Arturia KeyLab Essential 49 Reviews

Amazing

Thanks for a great product. Works great looks very modern and minimalist. It was delivered in a month to Armenia. We will use other Arturia products in the future.

Totaly worth it!

I bought this synth about 1 year ago, and all I have to say is that this is the best grab for the buck, it has so many feature (especially in analog lab V) that you probably never even use half of them, the keys are really nice, and the volume pick up on how hard you press the keys is also very accurate.

If you're a music producer or just a pianist on a budget who wants a 4 octave synth this is probably one of the best for this price

(just keep in note that you will probably have to clean it daily because its white and dust likes to stick on it a lot)

A fine midi keyboard

The keyboard is fine for a good price. The keys are springy and you could get a better feel with higher end models with similar synth type action but for sure they are not bad at all. It also come with a very good software bundle.

The only issue that could either not bother you that much or be a deal breaker depending on your use is the drum pads. They are not that responsive so expect to use them mostly as buttons or hitting them a bit hard. This is not a quality control issue it seems to be more or less the same with all of Arturia's midi keyboards (mini, essentials and mk II). If your first priority is good drum pads I would not recommend it. Otherwise an overall good keyboard.

Fantastic!

This is a very good quality MIDI keyboard. The VST packs it comes with are amazing. You get a good version of Analog Lab, which in my opinion is one of the best overall VSTs you can find. The only problem I had with it is that it was very tricky to set it up in Logic Pro X, as the software does not recognise Arturia, but instead you need to set you device up as Mackie Design

Great keyboard some nasty cons

Pros:

+ The keyboard is of great quality; the keybed and the pads feel great

+ Analog lab is neat, just the software makes this keyboard worth buying

Cons:

- Compatibility is a major issue if you are using FL Studio. I had to install a custom script that someone from ImageLine forum uploaded to Github to get everything to work. This should have been done by the Arturia staff.

-The lights are ALWAYS ON. No way to turn them off without unplugging the keyboard. Waste of energy even if its minimal as well as just annoying.

Espectacular por su precio

Un producto espectacular para el valor que tiene. Si bien no soy un gran explorador del formato MIDI o de los teclados/synths, puedo afirmar que la calidad del producto es excelente y que sus funciones básicas y sensibilidad funcionan perfectamente.

Después de unos segundos sin actividad, comienza a hacer unas luces que decoran magistralmente tu home studio.

Recomendable.

Best keyboard for the this price!

Premium keys for the mid-range price segment, and the bundle includes free access to libraries of eight analog machines, making it a hybrid synthesizer!

Totally worth it

My first ever midi keyboard. Great for a beginner and it looks and feels great.

Great MIDI Keyboard

I use it for home studio music production

Touch is amazing with great features

I didn't find any problems with it, hope never

Premium Plastic and very lite

Really good

Functions really well.

Build quality is good (given the price).

Lots of features and works super well with Arturia plugins.

I bought it for beginner projects. I use it mostly at home and I can use it on tables or on my lap. The keys, buttons and levers have a great feeling and of very good quality.

It works great with Ableton Lite but I also use it with Melodics and I can use both Keyboard or pads option.

So far, very happy with this beauty.

Amazing

Exactly what I wanted and needed

Great midi keyboard honestly, nothing better than arturia!

A great entry keyboard

I was looking for a small keyboard, ideally with knobs and up to 49 keys, and the essential 49 checked everything on my list and even more — faders !

The fact that Analog Lab and Ableton Lite were provided as well was probably the tipping point, it seemed the best "bang for buck" keyboard I could purchase.

If at some point I need another keyboard, I would probably upgrade for weighted keys and a slightly better build quality on knobs but, as a beginner, I'm more than happy with this one.

Overall this is a no brainer if you want knobs / faders, more than two octaves and a great synth library. Plus, the faux-wood finish on a white keyboard looks great — it screams Arturia when you look at it.

the all in one device

I have been using the Arturia Keylab Essential 49 for a month and I'm really happy with it. The keyboard is very solid with very good materials.

The sound is really good, I have used it with Garageband and Ableton live.

The only drawback that I have detected is in Analog Lab. it's true that you have thousands of sounds and in theory, you are also able to modify the synth preset but you only have access to a specific subset of presets mapped into the nobs and sliders. If you want to map other presets or create more sounds with synthesizers you need a license of the specific synth (around 150$ per synth or 500$ for a synth collection)

Super Midi Keyboard

Arturia nailed it with their KeyLab Essential 49, it's a well packed budget monster with 8 sensitive pads, 8 faders and endless rotary knobs which provide you ton of options to control your daw, automate parameters and evolve your midi sequences.

The center knob is a must for menu diving, searching parameters, preset scrolling through their Analog Lab which is included and the LCD screen makes the experience way more comfortable than the usual midi keyboards.

Pitch and Modulation wheels are sturdy and the transpose buttons are very responsive.

The key bed doesn't feel realistic but at this price it's a bargain.

Total package for home studio

It has faders, knobs, 49 keys with mod and pitch wheels, a daw control section and velocity sensitive pads with a led screen! Arturia created a full controller that you can control anything with it.

Very good product

Despite some integration bugs with Ableton 10, this is an awesome keyboard with high quality finishing and key sensitivity. The additional software included is a great added value.

perfect for beginners like myself...the keys and the knobs feel really decent. The only thing i did not like was the drum pads they dont feel that good to me really hard and not squishy enough

Great for all your needs

Found this a great starter MIDI keyboard . The fact it comes with Arturia soundlab and Ableton Live Lite was the reason i bought this . It is user friendly even if you didn't know much about MIDI Keyboards you will after a week . It is light and looks great when all plugged in also .