Arturia Keystep

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! ::

I really wanted a BeatStep Pro but there were just too many bad reviews about bugs etc so took a risk on this instead.
Don't let what you've read on the BeatStep Pro put you off this! (Not bashing the BSP - it just sounds a little too risky right now for my liking. I may well pick one up eventually)


So I updated the firmware on the KeyStep before anything else. For reference, this was to Firmware version 10.0.0.5

First issue - my KeyStep wasn't saving for the first 3 days. I had actually come to the conclusion that it was like this by design and I had misunderstood what I read before buying, and figured the Control Centre must be used if you want to save. It was already on the latest firmware and I didn't change what I was doing or any settings in the Control Centre but it just started saving all of a sudden, and has worked since. Strange and a little concerning, but great now that it's auto-saving.

I avoid using a PC as much as possible with my music setup, since I spend the rest of my life on one, so didn't look in depth at the Control Centre but it looks fairly self-explanatory and nicely laid out.

The arp is lots of fun and works perfectly well. No problems there. It is what it is. Hold one key down and keep adding to the pattern in the order set by the knob.

The mod and pitch strips are very responsive and work well. There's no indicator to show where you are on the mod strip though.

It really bothers me that there's no power switch. Why, Arturia? Whhhyyyy???

The KeyStep quality/build is very good - it's solid and has nice weight (it has a metal plate on the base). The keys are an ok size and don't really 'need' to be full size given what it is, so it's fairly small and portable.. however...

I personally don't need it to be portable since it doesn't move from the home studio. I use a Korg K49 MIDI controller, which has full size keys, for all my gear and it will play the instrument's sound via the KeyStep but the Arp or sequencer can't be triggered using the K49 MIDI controller - you must use the KeyStep keys directly. Bit disappointing, but you can play on top of the arp/sequence with the midi controller without affecting either pattern and can get some interesting results. (Same effect as playing the instrument directly while the KeyStep is running).

The sequencer does what it's supposed to, and being able to switch MIDI channel easily is great - I have this connected to a MIDI splitter (Miditech MIDI Thru 4/Filter) and running into a Korg Volca Bass, a Volca Beats, an Access Virus C and a Novation Bass Station 2. All four of these devices already have either a sequencer, arpeggiator, or both, but it's great to be able to throw the arp or sequencer pattern from the KeyStep at any of the devices. I can try out the same KeyStep pattern on each with the quick push of shift+midi channel key. Playing both the inbuilt sequencers/arps and the one from the Keystep at the same time can be interesting! Endless fun and great for inspiration.

One thing I found which is great and unexpected (and more probably a Korg Volca plus than a KeyStep one but) you can hit record on the Volca and press play on the KeyStep, and the arp or sequence will be recorded! The point is, even though the Volcas have sequencers and are quite capable, the KeyStep goes together with them really well!

One big enough problem I have with it is you can't set sequence length directly, and can't real-time record (as such) to set the length. You can only 'real-time' record over a sequence, once a sequence has already been stepped in -- So it's only a type of step-record which can be updated live once there an existing sequence to update. You can work around this using rests to set sequence length and then playback in time with the clock tempo (such as a drum machine), but it's not ideal and doesn't work every time. I find it doesn't catch some of the rests pressed half the time, so when you add sound, the sequence isn't nearly as long as you thought it would be given how many times you pressed the rest button.
This definitely needs an update.

The KeyStep has randomly crashed on me about 5 times since I got it - it just locks up out of nowhere ..completely unresponsive, and needs to be power cycled (but...NO POWER SWITCH!?). Not great, but I suppose not a huge problem for me as I use it for my own amusement only - probably not too good though if you were using it live to entertain a venue full of people. The crashing occurred both on PC connection and plugged into a standard USB charger. I don't have a 9V power supply to try it with but not sure it would make any difference to the crashing. Perhaps whatever is causing the crashing will be addressed in an update soon, or it might just be my one that does this, I don't know.

The MIDI Control Centre is nice and straight forward, although I don't like how it saves a new entry on every sync, and single clicking on the saved items shouldn't auto load them. A minor annoyance.

I have it taking clock from a Roland TR-8 so don't use tempo knob on the KeyStep but it holds clock time perfectly well.

I'm only using 5-pin midi in and out, not cv or sync, so others will have to give their findings on those. I had briefly used the sync out to connect to a Volca, which worked okay but I needed clock to go through the MIDI out and sync simultaneously which it doesn't do (you must push the tiny switches at the back and select one or the other (or internal or USB) but not both at the same time...so I had to rethink my connections. Not a fault obviously though. It's by design, so just to inform in case you had the same idea.

It's got aftertouch, transpose, hold, 8 note poly sequencing! You probably know that if you're looking at buying one but I think it needs to be emphasised.


So ..despite any of the issues I've encountered (which is why the 4 stars on handling & total), personally I still find it well worth the purchase and a lot of fun. It really enhances my setup and gives me fresh ideas and inspiration constantly and is at a great price!


And finally, great service from Thomann as usual!!

I needed a simple keyboard to connect either to a computer, a MIDI instrument or a modular synth. This one has all the connections needed, this a a pro. The keys seem to be good quality (I'm not a 'real' keyboard player, so I can't tell).
The cons, yet, are quite a few :
- If you want to change the control voltage setting, or any setting, you need to sign in to their website, download a software, generate a file, save it to an USB drive, go offline, plug your keyboard into your computer, upload the generated file, etc. I'm not sure if I'm accurate enough, this is so complicated I'm not sure I understood everything. And of course, there's no Linux version. Why not an open source software ? The thing is only a micro-controller with a few keys and knobs, not a jet fighter !
- When you change the octave setting, the button flashes bright white.
This is distracting and can't be changed, even with their software center thing. Users complain, but the company does nothing.
- The firmware hasn't been updated for three years. While it only leaves you with a few annoyances like the flashing buttons, it's a clue that they're in no hurry to provide customer service.

First: The unit never let me down. The CV outputs are the main reason for my choice using that unit.
But: I'm still missing one thing: Note-On-Arpeggiator-Reset.

The arpeggiator/sequencer is optimized for techno / full synced setups only. I'm using the device playing along a band - if the tempo changes slightly, I'll have to re-sync pressing the tap button - loosing one hand which I would hardly need for turning my knobs!
To explain this point a little more: If I do not re-sync, it may happen that there is no sound at all when I press a key because the internal sequencer is between two steps at this time. It comes even worse: the next note will come for sure - but with broken timing.
In other words: The internal sequencer is just running and my play is been treated like a gate - just turning "sound" on and off.

Arturia technical support promised to implement this option into their next firmware. This was February 2017 (2.5 years ago). Unfortunately there has never been any upgraded version! Instead of that they seem to prefer launching several other products - which I somehow like but do not have the courage to buy after that story.

Until I find some replacement, I'm using MAX/MSP for my sequencing stuff and never even think about pressing "play" on the Arturia.

Thinking about modifying the unit by myself: getting the tap button out and connect it to some foot switch to be able to sync without using my hands.

PROS:

-The keys have aftertouch and feel very nice for such a small and compact design.

-Lots of sync options. My personal favourite being that it translates MIDI to Korg pulse which allows me to easily sync my DAW to Korg stuff like the Volcas. And it has minijack sync I/O.

-Proper MIDI ins/outs (not just USB) and CV outputs.

-Excellent polyphonic 64 step sequencer (very user friendly when connected to a computer). I don't really use the step sequencer much but it works great! Very nice arpeggiator too.

-Very intuitive in use. Very easy to learn all basic functions.

-Lots of "under the hood" settings and options (like velocity curves CV/gate settings, etc.). A lot more than I will probably ever need. Far too much to get into here but the manual can be downloaded from the Arturia website.

-Very nice design, looks classier than most midi keyboards.

-Excellent build quality, feels sturdier than most midi keyboards I've used.

-9v power input so it can be used as standalone.

CONS:

-Although it has a 9v input it can't be used with standard Boss type adapter. It requires a 500mA adapter to work. This is EXTREMLY inconvenient but it's also the only negative thing I have to say about the Keystep.

Great product, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

My hopes for this keyboard were high, because on paper it all looks very nice. The first thing that I didn't like was that the keys are of uneven height. The mod and pitch strips are extremely sensitive and just a slight touch will get them going, so be careful. The unit froze a few times when I used it via USB with iPad3 and Windows PC.
But I can tolerate these minor nuisances.
What is a bit more difficult to accept is that Arturia doesn't seem to care about user input when it comes to firmware updates, thus we are still stuck with a feature that most of us could live without - globally defined transpose key. This means, that no matter what was the first key of your stored sequence, next time you'll recall it and want to transpose it via keyboard, the root note of your sequence will always be the predefined (in the editor) transpose note. If your transpose note is set to C, then even if you have recorded your sequence in D, when you play D it will actually play E, because your global transpose center note is set to C. This is really annoying and despite numerous user requests Arturia hasn't implemented a more normal way of dealing with transposition of sequences in the latest firmware.
Thus, keep this in mind before buying.
Other than this, the keyboard is very usable, but don't expect any real ease of programming sequences. It can be awkward. Still, if you're on a budget and want to control some analogue CV/Gate gear, this is quite hard to beat at this price.