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I tested more Portable MIDI controllers From what I can keep track of, I’ll tell you right now: 37 keys is the perfect size. While Arturia is 25 keys MiniLab MK3 It’s a solid controller that fits easily in a backpack, and feels a little intimidating. New $149 Mini Lab 37 It adds another octave, giving you much more room to play bass and lead simultaneously, or just play wider strings.
Physically, the MiniLab 37 isn’t much different from its smaller sibling. It has the same solid (albeit slightly springy) keyboard, eight pads, eight infinity encoders, four faders, a pair of touch strips, USB-C, and a full-size five-pin MIDI DIN on the back. It also has the same round plastic construction. It looks a little cheap, and it won’t win any design awards, but it gets the job done and feels flexible enough to take a few bumps in a backpack.
The big change is that it’s not as cramped as the standard MiniLab, and it’s not just a matter of having more keys. With a wider space to work with, Arturia was able to rearrange the other controls for easier access; The entire console is shallow. You no longer have to reach for pads to access knobs, or touch strips to change octaves. Instead, everything is laid out in a straight line, with the primary encoder and small LCD screen in the middle. It’s just a more fun and intuitive experience. With the MiniLab MK3, I always felt like I was researching before arriving. On day 37, things are going as you expected.
Integration with Artoria software tuning It’s part of the appeal of their consoles. The MiniLab 37 comes with Arturia’s Analog Lab introduction and Ableton Live Lite so you can create music right out of the box. But keep your expectations in check. This small screen means you still need access to a mouse or keyboard to browse presets efficiently. It also makes using some of the console’s more advanced features a bit cumbersome. For example, the built-in arpeggiator is great, with so many options considering this is a budget-friendly portable MIDI controller. But rate, mode, gate, etc., require scrolling and clicking them one by one. It’s daunting.
MiniLab also gives you basic control of your digital audio workstation (DAW), allowing you to start or stop recording or loop specific parts of your session directly from the console. If you’re patient, you can set it manually to gain deeper control over your recording session, but it will never match something like Ableton payment Or even Cerato slabwhich has more hands-on controls and innovative mappings for its voice-activated devices.
You can also control hardware combinations using the MIDI port on the back. You can also create a complete setup without a DAW using multiple instruments on different MIDI channels. Although, if your instruments don’t have MIDI out or through ports, you’ll need to add a MIDI splitter to your setup.
