This makes perfect sense for some uses. As others have said, imagine you play in a covers band. Or you’re the synth/keys player for a pop singer. Their recorded tracks probably have all kind of different synth methods used, and this covers all those bases.
The lack of hands-on control for sound design is irrelevant, because you’re too busy playing keys to use them anyway. So this isn’t really an alternative to something like a Super 6, it’s an alternative to something like a Nord Stage or a Montage (or a midi/laptop setup). And look at how much those cost.
IMHO where it has to prove itself is in the robustness and ergonomics. That’s a big part of what you’re paying for with eg. Nord. They are very well-built and very reliable and very easy to navigate on the fly. Patch switching has to be seamless. It can’t be reliant on some flaky wi-fi or bluetooth connection to work properly. It has to handle the amount of polyphony it promises without glitching out. That kind of stuff is more important for this use case than having access to every synth parameter on the panel.
Seems like a video glitch, Loopop went into detail on the keys and didn’t mention a texture
This video by Arturia is all promo and most of it too cringe for my taste, but there is this section at the end with professional musicians playing. And that is promo too, but they seem to be (genuinely?) comfortable with the keybed. (starts at 26:54)
At first I was excited about this because of the CS-80 mode, then I saw that it doesn’t have poly aftertouch, and my excitement died 
feels silly to release a modern synth like this in 2024 and not have poly aftertouch. Guess it just adds that much more overhead?
It’s still a secret about Arturia and poly-aftertouch. As i posted earlier we can expect that Astrolab is a product line and not a “one” product thing.
Not for sound designers, so hard pass. Could be cool for keyboard players though but feels like a missed opportunity somehow to make something very enticing. Why dumb it down to just 4 macros…
That’s the basis of Analog Lab and Pigments to have the 4 macros at the end.
But, I do think it’s a bit strange that a flagship model like the Astrolab is outdone by the Keylab 49/61/88 when it comes to hands on functionality.
Mylar Melodies shared some candid thoughts about the AstroLab on his Patreon if you feel like throwing a few bucks his way. He goes into a bit more detail about the hands-on experience and the workflow.
(On a personal note, this is my 2nd post of the thread where I shill for a particular synthfluencer, so I think it’s time for me to unplug my internet and take a nice long walk.)
Well, I didn’t like the circular screen, it looked out of place but probably in line with the Astro theme. I think it is too finicky and might cause durability issues (transportation and accidental knocks beyond just longevity) in future but who am I to say, I am not getting this stage keyboard anyway. Nice that Arturia came up with another key bed.
Best take on this so far. Arturia’s software tends to be for synth nerds, but Astrolab is clearly aimed at keyboard nerds. There is significant overlap of course, but the two are still distinct markets.
As long as what you’re talking about is the net looking glare on the far right of the keybed, that’s the reflection of some kind of light diffuser, the kind you find on production level video shoots.
Very interesting. I don’t really care about the factory presets, but I use Pigments extensively (and Minifreak to a lesser extent) and it’s pretty much the last thing running on my laptop now that I have a Hapax on sequencing duties.
As long as my custom wavetables come across with the patch, and all my macros are assigned as I’ve set them to be then this might be perfect for my live setup. I do wonder how it will go with patches that have generative sequencing going on.
I’d also love to see more info on the ‘Sampler’ instrument. Can we create custom multi-sampled instruments? If we can, then this could potentially replace my trusty old Nord Stage 2. What about phantom power on the XLR inputs?
So yeah, the use-case will not work for everyone, and I’d love it to act as an audio interface over usb-c, but I’m doing all the sound design work in Pigments already. When I play live I’m typically only tweaking ~8 values anyway via the Hapax instrument definitions so I don’t need access to everything from the keyboard.
After finishing the Loopop video…
Yeah although it kind of seems to be a niche of a niche to me, like most players already have there keyboard brand and stick to it, stuff like no draw bars pretty much rules out people who play worship, seems like there target are people who have yet to dig into hardware for live play but are also deeply invested in the arturia eco system. I suppose it is probably kind of a in it for the long haul type product. Eventually people will get them but probably a slice of a new generation vs old timers.
I was thinking with a smile that Elektron consistently produces black devices with their surface filled with a high density of controllers, and it is unsurprising to find skeptical reactions here for a product that does exactly the opposite. 
I’m not the target for this keyboard and I haven’t spent a cent on Arturia products, but I think it is interesting, and so far the company is showing good long-term smell and taste when they expand their portfolio.
This gives a better understanding of the workflow for Astrolab… I think that circular dial would make me feel like I was programming my central heating system at home.
I’ve been using Analog Lab and my Keylab 49 live, and I just don’t see how the Astrolab would be better for me…
Coincidentally, I did look for a standalone alternative to Analog Lab (because the patch switching isn’t fast enough/seamless for live) and I ended up with a Yamaha CK61 which I now think is amazing as a live performance option… Yamaha have nailed the hands on control for live situations, and it basically gives you the brilliant Reface engines in one unit.
Off topic: it is amazing how many house-of-worship sound volunteers post in the Allen & Heath Qu mixer forums - this really looks like a huge market for live sound!
Looking forward to what the AstroLab mini will cost.
A desktop format would also be great but doesn’t look like that’s happening.
Will we see something else at Superbooth next month or will this be it?