So I have this ongoing adventure with a French instrument maker called Arturia. A few weeks ago I picked up one of their hybrid controllers, the Analog Experience ‘Factory’ version, which is a 32 key midi controller / software combination. (Thus the ‘hybrid’ designation.)

To be honest I got it as much for just the software since I already had a midi controller keyboard (Novation Impulse 25), but the hardware is also very nice and the extra 7 keys is a welcome addition.

However, trouble began the day the kit arrived. After unboxing, setup and software installation I tried to activate the software using Arturia’s online activation system. This is basically a virtual dongle handled by a third party application called E License Manager. Arturia requires you to register your device on their website, which gives you a unique activation code to be keyed into the licence manager. The license manager will then download a second key for the Analog Factory software and activate it.

My problem was that when I tried to put in the activation code given to me by Arturia’s registration website, the license manager software told me this code had already been used.

I opened a helpdesk ticket with Arturia and after a couple of business days their support was able to reset the license database and get me a key that works.

After looking through the Arturia forums and other web resources it would seem that this is a fairly common problem for new users.

Anyways, after I got the code working all was well for about a week, until the Analog Factory software crashed during use. A software crash is usually not a big deal, but after restarting the software I can no longer get the host computer to recognize the hardware controller keyboard. When I plug it in it lights up happily and the LED enhanced buttons all react as they should, yet no software on the host computer acknowledges that the keyboard is plugged in. I’ve tried obvious things such as switching USB ports, reinstalling the drivers and software and so on, but still no luck.

I currently have a helpdesk ticket open with Arturia and we’ll see where that leads.