You can assign tracks to voices but cannot assign voices to tracks.
A track hold patterns that can be played back via MIDI or the four analogue voices at the back of the Keystep Pro.
Voices are intended to be used with a modular system.
The digital information contained in tracks is converted to three analogue signal streams: Pitch, Velo/Mod and Gate.
By default, the output of track one is assigned to voice one, track two voice two. etc.
What makes the Keystep Pro special is that you can assign a track to two or more voices, i.e., track one could playback on voice one, voice two and voice three.
This makes sense in a situation where you want three oscillators to play the output of track one in unison.
Assigning track to voices is handled intelligently by the Keystep Pro: you can not assign two tracks to the same voice.
A track hold patterns that can be played back via MIDI or the four analogue voices at the back of the Keystep Pro.
Voices are intended to be used with a modular system.
The digital information contained in tracks is converted to three analogue signal streams: Pitch, Velo/Mod and Gate.
By default, the output of track one is assigned to voice one, track two voice two. etc.
What makes the Keystep Pro special is that you can assign a track to two or more voices, i.e., track one could playback on voice one, voice two and voice three.
This makes sense in a situation where you want three oscillators to play the output of track one in unison.
Assigning track to voices is handled intelligently by the Keystep Pro: you can not assign two tracks to the same voice.
Yes, hold 'Erase' and press 'Project'
No.
Only one track can be active when recording.
Only one track can be active when recording.
No.
Metronome Time divisions and Time signatures are global.
If you want to record two tracks with different time divisions you'll have to change the metronome settings in between recording.
You can do this directly from the Utility menu: Util>Metronome>Time div and Metronome>Time sig.
Metronome Time divisions and Time signatures are global.
If you want to record two tracks with different time divisions you'll have to change the metronome settings in between recording.
You can do this directly from the Utility menu: Util>Metronome>Time div and Metronome>Time sig.
No.
The Offset option 'Shift'+offset delays the swing amount of a track. It does not offset the track itself in time.
If you need to offset tracks in time your best option is to record them in a DAW.
Most DAWs have an option to offset recorded tracks in time.
The Offset option 'Shift'+offset delays the swing amount of a track. It does not offset the track itself in time.
If you need to offset tracks in time your best option is to record them in a DAW.
Most DAWs have an option to offset recorded tracks in time.
Hold 'Shift" and press Start/Restart.
This will restart and sync all sequences and running arpeggios.
This will restart and sync all sequences and running arpeggios.
In firmware version 1.3.2 and up there are two ways to create ties.
To create ties in step recording mode:
To create ties in step recording mode:
- enable step recording by pressing the record button
- start recording your sequence by playing a note
- hold the note and press the tie button one or more times, depending on how long you want the note to sustain over several steps.
If for example, you create a note that ties over four steps, by pressing the tie/rest button four times, what you do is creating a note with a long gate period.
You can check this by holding the note on the keyboard and touching the gate knob.
You could also start from quick edit mode:
➔ To edit the Tie status of a note in an existing pattern, press step edit and press the Tie/Rest button several times.
➔ If you need to shorten a Tie, activate step edit mode, select the step where the Tie starts,
reduce the gate length of the step using the gate knob, and then exit the step edit mode.
You can check this by holding the note on the keyboard and touching the gate knob.
You could also start from quick edit mode:
- Enter some notes in the pattern by playing a note on the keyboard and pressing a step to record them in.
- Now activate record mode by pressing the record button
- hold one of the notes (on the keyboard) you entered in the pattern
- press the Tie/Rest several times to tie the note over several steps
➔ To edit the Tie status of a note in an existing pattern, press step edit and press the Tie/Rest button several times.
➔ If you need to shorten a Tie, activate step edit mode, select the step where the Tie starts,
reduce the gate length of the step using the gate knob, and then exit the step edit mode.
Check whether the track assignments are correct.
If there's a sequence running in track four and there's no pitch/gate/vel output from track four, it could be that the track is routed to another track.
Press 'Shift' and press key A#3 to assign track four to cv output four.
The Led above the key should be brighter than the LEDs above the tracks.
If there's a sequence running in track four and there's no pitch/gate/vel output from track four, it could be that the track is routed to another track.
Press 'Shift' and press key A#3 to assign track four to cv output four.
The Led above the key should be brighter than the LEDs above the tracks.
At the back of your KSP are four voice outputs.
Each voice output outputs three voltages: Pitch, Velocity and Gate.
A sequencer generates triggers/gates that will appear at the Gate output of a voice
When the sequencer advances to the next step the Gate output will go high and will remain high for the period you've programmed in the step.
When you create a sequence in Step edit mode, you can tweak the Gate length of each step.
By creating step with varied gate lengths you can make some steps ring out longer than others, but this only works when you use ADSR envelope generators or Low Pass Gates in the signal flow. Why?
There are three types of envelope generators: AD (Attack/Decay), ADSR (Attack/Decay/Sustain/Release) and Low Pass Gates.
They each react differently to a Gate signal.
Envelope generators are triggered with either a short gate signal (a trigger) or a longer signal (a gate).
AD envelope generators (and its cousin AR (Attack/Release) are dumb, they will finish their cycle unperturbed once triggered.
Whether you start them with a long gate or a short gate, they don't care, they run from start to finish; there's nothing you can do to stop them.
ADSRs and to a lesser extend LPGs respond differently: their cycle lasts longer when you send them a long gate signal.
In an ADSR the sustain phase remains active for the duration of the gate signal.
When the gate goes low, it continues to the Release phase and ends.
A Low Pass Gate will open up further, be brighter and ring longer in response to a longer gate.
To make a long story short: if you want to create a sequence in which some steps ring out longer and others are short-lived, vary the gate times of the steps and use ADSRs or LPGs to control the duration of the steps.
Each voice output outputs three voltages: Pitch, Velocity and Gate.
A sequencer generates triggers/gates that will appear at the Gate output of a voice
When the sequencer advances to the next step the Gate output will go high and will remain high for the period you've programmed in the step.
When you create a sequence in Step edit mode, you can tweak the Gate length of each step.
By creating step with varied gate lengths you can make some steps ring out longer than others, but this only works when you use ADSR envelope generators or Low Pass Gates in the signal flow. Why?
There are three types of envelope generators: AD (Attack/Decay), ADSR (Attack/Decay/Sustain/Release) and Low Pass Gates.
They each react differently to a Gate signal.
Envelope generators are triggered with either a short gate signal (a trigger) or a longer signal (a gate).
AD envelope generators (and its cousin AR (Attack/Release) are dumb, they will finish their cycle unperturbed once triggered.
Whether you start them with a long gate or a short gate, they don't care, they run from start to finish; there's nothing you can do to stop them.
ADSRs and to a lesser extend LPGs respond differently: their cycle lasts longer when you send them a long gate signal.
In an ADSR the sustain phase remains active for the duration of the gate signal.
When the gate goes low, it continues to the Release phase and ends.
A Low Pass Gate will open up further, be brighter and ring longer in response to a longer gate.
To make a long story short: if you want to create a sequence in which some steps ring out longer and others are short-lived, vary the gate times of the steps and use ADSRs or LPGs to control the duration of the steps.
Yes.
You set this in the UTIL>CV/Voice (x) menu.
You set this in the UTIL>CV/Voice (x) menu.
Below we'll give two examples of how to set up the Keystep Pro as a MIDI to CV converter.
➔ Example 1: You want to route a sequence playing on an external synth/controller connected to the Keystep Pro on MIDI channel 1 to a eurorack oscillator connected to Keystep Pro voice 1.
In the example below we assume that the MIDI and CV settings on the Keystep Pro are set to default:
The sequence will now be received on MIDI channel 1 and the CV converted output will appear at the Pitch and Gate outputs on Voice 1.
➔ Example 2: Play a sequence received from Ableton via the USB port on a eurorack voice.
➔ Example 1: You want to route a sequence playing on an external synth/controller connected to the Keystep Pro on MIDI channel 1 to a eurorack oscillator connected to Keystep Pro voice 1.
In the example below we assume that the MIDI and CV settings on the Keystep Pro are set to default:
- setup a patch on the eurorack system in such a way that gate and pitch outputs voice one play a eurorack voice.
- play the Keystep Pro keyboard to check whether the Keystep Pro keyboard plays the eurorack voice correctly.
- connect the synth output to a MIDI input (1 or 2) of the Keystep Pro.
- check whether the synth transmits the sequence on the MIDI channel and the Keystep Pro receives that input on track 1.
(By default track 1 is set to receive MIDI on MIDI channel 1.)
- play the sequence on the external sequencer.
The sequence will now be received on MIDI channel 1 and the CV converted output will appear at the Pitch and Gate outputs on Voice 1.
➔ Example 2: Play a sequence received from Ableton via the USB port on a eurorack voice.
- setup a patch on the eurorack system in such a way that gate and pitch outputs voice one play a eurorack voice.
- play the Keystep Pro keyboard to check whether the Keystep Pro keyboard plays the eurorack voice correctly.
- connect the Keystep Pro to your computer with a USB cable (if it isn't already)
- create a new MIDI track in Ableton by right-clicking in the empty space of the track area and selecting 'insert MIDI track'.
- in the 'MIDI to' field select the Keystep Pro as target to send MIDI to.
- create a MIDI sequence in the track and press 'play'
Yes.
Activate step edit by pressing the step edit button.
Select the step in which the chord you want to edit is.
Press the note of which you want to edit the values; the other notes in the chord are now dimmed.
Edit the pitch/velocity/gate times of the note.
Activate step edit by pressing the step edit button.
Select the step in which the chord you want to edit is.
Press the note of which you want to edit the values; the other notes in the chord are now dimmed.
Edit the pitch/velocity/gate times of the note.
Hold 'Shift' + Project/Utility and select the CV menu.
In this menu select the voice for which you want to increase velocity and select 'Mod max voltage'.
Adjust this value. It's good to remember that not all envelope generators are created equal.
Some respond to voltages in the 0V-5V range, others in the 0V-10V range.
Some can be switched to invert an incoming voltage to the 0V--5V range and thus generated a mirrored envelope.
If you own a (Eurorack) oscilloscope, patch it after the envelope to check the effect of making changes to the default 5V setting.
This setting can also be changed in the MIDI Control Center.
In this menu select the voice for which you want to increase velocity and select 'Mod max voltage'.
Adjust this value. It's good to remember that not all envelope generators are created equal.
Some respond to voltages in the 0V-5V range, others in the 0V-10V range.
Some can be switched to invert an incoming voltage to the 0V--5V range and thus generated a mirrored envelope.
If you own a (Eurorack) oscilloscope, patch it after the envelope to check the effect of making changes to the default 5V setting.
This setting can also be changed in the MIDI Control Center.
Yes.
Go to: UTIL>CV>Voice [x]>Gate format and adjust the trigger type to 'S-trig'.
You can drive a mix of Moog and standard Eurorack Envelope Generators by changing this setting on a per voice basis.
Similarly, you can set the gate output of the Drum tracks to 'S-trig' format in UTIL>CV>Drumgates>Gate format.
Go to: UTIL>CV>Voice [x]>Gate format and adjust the trigger type to 'S-trig'.
You can drive a mix of Moog and standard Eurorack Envelope Generators by changing this setting on a per voice basis.
Similarly, you can set the gate output of the Drum tracks to 'S-trig' format in UTIL>CV>Drumgates>Gate format.
Not as such, but you could assign the output of the Modulation strip to the Velo/Mod output of a voice
and then use this output to control pan on a eurorack mix module with a Voltage controlled panning option.
To do so: select >Util>CV>Voice (x)>Mod Type and set it to 'Wheel'.
A second option is to activate control mode by pressing the 'Control' button and assign CC# code 10 to one of the 4 encoders.
Please refer to the manual on how to do that.
Turning the encoder will pan the signal on the remote synth or DAW channel left or right.
This only works over MIDI and only if the receiving synth uses the standard MIDI CC#s.
and then use this output to control pan on a eurorack mix module with a Voltage controlled panning option.
To do so: select >Util>CV>Voice (x)>Mod Type and set it to 'Wheel'.
A second option is to activate control mode by pressing the 'Control' button and assign CC# code 10 to one of the 4 encoders.
Please refer to the manual on how to do that.
Turning the encoder will pan the signal on the remote synth or DAW channel left or right.
This only works over MIDI and only if the receiving synth uses the standard MIDI CC#s.
When the sequencers are running or you play a single note or multiple notes on the keyboard,
each note is translated immediately into Pitch, Control Voltage (Velocity or Modulation) and Gate signals
and sent to one of the four Voice outputs on the back panel.
When you play the keyboard or the sequencers in polyphonic mode, the KeyStep Pro's CV routing options let you define how the signals from the four voices will be distributed.
CV routing is an important skill to master when you use a modular system [see page p.141 of the manual]
with your KeyStep Pro.
CV routing is a SHIFT function.
To activate this shift function, hold down the SHIFT button and press the appropriate key (G#, A, Bb or B in the upper octave).
each note is translated immediately into Pitch, Control Voltage (Velocity or Modulation) and Gate signals
and sent to one of the four Voice outputs on the back panel.
When you play the keyboard or the sequencers in polyphonic mode, the KeyStep Pro's CV routing options let you define how the signals from the four voices will be distributed.
CV routing is an important skill to master when you use a modular system [see page p.141 of the manual]
with your KeyStep Pro.
CV routing is a SHIFT function.
To activate this shift function, hold down the SHIFT button and press the appropriate key (G#, A, Bb or B in the upper octave).
All sequencers and arpeggiators can send their output signals to the four Voice outputs on the KeyStep Pro's back panel.
By default, the output of Track 1 will be sent to Voice 1, the output of Track 2 to Voice 2, etc.
There may be situations where you want more control of the tracks' routings.
That's what CV routing is all about.
➔ For example, you can route the output of Track 1 to all four Voice outputs, or you can route the output of Track 1 to Voices 1 and 2 and the output of Track 2 to Voices 3 and 4.
For each track, you can define any combination of voices.
If a voice is already used by another track, it will be dimly lit.
If it is already active for the current track it will be brightly lit.
If you select a voice that is already being used by another track, you will overwrite the previously assigned voice.
When Track 1 is in Drum mode, CV outputs that were assigned to Track 1 will be freed up.
By default, the output of Track 1 will be sent to Voice 1, the output of Track 2 to Voice 2, etc.
There may be situations where you want more control of the tracks' routings.
That's what CV routing is all about.
➔ For example, you can route the output of Track 1 to all four Voice outputs, or you can route the output of Track 1 to Voices 1 and 2 and the output of Track 2 to Voices 3 and 4.
For each track, you can define any combination of voices.
If a voice is already used by another track, it will be dimly lit.
If it is already active for the current track it will be brightly lit.
If you select a voice that is already being used by another track, you will overwrite the previously assigned voice.
When Track 1 is in Drum mode, CV outputs that were assigned to Track 1 will be freed up.
The first thing to check is whether there is a MIDI channel mismatch.
By default, the Keystep Pro will transmit the triggers you create on the Drum track on channel 10.
You may have changed this inadvertently.
Drum computers will receive MIDI channel 10.
To play drum sounds on an external synth it must be set to receive on MIDI channel 10.
Please check the user manual of your synth to learn how to do this.
Next check whether the Drum MIDI channel settings on the Keystep Pro are correct.
Go to: Utility>MIDI channels>Drum output and check whether the output channel is set to 10.
An alternative way to check the Keystep Pro output to view the data it generates in the MIDI console window of the MIDI Control Center:
The MIDI data generated by the Keystep Pro will now appear in the lower half of the screen.
If the settings on the Keystep Pro are correct you'll see drum triggers generated on channel 10 whizzing by.
By default, the Keystep Pro will transmit the triggers you create on the Drum track on channel 10.
You may have changed this inadvertently.
Drum computers will receive MIDI channel 10.
To play drum sounds on an external synth it must be set to receive on MIDI channel 10.
Please check the user manual of your synth to learn how to do this.
Next check whether the Drum MIDI channel settings on the Keystep Pro are correct.
Go to: Utility>MIDI channels>Drum output and check whether the output channel is set to 10.
An alternative way to check the Keystep Pro output to view the data it generates in the MIDI console window of the MIDI Control Center:
- select drum mode on track 1 (if you haven't done so already)
- create a drum track and press 'play'
- connect the Keystep Pro to your PC orMAC running MIDI Control Center
- select 'MIDI console' from the 'View' menu
The MIDI data generated by the Keystep Pro will now appear in the lower half of the screen.
If the settings on the Keystep Pro are correct you'll see drum triggers generated on channel 10 whizzing by.
No.
They have different formats.
A drum track wouldn't 'fit' in a sequencer track
They have different formats.
A drum track wouldn't 'fit' in a sequencer track
Yes. Copying drum Patterns is identical to copying sequencer Patterns.
It's important to understand that a drum pattern consists of all triggers stored in the 24 channels.
When you copy a pattern you copy the content of all 24 channels to another track.
To copy a drum pattern:
Please refer to chapter 6 of the manual for detailed info about drum patterns.
It's important to understand that a drum pattern consists of all triggers stored in the 24 channels.
When you copy a pattern you copy the content of all 24 channels to another track.
To copy a drum pattern:
- Hold down 'Copy' and press 'Pattern'. Previously saved patterns will blink in blue,
patterns with unsaved changes in red.
- The OLED screen displays 'Select Pattern to Copy, Press Exit to Cancel'.
- Press the step button of the pattern you want to copy.
- Hold down 'Paste' and press the step button of the destination to which you want to copy the Pattern.
Please refer to chapter 6 of the manual for detailed info about drum patterns.
First, make certain you've set up you Keystep Pro as a controller in Ableton.
If you don't know how to do that please refer to the KSP manual.
This is how to play the drum track in Ableton live:
By default, the KeyStep Pro's Drum track (only available on Track 1) will always transmit on MIDI channel 10 :
If you don't know how to do that please refer to the KSP manual.
This is how to play the drum track in Ableton live:
- Open Ableton and select 'New Live set' to create an empty set.
- Delete the two default audio tracks by selecting them and clicking 'Delete' in the 'Edit' menu.
- Select 'Insert MIDI track' from the 'Create' menu. As an alternative, you can right-click in the empty track space and insert a MIDI track.
- Drag a drum sound from Category > Sounds to Track 1.
By default, the KeyStep Pro's Drum track (only available on Track 1) will always transmit on MIDI channel 10 :
- Set the track to MIDI channel 10.
- On Track 1 of the KeyStep Pro, press the Drum button and play.
The Control track has features similar to a normal track: you can apply the Nudge, Invert and Random order functions to data stored in it.
If, for example, you've created a pattern with control values stored in step 2 and 8, 'Shift' + Nudge> will move the control data to steps 3 and 9.
'Shift'+ Invert will move that same control data to step 9 and 15.
If, for example, you've created a pattern with control values stored in step 2 and 8, 'Shift' + Nudge> will move the control data to steps 3 and 9.
'Shift'+ Invert will move that same control data to step 9 and 15.
If you have any further questions, feel free to contact us.