On the voltage side of things, I had no problems using the BeatStep Pro to control my beloved Roland System-1m, Doepfer Dark Energy, and Korg MS-20. There’s one final recording method too which involves touching any encoder while playing a note — its value is captured into the step. Alongside the two monophonic melodic sequencers, BeatStep Pro also features a 16 track drum sequencer. The act of turning encoders tends to lead to patterns you wouldn’t ordinarily play as emphasis is added here, a note lengthened there. The two monophonic sequencers are functionally identical, and all three sequencers share some common features.

Arturia had the inspired idea to colour–code each, picking green and yellow (the manual claims orange) for the two regular sequence tracks and purple for drums. A versatile, hands–on step sequencer packing more than three times the muscle of the original Beatstep. Ties and slides can be added too — functions that are treated equally by MIDI synths, but there’s a subtle difference at the CV outputs. Admittedly it’s not quite so striking there, particularly the yellow text which is fairly indistinct against the panel’s creamy background.Newly selected patterns kick in instantly, which is another of those ‘opportunities’, but it’s an even more sobering experience if you didn’t save first. You can of course program this old school: select a step, turn the knob for that step to select a pitch, do the same for velocity and gate, move on to the next step, and repeat. It’s a good choice: the notch is sufficient to identify semitone advances yet smooth enough not to hamper those innocent spinning pleasures. As if all this were not enough, Arturia added a number of performance effects such as a looper with touch strip, randomizer, swing settings and other hands on control possibilities that are sure to make this a modern classic.

The pads are mapped using the Midi Control Center software, with several presets- chromatic, General MIDI, user specified.

Other gear that has less extensive options may require more elaborate methods- for example, an iPad app that can handle the remapping and rechanneling. The controls available on the Arturia BeatStep Pro offer both tactile and extensive control over a large number of parameters and connected gear. Starting it all up from Live, I was able to walk away for several minutes at a time and come back to find both drum patterns locked up with no detectable drift. Before trying to interface the BeatStep Pro to my older analog modular synths, I thought it would be easier to learn how to use the device with my iPad and some soft synths.

You do have to switch it on in the MIDI Control Center, but you can sort of queue another project, have it play to the end of the patterns, and then it will change to that project.After a short bit of head-scratching on how to hook up the 1/8'' mini jacks to her Buchla's banana-plug CV inputs, we decided to use MIDI instead. s focus is squarely on sequencing, it also serves double-duty as a flexible control surface, which is a wonderful bonus. Either Record in real time using the velocity sensitive pads, or get the classic drum machine vibe using the step buttons. To see the full details of how your data is managed, as well as your rights, please view our full privacy policy . As a MIDI controller it has enough customizable knobs, pads, and transport controls to drive your music where you want it to go.