At the 2015 NAMM Show, Arturia today introduced the BeatStep Pro — a flagship controller and dynamic performance step sequencer that they call ‘a sequencing powerhouse’.
The BeatStep Pro has been designed to let you work with MIDI-, USB-, CV/Gate-, or DIN Sync-equipped gear.
Here’s the official intro video:
BeatStep Pro has been designed from the ground up to provide a hands-on hardware sequencing experience. It offers 16 touch-sensitive knobs, for entering of pitch, gate, velocity amounts, and timing shifts per step.
It includes two independent (colour-coded) monophonic step sequencers, each with dedicated displays to show the current playback position and bank length of the currently selected sequence. SEQUENCER 1 and SEQUENCER 2 have been greatly expanded with up to 64 steps per sequence, 16 sequences per project, and 16 projects, making BeatStep Pro one of the more powerful step sequencers ever made. each sequencer has its own 1V/Oct CV (Control Voltage) and (10V) GATE outputs to connect to suitably-equipped analogue synthesizers, together with a separate VELO (Velocity) output to allow for even more possibilities when working with a modular synth system setup.
An additional DRUM sequencer allows for 16 separate tracks of sequencing. Record in quantised realtime via the 16 pressure sensitive pads or use the 16 step buttons for a classic drum machine workflow. when working in SEQ1 and SEQ2 mode, the pads can control pitch transposition as well as accessing various musical scales — such as Chromatic, Major, Minor, Dorian, Mixolydian, Harm Minor, Blues, and also a User setting — while the DRUM sequencer itself also has eight DRUM GATES at its disposal (to send gate outputs from the corresponding pads for triggering external devices).
BeatStep Pro is also a controller. Switching from PROJECT to CONTROL MODE means users can trigger clips in their favourite DAW (Digital Audio Workstation), play drum sounds from an external module, or adjust parameters in their favourite plug-in. Possibilities are (almost) endless, limited only by (lack of) imagination.
Beatstep Pro also offers performance effects, including a realtime ROLLER/LOOPER touch strip; PROBABILITY, RANDOMNESS, and SWING settings.
Features:
- 2 monophonic step sequencers
- Up to 64 steps per sequence
- Note, velocity and gate time settings per step
- Note tie
- 16-track drum sequencer (one track per pad)
- MIDI controller mode
- Fully customizable for knobs, step buttons and velocity and pressure sensitive pads
- Send MIDI CC, note data, program changes
- 16 Projects, each with 16×2 sequences, 16 drum sequences and a controller map.
- Performance controls
- Randomizer with Amount and Probability settings
- Real-time looper/roller touch strip
- Independent swing amount per sequence
- Touch sensitive knobs
- Tap Tempo
- Connectivity
- CV/GATE outputs (1 volt per octave CV, 10 volt gates)
- 8 drum gate outputs
- Clock sync with multiple standards
- MIDI In/Out with supplied MIDI adaptors
- USB class compliant
- Kensington lock
BeatStep Pro will be shipping in Spring 2015 and available for €249.00 EUR/$299.00 USD. See the Arturia site for details.
Q: Will the Drumsequencer be polyrythmic or is it possible to make the 3 seuqences (1,2,Rythm) act polyrythmic ?
Would be nice if some manufacturer would make a box that had more rhythmic muscle. Sick of these dumb-ass 16-only machines.
All they need is combine any number of sequence steps with setting the steps per beat ratio as
X number of steps per Y number of beats. But even then, you only get one per sequence which is pretty limited.
are you talking about something like a rene’, but with pads?
I’ve got to agree and go a little further. The 16 beat step sequencers and samplers (I use the Korg Kaossilator Pro extensively for this) are way too limiting. Musically, I’d love to be able to do longer chord progressions and have patterns of different lengths.
With a digital engine under the hood, why not offer some flexibility? Setup multiple tracks with different pattern lengths, let the patterns be step or more free form, and treat it more as a midi/cv/audio looper.
I love the flexibility all the new tools are offering, I just wish they didn’t place limits on the track/pattern lengths.
I can do this with Ableton, but I’d rather have a standalone hardware unit. 🙂
If you read the specs a bit more carefully, you will see it has 2 monophonic 64 step sequences for melodies – so you can run up to 2 melodies of up to 64 notes at a time.
The 16 refers to the number of individual drums or samples you can have, which is equal to the number of pads – as in one pad per tom, kick hh etc. This is NOT a 16 step sequencer!
Ugh, learning more and more about the limitations of this just reminds me how much I need to suck it up and build a MIDIbox.
Best \m/
This looks like pure win. And this is probably some of the best demo music I’ve heard for a manufacture promo. The camera work is a little over the top but the style of music and execution is pretty on point.
I’ll upgrade just for the SWING knob alone.
The original had a firmware upgrade that added swing.
Still lusting over the new version, though.
the vermona doesnt sound anything like that and its 100% midi… no analog triggers…. so that was a bit exagerated…. but it does look great(its been in my studio for almost 20 years!!!)
And no computer in sight. Run it all into a 2 channel mixer, along with a Piioneer DXJ-10000 player, and a talented person/DJ could have one hell of a good time.
Oops, the y did show a computer, but I’m surve/ or at least hope you could do away with it and its link to that drum plug- in.
it was controlling a vst on the computer
Balls, I bought an original beatstep a few weeks ago. And then I see this.
Seriously fucking cool.
I’m so sick of being ripped off by companies that release half a product one year, then the full thing the next.
I don’t want to reward that behaviour.
That seems to be Arturia’s MO.. Either they take an existing product and chop some features, or they make a new product then add features to it a year later. That said; I still love my KeyLab 49, which for some reason has better drum pads than the SparkLE I used to have, even though the SparkLE came out after the KeyLab series..
The BeatStep sort of sucked in my opinion, at least as a sequencer.
No display to show note values or tempo really made it a PITA to use. The gate signal doesn’t play well with lots of my modular stuff, including the Microbrute by the same company.
It is sitting in it’s box. Wish I had eBayed it before this new one was announced.
Looks like this new version solves that, but I am definitely not gonna be a first adopter this time. I wil wait a year and see how the unit shakes out.
I think they jumped the gun a bit for sure on something that is such a niche product.
I agree. Haven’t used it much since taking out out of the box. Not useful for anything melodic. Build quality is pretty poor too. After tossing in the gig bag one time, two of the encoders don’t work very well it at all.
This is called “testing the grounds/market”. Arturia would not have come up with a $300 Beatstep Pro if the $100 Beatstep did not have any success.
Just like Korg would not have made the Monotribe if the Monotrons did not have any success.
Exactly. Arturia is running a business, and a good one at that.
Such a shame its an arturia product. Their customer support is a direct line to the monkey enclosure in melbourne zoo, you just get bananas!
It’s digital;
Why not 16 polyphonic tracks?
Agree about Arturia re. product abandonment, etc… and really wish this was someone else but wow – that’s a nice package!
I too will be waiting for full in depth reviews to make sure they haven’t messed something important up that will never be fixed before buying and will be buying with the expectation that I simply won’t have any support for it.
Will it do sysex as a standalone?
Finally!
Rats! I was hoping that Arturia would be unveiling a two oscillator Brute synth.
the design resembles teenage engineerings OP-1, maybe they reused the unsold cases 🙂
I’ll take it in black please.
No kidding.
Their new audio interface comes in different colors, with weird “leather” stripes.
This needs a black version and a silver too.
No pastels to match you microbrute though.
badass!
I’d instantly buy it if it had Hz/V CV outs to drive my vintage Yamaha synths.
It doesn’t. Hoping for a firmware update to add Hz/V output …
i´m sick of all those product videos showing some shitty cool looking dude who´s presenting a shitty elektro (not electro!) track with postprocessed sounds and effects (nothing live there) – making amateur or hobby musicians (or maybe even people who shouldnt make any music at all!) think it will be such an easy job to create such “great” music. i think it´s misleading and without those videos and a proper and technical demonstration instead it probably would help decreasing all those shitty beatport tracks, all sounding the same. i think those hybrids are responsible for an immense shitload of bad music out there. if it would be about music, they´d do different even if they probably would sell less. of course this is not what such companies want. i shouldnt drink coffee before watching such videos.
By the way…the vermona DID have analog triggers…its a drm1 mk3 with cv trigger inputs, I have one in my rack. This beatstep pro is only $250.00, that’s chump change, and if it can handle a drm1 and a couple other devices for 64 steps, its well worth the pocket change. I’ve got one comming, and I guess I’ll see what all the hype is about…..cheers