#beatstep pro

[meksynthesis]

Connecting an Arturia Beatstep Pro to a Roland T-8

This is something that ought to be simple but it took a while to figure out. The main hurdle is that the Arturia Beatstep TRS MIDI output uses Type-B layout, and the Roland T-8 uses Type-A. See here for more info on TRS MIDI.

There aren't any dedicated crossover cables to connect Type-B to Type-A, but one solution that I found online was to get a TRS -> RCA splitter, and combine that with a RCA -> TRS adapter with the sides reversed.

Here's a summary of the mapping:

Arturia Beatstep Pro -> Midi Out -> (TRS>RCA Cable)

TRS>RCA Cable>White -> RCA>TRS>Red

TRS>RCA Cable>Red -> RCA>TRS>White

(RCA>TRS) -> Midi In -> Roland T-8

If any downstream devices from the Roland T-8 are Type-A, then any vanilla TRS cable should be fine.

After setting up the wiring, then the arturia should be setup for the drum notes that trigger the Roland T-8. These can be found at this page.

BASS DRUM (Rx/Receive: 35, 36) (Tx/Transmit: 36)

SNARE DRUM (Rx/Receive: 38, 40) (Tx/Transmit: 38)

HAND CLAP (Rx/Receive: 48, 50) (Tx/Transmit: 50)

TOM (Rx/Receive: 45, 47) (Tx/Transmit: 47)

CLOSED HIHAT (Rx/Receive: 42, 44) (Tx/Transmit: 42)

OPEN HIHAT (Rx/Receive: 46) (Tx: Transmit: 46)

Next, set the MIDI channels appropriately on both devices. Since channel 10 is usually used for Drum MIDI, the Arturia has been setup with bindings as shown above in the Arturia MIDI Device Center.

This video goes over setting up the MIDI channel selections for both devices:

A summary of the above video:

Arturia Beatstep Pro (Setup Drum MIDI Channel)

Press [Drum] (bottom button of the last section panel)

Press and hold [Chan], then press [10] on the 16-sequence button row

Pressing and holding [Chan] again should show [10] lit up in Purple/Violet, or flashing if more than one channel is configured for it (rare)

Arturia Beatstep Pro (Setup Bass MIDI Channel)

Press [Sequencer 1] (bottom button of the second section panel)

Press and hold [Chan], then press [2] on the 16-sequence button row

Pressing and holding [Chan] again should show [2] lit up in Green (or Yelloww if Seq 2), or flashing if more than one channel is configured for it (rare)

Repeat again or apply on [Sequencer 2] as needed.

Roland T-8 (Setup Drum MIDI Channel) (Manual Pages Here)

Press and hold [Shift] near the control knob, then press [Oct +](Menu, 15th button) on the bottom right.

Turn the control knob until the HUD display says "rhCh"

Press the [C#](Enter, 2nd button) on the bottom left

Turn the knob until the HUD display says "10"

Press the [C](Exit, 1st button) on the bottom left

Roland T-8 (Setup Bass MIDI Channel) (Manual Pages Here)

Press and hold [Shift] near the control knob, then press [Oct +](Menu, 15th button) on the bottom right.

Turn the control knob until the HUD display says "baCh"

Press the [C#](Enter, 2nd button) on the bottom left

Turn the knob until the HUD display says "2"

Press the [C](Exit, 1st button) on the bottom left

Last, the Roland T-8 can respond to program changes, so if you want to sync the pattern setup with the Arturia Beatstep Pro, setup the MIDI program change channel as specified below.

Arturia Beatstep Pro (Setup Program MIDI Channel)

Press [Control Mode] (bottom button of the first section panel)

Press and hold [Chan], then press [16] on the 16-sequence button row

Pressing and holding [Chan] again should show [16] lit up in Red, or flashing if more than one channel is configured for it (rare)

Roland T-8 (Setup Program MIDI Channel) (Manual Pages Here)

Press and hold [Shift] near the control knob, then press [Oct +](Menu, 15th button) on the bottom right.

Turn the control knob until the HUD display says "PcCh"

Press the [C#](Enter, 2nd button) on the bottom left

Turn the knob until the HUD display says "16"

Press the [C](Exit, 1st button) on the bottom left

It doesn't appear to be necessary to connect the sync cable when MIDI is in use, but if needed, one can connect the two with an ordinary TRS male-male cable.

[meksynthesis]

How to go from a 16 step sequence to 32, 48 or 64 steps using the Arturia BeatStep Pro

this video is short and sweet but goes over something that is not as intuitive as the rest of the interface on the arturia beatstep- setting up sequences longer than 16 steps.

one drawback is that there isn't a way to downsize a sequence; one has to delete a sequence and just make a new one to change a slot to a smaller size. :(

[meksynthesis]

BeatStep Pro connectivity

this is pretty basic, but for new users like myself it is good to learn exactly how to drive other devices with the beatstep pro.

one thing that is worth remembering is that the black-tipped miniplug that comes in the box is for MIDI time only.

[meksynthesis]

BeatStep Pro firmware update 2.0 - Episode 3 - Pattern Chaining

i'm still learning to wrap my head around how song construction is done on the beatstep pro, but this video goes a long way in explaining how to stitch patterns together (and also what the control mode is all about).

[meksynthesis]

Sequence a Nord Drum 3P with an Arturia Beatstep Pro

this video pretty much sold me on this hardware combo. it's really easy to drive once you set it up; and my best friend's kids loved playing and sequencing with this combo.

[meksynthesis]

Setting up the MIDI trigger channel on a Waldorf Streichfett

Switch on Streichfett and wait for a few seconds. While holding all 4 memory buttons play a note to Streichfett via MIDI on the channel that

This was trickier to do than I had thought. What worked for me was the following (I used the arturia beatstep pro for this):

make sure the streichfett and beatstep pro are on separate power circuits and off

turn on the beatstep pro

on a free/unused sequencer pattern, press the [-] Octave button three times.

after the octave has been set to its lowest value, enter a few C notes (perhaps on beat).

using the knobs on the beatstep pro, adjust each C note all the way down to C-0 (lowest possible note).

test the pattern by hitting play on the beatstep pro.

set the channel for the current sequencer to the desired value (note that you might not be able to use channel 16, and if you are doing split-mode setup, you cannot use a channel higher than 14; see link below)

ensure the beatstep pro midi out is connected to midi in on the streichfett

turn on the streichfett

immediately hold down all 4 memory buttons on the streichfett

count to 10, slowly

press play on the beatstep pro to start the sequence of C-0 notes.

the streichfett should miss one or two notes and then start playing C-0 at whatever settings are configured.

Troubleshooting

If the streichfett is not responding, check to make sure that you're using a valid and good midi-out cable on the beatstep pro.

check the volume level on the streichfett

ensure that the playback channel on the beatstep pro matches the one you want, and is not set higher than 15 for normal mode or 14 for split mode. See: https://www.reddit.com/r/synthesizers/comments/3xq6kz/midi_settings_on_a_streichfett/

[meksynthesis]

beatstep pro melodic sequencers

this is a beatstep pro demo straight from arturia; i ended up purchasing one as the workflow for the drums won me over, and there were many available within a decent price range compared to its initial debut price.

[kezm01]