Arturia Keystep 5-stars Reviews

perfect keyboard for synthesizer setups.

amazing and portable

mini keys but very nice aftertouch

sequencer works like a charm. versatile cv and midi connections

Brilliant for everything!

Its perfect for everything, I use it with Eurorack and also synths,

love how easy is it in use and portable . Its also syncs up with my computer and juve love it. Go for it if you don?t have one!

Good feel, reliable

I have had this for a few years now, and so far it has been flawless. My only wish was that it has more knobs, but you can't have it all. Easily the best feeling mini keyboard.

Pros:

+ Great feel

+ Compact

+ Solid build

Cons:

+ Wish it had more encoders

+ my personal preference is for modwheels, but the touch strip is very functional

Excellent portable keyboard.

Genuinely a brilliant MIDI controller. Excellent for use in the studio or when travelling. Lovely response on the keys (for the price), and the inbuilt sequencer is really special.

It's also satisfyingly weighted, not too flimsy, and not too bulky. I use it over nearly any other controller I have simply because it feels the best to use.

Perfect for Analog setups

Still discovering new type of workflows on this one. I can use it for almost everything, very durable and very trusted!

A fantastic MIDI controller for use with modular and software, it has it's limitations but at such a good price it is excellent. I got it to replace a broken MiniLab II and miss having the controlling potentiometers but that's what the Keystep Pro is for!

Excellent

One of the best products from Arturia. Excellent quality and very fun to experiment with arpeggios and sequences!

Best Midi Keyboard

This is literally the best midi keyboard of that size and portability that I've ever tested and played on.(not taking in the Rise keyboard with vibrato and other sensitivity stuff on keys)

The sequencer and arp is great, all the features are wild if you're using outboard gear like synths, modules.

ONLY thing I could ask for is a mod and pitch wheel and not this touch bar(feels harder to get the stuff accurate when you play).

Other than that 10/10

Very good quality keyboard & sequencer!

A really good choice for a midi keyboard and sequencer at a really compelling price! I love the keystep!

Highly recommended MIDI/CV keyboard

A highly intuitive and creative keyboard with the possibility of amending sequences on the fly, as well as various modes of arpeggiation. It's highly convenient for its connectivity through Analog CV and/or MIDI. a great keyboard to allow you various options of controlling all sorts of gear. Highly recommended. My favourite MIDI/CV keyboard.

Nice

Very sturdy and I like the action of the keys. Although those are minikeys there play way better than for example the keys of the minilogue and it has a lot of features and connectivity

Superb build quality

This is my second Arturia purchase after the Beatstep Pro and this keyboard has a great quality feel to it that is familiar from my last purchase. Proper rugged construction and the keys feel excellent, chunky, weighted, real high quality.

Control is fairly intuitive and much of it is self-explanatory.

A con for me is - NO OFF/ON SWITCH - maybe they have a reason for this, I don't know, but I'm old school, I want an on/off switch please.

There's a reason so many of these are sold, you really can't do better for the money.

Best midi keyboard outhere

Everything regarding this piece of equipment is great, the integration coudn't be better and it works with ableton and my external instruments flawlessly. You have not reason to not liking it and for the price it s just too good to be true hah

need it for every studio

totally happy wiht this midi controller, a lot of options at the back , CV , pedal, midi IN/OUT gate, trig options , just perfect

Impressed by the quality!

For the price you really can't miss.

Pros,

Compact

Great feel on the keys.

CV/Gate is great if you have modular or semi-modular synths.

The chord function is really good especially in live situations where you want to improvise on the fly or in the studio sketching ideas.

The sequencer is really good to and it reminds me of the sequencer on my Bassstation II.

Musthave clock-midi station in your rig

It's just like a door and always helps out in difficult situations!

A well built midi controller with good connections

I was pleasantly surprised by the build quality of this keyboard. Small, sturdy and well designed. The key bed feels very nice to me. I use a lot of hardware synth modules and this unit seems to be able to fit just anywhere with the benefit of having midi and CV connections which makes it very versatile. Im not sure there are any other options out there regardless of price and size. The Sequencing is Basic but useful. I have found it very useful for Jotting out Ideas, Riffs and loops that can be expanded on at a later date. Im sure there would be a market for a Pro version with a better sequencer and a proper display, Hint Arturia. One thing that i didnt like was No Power Supply included by Arturia, which annoys me because using it stand alone is one of its biggest selling points. i would have happily paid 10 extra euros for a proper power supply. But all in all very satisfied with this product. Midi Controllers over the years have been an easy target for companies scrimping and saving on decent parts, and hopefully we see more solid products like this in the future.

Best keyboard controler for CV's

I'm using the Keystep in addition to the Moog Mother 32 and the Moog DFAM.

The keystep allows you to control other synth's using Midi or CV (which is rare in cotroler synth). It's build with an internal polyphonic sequencer and arpegiator which is compatible with the Moog's.

It's a really robust portable synth, i was amazed by the quality of it.

The midi in and out allows you to sync the Keystep to an external source and then plug it with the midi out to sync another module.

For the CV's you have 3 signals that you can send, a Pitch (which is sending signal from the keys), gate (used to send start and stop signals) and the MOD output whiwh allows you to control other synth (for exemple a VCO) with the touchable mod "wheel" of the Keystep (i use is to control the LFO of the Moog Mother 32 and it's amazing).

When you'll register it on Arturia's website, they will give you a software that can allow you to parameter you midi's outputs, upgrade the firmware and modifying the overall parameters of the Synth.

Nonetheless, i found the sequencer and the ajustable parameters kind of non intuitive, you'll have to read the manual (which is not included but you will find it on Arturia's website) carefully to be able to properly use the Keystep and all it's features.

Exept for that little cons, it's a really great controller, especially if you are using modular synthetisers.

Excellent product, highly recommended!

PROS:

-The keys have aftertouch and feel very nice for such a small and compact design.

-Lots of sync options. My personal favourite being that it translates MIDI to Korg pulse which allows me to easily sync my DAW to Korg stuff like the Volcas. And it has minijack sync I/O.

-Proper MIDI ins/outs (not just USB) and CV outputs.

-Excellent polyphonic 64 step sequencer (very user friendly when connected to a computer). I don't really use the step sequencer much but it works great! Very nice arpeggiator too.

-Very intuitive in use. Very easy to learn all basic functions.

-Lots of "under the hood" settings and options (like velocity curves CV/gate settings, etc.). A lot more than I will probably ever need. Far too much to get into here but the manual can be downloaded from the Arturia website.

-Very nice design, looks classier than most midi keyboards.

-Excellent build quality, feels sturdier than most midi keyboards I've used.

-9v power input so it can be used as standalone.

CONS:

-Although it has a 9v input it can't be used with standard Boss type adapter. It requires a 500mA adapter to work. This is EXTREMLY inconvenient but it's also the only negative thing I have to say about the Keystep.

Great product, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!