futuristic yet classic design.

[@CaidicusProductions]

Oh hi there, Floyd! I love your presentations. Thank you for commenting on my video.

[@neilamon123]

Also, consider buying a MIDI Thru box so you don’t have chaining headaches

[@mrdali67]

One thing about the design that is bad is the display / Enter button. Would have been much better with a larger display and just a normal "Enter" button. Not a personal fan of the "wiggly" display idea. The general idear of the instrument is definetly great. of cause some won't like it, some will love it, and some of us would wish they had taken it a bit further with a more serious powerfull processing board to actually reach out to match the posibilities like the Korg Kronos. and provide a larger ammount of cuncurrent sound combis and poliphony. Arturia already have possible one of the best plugin collection available in the V-collection and other plugins. Wether they sound exactly the same as the originals or not is not a real issue to me. Just to have that many classic instrument recreations in a "box" or software collection in a stage keyboard is kinda awsome. Just wish Arturia will take it further with an "Astrolab Titanic" where you just have to connect eg. a Keylab 88 or what you prefere in keybeds to have a full gig setup for all your sounds 😋

[@CaidicusProductions]

Well, I suppose one benefit of this keyboard is that any patches you make in V Collection can be exported directly onto your Astrolab. Then, the four knobs you use as macros can be set to modify parameters of the patch according to your liking. I like this synth simply because it's a very straight forward, plug in and play synth. Nice for when I just want to pull up a patch and start playing.

[@mudi2000a]

Regarding the software from Arturia, you should register this is your Arturia account and wait for a sale or deals. Usually you get an extra discount if you own other Arturia gear or software. For example, I have a Minifuse 2 audio interface and some time after I added it to my Arturia account I got an offer to upgrade to analog lab pro for only 29 bucks. And it costs normally 200 or 100 on a sale.

[@CaidicusProductions]

Here's hoping they offer me a discount. I've bought both the Astrolab and the Polybrute, so one can dream. :D

[@pianomikeoct]

I just got the astro lab, I punched in a couple of instruments to favorites but I cannot find where they went, would you know.

[@CaidicusProductions]

Sure! Underneath the dial, there are a few buttons. Hit the back button until you reach the screen where you can see that heart option. You should be able to find your favorited selections there.

[@rcmusic35]

You are more Pro and unbiased than some "pro "YTubers

[@CaidicusProductions]

I really appreciate the compliment. :D

[@aaronplata9152]

Hello hardware synth guy, do you know any standalone synth that can be battery operated? Thanks

[@mudi2000a]

Roland Jupiter-Xm?

[@CaidicusProductions]

Depends on your budget. There are quite a few options for that, I think even the Hydrasynth Explorer can be powered by batteries, and it's an extremely capable synth that costs $500. There are other options including some of the new Roland mini devices that can be powered via USB and a power bank. It's really up to your budget.

[@sergiodeoliveira5358]

Why is the beginning of your video mirrored?

[@CaidicusProductions]

I used my phone's front camera for that part, me thinks. Apologies.

[@tomlavelle8340]

I am not offput at all by this instrument. A synth on the go.

[@anthonyalexander7246]

It sounds great, but it could of been better. Polyphony is strange, and mine locked up last night it's a toss up, it's cool but then it's goofy at the same time, keybed is fun to play., should give you v collection, wtf.