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Arturia announces MiniLab MkII

Arturia announces MiniLab MkII

Arturia MiniLab MKII Introductory Tutorial

Arturia MiniLab MKII Introductory Tutorial

Arturia

Description

Hundreds of exciting iconic keyboard and synth sounds with Analog Lab Lite, including the perfectly sampled UVI Grand Piano Model D. Record and edit all your ideas in Ableton Live Lite. MiniLab MkII gives you everything you need to make music straight out of the box.

25-note velocity-sensitive slim keyboard
The focal point of any controller, the keyboard is your gateway to discovering exciting new melodies. The high-quality slim keys feature a mechanical action which is comfortable to play, while still being durable enough to withstand life on the road.

8 RGB backlit performance pads

The MkII pads are velocity- and pressure-sensitive which will give your drums a great, dynamic feel. The pads also feature RGB backlighting to help you clearly identify whether you’re launching clips in Live, triggering drum sounds, or tweaking presets in Analog Lab. You can also switch between two different internal pad banks, giving you control of a full 16 drum sounds or audio clips.

16 rotary encoders
Giving you hands-on access to all the parameters of your favorite sounds, with dedicated pre-mapping for the included Ableton Live Lite and Analog Lab Lite software. Tweak the cutoff and resonance of your filters, adjust the LFO speed and depth in your synths, and alter your effects. Two of the encoders are also clickable, invaluable for controlling DAW software.

The little touches
MiniLab MkII has several small, but no less important updates that make it the professional’s choice. Easily switch the keyboard octave up and down for full range access using the dedicated buttons; add a pitch bend or modulation using the ultraresponsive capacitive touch-strips; and plug in a sustain pedal to capture that authentic keyboard performance.

MiniLab MkII also includes a powerful collection of complementary software: Recording and production platform Ableton Live Lite and UVI Grand Piano Model D virtual piano.

Your very own recording studio
MiniLab MkII comes with a complementary version of Ableton Live Lite: an introduction to one of the most intuitive and powerful DAW platforms around. A complete recording package that lets you record audio tracks, MIDI tracks, apply effects and combine your ideas into a complete song. It also features advanced time warping, pitch shifting, sampling tools and virtual instruments.

A stunningly sampled piano legend

Arturia teamed up with virtual instrument developers UVI to include the truly excellent Grand Piano Model D with MiniLab MkII. This sample-based virtual instrument has captured the sound of a classic Steinway Model D in meticulous detail, putting that rich, evocative tone at your disposal. Every note has been sampled at multiple velocity levels to create a dynamic, authentic sound.

Stay connected
A modern controller that’s ready for anything the future may bring, MiniLab MkII will integrate into any small or large set-up. The revitalized MiniLab is USB class-compliant, meaning there’s no awkward installation process or quirky settings, it’s as simple as "plug-and-play." Not only can MiniLab MkII be used to control software instruments on your PC, Mac or laptop, it can also be used to control virtual instrument iOS apps.

MiniLab MkII also works beautifully with Arturia's MIDI Control Center software, letting you create, edit and save different MIDI mappings to suit whatever project you may be working on. MiniLab MkII can also save up to eight of these MIDI maps on its internal memory. Recalling them is as simple as pressing "shift" and hitting one of the eight pads.
Arturia MiniLab MkII Mini Hybrid Keyboard Controller Deep Black
Arturia MiniLab MkII Mini Hybrid Keyboard Controller Deep Black

Features

  • Proven track record
  • Acclaimed 25 velocity sensitive Slim-Keys keybed
  • Capacitive pitch and modulation touch strip
  • Customizable RGB pads
  • MIDI & power over USB, with footswitch support
  • Analog Lab Lite included: 650+ high-quality sounds right out of the box
  • Record with Ableton Live Lite and perform using UVI Grand Piano Model D
  • Perfect integration with Analog Lab thanks to two clickable encoders
  • 2 banks of eight high-quality velocity and pressure-sensitive pads with RGB backlighting
  • 16 rotary encoders (2 of them are clickable)
  • 2 capacitive touch sensors for pitch bend and modulation wheel
  • Octave up and octave down buttons for full range
  • USB powered
  • USB/MIDI class-compliant—no drivers needed
  • Mac or PC compatible
  • Kensington Security Slot

Specs

Analog Lab
  • Windows
  • Win 7+ PC: 4GB RAM; 2GHz CPU
  • 2GB free hard disk space
  • Apple
  • 10.10+: 4GB RAM; 2GHz CPU
  • 2GB free hard disk space
  • Works in Standalone, VST 2.4 (32-bit and 64-bit), VST 3 (32-bit and 64-bit), AAX (32 bits with PT 10.3.8, 64 bits with PT 11), Audio Unit (32-bit and 64-bit)
VST 2.4 VST 3AAXAU
  • The software is protected by the Arturia Software Center
Ableton Live Lite
  • Windows
  • Win 7+ PC: 4GB RAM; 2GHz CPU
  • 3GB free hard disk space
  • 1024x768 display
  • DVD drive or broadband internet connection for installation
  • Apple
  • 10.8+: 4GB RAM; 2GHz CPU
  • 3GB free hard disk space
  • 1024x768 display
  • DVD drive or broadband internet connection for installation
UVI Grand Piano Model D
  • Windows
  • Win 7+ PC: 4GB RAM; 2GHz CPU
  • 3GB free hard disk space
  • Apple
  • 10.7+: 4GB RAM; 2GHz CPU
  • 3GB free hard disk space
  • Works in Standalone, VST, AAX, Audio Unit
VST 3AAXAU
  • Free iLok account—not necessarily an iLok dongle, just a free account Internet connection for the license activation
Size & weight
  • Instrument size: 14" x 8.7" x 2" (355 mm x 220 mm x 50 mm)
  • Instrument weight : 3.3 lb. (1.5 kg)

Reviews

4.48

50 Reviews

93%

of respondents would recommend this to a friend

Most Liked Positive Review

5

A work of art!

Killer midsized keybed, great layout, and the best pads. Full size USB jack Is a must for plugging in and out a 1000 times.(Other brands take note) Brilliant! Metal frame solid build that you can beat on. I have purchased over 20 keyboard controllers since they came out in 1990 and this is my new fav!

VS

Most Liked Negative Review

3

A decent MIDI controller, if it works for you

The MiniLab MkII is one of the nicest small MIDI controllers I've seen - it fits in a very small space but still has a very nice build quality and polish. Comes with a license for Analog Lab, a solid collection of soft synths modeled on classic analog synths (includes the Lite version, but you can upgrade to the full version for $29). Two things bring down the MiniLab mkII for me. One, though I haven't experienced this extensively yet, the encoders are finicky with most DAWs - it works well out of the box with Ableton Live and Analog Lab, but will require some fiddling with other software, and you may never be happy with the way they work simply because of how the software is designed. If you're primarily looking for a controller for the encoders, keep this in mind. Secondly, they made the baffling design decision to indicate the current octave by making the octave +/- lights blink constantly - so if you're in octave +1, the +1 button blinks slowly, and blinks faster in octave +2, etc. This means that as long as the controller is plugged in and is in any octave but the middle one, it will blink. Constantly. Out of the corner of your eye. Always letting you know that, yes, it's still in octave +1. I nearly returned the MiniLab mkII because of this, as it would drive me absolutely crazy, but I haven't found another controller with this combination of size, features, quality and price. So I just put a piece of duct tape over the octave buttons. Yes, it's that annoying. They could fix this with a simple software update, but probably won't.

Filters
Best Uses
  1. Practicing22
  2. Back-Up8
  3. Concerts5
  4. Home Recording2
  5. Production2
Cons
  1. Not Functional4
  2. Difficult To Use2
  3. Poor Quality1
  4. Software crashes Win 11 and with Studio One ver1
  5. NONE1
Describe Yourself
  1. Experienced21
  2. Novice19
  3. Professional Musician4
Pros
  1. Good Quality37
  2. Easy To Use36
  3. Functional34
  4. Improves Sound13
  5. Portable2
  • Love this thing!

    5

    submitteda year ago

    byMatt

    fromWichita, KS

    I'm not a musician and I'm not very good at using these types of instruments. I love using this Keyboard. It took me some time to learn, but this is a great little controller. The software and instruments that come with it are amazing and really good quality. The control knobs are well constructed and designed, keys are really responsive, drum pads are very fun to use. I know this controller is a little outdated, but it's a purchase I don't regret making. Great for the dabblers like me and probably even better in the hands of someone who knows what they are doing.

  • Good MIDI

    5

    Verified Buyer

    submitted2 years ago

    byChristopher

    fromSpartanburg SC

    Submitted as part of a sweepstakes

    Still getting the hang of it but it's very well made and fun to work with

  • Disappointed

    2

    submitted2 years ago

    byP. Aaron

    fromPlano, TX

    Even with support from Arturia and numerous online demos showing results with earlier versions, this MKII (bought at the GC in Plano, TX, 2023) does not generate a signal when in record mode. Reaper sees it as a MIDI device but there's NO selectable input when in RECORD mode. The plug-ins are there, it's acknowledged in Reaper's preferences but, emits no signal when any output format is selected. There's a bug somewhere and I have not the skill to try & debug it. The build quality and feel of the MKII is fine. Keyboard and software work great as a standalone but, it does not, send a level to my DAW; Reaper. Many on the Reaper forums have expressed similar frustrations with this MKII version, while having no trouble with earlier versions of this product. Arturia changed something. Change it back before I make a change. I've used up A LOT of hours trying to make this device work. Zip, zero, nada so far. P.S. I am a 30+ year GC customer.

  • It does what I need it to do

    5

    submitted2 years ago

    bygiovanni

    fromBoston, MA

    It does what I need it to do. I'm not a pro, I recently decided to start home recording and this is pretty much all I need. I mainly use it to add midi tracks and drum tracks. It seems to be built well and I like the "drum pads". It was very straight forward to set up with my pc and cubase.

  • I would buy this product again

    5

    Verified Buyer

    submitted2 years ago

    byIvan

    fromLubbock texas

    Submitted as part of a sweepstakes

    Great

  • Nice MIDI Keyboard for Arturia software instruments.

    5

    Verified Buyer

    submitted2 years ago

    byRich

    fromPeru, IL

    Submitted as part of a sweepstakes

    Arturia has really improved their hardware since I purchased the earlier MiniLab controller; at least in this instance. The construction quality of this board appears to be much better; higher quality components as compared to the earlier one. However my comments are directed more to the upgraded keyboard. The keys have a much better feel on this board as compared to the MiniLab Mark 1. Of course, regarding Arturia software, all of it is first rate. I'm happy to see that they have improved their hardware.

Q&A

Have a question about this product? Our expert Gear Advisers have the answers.

  • asked byJesse

    fromNorth Carolina

    Can you run this keyboard out to a guitar amplifier to hear the sound?

    Open Reply - Gear-Support
    No you can't.
  • asked byHome Studio Freshman

    fromNew York City

    Will this work with Windows 10?

    Open Reply - Thomas
    Yes
  • asked byJason

    fromArlington, Texas

    Will this work with Studio One Ver 6.0

    Open Reply - Thomas
    I’m sorry, I don’t know. Please contact Arturia.
  • asked byShane

    fromundisclosed

    Will this work with FL Studio?

    Open Reply - Thomas
    It hasn’t been tested but it probably will
  • asked bySid

    fromundisclosed

    Will I be able to use this with my Chromebook and use Analog Lab and Ableton Live Lite with it on my Chromebook? Thanks.

    Open Reply - Thomas
    I’m very sorry, we don’t have that information available. Perhaps an inquiry to Arturia
  • asked byArch

    fromBaldwinsville NY

    Does the "Deep Black" have the woodgrain on the side or is it black there as well?

    Open Reply - Ronald
    It is also black.
  • asked byKaylee

    fromRound Lake, Mn

    Can my son use this at all without a computer. Just to mess around and make beats.

    Open Reply - Thomas
    No, it needs a computer. Please give us a call if you would like some help 877 687 5403
  • asked byEllie

    fromSt. Louis

    Can you use it so the sound of the keys comes from the computer so you can input headphones?

    Open Reply - Thomas
    Yes
  • asked byEllie

    fromSt. Louis

    Does it come with the cords that go into the plug ins?

    Open Reply - Thomas
    Plug-Ins are software. Please give us a call to better help you out – 877-687-5403
  • asked byLin

    fromCovington,ga

    Does it work with batteries?

    Open Reply - Thomas
    No, it doesn't
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