Arturia AstroLab 37

The Arturia AstroLab's instruments all use either physical modelling or synthesis, and they can be selected simply by using the keyboard's buttons; the corresponding presets are controlled via the display in the centre and the arrow buttons below it. Even the AstroLab 37's smaller keyboard has a splitting function so that two sounds can be played simultaneously, and sounds can be layered, too, allowing musicians to play multiple notes at the same time with a single finger. There is also an arpeggiator on board, which can be activated via the Arp button – to its right, the Chord button can be used to play entire chords with just one key (and if this button is held down, users can actually save their own chords). The Scale mode can be used to select and play entire scales, making complex, harmonious melodies easy. On the far right are controls and buttons for the effects, including corrective effects such as filters and equalisers.

The Arturia AstroLab was created primarily for musicians who want to take the familiar sounds from the Arturia V Collection on stage – without latency and without having to struggle with both their laptop and a DAW controller. What is more, this instrument offers reliability and flexibility thanks to its inputs and outputs, as well as the connection options for two pedals. To help make every performance a creative success, the AstroLab can be configured using a computer simply by connecting it via the USB socket. The AstroLab 37 can also be used in a project studio, or anywhere space is at a premium, for latency-free playing of any software instrument via the USB connection. An analogue synthesizer can also be played via the AstroLab's MIDI output socket, even while musicians are enjoying using the sounds of the virtual instruments of the Arturia Analog Lab at the same time.