Arturia launches two slick new keyboard controllers, KeyLab Essentials

Arturia returns with their KeyLab Essentials range of slick and colourful controller keyboards.

Coming in two sizes of 49 or 61 key variants, priced at £189 and £235 respectively, the new keyboards are an affordable and stripped-down option for producers looking for a quality controller for their studio or performance set-up. 

KeyLab Essentials ships with Arturia’s Analog Lab 2 software included, as well as Ableton Live Lite and UVI’s Grand Piano, offering an impressive and complete out-the-box production environment for newbies or professionals. 

DJ Mag Tech's favourite feature is KeyLab Essentials's Chord Mode which works in a similar way to Native Instruments’ chord feature, allowing users to play out complex chords just by pressing a single key.

If these new keyboard controllers are still too big for your production set-up, Arturia also offer the excellent MiniLab MKII MIDI controller as a more compact option.

Mick Wilson is DJ Mag’s Tech Editor. Follow him on Twitter here.