Arturia BeatStep Pro Controller Dynamic Performance Sequencer

Product Information

The Beatstep Pro?s drum sequencing tools are just as compelling as its dual sequencers and function in a similar manner. Here, you have 16 discrete drum sequences that can be composed in real-time or via the step sequencing row. The output of the sequencer can be assigned to any of the outputs: voltage, MIDI, or USB. Because there are only eight gate outputs for triggering voltage-based gear, you can also use the upper row of pads to control additional drum sources, via either of the other output options.

I haven't experimented with the drum CV outs much as I don't have a hardware dum machine with CV inputs. I did link one of th drum CV outs to a moogerfooger delay pedal which has CV in and managed to use this to control the delay time. In Seq mode, before recording, the encoders set the default values for new notes. If you subsequently hold a step you can edit its parameters in isolation. This all works well, and provides an alternative 'knobular' method for entering note sequences, but there are a some frustrating limitations. I regularly wanted to adjust one of the parameters, say gate length, for a whole existing sequence, but you can't. Neither can you hold more than one step at a time for editing. And you also can't capture adjustments in real time unless you're recording notes at the same time.On a similar level in terms of a software and hardware partnership Native Instruments Maschine Mk3 is also a fantastic buy with both an MPC workflow and excellent features, not to mention its audio interfacing capability. Immediate access to an unlimited number of options means your performances will always be fresh and exciting. Who doesn’t want something for nothing? This is a significant upgrade which adds a bunch of further functionality to the already substantial BeatStep Pro. Many of the developments seem aimed at the live player, which links in nicely with the current interest in live modular performance, but there’s plenty there to entice the studio based musician, too. The fact that it will run seamlessly alongside your computer makes it a nice bridge between DAW and purposeful sequencing hardware. The Manual Section 9 is a great one to review, the specifications and routing which I have posted below helps define what you can do with them.

The KeyStep Pro is a four-part MIDI/CV sequencer and controller, with a three-octave mini keyboard and five touch-sensitive encoders. All four parts can operate as polyphonic note sequencers running patterns up to 64 steps long. One of these parts can be switched into a drum mode with 24 trigger lanes. The other three parts toggle between sequencer and arpeggiator modes. An additional Control channel lets you generate and automate MIDI CCs with the encoders.Even though I've had the BSP for a few years and got pretty familiar with it, I can't say it has revolutionized the way I make music, mostly because it's pretty techno-oriented (monophonic melodic sequencers being one giveaway). Maybe you've been able to make it play the blues, I don't know. But I just sat down with the Push 2 in the past few days and came up with some funky grooves including some chords and leads and drum patterns. I'd say that even drum pattern sequencing is easier on the Push, I just hadn't given it the proper chance. Typically the Drum Gate output is connected to a Voltage Controlled Amplifier (VCA). But you can send those signals to any parameters that will accept them. For those unfamiliar with the BeatStep Pro (where have you been?), in essence, it’s a hardware sequencer that offers two channels of melodic sequencing, partnered with eight channels of drum triggering, all of which can happen over any number of steps up to 64. Many will choose to use it as a traditional 16-step affair, with its 16 pads and correlating pots for controlling note pitch, etc viewed immediately from the front panel. while the KeyStep is great as a portable controller, or as an add-on keyboard for a single instrument, it's not a performance and sequencing hub for several devices. But the KeyStep Pro certainly is! Please refer to the specifications of other devices before connecting them to the BeatStep Pro so you can know how to make them work properly together.There is this tantalizing YouTube video of using the outputs to gate a 'dumb' sequencer (I have this pair of controllers).

Switch over to Controller Mode and the looper becomes a roller — for the MIDI events explicitly mapped in this mode. Instead of looping it repeats the events assigned to pads held down, but is clever enough not to repeatedly send MIDI program changes, if you defined that particular MIDI event. We have decided not to include any music production workstations such as NI's Maschine+, Roland's Verselab MV-1 and Akai MPC Live II. While they include some MIDI control, their focus is more as hardware DAWs for complete song production. For Ableton Live control, nothing still beats Ableton's own Push 2, which has simply been designed with nothing more than Live in mind so its control focus with that software is second to none and it has become the perfect hardware extension of it.Finally, when choosing from among the best MIDI pad controllers, there’s a host of other options worth considering beyond the pads themselves too, including screens, faders, rotaries and more. As with buying any MIDI controller, the most effective way to approach things is to work out exactly what you want to achieve using your new controller, and then consider how each device will help you do this. When the original Beatstepcame out, it offered an impressive array of functions and producers couldn't wait to see how they could integrate the Beatstep into their setups. The New beatstep pro blows the original out the water, allowing you to completely manage a full performance with its powerful functionality. You can not only control instruments in your DAW; plug-in all the outboard gear that you have and it can become the nerve centre for your whole rig. But the buttons on the NDLR control the chord degrees you want to use for your sequence, so you can sequence both rhythms and chords.