While it’s tempting to wish that Arturia went straight for the ‘Pro’ version, the Keystep is simple, fun and easily justifies its existence. A small external transformer supplies 12V power, and it can run from USB power, too. Speaking of bonuses, Ableton Live Lite is included, just in case you’ve lived this long and failed to pick up a copy. Over the past few years, Arturia has provided us with hardware synthesizers big and small, plus drum machines, plug-ins, audio interfaces and MIDI controllers. MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. For the latter, the Keystep offers the following clock values: 1 step (Gate), 1 step (Clock), 1 pulse (Korg format), 24 ppqn and 48 ppqn. Ergonomic 3-Octave Slim Keyboard. You might therefore need to drop into step-time first and manually prepare the way, counting out all the steps you’re going to need. Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. MusicTech, "The Keystep Pro is perfect for the studio as well as for playing live shows. If you were hoping for a MIDI recorder that plays back ‘as is’, the Keystep is not it. KeyStep was imagined and designed to become the modern musician’s trump-card. The scope: After the immensely successful Beatstep Pro sequencer Arturia comes with another instrument for the electronic musician: enter the KeyStep, a keyboard controller with sequencing capabilities and MIDI, USB and CV support. All rights reserved. To begin step-time entry the Keystep must be stopped. When you wrap your fingers around them, you’ll notice that two of the knobs aren’t knobs at all but multi-position switches. Being in the market for a new compact keyboard controller and wanting a step sequencer too I was drawn to a number of options including the Korg SQ-1 and the Arturia BeatStep and BeatStep Pro. The Arturia KeyStep Pro is especially intuitive, with unparalleled connectivity, and is designed to make the most complex of performances easy peasy. All contents copyright © SOS Publications Group and/or its licensors, 1985-2021. A small external transformer supplies 12V power, and it can run from USB power, too. In this episode we will have a look at the Arturia Keystep, a midi controller with 32 mini-keys, Arpegiator, Sequencer and Chord function that connects to all your gear. Depending on the definition in the MIDI Control Centre, the sustain pedal either has a normal MIDI function or can act like the Hold button for slotting in extra notes. Arturia’s KeyStep Pro successfully marries most of what makes the KeyStep so ubiquitous with the sequencing power of the BeatStep Pro. That’s pretty much it for real-time recording. The Arturia KeyStep 37 is a great further development of the best-selling original. Swing involves lengthening the odd notes while delaying and shortening the even ones, and both note length and swing values are remembered on a per-pattern basis. As with the BeatStep Pro, the feature highlight here is the comprehensive range of ins-and-outs. Review: Arturia KeyStep Pro Getting creative with Eurorack modules can be a time-consuming business. All rights reserved. Arturia’s Keystep Pro 4-track polyphonic sequencer and keyboard controller has arrived . Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2019 Color: MultiColored Verified Purchase It is without question that I wanted to love the Arturia keyStep. England and Wales company registration number 2008885. In various videos, we watched it just sits on the table when a product is shown. It covers chord sequencing, one-finger chord playback and sports a rather decent arpeggiator. Whatever your setup, KeyStep will merge into it to overdrive your workflow and effectiveness. A quarter-inch input is provided for a regular sustain pedal, whose configuration options cover those of the Hold button, plus a selection of MIDI CCs. Engadget "For melodic sequencing duties and flexible hardware control, this is one of the best devices on the market." Arturia takes a swing at Behringer; Music Tribe responds . Using the Shift key and the transpose buttons, you can toggle the behaviour of the keyboard in relation to the sequencer, choosing either to transpose the pattern dynamically or to use it for regular performance, on a separate MIDI channel if necessary. Joining the regular Up, Down and Random modes are ‘Order’ (playback is in the order entered), plus Inclusive and Exclusive. Some of the most fun you can have with the KeyStep Pro comes from running three or four arps or sequences simultaneously and playing around with subtle rhythmic or timing shifts. Obviously this is a ridiculously long review so the TL;DR version :: The KeyStep has a couple of bugs and a few minor things to improve on, but overall for the price, it's excellent! The MIDI Controller Centre’s note editor. There’s a good reason you see so many Beatstep Pros paired up with Eurorack systems: you can’t buy equivalent modules at anywhere near the same price. When you do, Hold flashes as a reminder the mode is now active. However, for a sub-£100 controller, the KeyStep packs in a surprising amount of functionality and 
a an impressive number of well-designed features. Arturia's KeyStep Pro is a near-perfect MIDI controller for hardware synths The playability of the KeyStep and sequencing power of the BeatStep Pro in one affordable package. With KeyStep and its range of connections you can control any digital or analog synthesizer from the past, today and even tomorrow. It’s a reasonable way to wipe short patterns, but remember the wiping is permanent. Arturia is talking about its ability to be self-contained because of the retractable USB cable and this in fact true. Tons of ports make it a good choice for analog enthusiasts. If you like, you can send aftertouch or velocity instead. It’s not the most feature-packed arpeggiator. In common with Roland classics the SH101 and JX3P, the Keystep doesn’t display how many steps have been entered. My vote would be for a faster means of deleting patterns and an actual means of undoing drastic changes. ARTURIA – KeyStep – USER’S MANUAL 3 Thhannkk yyoouu foorr rppuurcchhaassiinngg etthhee AArrttuurriiaa KKeyySStteepp!! Allowing power from either computer (USB) or USB-based ’phone charger makes connection easy and convenient: but also allowing for interfacing with CV -based modulars, including generating and responding to a clock as well as MIDI, is definitely impressive. Given that there’s no pattern chaining, 64 steps at the slowest (1/4) division offers a reasonable opportunity for varied chord progressions. The first touch of its 32-note ‘Slimkey’ keyboard is equally promising, and the experience gets better when you learn it is equipped with velocity and aftertouch transmission. KeyStep 37 Review. Ultimately, love it or loathe it, the software does what it’s meant to, and pretty painlessly. Arturia’s Keystep Pro 4-track polyphonic sequencer and keyboard controller has arrived . Any comparable setup should be enough to convince you that basic sequencing need not sound one-dimensional. Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. Ribbons are a (minor) compromise compared to the tactile response wheels provide, but their main downside is probably lack of visibility. The restart function also has a place, because the arpeggiator also has patterns — of up to 32 notes. If you leave the modulation wheel anywhere above zero, there’s no physical sign of it. It plays arpeggios, sequences, and drum patterns as well as notes. As a device for playing a single synth/plugin it’s fine, but when used to program and play melodic patterns routed to multiple instruments or synth voices simultaneously, it really comes into its own. Keystep Pro is a great unifier, controlling CV/gate modular systems as well as DIN MIDI and USB MIDI sound sources. My first impressions and mini review of the Arturia Keystep. There’s an onboard memory too, which allows each track to save and chain up to 16 sequences, all captured in up to 16 overarching projects. I heavily recommend checking out the Arturia Keystep here. The scope: After the immensely successful Beatstep Pro sequencer Arturia comes with another instrument for the electronic musician: enter the KeyStep, a keyboard controller with sequencing capabilities and MIDI, USB and CV support. Second, it speaks more than just MIDI. Arturia takes a swing at Behringer; Music Tribe responds . Right now, the performer’s note input is heard exactly as entered. Arturia’s cut-price creation combines step sequencing with keyboard control. While many of the Keystep’s internal parameters can be dealt with stand-alone, you can’t escape the computer indefinitely. Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Analog Cases 32-Key Case For The Arturia KeyStep or Native Instruments M32 at Amazon.com. Arturia Keystep Review. Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, The MicroLab may not tick all the boxes for a studio controller keyboard, but as a super portable travelling device it hits the mark. Advice needed for listening room setup (irregular shape... Intuitive, fuss-free polyphonic step sequencing. If it isn’t already obvious, the Keystep’s polyphonic sequencing is a purely MIDI thing, but there’s good news on the MIDI front. Realising this, Arturia have implemented a pretty decent workaround for option-jumping: if you press Shift while turning either knob, the new pattern or time division won’t kick in until Shift is released. On the MIDI front, the controller comes equipped with two outputs and one input, along with a USB port for two-way MIDI and DAW control. You also have a screen above each sequencer so you can each parameter. It's in the top 3 bestselling MIDI controllers and has dozens of popular alternatives in the same price range, such as Alesis V25 or Behringer FCB1010.. Arturia Keystep is $20.99 cheaper than … In place of a regular pitch-bender and mod wheel are two ribbons, the former having a ‘snap to zero’ action. You can view the Arturia Microblab 25 and read more reviews here at my favorite retailer, Sweetwater. Arturia KEYSTEP PRO // Review & full tutorial // vs BeatStep Pro and SL mk3. Essentially, if there’s a decision you’re allowed to make, the MCC is the place to make it, even if in some cases you’d have preferred to wait until performance. Arturia KeyStep gets a big thumbs up for its key quality and the excellent sequencer and arpeggiator. The KeyStep Pro features eight analogue drum trigger outputs along its rear, which can be controlled from track one when used in Drum mode. And depending on the receiving instrument, they could just as easily be a set of loops or long-playing samples. "In many respects, the KeyStep Pro is a culmination of all the impressive traits Arturia has pulled together across its product range over the past few years. The Microlab 25 slimmed itself down and it also added some nice features to enhance its portability. Between their ‘Step’ and ‘Lab’ devices, Arturia have come to have a pretty broad range of controllers these days, ranging from the simple, budget-friendly MicroLab MIDI keyboard to the multi-format sequencing tools of the BeatStep Pro. So Arturia Keystep, while being a cheaper option, tends to get more favorable ⭐ reviews than the $400 Novation Launchkey, as seen on the chart below. We have invested time and money to imagine, specify, develop, test and market the KeyStep. Arturia BeatStep Pro Review. Arturia KEYSTEP PRO // Review & full tutorial // vs BeatStep Pro and SL mk3. When extending an arpeggio in this way, you’re free to switch octaves as many times as you like to create large, sweeping patterns. There’s no row of flashing LEDs to indicate progress through a pattern, nor are there options for changing direction, skipping steps or repeating them. The KeyStep Pro is familiar in styling to previous Arturia products. This thing lay dormant in the back of the cupboard for 20-odd years. With this being said, did Arturia hit a home run or did they come up short? Within the MIDI Control Centre, you decide whether the CV output should talk Oct/Volt or Hz/Volt and what type of gate is required, with the usual options offered. On the analogue side, the KeyStep Pro also features eight drum trigger outputs, along with analogue clock in, out and reset out ports. Arturia's KeyStep Pro is a near-perfect MIDI controller for hardware synths The playability of the KeyStep and sequencing power of the BeatStep Pro in one affordable package. Real-time recording works differently because it doesn’t create new steps, it merely overwrites the data found in the current pattern. If, like me, you view synthesizer pitch-bend with the same suspicion as mullets and ‘funny cat’ presets, this might seem like a missed opportunity, but one that, perhaps, could be addressed in a future update. The drum sequencer also features a cool Poly mode, allowing each of its 24 tracks to have a different length, which is great fun for creating polyrhythms. With a full-sized keyboard, plus faders, Novation’s flagship controller will appeal more to traditional players and studio musicians, while still keeping the CV outs. The power requirements (500mA) are light enough that it even runs from an iPad, although if you planned on using it that way extensively, purchasing an adapter would be a good idea. The arpeggiator has a few handy features of its own, including a variety of octave range and pattern options, including a user-defined Order mode, plus a hold function. 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