• Great Action and Fun to Play

  
  As reviewed by Matthew Loel T. Hepworth on 8/19/2011

  I've been a fan of Arturia virtual synths for a long time. They've done a wonderful job of preserving, in virtual instrument form, the essence of some of the most seminal analog synthesizers. I've owned their Minimoog V, ARP2600 V, Moog Modular V, and CS-80V for a long time. When I wanted to add the Prophet V and Jupiter-8V, it was cheaper to buy the V Collection 2 even though I was re-buying 4 of the 6 products. That's a testament to the cost advantages of virtual synthesizers. There was also a copy of Analog Laboratory that came with my V Collection 2. I installed that and really enjoyed playing the "greatest hits" of the Arturia patch list. But I was playing them from my M-Audio Radium 61. Granted, I could have taken the time to remap the Radium controllers to the knobs of the Arturia synths. But there was something else about the M-Audio that was driving me nuts; the ringy keyboard springs. Those springs make a sustained ringing tone every time I play a note. Unless I crank up my studio monitors, it's very audible and irritating. That's bugged me for a long time. But now that the Arturia synths inspired me to add more synths to my compositions, I needed a new keyboard controller. So I went to my local GC (SLC, #431) where J-dub showed me my options. When I played the Analog Laboratory 49, the first thing that struck me was how great the keyboard action was. I was really hoping for a 61 or 76-note model. But the Arturia 49-note keyboard had the best action, hands down. The build quality is also very good. It doesn't have a 'plasticy' feel. Instead, it's noticeably heavier due to it's metal construction and vintage-style wooden end pieces. It also has aftertouch; something many of the other controllers lack. Plus the fact that all of the knobs and sliders would instantly work with the Arturia products (or by using controller mapping, any other virtual instrument), it quickly became the most appealing product on the GC showroom. I took the Arturia home and started playing some patches from Analog Laboratory. That's when I noticed something else I really liked; when you adjust the keyboard knobs and sliders, the controls on the virtual synths (not just the Arturia models) were much smoother than the M-Audio. The latter would skip and jump the virtual controls that made the resulting audio significantly "stair-stepped". However, the Arturia controller had a very fluid control over the synth parameters that significantly improved the knob tweaking. (Tweaking the knobs is, next to the sound, the reason we love analog synths, isn't it?) The Arturia keyboard costs a bit more than other controllers. But now that I?ve had the chance to play all of them, the Arturia represents a much higher value. One word of warning: Make sure you plug the keyboard directly to your computer USB port or a high-quality powered USB hub like the Tripp-Lite 7-port model. Otherwise, the LCD screen won't display any characters. I'm really happy with my purchase of both the Arturia hardware and software. I really wish they made a 61 or 76-note version of the keyboard. But if you're an analog synth fiend who's budget doesn't allow for a Moog or Dave Smith hardware analog synth, the Arturia Analog Laboratory 49 is a high-quality product that will add the analog essence to your music production.

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• Too cool for school

  
  As reviewed by MARK POPPER on 1/19/2012

  I am an old fan and player of the minimoog, arp and korg synthesizers not to mention a score of other old school keyboards. This instrument has far outweighed most if not all of the newer school synthesizers with respect to sound quality, ease of use, apperance and midi controller compatability (not to mention its low cost). I am completely happy and satisfied with the Arturia and highly recommend it to anyone in search of traditional synth sounds! Marko

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