Following the successful launch of their BeatStep, KeyStep, and BeatStep Pro controllers in limited-edition black finish, Arturia have announced the imminent release of the MiniLab Mk. II Black Edition and KeyLab 88 Black Edition.
Well known in the industry for their innovative design, superb software packages, powerful features and integration, and exceptional value, a limited number of these controllers will soon be available in black.
KeyLab 88 Black Edition features a high quality 88-note, piano-weighted keybed, 16 backlit performance pads, an array of faders and rotary controllers, and includes the following software:
Arturia Piano V : Physically modeled piano studio suite.
Arturia Analog Lab 2 : Over 5,000 classic keyboard and synth presets from Arturia’s V-Collection of analog-modeled classic soft synths
UVI Grand Piano Model D : Sampled Steinway virtual piano.
Ableton Live Lite : Recording and editing software.
MiniLab Mk. II Black Edition offers lots of real-time control in a tiny, project studio-friendly frame. With 25 slim Kkys, eight RGB backlit performance pads, and 16 rotary knobs, this small-format MIDI controller offers unparalleled control for its size. It also includes the following software:
Arturia Analog Lab Lite : Over 500 classic keyboard and synth preset from the Arturia V-Collection.
UVI Grand Piano Model D : Sampled Steinway virtual piano.
Ableton Live Lite : Recording and editing software.
Both new controllers have entered production, and are expected to arrive at retailers around the world in November 2017. Pricing is to be announced. Click here to learn more about both controllers.
MIDI controller keyboards with built-in audio interfaces used to be less rare than they are today. Though some stage pianos and do-it-all performance synths include audio interfacing (some of it even multi-channel for DAW work), a “straight” controller-plus-interface is a bit harder to find. That’s a shame, because when I’m on a trip whose primary purpose may be other than musical — and hence I haven’t devoted resources to carrying a full or even “lite” rig — I may still need note entry, DAW control, and something for working with soft synths, and of course I’d rather carry one box than two. The integration also saves hassle and setup time for live performance, needless to say.
IK Multimedia aims at exactly this sort of use-case wth the new iRig Keys I/O, which comes in 25-key and 49-key versions, with full-sized synth-action keys. Audio I/O on both models consists of an XLR-1/4″ combo jack for input (with phantom power), stereo 1/4″ outputs to feed your monitor speakers or the P.A. at a gig, and a 1/8″ headphone output. Maximum audio resolution goes up to 24 bits and 96kHz.
The controls complement on both models is more than decent for the size class: Four touch-sensitive knobs with two pages (so eight controllable destinations), eight velocity-sensitive and backlit drum pads, two assignable touch-strips in place of pitch and modulation wheels, and a complete DAW transport section. (IK claims the unit works seamlessly with DAWs such as Ableton Live, Apple Logic Pro X and GarageBand, and more.)
In addition to a regular USB cable, Lightning and DIN cabling comes in the box so that the iRig Keys I/O can control Apple iOS devices without kludges like a camera connection kit. This is a combination of USB-B-to-mini-DIN (ostensibly for controlling MIDI hardware as there are no traditional 5-pin MIDI ports), then a mini-DIN-to-Lightning cable. And it’s more than just cabling — these units are Apple MFi certified for plug-and-play operation with iOS.
In terms of portability, the 25-key model weighs in at 44.5 ounces (about 2.75 pounds), with the 49er tipping the scales at just under 80 ounces (five pounds).
IK further sweetens the deal with software and soundware: Included in both the 25- and 49-key versions is Ableton Live 9 Lite, IK SampleTank 3 and T-RackS 4 Deluxe, and the IK Syntronik Pro-V soft synth. Plus, iPhone and iPad users receive the full version of SampleTank. Additionally, the 49-key version comes with Miroslav Philharmonik 2 CE orchestral workstation for Mac/PC and the mobile edition for iOS.
The punchline here is the price: US $199.99 for the 25-key model and $299.99 for the 49-key. Pricing in Euros is the same.
Tracktion started out life as an alternative music-making program under the auspices of Mackie. It was (and is) affordable, easy to use, and aimed at the needs of music producers who think in terms of grooves, clips, loops – repeatable quanta of music, essentially. The company has long since been independent, and also markets the excellent soft synths Biotek and Waverazor. Tracktion itself has evolved into Tracktion Waveform, a full-featured digital audio workstation that, for a stand-alone price of $99, offers enough power to compete with the big boys.
The series of Seaboard instruments from ROLI has been gaining, um, traction over the past couple of years as an alternative to the conventional musical keyboard. While they retain a 12-note layout, their textured “KeyWave” surface access high-resolution sensor technology that provides for a range of expressive gestures that go beyond regular black-and-white keyboards. These include not just velocity and after-pressure, but side-to-side finger movement to create anything from subtle vibrato to more dramatic portamento pitch sweeps (ROLI calls this motion “Glide”), release velocity (“Lift” in ROLI parlance), and on the Seaboard Rise and Block keyboards, Y-axis finger position along a key (“Slide”). Most importantly, they allow each expressive motion (“dimension of touch”) on a polyphonic, per-note basis. That means a practiced Seaboard player could be, for example, modulating different filter cutoffs on different notes within the same chord; applying vibrato to one note while leaving the other static; and much more. Seeing what a player such as prog icon Jordan Rudess or ROLI’s demo guy Marco Parisi can do with one of these instruments is just insane.
What do these two things have to do with each other? Well, all this expressiveness is implemented via a standard called MIDI Polyphonic Expression – MPE for short. It’s a clever means of using the existing MIDI spec (yes, the one that’s been around since 1983) over multiple MIDI channels at the same time in order to achieve the per-note messaging. Of course, this means your soft synth or host program has to know how to listen to MPE on the receiving end, and the latest version of Tracktion Waveform happens to be adept at doing so. This greatly expands the range of virtual instruments you can fully exploit through a Seaboard.
That’s why ROLI is now bundling Tracktion Waveform with all Seaboard instruments, which are:
Seaboard Grand: The first Seaboard and the only one that includes an internal, hardware-powered version of ROLI’s Equator soft synth. Being first, however, it lacks the “Slide” Y-axis sensing of the latter two instruments. (Fun fact: it’s the one Ryan Gosling played in the movie La La Land.)
Seaboard Rise: The second-generation Seaboard, which added the Slide dimension as well as sensitivity sliders and an X/Y touchpad to the left of the Keywave surface.
Seaboard Block: A mini-Seaboard for use with ROLI’s modular Blocks controllers, which include multi-use lightpads, transport controls, and other useful modules. The hook is that the same magnetic connectors that let various Blocks snap together physically also let them communicate electronically. This lets users create “Lego”-like setups customized for how they produce music.
So, the pitch is, buy a Seaboard and get Tracktion Waveform thrown in at no extra cost. ROLI posted this video explaining how multi-note expressive data can be played in from a Seaboard Block and then precisely edited within Tracktion Waveform.
Presumably, Tracktion Waveform can likewise interpret playing from other MPE hardware controllers, such as Roger Linn’s LinnStrument and the Haken Continuum. For more info about the bundle from ROLI, go here.
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