Arturia MiniLab in the Browser
The MiniLab sold a million units because it nails the basics — 25 keys, 8 pads, eight encoders, USB. Padwolf gives all of that a free, no-install home that turns the MiniLab into a 16-pad beat sketchpad with a real keyboard on top.
BPM
56%
What MiniLab + Padwolf actually gives you
• 8 pads → bottom half of 16. MiniLab has 8 velocity pads in 2×4. Padwolf maps them onto the bottom two rows of its 16-pad grid; the bank buttons jump you to the top half for a different 8 sounds. • 25 keys for melody. The MiniLab's slim keys are great for one-finger basslines and chord stabs. Use Padwolf's per-step pitch column to capture what you played. • Full velocity, both pads and keys. Padwolf reads 1–127 on every hit and converts to per-note volume. Ghost notes survive the trip. • Eight encoders, visible in the tester. MiniLab encoders send CCs. Padwolf's MIDI tester surfaces them so you can verify the controller end-to-end before you record. Mapping CC → per-pad parameter is on the roadmap. • Step sequencer with A/B and swing. Lay down four bars on the pads, switch to the 16-step grid, dial 60 % swing, export WAV/FLAC/OGG. • Chromebook-friendly. Class-compliant MIDI + browser-only host = the MiniLab works on a $300 Chromebook the same as on a MacBook Pro.
Three clicks to a sound
1. Plug in over USB. No Arturia driver needed for the browser. The MiniLab boots, the OS sees it as MIDI. 2. Open Padwolf, allow MIDI. padwolf.app → Connect MIDI → Allow once. MiniLab shows up in the device list. 3. Hit a pad. Bottom-left MiniLab pad fires Padwolf's pad 1. If the mapping needs nudging, the base-note buttons are a tap away — and the MIDI tester shows what your controller is actually sending.
Test your MiniLab firstWhere the keys earn their keep
BPM
50%
3
Eight pads are enough for a drum kit. Twenty-five keys are what turns the MiniLab from a pad controller into a sketch instrument. Padwolf's per-step pitch lets a single pad carry an entire melodic part — find the notes on the keys, type them into the pitch column, done. The pattern below uses one pad for a 140 BPM trap 808 melody and three for drums.
Who this is for
MiniLab owners who never opened Analog Lab. If the bundled software felt like too much surface area, Padwolf is the opposite — 16 pads, a sequencer, a play button. Five minutes from plug-in to first loop. New laptop, no installs yet. Padwolf works the moment a MiniLab plugs in. No drivers, no licence keys, no account. The fastest possible path from blank machine to a beat playing back. Classrooms and demos. A $109 MiniLab, a school Chromebook, a browser tab. Real finger drumming for every student in the room without IT permissions or app store accounts.
Frequently Asked Questions
MiniLab MK2, MK3 and MiniLab 3 are all class-compliant USB MIDI controllers and work directly with Padwolf in the browser. The original MiniLab also works on systems where the OS recognises it as MIDI.
No. Those are Arturia's own apps. Padwolf reads Web MIDI directly — no Arturia software has to be installed for the controller to work in the browser.
The MiniLab's encoders send MIDI CC messages, which Padwolf's MIDI tester displays. Padwolf doesn't currently map CCs to pad parameters in real time, but mapping encoders to per-pad pitch and filter is on the roadmap.
By default the MiniLab's keys send notes outside Padwolf's pad range. The keys stay melodic, the pads stay rhythmic — which is what you want. Use Padwolf's base-note control to sweep the keyboard across pad banks if you want the whole keyboard to fire pads.
Sustain pedals send MIDI CC 64. Padwolf doesn't currently respond to sustain — pads are one-shot or looping rather than gate-style — but the MIDI tester confirms the pedal is wired correctly.
Both are well under 15 ms total round-trip with the MiniLab on USB and Web Audio output. Mac with Chrome tends to be the smoothest; Windows works equally well, the OS audio stack just adds a few extra ms.