Arturia KeyLab Essential 88 Reviews

Been using it for quite some time now, for a midi controller it's an ok product, wish the pitch and mod wheels would be on the right side of the keyboard. The main issue is the feel of the keys, they're plastic with no hammer action, so definitely not for playing it.

Fantastic purchase - from the perspective of a beginner

I bought this keyboard because I always wanted to learn to play the piano.

It looks absolutely beautiful, has tons of features (I have not yet used), has a sturdy build, and within a few days I had already made a huge improvement.

Arturia includes a piano VSTi with this, and plugging in your headphones and hearing a beautiful piano to what you play really does act as a boost for your will to continue playing and learn more.

Besides this, the integration with the wider spectrum of Arturia Products is fantastic, which each knob pre-assigned to what you see on the screen.

Everything about this seems very well thought out.

I'm very happy with the purchase, and I recommend it.

Integrated keyboard

keyboard with software and good price

The keyboard is very solid and high quality.

The keys are not as heavy as on other keyboards in these ranges, but that actually suits me.

The excellent piano plugin gratis also contributed to the overall satisfaction.

It would be nice to have another pedal slot but you can’t choose better in this price range..

i use it in my studio for writing and producing. I t feels great, pretty sturdy, has a ton of functionalities. I am very pleased.

Good but not great

I really like this keyboard for composing more complex chord sequences.

The build quality is very good throughout, and it works out of the box. It's well integrated into Analog Lab and Ableton Live.

I only have a minor issue with the clunkiness of the keys. While it's clear from the product description that it doesn't have weighted keys, I did expect a nicer feel to them. Bear in mind that this is my subjective assessment, YMMV.

Apart from the above this is yet another home run for Arturia. I love how relatively light and portable this keyboard is, not least how low its profile is compared to many other full-size keyboards. I can comfortably fit it under my (continental style) bed out of the way when I don't use it.

All in all, I'm very happy with this product. Its usability certainly outweighs its clunky keys.

The best non hammer action MIDI controller you're going to find

I've had this keyboard for a couple of months, I bought it after loads of extensive research, and although I could have bought some of the cheaper Hammer action keyboards for a similar price, I decided on this semi-weighted key bed. I am very happy with this. I think that the velocity response is excellent, so once you're used to it you can still get realistic feeling results on piano sounds. however the keys are still pretty springy.

The real winners of this keyboard are the build, it is very sturdy, but also pretty compact. most of the time I just mount it on my desk.

The software that comes with it is amazing, analoguelab is a tool everyone should have for sure!

And finally, if you manage to configure the DAW control settings this is a feature that I appreciate because it's handy, but at the same time I don't know if I'd sacrifice the budget or space for a stand alone device.

Versatile.

Great product, very versatile.

I'm extremely happy with this keyboard, especially the keys, which I was a bit scared of!! 5/5. And the analog lab it comes with is also great!!!

Absolute Beauty

Arturia never disappoints. Feels solid, built quality is excellent, and sits perfectly in my home studio. The fades, knobs, and DAW integration all come handy and speeds up production pace. 100% recommended if weighted keys are not a requirement.

Great product for the price

I use it as my main midi controller for the DAW and also as a live keyboard. Has a solid build, the keybed is semi weighted and good to play on it. The velocity of the keys is good, on the pads not so sansitive. The faders and knobs are great and can be programmed inside the daw. Unfortunately not all buttons can be configured. Overall a great keyboard.

Really nice for the price

The only thing I don't like is the velocity of the keys, it feels kind of cheap

But all the functions are really simple to use and the interface is quite nice.