Arturia Forums
Hardware Sequencers => BeatStep => General Discussion on BeatStep => Topic started by: vegradd on April 07, 2014, 02:38:43 pm
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Took the time to read the other posts here, and it seems like people had more or less the same wishes. So, decided to just make a wishlist for future updates. Please post your ideas here.
My first would be:
Shift+Big Knob = Swing
Shift+Encoder = Gate
Shift+Pad in SEQ = Legato/glide (setting a glide step, like P-locking on Elektron gear)
Shift+Play = MMC/Transport Record
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MIDI IN!!!!!
I want to buy one of these so bad but having it as the master or having to use it with a computer is not an option. I'd probably buy a few of these if it just had a way to sync to external gear. :'(
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My wish list:
- much faster knob acceleration in CNTRL mode (currently unusable)
- kind of active step mode (disabled steps will be skipped)
Thanks, Mallard.
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vegradd - yes! This hardware's fantastic, and the features that are present are great, but it desperately needs a few more things added.
A legato step/glide step function is essential. Shift+pad in SEQ is currently used for setting scale mode, playback options and timing divisions, but maybe Shift+Chan+pad would be good for this?
Hardware access to swing/gate also seems essential - not having it (and, as far as I can see, not even being able to automate it by MIDI CC from a DAW) really inhibits the Beatstep during performance, which is a shame because it's capable of this stuff!
Accent - I'm not quite so bothered about this, but it seems like having two preset levels of pad velocity would appeal to many people, especially X0X-type fanatics. So toggling on a pad might send a 110-velocity noteon, while a shift+[something] combo allows toggling of already-active pads that send an accented step at 127-velocity. Maybe a slightly different pad colour/intensity would signify which steps were accented.
As pleased as I am with the Beatstep, I'm surprised that none of these features have been implemented already - especially legato/glide step!
Good work so far though, Arturia :)
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Yes to Shift+Play = MMC/Transport Record!
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+1 for - Shift+Encoder = Gate.
BeatStep really needs hardware control of the Gate!
Great job on a great product Arturia.
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+1 vegradd, agree entirely
why not copy/ past function too to create faster several sequences ?
oh and really important : faster knob behavior in midi control mode. Actually it's really unusable as Mallard said.... five complete turn for a 100% send in reverb or delay aux for exemple ! Forget the "Live" dynamic effects in this state... :(
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Ah,that's true, but as you suggest SHIFT+CHAN+PAD might work.
As for accents, one coul maybe implement a double-tap or long-tap pad to set accent, wit a different color intensity.
As for midi in, it supports midi over USB bi-directional, so maybe there is some kind of interfacing that can be done externally?
I must say I love the unit though. Set it up, turned if on, and used it in track on first run! That doesn't happen often!
vegradd - yes! This hardware's fantastic, and the features that are present are great, but it desperately needs a few more things added.
A legato step/glide step function is essential. Shift+pad in SEQ is currently used for setting scale mode, playback options and timing divisions, but maybe Shift+Chan+pad would be good for this?
Hardware access to swing/gate also seems essential - not having it (and, as far as I can see, not even being able to automate it by MIDI CC from a DAW) really inhibits the Beatstep during performance, which is a shame because it's capable of this stuff!
Accent - I'm not quite so bothered about this, but it seems like having two preset levels of pad velocity would appeal to many people, especially X0X-type fanatics. So toggling on a pad might send a 110-velocity noteon, while a shift+[something] combo allows toggling of already-active pads that send an accented step at 127-velocity. Maybe a slightly different pad colour/intensity would signify which steps were accented.
As pleased as I am with the Beatstep, I'm surprised that none of these features have been implemented already - especially legato/glide step!
Good work so far though, Arturia :)
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A multi-client driver for Windows!
http://www.arturia.com/evolution/smf/index.php?topic=82091.0
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My first would be:
Shift+Big Knob = Swing
Shift+Encoder = Gate
Shift+Pad in SEQ = Legato/glide (setting a glide step, like P-locking on Elektron gear)
Shift+Play = MMC/Transport Record
Totally agree ;D ;D ;D+ + + + + + + + + + + + + :o ;D :o
MaxIDINgue
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A vst-Integration for the Stepseq.to see all Note-Changes in realtime.
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I don't have a Beatstep yet, but I would get one if you could play the pads like a keyboard, quantised to a selectable scale, and able to transpose up/down easily.
As I understand correctly, now you can only assign fixed notes to a pad.
the above would be awesome for live playing external hardware without missing a note.
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There's a max4live plug, The Schwarzenator or something similar (by Henrik Schwarz) that does exactly that for any keyboard you like. It simply takes the incoming midi note and "quantize" it to the nearest correct note of the scale. Similar to what the BeatStep does in the scale mode / seq
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Yes its a live native midi effect too but i want to use it in my hardware-only setup. No laptop/pc
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I personally would love it if the pitch could be detached from any scale. If, for example, the 'USER' scale could have a 'Free' setting, so one could program microtonal pitch difference, especially when using CV this is excellent, but for MIDI this would be totally excellent as well. I find it a bit limiting to have to use tempered scales.
Then, something else that's been remarked already is that the sequence goes out of sync when the number of steps is altered or when time division is altered. This is rather bothersome, it would be cool if one could at least have the option to force this to some time grid. I mean, it's also really cool that it CAN go out of sync, and that you can use it to make it stutter, but then again, I have noticed that you have to hit the pads on an upbeat when changing step number. (Am I making myself clear here?)
Another thing that would come in handy, is if there was a way of jumping to the next octave, escpecially when playing the pads. I jammed with it in Live yesterday evening and found it somehow frustrating to have to use a 'midi pitch shifter' in Live to be able to play all the sounds of a drum kit, since it didn't seem possible from the Beatstep itself (or am i missing something here?)
As mentioned in a different topic, some implementation of Tap Tempo would be awesome...
There aslo a serious sync-problem, but I'll put that in different topic. (It syncs very badly when hooked to Live, there an unpredictable amount of Lag/Latency).
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I personally would love it if the pitch could be detached from any scale. If, for example, the 'USER' scale could have a 'Free' setting, so one could program microtonal pitch difference, especially when using CV this is excellent, but for MIDI this would be totally excellent as well. I find it a bit limiting to have to use tempered scales.
You could send the cv signal to a mixer/pot and scale it with that.
Then, something else that's been remarked already is that the sequence goes out of sync when the number of steps is altered or when time division is altered. This is rather bothersome, it would be cool if one could at least have the option to force this to some time grid. I mean, it's also really cool that it CAN go out of sync, and that you can use it to make it stutter, but then again, I have noticed that you have to hit the pads on an upbeat when changing step number. (Am I making myself clear here?)
I have just made a similar request in the technical section.
http://www.arturia.com/evolution/smf/index.php?topic=82084.msg110747#new (http://www.arturia.com/evolution/smf/index.php?topic=82084.msg110747#new)
Basically syncing to the first step after 1/2/4 measures.
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a big whish:
When i change while the sequencer is runing the Note durstion from 16. to 32 the sequencer jumps. Also when you change the Step length from 16 to 7 or other values the sequencer jumps. at some other sequnencer this doesn't happend. isj there a way to do this on a next firmware? so implement that the functions just change on the next first step on the sequence .
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I'm using as a CV/gate sequencer in a modular setup and am finding that the lack of any visual feeedback to step pitch settings makes it almost impossible to use in real time. Counting detents by feel is really slow and inaccurate. Use the red pad lights to show which of the 12 scale notes you're currently setting at (with a second or two timeout). Use the other four to show which octave (use more than one of them simultaneously to give more than 4 octave range, hex encoded if necessary). Likewise for the transpose knob.
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I love it a lot and am having a ton of fun with it. If I could slave it to other gear without a computer, even if I could only daisy chain it to another beatstep, I'd probably buy two more of them.
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I love it a lot and am having a ton of fun with it. If I could slave it to other gear without a computer, even if I could only daisy chain it to another beatstep, I'd probably buy two more of them.
I will receive a midi usb host to put the beatstep as a slave without computer.
will post my results as soon as I try it.
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great piece of hardware, but some firmware updates would be amazing.
+1 for octave transpose in controller mode. This would make the controller mode way more useful. Similarly useful would be if the pad note assignments could be changed in controller mode with shift+the corresponding knob, similar to the way the sequencer notes can be changed when the sequencer is paused.
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Hi team - LOVE the beatstep, but would love one feature like the shift feature found on the Future Retro Revolution, that is, a way to shift the sequence forward or back without having to reprogram the whole thing. Maybe hold store and then turn the big knob, and a left turn will shift the sequence back one pad, right turn will advance it one pad?
Thanks!
Alex
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I would love to see the ability to "disconnect" the rhythm and melody components much like the way early apreggiators running off old drum machine external clocks do. This produces some amazingly complex melodies from very simple variations.
Since this sequencer behaves very much like an old analogue step sequencer, it would be entirely in character!
Basically I suggest some combination of buttons would allow you to set the "melody length" as seperate from the sequence length. ie: if the melody length is 4, the notes in the first 4 encoders are cycled through in order (forward, reverse or ping pong as per setting) as the rhythm sequence is played through. The note setting on the dials would not directly correspond to the buttons below. Even better, if you could set the rhythm and note sequence direction seperately, this would give even more complex variations from simple changes...
Together with a simple means of "syncing" melody and rhythm loops with the internal clock, these changes would make this little sequencer a must have for me.
For now, I will have to just keep playing with my 606 and 101... ;)
cheers,
Richard, Australia
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That would be awesome! Tonight I achieved something similar by hooking it up to my Volca Keys and then into my Electribe ES-1's line input. The ES-1 has a sequencer track for the line input where each step can be turned on or off, thus allowing for what you describe. Also, since it's a simple gate, I managed to achieve some interesting effects by sending the Volca through a 100% wet reverb before hitting the ES-1. It sounded pretty great.
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I think a "chain" feature could be nice - sort of like the TR606. Hold down (?recall) sequence i , 2 ,3 and it would sequence/play thru all three sequences to create longer sequences....
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Just got my Beatstep and love it! But I want to use it as a master sequencer for live performances (no computer) and there are a few things that are needed to REALLY make this usable for live situations.
1. BPM/tempo of sequence saved with each sequence. as of now they all play at whatever the tempo is set to at that moment. Makes it IMPOSSIBLE to use live if you have songs at different tempos (I was shocked to find this didn't already exist. I really hope this can happen.)
2. Sequencer stays in sync when changing number of steps. (PLEASE!)
3. A way to accurately transpose sequences (something like Shift + Recall + Pads 1-12?) Transposing with the big knob isn't realistic for live performances.
4. Tap tempo (not detrimental, but would be handy).
Please include these in the next firmware upgrade!! thank you!!
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I like your train of thought Pselodux - nice solution :)
The Beatstep seems to have has pleasing level of simplicity and would be loath to load it up with too many features and button combinations, but there are definitely some good suggestions in this thread especially feedback from current users (thanks!).
It already does a lot more than every other little controller out there (real midi connectors!!, step sequencing!!, CV!!), but a few simple changes that make the sequencing more flexible would open up a whole other audience I reckon.
Rich
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i just want a way to use the beat step as a slave (cv clock input, midi in, i'm find with any approach) with out a laptop, and pls solve the sync issue when is used as a mater clock. Chancing sequence time (1(4,1/8, etc..) stop the midi clock output a small short time, but makes the device unusable with out a laptop...
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I want to have a tempo display on the BeatStep template in the Universal Midi Control Center. That way, if I program a sequence in the editor and want to record it on Logic Pro X (or any other DAW), I can at at least calibrate the DAW for recording.
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volume pro step. filter setting pro step
when shortening/lenghtening the sequence NO sound from the burron push
upper row midi channel 1
lower row midi channel 2 (for example)
my wishes :-)
Modify message
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TEMPO CONTROLLLLLSSSS!!!!
Tap tempo and absolute entry of tempo for the step sequencer. You could use 1-9 plus 10 as a zero to put in absolute tempos to sync it without it being tied to a computer (think elektron machines). Tap tempo with fine control would work too, but more often than not I am working in absolutes so if I want my sequence to be exactly 120 I could hold shift and press pads 1,2,10 and there you have it.
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skip function!
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Hi!
My few cents matches nicely with Sleepykeith:
1. BPM/tempo of sequence saved with each sequence. as of now they all play at whatever the tempo is set to at that moment.
Yes!
2. Sequencer stays in sync when changing number of steps. (PLEASE!)
If you mean that it should not restart the sequence, i totally agree! It should also keep playing when changing time division. It works well with the sequencer direction. For me, this is almost a must for live improvisation. (If you mean losing clock sync it should definitely be fixed!)
3. A way to accurately transpose sequences (something like Shift + Recall + Pads 1-12?) Transposing with the big knob isn't realistic for live performances.
I would also like if the transpose knob obeyed the currently selected scale setting. That would be really nice in live situations.
4. Tap tempo (not detrimental, but would be handy).
I agree!
My other wishes was fulfilled with the update: gate/swing/legato settings directly from the BeatStep.
Regards!
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How about an additional pad assignment while pressing the "SHIFT" key?
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Everybody wants more and I would love to have the things featured here but what about having LESS?
wouldn't be nice if beatsteps can be reduced from 16 to a 12 steps sequencer. Nobody is making rhythms ala "Personal Jesus" anymore??
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this is a vital fix - pretty much a useless function the way it behaves now. as stated, this isn't an issue with the sequencer direction - it shouldn't be an issue with sequence length. ???
otherwise... really loving the Beatstep (both of the ones I bought) - great lil tool to get me off the mouse/computer screen.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10152134105027181&l=4005067086687007936
2. Sequencer stays in sync when changing number of steps. (PLEASE!)
If you mean that it should not restart the sequence, i totally agree! It should also keep playing when changing time division. It works well with the sequencer direction. For me, this is almost a must for live improvisation. (If you mean losing clock sync it should definitely be fixed!)
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To make this a real drum pad it needs:
MPC/Maschine note repeat
This is pretty crucial. Its also the main reason why I don't use this a drum pad midi controller. I would if it did this.
Also as everyone asks, different step lengths for each sequencer step
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I'd like to see the ability to nudge or shift the pattern either to the left or right by up to 16 steps, just like you can on a DX200.
When creating a pattern without any drums running, the 'start' of my pattern always seems to end up as step 3 or something...
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I'd like to be able to record sequencer steps without using the encoders, like the sequencer on the Microbrute -- use my MB through my DAW to program the thing using the keyboard.
I like the sequencer on the MB a lot, but I can't mute or adjust individual steps once I've programmed it.
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The default tempo always seems to be 120bpm when you first switch on. What would be very useful would be the ability to set this default yourself to say 147bpm or whatever. Or save different tempos in each patch? If you are playing live you need to know the tempo is right before you start and without a display this is not possible. I run beatstep midi out via Kenton pro kadi which outputs din sync to a Roland CR8000 with a lovely tempo display - but I still have to start it and crank up the beatstep speed from cold start before the tempo can be displayed correctly.