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.
