Recording - January 2012 - 56

B Y M I K E M E T L AY

Arturia Analog Experience:

The Laboratory 49

The rear panel offers MIDI In and Out (yes, the keyboard can act as a MIDI interface), 1 /4" jacks for Sustain, Expression, and Aux pedals or footswitches, a 1/8" jack for a Breath Controller (my old Yamaha BC2

Hardware meets software in a complete studio synth solution
worked a treat), and a jack for an AC power supply. The power supply is optional; the keyboard is bus-powered when hooked up to a computer, but adding a power supply lets you use it by itself to play other MIDI devices. The overall impression it gives is of quality and solidity; the encoders are smooth, the faders stiff but not grainy, and the drum pads are comfortable to play. The controls cover all the bases and give you what you need to control many basic functions in a DAW; some players might feel 4 drum pads is too few, but they’d likely be looking for a more drum-centric controller anyhow. When in Setup mode, you can program almost all of the front-panel controls to send a variety of MIDI messages, aided by a program editor that runs on your computer if you don’t want to do everything from the front panel (see Figure 1). Even the knobs you use to select programs and parameters can send MIDI messages if you wish, for a total of 13 encoders (two that can also send distinct button messages when you push them) plus the rest of the controls and rear-panel inputs—up to 54 different controls! The controls are clearly labeled with the functions they have when working with the Analog Laboratory software, so you can see what you’re controlling at a glance. And speaking of which... The software Analog Laboratory (I tested the latest version, 1.3.1) is a collection of analog synthesizer models made famous by Arturia, arranged and organized in a player-friendly format based on selecting presets rather than programming from scratch. The collection has 3500 Sounds and 200 Scenes, taken from seven of Arturia’s analog synth plug-ins: Moog Modular V, CS-80V, ARP 2600V, Prophet-V (including Prophet-5 and Prophet-VS emulations), Minimoog V, and Jupiter-8V. Presets can be chosen by each of these models, or by Type or Characteristics. Multiple selections can be made to widen or narrow a search and help you quickly find the sound you want.

In our August 2008 issue we took a look at an interesting new product from French music-software maker Arturia: the Analog Factory Experience (now renamed the Analog Experience: The Factory), which combined a preset-based virtual analog synthesizer engine with a dedicated hardware controller, a USB/MIDI controller keyboard—the first of several now being offered by Arturia. While those controllers can be used with any hardware or software synth you may own, they’re not sold separately. When you purchase one, you buy it as part of a bundle that links the controller keyboard to a specially designed virtual analog synth that runs on your Mac or PC as either a standalone product or as a VST, AU, or RTAS plug-in within your DAW of choice. The central idea of these hardware/software bundles is very elegant, simple, and frankly delightful: the controls on the keyboard in front of you precisely match the controls on the software on your computer screen! Turn a knob or press a button, the software reacts exactly as you think it should. No mapping of functions, no trying to remember if Slider 1 controls filter resonance or LFO rate on this or that synth... it all just works. For nontweakhead studio owners or composers who love synth sounds but are intimidated by complex front panels, or who just plain want to work quicker and smarter, this design saves lots of time and headache. Arturia now has three more Analog Experience bundles. The Player offers a simple 25-key controller and a streamlined software package, and The Laboratory 49 (and brand-new 61) combine feature-rich 49- and 61-key keyboards with the most powerful software of the series—with enough new features to warrant another look.
56
RECORDING JANUARY 2012

The hardware USB controllers have been sold for about ten years now, and come in all shapes and sizes and at all price points, from tiny controllers that slip into a laptop bag to gigantic beasts with 88 weighted keys and full control surfaces built in. Some live in a studio as a centerpiece, and are built accordingly; others are meant to be light and portable and are, well, built accordingly. I didn’t review The Factory, and had never worked with an Arturia keyboard before; considering the very affordable prices on the Analog Experience bundles, I frankly wasn’t expecting much when I opened the box and pulled out the Laboratory 49 keyboard. Wow, was I wrong! The Laboratory 49 is an exceptionally wellbuilt keyboard; in an era of plastic-cased USB controllers it’s a bit of a revelation with its solid metal enclosure and wood endcaps, its light but solid keyboard action (velocity and channel aftertouch with user-settable curves), and its neat array of front-panel controls. Almost all of these controls are assignable as MIDI Controllers in addition to their softwaresupported functions, making the Laboratory 49 a very worthwhile universal USB or MIDI controller as well as an ideally matched piece for the Analog Laboratory software. The keyboard sports the following controls: a Master Level encoder, buttons for Sound and Scene mode selection (see below), a Setup button for deep programming, pushencoders for Category and Preset (again, see below), ten Snapshot buttons, a set of six DAW transport buttons, ten encoders, nine faders, and four velocity- and pressure-sensitive drum pads. There are also pitch and mod wheels; octave up/down buttons; and two buttons labeled Upper and Lower for working with keyboard splits.



Recording - January 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - January 2012

Recording - January 2012
Fade In
Contents
Talkback
Fast Forward
2011 AES Convention Report
“How I Like To Record My Drums”
Neumann KH 120 A Monitors
Mojave Audio MA-300 Multi-Pattern Tube Condenser Microphone
Recording Drums—Then and Now
Recording Fundamentals. Chapter 1: What Is Good?
Drumming and Drummers and Mics—Oh My!
Mixing Live Drum Tracks
Arturia Analog Experience: The Laboratory 49
Readers’ Tapes
Advertiser Index
iOS Music Tools: Analog Synthesis on iOS
2011 Annual Index
Fade Out
Recording - January 2012 - intro
Recording - January 2012 - Recording - January 2012
Recording - January 2012 - Cover2
Recording - January 2012 - 1
Recording - January 2012 - Fade In
Recording - January 2012 - 3
Recording - January 2012 - Contents
Recording - January 2012 - 5
Recording - January 2012 - Talkback
Recording - January 2012 - 7
Recording - January 2012 - Fast Forward
Recording - January 2012 - 9
Recording - January 2012 - 2011 AES Convention Report
Recording - January 2012 - 11
Recording - January 2012 - 12
Recording - January 2012 - 13
Recording - January 2012 - 14
Recording - January 2012 - 15
Recording - January 2012 - 16
Recording - January 2012 - 17
Recording - January 2012 - “How I Like To Record My Drums”
Recording - January 2012 - 19
Recording - January 2012 - 20
Recording - January 2012 - 21
Recording - January 2012 - 22
Recording - January 2012 - 23
Recording - January 2012 - Neumann KH 120 A Monitors
Recording - January 2012 - 25
Recording - January 2012 - Mojave Audio MA-300 Multi-Pattern Tube Condenser Microphone
Recording - January 2012 - 27
Recording - January 2012 - Recording Drums—Then and Now
Recording - January 2012 - 29
Recording - January 2012 - 30
Recording - January 2012 - 31
Recording - January 2012 - 32
Recording - January 2012 - 33
Recording - January 2012 - 34
Recording - January 2012 - 35
Recording - January 2012 - 36
Recording - January 2012 - 37
Recording - January 2012 - Recording Fundamentals. Chapter 1: What Is Good?
Recording - January 2012 - 39
Recording - January 2012 - Drumming and Drummers and Mics—Oh My!
Recording - January 2012 - 41
Recording - January 2012 - 42
Recording - January 2012 - 43
Recording - January 2012 - 44
Recording - January 2012 - 45
Recording - January 2012 - 46
Recording - January 2012 - 47
Recording - January 2012 - Mixing Live Drum Tracks
Recording - January 2012 - 49
Recording - January 2012 - 50
Recording - January 2012 - 51
Recording - January 2012 - 52
Recording - January 2012 - 53
Recording - January 2012 - 54
Recording - January 2012 - 55
Recording - January 2012 - Arturia Analog Experience: The Laboratory 49
Recording - January 2012 - 57
Recording - January 2012 - Readers’ Tapes
Recording - January 2012 - Advertiser Index
Recording - January 2012 - iOS Music Tools: Analog Synthesis on iOS
Recording - January 2012 - 61
Recording - January 2012 - 62
Recording - January 2012 - 63
Recording - January 2012 - 64
Recording - January 2012 - 65
Recording - January 2012 - 66
Recording - January 2012 - 67
Recording - January 2012 - 68
Recording - January 2012 - 69
Recording - January 2012 - 2011 Annual Index
Recording - January 2012 - 71
Recording - January 2012 - Fade Out
Recording - January 2012 - Cover3
Recording - January 2012 - Cover4
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