ArturiaMiniLab 3 - Universal MIDI Controller for Music Production, with All-in-One Software Package - 25 Keys, 8 Multi-Color Pads. - White

The Arturia MiniLab 3 is a fantastic MIDI controller for music production! Its compact design is perfect for small studio setups or on-the-go creativity, yet it doesn’t compromise on functionality. The keys feel great, and the addition of assignable knobs and pads makes it super versatile for controlling DAWs and virtual instruments. Setup was straightforward, and it integrates seamlessly with popular software like my Logic Pro.The included software bundle is a huge bonus, offering an excellent variety of sounds to get started right away. For its price, the build quality is impressive, and the controls are responsive and intuitive. Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned producer, this controller is a powerful tool that punches way above its weight. Highly recommend it!

The build quality on this thing is really something. The encoders feel great, the sliders feel great, the touch pad mod and pitch bend are very responsive, and I think I actually prefer them over the more standard mechanical approach now. The drum pads also feel great, very responsive, the OLED display is nice. The keyboard itself is pretty standard, nothing to complain about.Where this MIDI keyboard really stands out for me though is the DIN MIDI out, the easy MIDI channel switching, and the customisation that the MIDI Control Center software offers. You can customise just about everything - each MIDI control can be set to a different channel, and you can even change the colour of each of the drum pads.The form factor is also very nice. It's compact, yet there is a nice amount of space between all of the controls. It feels comfortable to use, and really balances its small size with versatility. Would recommend.

I'm giving this product 5 stars even though I believe it only deserves a 4 star rating which I will list below:What I like about this product:- the design and build quality is good for the price, the knob controllers don't wobble at all and feel high quality as well as the dials. the sharp notes however have quite significant wobble to them but overall this keyboard is very stylish as well as the mini screen adds a lot of character to the design.- there are endless features and possibilities that you may not find on other similar prices keyboards.- its plug and play for beginners and you cant start mashing away as soon as you plug it in.- you get a discount from Analog lab V if you own this and redeem the product key online on your account.- there are multiple videos on the website on how to use the midi keyboard with different dawsThe things I don't like:- properly setting up this midi keyboard took me hours to do, it is plug and play but if you want to utilize all the buttons and dials you need to spend a lot of time mapping them and tweaking with settings in the midi control centre and fl studio for me.- I'm using fl studio and i feel like the integration is good but there are keyboards out there with better integration with fl studio. I feel like this product has its main focus on mac users with a secondary interest in windows users. It took me a while of YouTube tutorials and tweaking settings to full be able to use all the features. I would also like to note that the youtube video from Arturia does not go in depth about this and I had to find information from third parties and forums.- some of the controls are a bit too over the top and redundant, for example the main is knob able to scroll through your plugins and open them, additionally, holding shift and and another button with both hands, I feel like its quite redundant and I don't think anyone would use it when you can for example just click on it with your mouse or use the spacebar.

The keyboard itself is fine. I wouldn't argue with the price at £89, it's worth that and I would easily recommend it. It's well made, the keys are good, and it's a pleasure to use.The software is a different matter. First the Arturia-supplied software is downloaded via the Arturia Software Center. The ASC is inconsistent. The MiniLab 3 includes a licence for Analog Lab V. It does not show under "My Products". For the MiniLab 3 Black edition, under my products it shows a button "Update All". But under the "My Updates" link it shows "No update available". So where is the missing Analog Lab V in ASC (which is working today on this Mac)?The web site today (20240820 at 22:14) on the product page shows "Analog Lab Intro" amongst the included software. But read below. Should it be Analog Lab V or Analog Lab Intro I am looking for?I contacted Arturia support and their response was equally inconsistent. First they informed me: "Indeed all of our software needs to be downloaded through the ASC.". Yet in a different email they state "Could you please try using the following installer?" with a link to the Analog Lab V package. And "As a side note, you will not find an option named "Intro" so you need to install Analog Lab V/Pro which is the same software." So the "needs to be" is not correct and nor is the name. I now have a product which is not visible in ASC.The ASC has dead links to parts of the Arturia web site. I found this out when I clicked the link for the "User Manual". I took screen shots and fed that back. It shows a lack of testing for something which could so easily be tested and fixed. I'm not really enamoured with the ASC.Hardware integration with Arturia's own software (the aforementioned Analog Lab V, and Synclavier V bought separately) is very good. They work like a charm. I had to fiddle a bit to get this working with Reason, but that works fine. The "tutorial" for Reason on Arturia's channel is not a tutorial for getting this controller working with Reason. It shows somebody who has already got it all set up controlling parts of Reason. I would call it a "short demo after getting the controller set up".Other software "included" is not actually included. You have to register at other sites to get it. It includes two pianos. While they are different, it's a bit boring to have two pianos. An Ableton Live Lite licence is included, after registering and going through some hoops at Ableton. I would describe these as "extra software which comes as free" rather than included. Included to me means "it's in the ASC, click here to install it".I think these problems are fixable and should be fixed, and this would give a much better experience to customers.

Easy to use, great keyboard, handy in Ableton, a winner all the way, sturdy build and reasonably priced.