I stopped at my local Guitar Center today to pick up a small Arturia MIDI controller. I’ve heard great reviews from many fellow producers about their boards and was excited to splurge a little on the smallest one, although, it initially wasn’t much of a splurge.
As I walked in, I noticed that all of the small boards had been replaced by a couple of newer boards of the same family. They looked pretty similar to the last model, just bigger, with a few different favorable features—and a bit more expensive.
I spoke with the associate at the front about the old boards. They had one in stock, just not in the color I preferred. The associate went to the back for a while, and since he took so long, I sold myself on the new one.
The MIDI controller was listed at $189 on the floor, and I ended up paying far more than that. However, the website listed it at the price I paid. Since I didn’t realize what I was paying at the time, I’m hoping to get the difference back.
The keyboard didn’t work at first. I didn't notice the proprietary USB cable drop on the floor when I opened the package, so I was using a short, off-brand cable. As soon as I realized it came with its own, I plugged it in and it started to work.
Leaving a review for a keyboard is difficult work. Once you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all—but I’ll do my best; it’s what you’d expect of a budget keyboard.
The keyboard works well with SERUM and works exceptionally well with Arturia’s software. It features 49 keys, eight drum pads, and a series of faders and pots. Unlike the last model, this new model features physical wheels for pitch and modulation.
Sadly, the faders and pots feel cheap, but the centerpiece is really that—a centerpiece. At least, it’s the universal centerpiece to Arturia’s own system and software. This would be great, as Arturia has developed some great software, but I wish it had broader functionality to integrate with widely adopted programs such as SERUM.
I wrote a short song to celebrate my purchase and official initiation into the Arturia family, but unfortunately, Pro Tools crashed, and yes, I lost all of my work.
UPDATE:
You can now find a short track I created with the Arturia board and SERUM above.