Worth noting that a lot of the complaints made in the video have been addressed with new firmware updates. You can now transpose the pads in controller mode and adjust the swing from the hardware without using the PC editor for instance.
I just got this two days ago, with all the new firmware I can't even get it to work as a midi controller in ableton. This is the biggest piece of shit I've ever used in 10 years of making music.
Watched quite a few of your reviews. one of the few people who actually explains HOW something works and goes into some depth with critical analysis. Well done and thanks!
One thing missing from this review is that if you are in sequence mode but playback is stopped, you can audition which note each step is set to be twisting the knobs.
Just bought me one used Arturia Beatstep and together with the new Arturia Keystep,connected with a PC with a DAW and some realy nice vst synths, thats realy fun to use and inspirational ,using both sequencer on the Beatstep and the Keystep simultaneous,I love it....Sorry Nick but no analog synth here yet ;)
picked one up - like it. However there doesn't seem to be enough voltage from it to drive my Roland SH-2 - it gets Gate fine, but pitch doesn't seem to work. Would be nice to have (what a lot of people have requested) Selectable Per Step, Gate Length from the device with some button acting as a 'shift' button.
Almost perfect! Midi/Clock in (apart from the USB in) and it would be fantastic! For €99 it really is a steal! As things stand though, a computer is still needed to get everything in sync. IMHO its another weapon in the toolbox rather than the only tool you would need.
i wish there was an in between version between the beatstep and the pro version where i get something exactly like this (the beatstep) but with 16 sequencers (kinda like the electribes are doing)
hmm - having instant access to 16 controller mode presets with different note #'s (and channels) pretty much offsets the missing transpose feature for me - Too bad there's no provision for using the encoder to change the gate length.
Btw you can transpose the pads by holding the shift and channel buttons.I'm pretty sure you have to download arturias latest firmware to make it happen though. But it's pretty easy.
Did anyone allready mention that you are a great reviewer nick ?? Well let me tell you you are great at it i always look at your gear reviews and you alway mention what i really want to know about it in a very pleasant and very understanding way thanks i hope you'll keep doing it for a very long time
At 2:59 I can see that you triggered some pads multiple times even though you were only trying to trigger once when you switch to using just your right hand to play pads. This is by far the biggest problem with the beatstep. You pretty much have to slam on the pads with an entire hand and can't play it well with just fingers from one hand. I own a beastep and rarely use it because of how difficult you have to slam on the pads. When I do use it I use the knobs and mostly just for paramater control of effects, modulation, etc.
It's funny that they thought EXT SYNC was an important enough feature to have its own button ... but then they didn't give it a MIDI IN jack, or a sync input jack, or even a DC power jack so you could use a MIDI to USB cable to get the master clock.
Tanks for the comprehensive review. I'm considering getting one of these to use as midi controller for my DAW (I have no interest in the step sequencer really). When you say it can't transpose the pads, is this just the case on the hardware? I presume you can set it up using the software interface, to send midi data in any octave so that it could be used to control percussion patches in kontakt? Thanks.
plugged this into a Roland Fa-06, and at one point i had the Keyboard split with 2 synth sounds, high keyboard and low keyboard, and i could control the whole spectrum of the keyboard with the knobs. Try Midi out with this thing on digital synths, its pretty fun
@warren peterson. I precisely plan to acquire a Roland FA-06 and a beatstep pro. Do you know if it shall be possible to let the beatstep play a dedicated tone on the workstation while using the Roland keyboard to play other part(s) with other tones? Thanks in advance!
did you notice when you stop the sequencer it doesn't go back to the 1st step. Pressing Play again just picks up where the last step was. Very annoying that Stop can't reset the sequence. Or am I missing something?
as always great review. i have a question though. can this act as a midi to cv controller? i mean. can i have midi sequences launched on my DAW and have them played in my analog gear? thanks!
Have you heard about the MTRX by Fyrd Instruments? It´s a much better sequencer than that, and by that I mean you can transpose by semitones or octaves or whatever, you can have from 8 to 128 steps depending of the mode you're in. This is possible because the unit is completely reprogrammable. BUT you have only midi out via usb or classic midi, and the device has a strange way of working: it only has one high precison jogwheel and 12 buttons, 8 of which are used to input midi data
2 things ruin the Beatstep for me: 1. It cannot be slaved to external midi clock. (Aside from maybe USB, but I don't use a computer in my studio.) 2. Many of the functions require a PC editor. (Once again, computers...) If the Beatstep just had a proper MIDI input and was totally standalone, I'd definitely buy one.
VincentsVideoVisions that is not true it is compatible with external midi controllers and CV/Gate inputs as well. You can use it as a standalone just fine.m
Hello, there. Thanks a lot for all of your videos! Please, help me with one thing: To sequence an modular synth i need the Beatstep software? Is impossible to sequence without a software? Thanks you so much! Greetings from São Paulo.
I can't believe how many Maschine and Ableton clone controllers are out there and almost none of them can do the very basic of music production - MIDI sequencing (of external gear). Talk about being crippled by the computer. I am sold on this one. I can pick up all these tabletop synths like Mopho that people dump because they lack physical keyboards. I am not a keyboard player, but I do love me some sequencing and modulation.
Hi Nick looking for a simple sequencer to add to my home studio so i can sequence my Roland system 1,what would you recommend to achieve this simply,i thought maybe a boss pedal,your thoughts please?
I'd like to know : is the "big" knob on the left "notched" like the other knobs ? Can I use it to send MIDI PGM CHANGE messages to my soft synths for example ? Thanks a lot !
RU-vidrs, I've been desperately trying to find out if I can input notes into the sequencer on the Beatstep from a keyboard plugged into my DAW on the same midi channel? Ive bought a Roland System-1 and I want to improvise on stage with it like an SH101. Possible?
I can use Arturia BeatStep Controller/Sequencer - White with my keyboards playing with keyboards Yamaha PSRE453 Electronic Keyboard Keyboard Roland Gaia SH-01 Synthesizer. What I will need for them for working ? I will need use for them Alto professional mixer ?
I maybe want to use this with my Vermona drm1 mk3. Is it possible to have different shuffle feels in a sequence? Can you move the notes over the grid, separately. I saw that the Beatstep Pro can, so was wondering how it works with this version.
No channel pressure ! : Shame Arturia have been somewhat economical with the truth about the "pressure sensitive pads". "Switch control?" is hardly pressure sensitive or useful in performance. Its either on or off. Something to seriously think about if you are eyeing up buying their new Beatstep controller.
Does anyone know if there’s any way to make the pads show the sequence PER NOTE? That is, like in a TR-808 or 909, make the pads show only the steps chosen for the kick only, or snare only, instead of only glowing globally without us knowing (at a glance) what note each correspond to. I think I’ve seen someone doing this online somewhere but I can’t seem to find it. In short: I’d like to select a certain note and see which pads (which steps) will play that one note. Many thanks everyone for any help shared.
sonicstate I've got one I've been messing around with, its pretty rad ... having said that I'm trying to figure out a way to arrange it so that I can get external clock sync/tempo from DAW (Logic) to drive the step sequencer tempo controlling an MS20mini with Gate/CV - is this possible? what am I missing?
How big is Beatstep? I know the might sound like a stupid question because I was able to see it in your video, but I need something more precise so I can think about how it would fit with my other controllers on my desk.
+ David Lee Myers - Thanks man, the papaya metric just wasn't quite precise enough for the task because can't seem find a consensus on what constitutes a "mid size" papaya.
+ Charlie Angel - I like to eat them, I just don't think they work all well as measuring devices. But I totally understand if you come from a remote village where alternative measuring devices make rulers unnecessary. How much does a "mid size" papaya cost out there, 2 bananas and bushel of wheat?
Nick... You can now transpose the pads in controller mode. Firmware update 1.1.0.0 takes care of this. discchord.com/blog/2014/6/23/arturia-beatstep-firmware-update.html
You can use the pitch modulation input (top left corner) instead of the main pitch input and it'll work, you just need to set the modulation knob appropriately. This way you also get transpose from the MS-20's keyboard, which is nice :)
masterhong The so called TOTAL input, exact? Instead of the VCO 1&2 input... That's actually how I would use it, to transpose sequences with the keyboard, but you say the tuning would be a delicate operation. Now I'm sitting on the fence about this purchase.
Pierre Ripplinger You can use either total or just the oscillator input. If you send it total you can also set up a bit of filter tracking! The tuning can be a bit annoying, but if you're just working around an octave or so you can quite quickly get it close enough. The way I've set it up on my sequencer (not Beatstep) is that I send 0V at middle C, and then I sequence offsets from that (so 1 octave above middle C sends 1V, below sends -1V etc.), while selecting the appropriate base note with MS-20's keyboard.
Looks great to pair with my Launchpad for on the go jams, only thing is are the knobs clicky? can you do quick turns for automating things or is it hard to turn them fast?
I can't see why not. Just hook up the MIDI OUT to your Volca Bass, and have your MIDI channels set to the correct channels. The only problem is, the Volca Bass has 16 steps, and the Beat Step also has just 16 steps. But the Beat Step can hold 16 separate sequences in memory as opposed to the 8 memories with the Volca Bass. Apart from the additional 8 memories it does not look like a real big advantage. A lot of people are considering getting one of these, to sequence the Akai MPX8 or the new MPX16, as these do not have a sequencer built into the units.
I haven't got a clue when the MPX16 will be released. Guitar Guitar just did a review of the unit just a week ago, so I guess they should be available for purchase in the next few weeks. With a bit of luck.
Wow, people still use these right? I can't believe the macOS software still works or is supported. So... just use with your DAW the best you can? I don't really know how to use one of these in the first place, so my questions won't be very good...
So you get a beat 'drum sequencer' and you decide to make a review video without using it as a drum sequencer??? Baffling. Please can you actually do reviews relevent to the bit of kit. FFS
Maybe it was just studio rage, but the beatstep legit does not work on newer OSX. At all. Drivers installed, reinstalled. I jacked it into my older MacBook running 10.8 and it worked fine right off the bat. This kind of issue is lazy and unnecessary if it's your business, what you do all day, with teams of people. If a product still doesn't work, that to me is a piece of shit and the hate is warranted.
Hmm...I haven't tried it on the newer osx (El Capitain...) I heard there was problems across the board with the osx and apps, also that it was slowing yosemite macs down...so I avoided it... I see your issue though,
