Arturia KeyLab Essential mk3 Universal MIDI Controller
Product Features:
The Music-Making Essentials
Whether you’re a beginner producer, an experienced music maker, or anyone in between, unlock your full creative potential with a MIDI controller that breaks down all the barriers between you, your DAW, and your perfect sound.
Find Joy in Your Workflow: Find the right sound faster than ever. Customize your mix in real-time. Finish that track with ease. Music-making shouldn’t feel like work - KeyLab Essential removes barriers and puts the joy back into your workflow.
Your DAW, Upgraded: Your favorite synth sounds, your DAW transport, and your mixing desk all in one. Enjoy next-level control over your sounds & DAW projects, seamless communication with Analog Lab, and a bundle of pro creative software to supercharge your sound.
Quickly Inspire New Ideas: KeyLab Essential doesn’t just help you play & navigate your projects - it’s also built to inspire. Summon catchy melodies, curious rhythms, and moving chord sequences with its array of creative features, and see where it can take your sound.
That Quality Feeling: You want the feeling of a premium instrument, the flexibility of a top-class controller, and the ease-of-use of a beginner keyboard. KeyLab Essentials sensitive controls, hybrid synth-feel keybed, and smart layout puts it all at your fingertips.
Your Keys to Creativity
However you choose to make music, KeyLab Essential has all the creative answers - before you’ve even thought of the questions. This controller fits right into your setup to become an extension of your creative identity.
Control any DAW: Enjoy plug-and-play connectivity and ready-mapped controls with your DAW of choice. KeyLab Essential doesn’t just feature familiar MCU & HUI compatibility - it also has custom scripts for major DAWs for next-level integration.
Customize Your Workflow: KeyLab Essential easily adapts to your creative needs; recall your favorite 'liked' presets from Analog Lab, navigate your custom-made playlists, activate custom User programs for your own control assignments, and more.
At One With Analog Lab: Turn Analog Lab into a hardware synth and get hands-on with your sound thanks to KeyLab Essential’s seamlessly mapped controls. Adjust sound parameters, tweak FX, and browse presets without ever needing to touch your computer.
All the Software & Sounds You Need for Making Music
What software & sounds do you get with KeyLab Essential mk3? From a full copy of Analog Lab to a library of over 4 million samples, you’re fully equipped for whatever music you want to make.
Analog Lab V: Thousands of synth & keys presets. A library of the finest basses, fattest synths, smoothest orchestral sounds, and more, from vintage to modern, powered by V Collection, Augmented Series, and Pigments.
Ableton Live Lite: Music recording software. Record, perform, and produce anything with an introduction to one of the hottest DAWs in the business, including instrument presets, drums, FX, MIDI clips, and more.
Model D: A timeless grand piano. The epic stage-sized character of a Steinway grand piano, arguably the most iconic piano of all time, sampled in detail to bring your production to life.
Komplete Select: Comprehensive music production suites. Choose between 3 different bundles. Craft with iconic synths, sampled sounds, and effects from Komplete 15 Select - a hand-picked production toolkit.
Loopcloud: Millions of samples & loops. A 2-month subscription to Loopcloud with millions of hi-def royalty-free samples, from lo-fi drums to vocal one-shots, with 2GB of samples including a welcome pack and a specially-crafted Arturia selection.
Melodics: Learn with KeyLab Essential mk3. Improve your pad & keyboard skills with a subscription to Melodics, offering 40 lessons, tips, and musical hacks that are fun, easy, and tailored to your style.
Essential, Intuitive, Flexible Controls
Sometimes you just want to get the job done. KeyLab Essential's focused controls give you quick access to the most useful & intuitive elements of your project & sound without complicating things.
Keybed: As comfortable for performance as it is for studio beat-making, KeyLab Essential’s durable hybrid synth-piano keybed is smooth & responsive, complemented by the familiar Pitch & Mod wheels and Pedal input for sustain, footswitch, or expression.
Display: Get the essential real-time info you need, from parameter values to your current preset, with a bright 2.5” display, complete with contextual buttons that make navigation effortless.
Pads: Switch between MIDI notes, clip triggering, finger-drumming, or whatever you need them to do. KeyLab Essential’s velocity & pressure-sensitive pads are even RGB color-coded so you can keep track at all times.
Encoders: Get that real hands-on feeling and interact with crucial controls right where you need them, from track panning to specific instrument parameters, with full rotation encoders.
Faders: Tweak your track levels, envelope settings, selected parameters on your Arturia instruments, and more with ultra-smooth faders at your fingertips.
DAW Controls: Instantly switch from sculpting your synth sounds to piloting your DAW project with KeyLab Essential’s dedicated DAW controls, so you’re in control at all times. Its custom integration scripts even ensure that the most crucial controls work perfectly, whatever DAW you’re using.
A Vessel for Creativity
For when you want to get experimental, find a new sound, or just need a bit of extra inspiration, KeyLab Essential has a few tricks up its sleeve. Create fun ever-changing melodies, create chord voicings, and always stay in key - without thinking twice.
Chord Play: Play rich, full, powerful chords with a single key by selecting from built-in chord presets, or inputting your own custom chord shapes - great for when you need quick inspiration for your next hit.
Scale Mode: Set your playing free and never go out of key with KeyLab Essential’s Scale mode, which quickly locks the keybed to one of several built-in scales. Wrong notes? Never again.
Arpeggiator: Turn chords or selections of notes into vibrant melodies and rhythmic ideas with a built-in Arpeggiator, complete with Hold function so you can go no-hands. You can even use all these features together; play & hold a chord with a single key, arpeggiate it, and lock it to a scale of your choice.
A Closer Look
Performance Controls: Bend your notes, modulate your sounds, and transpose your keyboard by semitones or full octaves.
Chord, Scale, Arp, and Hold: Engage Chord Play or Scale Mode, activate the Arpeggiator, or engage Hold to keep notes, chords, or arps sustained after you've released your keys.
Program and Part Buttons: Choose between DAW, Arturia, or User Programs, or use the Part button to select and customize multi or split-sound presets.
MIDI Channel Select: Quickly change MIDI channels with dedicated control.
RGB Pads: Play MIDI notes, tap in drums and samples, trigger clips, or customize 2 banks of 8 pressure and velocity-sensitive pads.
DAW Command Center: Take control of your recording software thanks to custom scripts and compatibility with the MCU/HUI protocol.
Display and Contextual Buttons: See real-time feedback on your project and sound with a bright 2.5" display, with corresponding buttons for quick interaction and the main knob for browsing presets.
Pre-Mapped Knobs and Faders: Adjust the panning and level of the tracks in your DAW, and the essential parameters of the Arturia virtual instruments.
49 and 61-note Keybed: Durable, velocity-sensitive hybrid-feel keys will capture every nuance of your performance.
Pedal Input: Connect a pedal and assign the input to Sustain, Modulation, or Expression mode.
MIDI Out: Control any MIDI-compatible gear, like synths and drum machines, and sync external MIDI gear to KeyLap Essential mk3.
USB-C: Bus-powered.
Your Eco-Designed MIDI Controller - A better product for the environment means a more sustainable creative future
KeyLab Essential mk3 follows in the footsteps of MiniLab 3, the world’s first eco-designed MIDI controller - built to perform better, produce less waste, and reduce our carbon footprint for good. Made with minimum 40% recycled plastic, 100% recyclable packaging, and a material carbon footprint reduction of 18%, this controller takes sustainability seriously.
A Deeper Connection - We worry about integration, so you don’t have to
From Analog Lab to full DAW control, enjoy deep integration with custom scripts for Ableton Live, Logic Pro, Cubase, FL Studio, Bitwig, and more.
Now fully NKS-compatible, you can also connect effortlessly with Native Instruments’ Komplete Kontrol ecosystem. Additionally, MCU/HUI support ensures compatibility with virtually any DAW, for a fast, familiar setup every time.
Product Specifications:
Premium Keybed Quality:
49 & 61-note velocity-sensitive keyboard with hybrid synth-piano feel
Pads & Controls:
1 clickable encoder
9 rotary encoders
9 x 30mm faders
8 transport switches
4 command switches
1 modulation wheel & bend wheel
8 touch & pressure-sensitive pads
Display Control:
2.5” LCD display with contextual buttons
Real-time feedback on tweaks and controls
Smart Features:
Multi-mode arpeggiator
Chord mode
Scale mode
Hold function
Semitone transpose
Software Integration:
Seamless integration with Analog Lab V: select sounds, browse presets, smart-assigned controls
Custom DAW scripts for FL Studio, Logic Pro, Ableton Live, Cubase, Bitwig Studio
NKS-compatible for seamless integration with Native Instruments ecosystem
Also compatible with MCU/HUI control
Up to 6 user presets for a totally customizable experience
Included Software Titles & Services:
Analog Lab V software with 2000+ sounds
Ableton Live Lite
Native Instruments’ Komplete Select
UVI Model D
2-month Loopcloud subscription
Melodics subscription for 40 lessons
Connectivity:
USB-C connects to computers and MIDI Control Center
MIDI 5-pin DIN output for connection to external instruments, gear
Control input for pedal: sustain, expression, or footswitch
USB-C powered
Dimensions for 49 Keys:
Size: 31.1 x 9.45 x 2.76 inches (790 x 240 x 70mm)
Weight: 6.1 lbs. (2.76 Kg)
Platform Specifications:
Windows:
Win 10+ (64bit)
4 GB RAM
4 cores CPU, 3.4 GHz (4.0 GHz Turbo-boost)
3GB free hard disk space
OpenGL 2.0 compatible GPU
ARM processors not supported on Windows
Required Configuration:
Works in Standalone, VST, AAX, Audio Unit, NKS (64-bit DAWs only)
Apple:
Mac OS 11+
4 GB RAM
4 cores CPU, 3.4 GHz (4.0 GHz Turbo-boost) or M1 CPU
3GB free hard disk space
OpenGL 2.0 compatible GPU
Work with ASC:
An elegant and simple solution to help you install, activate, and update your Arturia software instruments
