Arturia KeyStep Pro Keyboard with Advanced Sequencer and Arpeggiator - Manual (Page 8)

1. WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION
The KeyStep Pro is an advanced third-generation controller and sequencing station. It is
both compact and versatile, with unique features that will spark your imagination and
creativity in a new way. It enables you to connect to all your studio and performance gear
and control it in ways you never thought possible.
Controllers have come a long way. The first generation of controllers could transmit MIDI
pitch and velocity over the 16 MIDI channels, not much more. The second generation
added complex step- and real-time sequencing features and was capable of connecting to
your DAW in special ways, allowing you to control multiple parameters of VSTi's (virtual
instruments, including synths).
This third-generation controller adds control options for modular systems. The KeyStep Pro
has four tracks each with CV, velocity/modulation and gate output. You can employ each of
these tracks as a melodic sequencer, arpeggiator or drum sequencer. It lets you play, record
edit and add to your sequences on the fly, with a clear and easy-to-understand workflow
that encourages your creativity. Each pattern can be up to 64 steps long. You can chain up
to 16 patterns together for live performances or jamming. The Scenes feature enables you to
save and recall configuration states. It's a lifesaver if you need to change quickly from one
setup to another. Couple this with the advanced chord options and scale quantization and
you'll begin to understand why it will soon become your favorite controller.
1.1. A fascinating adventure
As soon as you start experimenting with the KeyStep Pro, you'll be faced with many
questions: How do I make connections? What are the difference between Real-time and
Step recording?
The answers to these questions come slowly: you'll find many of the answers in this manual
and many others by reading online forums, sharing and comparing user experiences and,
most importantly, by diving in and experimenting. Whatever you do, take the time to get to
know the KeyStep Pro inside and out.
To sustain the fascination you feel, learn the functions of the KeyStep Pro one by one and
test your knowledge continuously. The KeyStep Pro is an advanced controller with many
levels of understanding. It offers a unique way to experience the reward that comes with
being able to create the music as you imagine it.
1.2. About reading manuals
Reading manuals can mean much more than familiarizing yourself with an instrument.
Yes, it is excellent for learning, but it serves another purpose that is much less understood:
creating the basis for inspiration.
Inspiration can flourish when you have many little pieces of knowledge 'online' in your
mind, so that you can interconnect and crosslink them; it widens the scope of your creativity.
It also helps to look at the current state of your knowledge as something that needs to be
maintained and expanded. Reading a manual again and again causes a quantum shift in
what you absorb from it. You are building a living model of the controller in your brain.
Reading a manual the first time helps you get acquainted with the parameters of an
instrument; what does a knob do and how does it affect the sound of external modules or
synths? Second and third readings will give you a better understanding of the structure of
the KeyStep Pro. Beyond that, reading becomes a source of creative input that inspires you
to think of new ways to use this unique controller and sequencing station.
2 Arturia - User Manual Keystep Pro - Welcome and introduction