Arturia KeyStep 37 Compact MIDI Controller
Last Update
11-25-2023
My workbench contains pretty much all the measurement and generator
instruments for my work with music gear. I had a malfunction with
the MIDI interface of one of my gear and realized that I needed an
instrument to generate repetitive MIDI messages - or a "MIDI function
generator" that could operate hands-free. The repetitive function
permits troubleshooting with an oscilloscope so that a steady trace can
be observed. Something compact would do the trick to avoid
crowding valuable benchtop space, so on a music store trip to buy
guitar strings I passed by the shelves with compact desktop MIDI
controllers and started looking at the choices. Until now I
didn't have any need for a desktop controller in my studio, but I saw
its usefulness for my workbench. After studying the feature sets
of the various makes and models, I bought the Arturia KeyStep 37 from
the store.
The KeyStep provided its "function generator" via the arppeggiator -
configure the rear panel mini-switches to "internal clock" (hint: the
settings shown in the user guide are WRONG), press the PLAY button,
don't press any keys, and it generates a repetitve real time MIDI clock
signal in the MIDI OUT port. The cycle of the clock signal can be
varied by the RATE control on the left side of the panel.
OK, so what else can this curious toy do? Quite a bit! The
37 keys are velocity sensitive with aftertouch, touch controls for
pitch wheel and mod wheel, octave shift buttons. Machine control
buttons for the sequencer/arpeggiator. The SHIFT button
interfaces with the 37 note keyboard to set the MIDI channel, gate
width, swing amount, and other functions - intuitive! Eight
polyphonic or monophonic step/real time sequences with divisor,
transpose, strum (with chord mode), and swing/gate variations.
MIDI in/out, USB MIDI, sync in/out, mono pitch CV output (v/oct or
v/hz, variable scale), gate output (S-trig or V-trig), mod CV output
(MW, AT, or velocity), arpeggiator (with ratcheting), sequencer,
sustain pedal, four assignable knobs, DAW transport buttons, master or
slave clock USB/MIDI/sync including tap tempo. Nice controller
whether you want to control over MIDI, over USB, or CV/gate outputs for
external synthesizers.
I was pleasantly surprised that it has a sturdy metal base and not
cheap plastic. While the keys are short, their width is nearly
the
same (except the flat keys) as a standard keybed. This could
serve as a controller for left hand bass gigs that I sometimes
play. At least they aren't the "minikeys" which I am not fond
of. It can be powered from USB (using standard
mobile phone charger) or external low voltage 12VDC/1.5A (supply not
included). And THANK YOU for including a POWER SWITCH!
There are deeper features that can be accessed using a separate app
(WIN, OSX).
It ain't no MIDIBoard, but the KeyStep came in handy for experimenting
with gear when I don't need the power of a big controller. It has
also been handy for travel, if I have some time to kill in the hotel
room I fire up Garage Band on my MacBook and jam on the KeyStep.
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