Gearank

Despite its fully decked-out offerings of drum pads, faders, buttons, and knobs, the Arturia Keylab Essential 49 is actually Arturia's simpler 49-key MIDI controller! Calling this keyboard "essential" is quite a modest humblebrag considering its feature set as surely its bells and whistles are above and beyond what anyone would call merely essential.

Where it does lose to its higher-priced, higher-tier cousin, the Keylab 49 Mark 2, is its slightly more delicate build, and fewer inputs, outputs, pads and control options. It also doesn't have aftertouch in the keys. This is not to say at all that the Essential is a flawed instrument - just a more affordable (almost half the price), lighter, and less road-worthy option from Arturia that doesn't sacrifice too much when it comes to features.

The velocity and pressure-sensitive pads feel soft in a pleasing way, mushier than my MPC Studio (which has a very rigid feel) but still very playable, inspiring and responsive. Finger drummer approved!

As expected from Arturia, the Keylab Essential 49 works flawlessly with their hardware and software instruments. It even has a dedicated mode to control Arturia's included Analog Lab software. DAW integration is very good as well also sporting an entire mode dedicated to DAW control. This notably includes good integration with Ableton - no easy feat due to Ableton's unique characteristics as a DAW.

The Arturia Keylab Essential 49 also comes with a standard 5-pin MIDI output - quite essential (no pun intended) for control over hardware synths or standalone MIDI sound modules.

On a more critical note, the lightweight nature and less than tank-like body of the Essential 49 lends itself to some serious compromises when it comes to stage performance use. In live settings, the Essential 49 is susceptible to knocks and bumps activating wrong notes and other errors much akin to the cross-talk issues that plague many lower-quality MIDI pad controllers.

As impressive as the Essential 49 is with its feature set, I do find the keys to be extremely soft-action, to the point that playing with any kind of dynamics is a challenging affair for me. If you're classically trained and more used to a typical acoustic piano action, you might find yourself having to change your technique entirely for this keyboard. A young and very talented keyboardist I collaborate with often, Ezra Jehu Bañez plays with the 61 key version of the Essential, he likes the key feel very much but he's been a keyboardist all his life so soft-action keys are pretty much his jam. Just keep this in mind if you're considering the Arturia Keylab Essential 49. The Arturia Keystep Pro is another noteworthy option from the same brand.

So if you want a lightweight, fully-featured keyboard for control, composition, beat-making, and production, the Arturia Keylab Essential 49 is a formidable contender you should definitely pay attention to.

Tech Specs

• Keys: 49 Velocity-sensitive. Synth Action
• Pads: 8 x back-lit, pressure-sensitive performance pads
• Arpeggiator: No.
• Motorized Controls: No.
• Bundled Software: Ableton Live 9 Lite, UVI Grand Piano Model D, Analog Lab V
• Power: 9V DC power supply (sold separately) / USB bus powered
• Connectivity: USB, 5-pin MIDI out, 1 x TRS input for expression pedal, and footswitch or sustain pedal input.
• Control Hardware Directly: Yes
• Compatibility: Mac OS X 10.6 or later + Windows 10, 8, 7, and Vista.
• Dimensions: 30.9" " x 9.7" " x 2.9"
• Weight 6.6 lbs.