“An excellent build and pretty formidable soundset make it a desirable studio-based keyboard”: Arturia AstroLab 88 review

What is it?

Arturia really does have all quarters covered; it was one of the first companies to reincarnate the classics in virtual form, shored up by MIDI controller keyboards and sequencers. The MiniBrute hardware synthesizer was also one of the first of the new breed of analogue synths, reigniting interest in new analogue designs, culminating in the MatrixBrute and PolyBrute.

Arturia’s Analog Lab software has often been seen as a stalwart, delivering a huge number of quality sounds, culled from its extensive catalogue of virtual instruments, within an easily accessible wrapper. Back up this software with MIDI controllers, and you have a popular design solution for the studio, or anyone brave enough to take their laptop out to play live.

If the mere thought of taking your laptop out to a gig fills you with dread, AstroLab 88 may be the answer. It’s a full-size 88-note keyboard, offering a player’s solution for live, while occupying the coveted slot of quality keyboard controller when you return to your home studio.

Build and design

AstroLab 88 has a very striking style. It sports a rugged but elegant metal casing, which is detailed with wooden end cheeks which wrap around the rear of the casework. The off-white colour adds to its elegance, but only time will tell how clean this will remain, if used live. It’s almost too nice to gig with!

For the keyboard action, Arturia has adopted a Fatar TP-40L keybed with aftertouch, which is undoubtedly a premium and very playable unit. Being the ‘L’ iteration, it’s the lightest keyboard action in the range. As you play, it feels reminiscent of a lighter-weight piano, but it does pose a curious question: the AstroLab 88 is classed as a Stage Piano/Keyboard, lending itself to the concept of live use. The metal casing adds considerable rigidity and weight, but Arturia has chosen to employ a light-weight action to help keep the unit's weight down. The upshot is a playing experience which is lighter, by definition, but a keyboard which is still heavy at 22.2kg. You may question whether a heavier keyboard action in a lighter case might be a more appropriate route for an 88-note stage keyboard, with keyboard players in mind.

The front panel mirrors the design previously seen on the AstroLab 61, with the centred wheel and display, which guides your path when menu diving. Eight rotary encoders sit to the right, providing control of basic timbral settings and effects, with a further ninth pot providing a master volume control. LEDs line the front of the panel and illuminate when playing, as well as guiding keyboard zoning. There are buttons for quick selection of patch category, and buttons to activate the onboard arpeggiator and MIDI looper. Pitch and Modulation wheels reside on the far left, above the keybed, with octave switches immediately available too.

In a nice touch, Arturia includes a retro-foldout music stand, which attaches to the AstroLab directly, along with a dedicated external power supply and USB cable. Strangely, there is no sustain pedal included, which seems like a rather odd omission for an 88-note pianistically biased keyboard.

Performance

The AstroLab 88 ships with an extraordinary number of included sounds. The 1,600 patches in the palette include pianos, electrics, synthetic sounds and some acoustic colours too, making good use of the entire gamut of Arturia virtual instruments.

With the release of v1.5 firmware, which accompanies this model, there are some valuable new inclusions to the sonic lineup. The Arturia MiniBrute now makes an appearance in software form, with the legendary Brute-factor distortion providing an excellent direction for distinct lead sounds and crunchy basses.

The Synthex, SEM v3 and JP-8000v are now also added to the AstroLab backline. These instruments are new to the AstroLab ecosystem, and all are very different and characterful in their own right. A quick move through some of the available presets reveals predictable sonic depths, often layered with substantial effects. Thankfully, employing the four FX pots located on the front panel, it’s easy enough to disable these elements, should you want to record your sounds to your DAW, adding different effects at a later time, although you could just as easily use the Analog Lab Pro software in your DAW – it’s certainly flexible!

There are also two further instrumental additions, drawn from the Arturia library; Augmented Yangtze and Mallets provide some really interesting percussive colours, although it’s worth remembering that through the included Analog Lab Pro software, it’s possible to organise patches, and even include patches from other products in the Arturia virtual lineup. In librarian terms, it is comprehensive, but depending on how deep you wish to go, it could become an expensive pursuit, as you find yourself moving towards the purchase of the entire V Collection 11, which would add considerable programming enhancements to your desktop environment.

Get yourself connected

Connectivity is pretty comprehensive, with the ability to connect microphone and line inputs in stereo, via 2 XLR/line inputs. There are also four inputs for external control, such as sustain and expression pedals, with two fully assignable inputs.

MIDI operates via conventional in/out sockets or through the use of a USB connection. When working at the studio level, it is fairly likely that you may want to transfer data between a computer and AstroLab, so permanently maintaining a USB data connection that can also handle MIDI seems sensible, being dependent upon a single cable.

Purchase of this unit also includes access to the AstroLab Connect app, which allows a smartphone connection to the keyboard for editing and expansion capabilities. The connection operates via Bluetooth, making it particularly handy, as long as you don’t mind using the smaller screen of your phone for any organisational duties.

The v1.5 update also includes some other basic enhancements; it’s now possible to send MIDI program change data from the keyboard to external devices. There has also been a tweak to the chord and scale settings, which can now be locked, preventing alteration to settings when switching patches.

The live debate!

AstroLab 88 presents us with quite the conundrum! It’s a beautifully designed keyboard with a playable action, which will suit many players. We will place a caveat here, because many pianistic purists may find the action a little too light. The design quotient is really striking and beautiful, particularly if you choose to mount the keyboard on the additionally available stand. Its minimal fascia, with a small back screen, presents a very elegant form factor for a stage piano, being used in a studio environment. It does lack a bank of faders, which would be exceptionally useful to anyone using sample libraries (particularly orchestral sample libraries), but that can be worked around, and of course, it would sully the onboard appearance.

However, as a proposition for live work, AstroLab 88 feels far too restrictive in terms of immediacy and control. At the most basic level, the patch loading times can be quite sluggish, especially for the synth-based patches, and take anything between half a second and two seconds, depending on the complexity of the patch. This means that if you need to switch sounds mid-song, while playing live, the chances are your sound will not be ready when you need it.

Adding further to this, the basic onboard controls and small screen do not really go far enough for live use. Having immediate access to the various layers of sound that you may be using, with the ability to switch them in and out on the fly, is really important in a live environment. You can certainly set up your patches and set lists with relative ease (using the accompanying software), but you could very quickly find yourself in hot water, should you require a different sound at a different time.

Image credit: Future / Matt Lincoln

Image credit: Future / Matt Lincoln

Verdict

To our minds, the AstroLab 88 is a desirable studio-based keyboard, but for serious live use, it is likely to yield frustrations. It obviously depends entirely upon the way you use your keyboards live. You may just need to be a bit more organised prior to any gig, but the sonic payout may feel worthwhile, as many of the sounds (particularly synthetic timbre) do extend beyond those available within other stage pianos or keyboards.

Hands-on demos

Arturia

AstroLab 88 | Avant-Garde Stage Keyboard | ARTURIA - YouTube

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Alternatives

Nord Stage 4 88: £3,999 at nordkeyboards.com

This premium and flagship stage piano provides acoustic and electric pianos, hammonds and synths, all with layering, and an enviable level of immediacy which is a boon for live work. The Nord sound library is more limited, but focused and exceptionally impressive. Other Stage 4s in the range offer 73 notes and lighter actions.

Read more about Nord Stage 4

Roland V-Stage 88: £3,099 at roland.com

Roland’s unapologetic ‘red’ stage piano is very sensibly thought out, with the backing of a substantial synth library, directly from Roland. The V-Stage also offers plenty of immediacy, for the live performer.

Read the full Roland V-Stage 88 review

Studiologic SL88 Mk2 GT: £785 at studiologic-music.com

Looking at products from the pianistic sense, the new SL88 Mk2 GT (Grand Touch) is debatably the best you will find in a weighted keyboard action. It’s a sound-less controller keyboard, but with free access to the Numa Player, which provides great ‘stage’ patches, for Mac/PC or iOS, meaning you can partner with your iPad, as a sound source.

Read more about the Studiologic SL88 Mk2 GT

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