USER’S MANUAL
PROGRAMMING: Yannick Bellance Robert Bocquier Olivier Delhomme Mark Xiaomai INDUSTRIALIZATION: Nicolas Dubois MANUAL: Randy Lee Sebastien Rochard DESIGN: Glen Darcey Sebastien Rochard Morgan Perrier Daniel Vester © ARTURIA SA – 2016 – All rights reserved. 11 Chemin de la Dhuy 38240 Meylan FRANCE http://www.arturia.com Information contained in this manual is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Arturia.
Thank you for purchasing the Arturia BeatStep Pro! This manual covers the features and operation of Arturia’s BeatStep Pro, a full-featured pad/knob controller, dual analog-style step sequencer, drum programmer and live performance device. In this package you will find: § One BeatStep Pro controller, with a serial number and unlock code on the bottom. You will need this information in order to register your BeatStep Pro.
Special Message Section SPECIFICATIONS SUBJECT TO CHANGE: The information contained in this manual is believed to be correct at the time of printing. However, Arturia reserves the right to change or modify any of the specifications without notice or obligation to update the hardware that has been purchased. IMPORTANT: The product and its software, when used in combination with an amplifier, headphones or speakers, may be able to produce sound levels that could cause permanent hearing loss.
Table of Contents 1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 10 2 BEATSTEP PRO OVERVIEW ................................................................................................................. 11 2.1 MAKING THE CONNECTIONS ................................................................................................................... 11 2.1.1 …with a Computer ...........................
4.3.3 4.3.3.1 4.3.3.2 4.3.3.3 4.3.4 4.3.5 4.3.5.1 4.3.5.2 4.3.5.3 4.3.6 4.3.6.1 4.3.6.2 4.3.6.3 4.3.6.4 Scales ............................................................................................................................................. 28 What the Scales do ...................................................................................................................................... 28 Scale Types ....................................................................................
6.6.2 Looper mode .................................................................................................................................. 44 6.6.2.1 Loop length ................................................................................................................................................. 44 6.7 TRNS LNK ............................................................................................................................................ 44 6.8 PRST LNK .................
12.2 PROJECT BROWSER ................................................................................................................................. 61 12.2.1 Building a Project library .............................................................................................................. 62 12.2.2 Revise a Template .......................................................................................................................... 62 12.2.3 Revise a pattern....................................
12.8.5.5 12.8.6 12.8.7 12.8.8 12.8.9 13 Wait to Load Pattern............................................................................................................................... 83 Metronome ..................................................................................................................................... 84 Transport ....................................................................................................................................... 85 Drum Map .............
1 INTRODUCTION Congratulations on your purchase of the Arturia BeatStep Pro! This unique device is a combination of many musical technologies: an assignable MIDI controller, two analogstyle step sequencers, a drum programmer and a live performance tool, all in a single compact package. It has an unlimited number of potential uses and setup options, thanks to its simultaneous USB, MIDI, CV/Gate and synchronization capabilities.
2 BEATSTEP PRO OVERVIEW 2.1 Making the connections BeatStep Pro offers an unprecedented number of ways to connect with other types of equipment, from vintage to modern. Below are examples of potential setups: 2.1.1 …with a Computer BeatStep Pro is a USB class-compliant controller, so at its most basic level it can be connected to any computer with a USB port and used as an input device for various applications.
2.1.2 …with external devices As you can see, the BeatStep Pro can be at the center of some amazing systems. 2.1.2.1 CV/Velo/Gate/Drum Gate The front panel of the BeatStep Pro allows you to take command of all sorts of external devices through its Pitch, Velo and Gate connectors. It also can send data to those devices from the USB port of your computer. 2.1.2.2 MIDI devices There are lots of great devices that only have MIDI ports (no CV/Gate connectors, no USB).
If you don’t have a ground loop problem in your setup, simply connect the BeatStep Pro with the supplied USB cable to a computer or a USB power supply. You should use the included anti ground loop adapter if you experience background noise in your speakers that disappears when you disconnect the audio interface from your computer or the CV/Gate connections to your analog gear. A ground loop can also cause problems with pitch tracking when using the BeatStep Pro CV connections with analog synthesizers.
2.2 Front panel overview 1. Transport/Shift buttons (see 2.2.1) 2. Preset/project utility (see 2.2.2) 3. Roller/looper (see 2.2.3) 4. Swing/Randomness/Probability (see 2.2.4) 5. Tempo and synchronization (see 2.2.5) 6. Sequence control (see 2.2.6) 7. Project/Control modes (see 2.2.7) 8. Encoders (see 2.2.8) 9. Step buttons (see 2.2.9) 10. Pads (see 2.2.10) 2.2.
The function of the Record and Stop buttons is obvious. But the Play button also serves as a Pause/Continue button. So you can pause a sequence in mid-stream, make an adjustment, and then press Play again to resume the sequence. The SHIFT button allows you to access the secondary functions of the current mode, such as the playback direction for one of the sequencers. 2.2.2 Preset/project utility 1. Transpose Link 2. Preset Link 3. Preset Length section 4. MIDI Channel 2.2.2.
When one of the sequencers has been selected, this strip is referred to as the “Looper”. It will repeat a section of the current project, the size of which is determined by the time division selected within the Looper strip area. Looper works on all three sequencers at the same time. 2.2.4 Swing/Randomness/Probability Swing introduces a “shuffle” feel to the sequences. It can affect the entire project (all three sequencers at once) or only the selected sequencer, leaving the others untouched.
2.2.6 Sequencer control BeatStep Pro provides three independent sequencers: two step sequencers and a drum sequencer. Each sequencer has 16 patterns available per Project, and the patterns can be up to 64 steps long. The Mute buttons can be used to bring the sequences in and out of the mix instantly. And of course the various controls can be used to modify the sequences during performance.
The 16 “endless” encoders are highly versatile: • In Control Mode they become fully assignable encoders for editing parameters. • They will edit the Pitch, Velocity or Gate time for each step in a sequence. • They can shift the timing of individual drums forward or backward (Drum sequencer only) • They are touch-sensitive, so when you want to know the current value of a parameter before you edit it, simply touch the corresponding encoder.
2.3 Rear panel overview, part 1 2.3.1 Pitch/Velo/Gate outputs These are normally used together to send electrical signals to an external device such as Arturia’s powerhouse monophonic analog synthesizers (MiniBrute/SE and MicroBrute/SE) or to a modular analog synthesizer. The Pitch output is often referred to as Control Voltage or CV. 2.3.2 Drum gates These outputs correspond to pads 1-8 when the Drum sequencer is selected.
2.4.3 USB/DC IN This connector provides the power and data connections to a computer. It can also be used with a standard USB mobile phone charger (5V and minimum 500mA), allowing you to use your controller presets and sequences even without a computer present. 2.4.4 Power switch If you want to turn the unit off without disconnecting the USB cable, use this recessed switch. 2.4.5 Kensington lock port BeatStep Pro is highly portable, and it should be carried only where you want it to go.
3 BASIC OPERATIONS 3.1 What’s a Project? BeatStep Pro contains 16 Projects. Each Project holds 16 patterns for each of the three sequencers (SEQ1, SEQ2 and DRUM), including all of the settings for each pattern. The Project also includes a Control Mode preset, with independent settings defined by the MIDI Control Center for each BeatStep Pro control. 3.2 The Blank Project Each of the Projects and patterns starts out with default, “blank slate” settings.
Chapter 12 explains how to use the MIDI Control Center to configure BeatStep Pro so its controls are perfectly matched to your system. It also shows you how to access parameters that are not available from the front panel. See Chapter 13 for a complete list of the default settings for each control. 3.3 Making a Project BeatStep Pro is such a spontaneous compositional tool that as soon as you change almost anything, you have started a new Project.
3.3.3 Clear a pattern If you want to start recording on the selected sequencer with a pattern that’s completely empty, hold the SHIFT button and press Step button 1. This will clear all of the data in the current pattern, so be careful! If you want to copy the current data to a different location first, see section 4.4. You can also use the MIDI Control Center to back it up to your computer. 3.3.4 Set the tempo When Sync is set to Internal, the tempo range of BeatStep Pro is 30-300 beats per minute (bpm).
• Add or remove some drum trigs using the step buttons, use the knobs to change the velocity, gate length or timing shift of the trigs. Important: If you want to keep what you’ve created, be sure to save the Project somewhere or you’ll lose everything. Refer to section 3.4 to learn how. 3.3.7 Sequencer Mute Each sequencer has a dedicated MUTE button, which is great for live performances and creative sessions.
Selecting Project #03 Note: There’s a preference in the MIDI Control Center where you can specify whether the new Project should be loaded instantly or wait until after the Drum sequencer reaches the end of its current pattern. See section 12.8.5.6 to learn about this feature. 3.6 All Notes Off It’s possible for a MIDI message to be interrupted for some reason. This can result in a stuck or ‘hanging’ note on the target device.
4 THE STEP SEQUENCERS The main focus of this chapter will be the sequencing features that are accessible from the front panel of the BeatStep Pro. There are more parameters available through the MIDI Control Center, though; see section 12.5 for information. 4.1 What’s a step sequencer? A step sequencer is a very basic type of music sequencer. Originally popular in the 1960’s and 70’s, they have been rediscovered as interest in modular synthesizers has grown.
4.3.1 Quantize Recording The process of recording a sequence has been described in the Basic Operations chapter. But there’s an important concept to know about recording in real time using the pads or incoming MIDI: the notes will be quantized according to the time division you have selected. So for example, if 1/4 is the time division setting then the recorded notes will quantize forward or back to the nearest quarter note.
A setting of TIE does different things for the CV/Gate output and over MIDI: • CV/Gate output: the note that follows a TIE will change the control voltage but will not send a new gate signal to the attached device. • MIDI output: the Note Off command for the first note happens after the Note On command for the second note. This allows for “legato” playing on a monophonic synthesizer.
Dorian Mixolydian Harmonic Minor Blues Notice that the Blues Scale only contains seven notes. And last but certainly not least, the… User Scale Only you know what the User Scale will be: choose any note in the chromatic scale and any number of notes between 1 and 12. To learn how to create one, see section 12.8.9. 4.3.3.3 How the root note of a sequence is determined The actual note sent by a BeatStep Pro sequence at any given moment is the sum of two parts: 1.
4.3.5.1 Sequence Follow mode When working with sequences longer than 16 steps there is an important feature to know. When the double arrow buttons (<< >>) are pressed at the same time, their LEDs will toggle off and on. This takes BeatStep Pro into and out of Sequence Follow mode. When this mode is active during playback, the Step Group LEDs and the Step buttons will show steps 1-16, then steps 17-32, then return to steps 1-16, and so on.
The Step buttons now show the status of steps 17-32. You can play the sequence while editing, if you want; it will play all 32 steps, but the Step buttons will stay focused on steps 17-32. Simply edit the steps as desired with the Step buttons and encoders. When you’re finished you can re-enter Sequence Follow mode with the << >> buttons if you like. 4.3.6 Pads For SEQ1 and SEQ2 the pads act like a piano keyboard, starting with pad 9 on the left side of the lower row.
To set the time division, press and hold the SHIFT button and then press the pad that corresponds to the timing you want: • Quarter notes (1/4) • Eighth notes (1/8) • Sixteenth notes (1/16) • Thirty-second notes (1/32) To switch any of those time divisions into their triplet values, hold SHIFT and then press the Triplet pad. The default setting is 1/16. 4.3.7 Swing The Swing feature is described in greater detail in section 6.
• Hold the SAVE button. The step button corresponding to the number of the current sequence will light up with the SEQUENCER mode’s color (SEQ1 : green, SEQ2 : Yellow). If you have saved other sequences their corresponding step buttons will light up in white to show you that they are not empty. • Select the Step button that corresponds to the location where you want your new sequence to be saved. • Release the buttons. Your sequence has been saved to the location you selected. 4.
5 THE DRUM SEQUENCER 5.1 DRUM vs. SEQ: a comparison SEQ1/SEQ2 and DRUM look similar, but the Drum sequencer is different in many ways: • Drum mode will record parts for up to 16 different instruments, not one. • Each of the 16 drums has its own ‘track’, and when one is selected the Step buttons display the pattern events for that drum. This is similar to the ‘classic’ workflow of early drum machines.
5.2.2 Selecting a Drum To select a Drum instrument for individual editing, simply tap a pad. When the pad is lit solid that means the Drum has been selected. To select a Drum instrument without hearing it, hold the DRUM button and press a pad. At this point the Step buttons will display the events that exist in the pattern for this Drum. You can use the KNOBS button and the encoders to edit particular events if you like. Use the Step buttons to toggle events on and off as needed. 5.2.
Note: a pattern can be longer than 16 steps (see the next section). When this is true you may see the enabled Step buttons change as the sequence crosses over from steps 1-16 to steps 17-32, etc. You can view a particular set of 16 steps by selecting that range of the pattern with one of the « » buttons, and then lock the view by pressing those buttons at the same time. You can disable this feature the same way. 5.2.6 Pattern Length The default length is 16 steps, but a pattern can be up to 64 steps long.
The Red LED indicates the current position of the pattern. The White LED means that the last step in the pattern is during steps 17-32. If you decide you want more than 32 steps for this pattern, hold the LST STEP button and press >> until the White LED is over the right number. Then press the appropriate Step button and you’re ready to create. 5.2.6.3 Editing steps 17-32 If you want to focus on steps 17-32 while editing, here’s what to do: • Disable Pattern Follow mode (turn off the << >> buttons).
5.2.8 Swing The Swing feature is described in greater detail in section 6.4, but it is important to know that the drum sequencer can have a different Swing % setting than the other sequencers. To experiment with this, press the CURRENT TRACK button: any changes to the swing percentage after this will affect only the drum pattern. Then you can select the other sequencers and edit their Swing settings also.
5.4 Copying a pattern You can also copy a pattern from one location within the Drum sequencer to another, even if no edits have been made. To do this, simply follow the same steps described in section 5.3 and select a new location number instead of the original number.
6 PROJECTS There are many independent features for each sequencer. But a Project is where you will find parameters that affect all three sequencers at the same time. The internal memory of the BeatStep Pro holds a total of 16 Projects. You could think of a Project as a single song (although it could be an entire performance).
6.2.2 Copying a Project You can also copy a Project from one location to another, even if no edits have been made. To do this, simply follow the same steps described above in section 6.1 and select a new location number instead of the original number. 6.3 Tempo The RATE/FINE encoder controls the Tempo value, which is stored per Project. It’s also possible to override the per-Project settings with a Global tempo using the MIDI Control Center (see section 12.8.5.5). 6.3.
6.4.1 Current Track button The CURRENT TRACK button enables each sequencer to have its own Swing setting. After you press that button, changes to the swing percentage will affect only the current sequencer. Then you can select the other sequencers and edit their Swing settings also. To return all three sequencers to the same Swing %, simply toggle the CURRENT TRACK button off. Note: the CURRENT TRACK button is disabled in Control Mode, but you can still set a global Swing % value. 6.
But at 100% the rhythm, velocity and gate times of all three sequencers will be entirely random, within the constraints of the Probability setting. The pitches of SEQ1 and SEQ2 will be selected at random also within the pitches of their current sequences. The Randomness encoder is touch-sensitive, so you can check its setting without editing the value by touching the encoder. 6.5.2 Probability The Probability value will determine how often the Randomness will occur.
sensitivity of the pads to perform volume swells on the selected drum during the roll. • When SEQ1, SEQ2 or DRUM are selected the strip functions as a Looper. It will loop a certain section of the music based on the position of your finger on the strip. It affects all three sequencers at the same time. 6.6.1 Roller mode The Roller functions exclusively in Control Mode. Since the pads are set to transmit MIDI notes by default you should be able to try it immediately.
• Note data from the USB connection • The pads (SEQ1 or SEQ2 must be selected). The MIDI Control Center has Transposition preferences such as the Latch mode, the input port, the input channel and the center pitch. See section 12.8.2 for a full description. To toggle Transposition Link feature on and off, press the TRNS LNK button. 6.8 PRST LNK When the PRST LNK button is lit it links the sequencer presets so you can change all three at the same time with a single action.
6.9.2 Input Channels Sequencer 1, 2 and Drum can receive MIDI on its own channel by following these steps: • Select the sequencer you want to change by pressing the [SEQUENCER X] or [DRUM] button • Press and hold the SHIFT button • Press and hold the CHAN button • Press one of the Step buttons. Note that when the SHIFT + CHAN buttons are pressed the Step buttons show three different colors.
7 ADVANCED FEATURES 7.1 Enter notes with Step+Pad In Sequencer mode, you can use the pads to enter notes when Recording is on. When the sequencer is turned off, or when Recording is off, you can set the Pitch and Velocity of a step by holding the Step button and hitting the Pad of the note you want to play. The velocity at which you hit the pad will be memorized for this step as well. This will also work by using an external MIDI keyboard instead of the pad. 7.
Example 2 Original size 32 steps Example 3 Original size 7 steps Action SHIFT+>> New size 48 steps Reason Steps 1-16 were copied / appended to step 33 Action SHIFT+>> SHIFT+>> SHIFT+>> New size 14 steps 28 steps 44 steps Reason Steps 1-7 were copied / appended to step 8 Steps 1-14 were copied / appended to step 15 Steps 1-16 were copied / appended to step 29 To make the pattern an intermediate length, use the LST STEP button and the Step buttons as described in section 4.3.
7.5 MIDI to CV It is possible to use BeatStep Pro as a MIDI to CV converter. For instance, if you want to use an external MIDI keyboard to play a vintage synth or send a drum sequence from your DAW to send triggers to an analog modular system, you can use BeatStep Pro as the converter between the digital MIDI data and the analog CV/Gate signals. 7.5.
Knob 1 will apply an offset to the values contained in the sequence. This offset will be shown in the Value Display. The range is [-99 , +99]. Knob 2 will set the same value for all the active steps of your sequence as soon as you turn the knob. The value will be shown in the Value Display. For the DRUM sequencer, the changes will be applied to the currently selected drum only. Example 1: Select SEQUENCER 1, set the length to 4 steps.
8 SYNCHRONIZATION BeatStep Pro can be the master clock for an entire MIDI rig, or it can just as happily serve as a slave to any one of several sources. See section 2.1 for connection diagrams. You can cycle through the various Sync options using the SYNC button. A white LED will let you know which mode you’ve selected. For example, in the illustration below the USB sync option has been selected: Note: When the unit is playing a sequence, the Sync setting cannot be changed. 8.
• 24 pulse per quarter note (ppqn) - standard DIN sync • 48 ppqn 8.2.2 Clock connectors There are several types of connectors that have been used for musical synchronization purposes over the years.
9 CV/GATE FUNCTIONS BeatStep Pro provides direct access to some of the best music technology the world has produced in the last six decades: USB, MIDI, Clock and CV/Gate connectors are all present on its rear panel in a space not much larger than a pencil. Connection diagrams for each of these interfaces are available in section 2.1. In this chapter we’ll focus on the features of the BeatStep Pro CV/Gate circuitry.
through a splitter or a patch bay. Those routings will produce the most predictable results. But you can send those signals to any parameters that will accept them. 9.1.4 CV/Gate specifications Some analog synthesizers have unusual implementations that are not fully compatible with the BeatStep Pro CV/Gate signals. Please refer to their specifications before making a purchase so you can be sure the two devices will work together well.
9.2.3 Can my DAW send CV/Gate signals? It’s possible to send triggers from up to 8 MIDI tracks on your DAW to the Drum Gate jacks. There’s a MIDI note number assignment for each Drum Gate, and you can set those values using the MIDI Control Center. When the MIDI channel and the note numbers match, the Drum Gates will be triggered.
10 CONTROL MODE 10.1 What is Control Mode? When BeatStep Pro is in Control Mode every encoder, button and pad can transmit specific MIDI data to external devices that are connected to the MIDI output jack. This same data will be sent to your computer via USB. The controller assignments can be set using the MIDI Control Center software. See chapter 12 for more information.
10.2.4 Randomness/Probability The Randomness and Probability encoders still control their respective parameters in Control Mode. The difference is that the amounts are applied equally to all three sequencers; the shared CURRENT TRACK button does not have any effect over these parameters. For a description of the Randomness and Probability features see section 6.5. 10.2.5 Roller The Roller/Looper strip is a special case, as it functions as a Roller in Control Mode and as a Looper in the other three modes.
11 MIDI CONTROL CENTER BASICS The MIDI Control Center is an application that allows you to configure the MIDI settings of your BeatStep Pro. It works with most of Arturia’s devices, so if you have an earlier version of the software you’ll want to download the BeatStep Pro version. It will work with those products as well. 11.1 System requirements PC: 2 GB RAM; CPU 2 GHz (Windows 7 or higher) Mac: 2 GB RAM; CPU 2 GHz (OS X 10.7 or higher) 11.
11.4 Where to find the manual There is a built-in help file for the MIDI Control Center in its Help menu, as shown below: It’s a good introduction to the MIDI Control Center, describing each section of the software window and defining important terms you will need to know while using the MIDI Control Center, such as ‘Working Memory’ and ‘Template’.
12 USING MIDI CONTROL CENTER The built-in MIDI Control Center manual has general descriptions of the features that are common to all Arturia products. To learn how to access the manual, see section 11.5. This chapter will cover only the MIDI Control Center features that are unique to the BeatStep Pro. 12.1 Device Projects 12.1.1 The Working Memory The currently active project on the BeatStep Pro is known as the Working Memory.
Resizing the Device Projects window 12.2 Project Browser The Project Browser shows a list of all the Projects that have been archived using the MIDI Control Center. These are divided into two main groups of Templates: Factory and User. The User Templates are the ones you have recalled from the BeatStep Pro using the MIDI Control Center. See section 12.3 to learn how to do this.
User Templates: click +/- to expand or collapse Project view 12.2.1 Building a Project library You can build a limitless library of Projects in the User Templates area. Simply drag one of the Projects to the Project Browser window and it will be transferred from the BeatStep Pro automatically. Then you can give it a new name if you like. 12.2.2 Revise a Template If you’d like to modify a Template you can drag it from the Project Browser and drop it on the Working Memory area.
This same procedure can also be used to drop a Template onto a Project location in the Device Projects window. Doing this will store that Template to the BeatStep Pro internal memory at the location you select. 12.2.3 Revise a pattern If you’d like to modify a pattern inside an archived Template you can drag that pattern from the Project Browser and drop it into the Working Memory. You can also drop it on one of the Project locations in the Device Projects window.
First select “Project 2” in the list as pictured above. Next, click the Store To button at the bottom of that section. That’s all there is to it! The settings and sequences you created in the Working Memory of MIDI Control Center have been stored as Project #2 in the BeatStep Pro. Now you can load that Project whenever you want by using the PROJECT button and Step button 2. 12.3.2 Recall a Project from the BeatStep Pro it is possible to make whole Projects without a computer attached.
Simply click on a tab to select its window. 12.4.1 Project The Project tab contains four parameters: The Project tab • Swing / Randomness / Probability (section 2.2.4) • Tempo (section 2.2.5) Of these four parameters, three can be overridden by the CURRENT TRACK button. In this case the individual settings per sequencer will take effect. See sections 6.4.1 and 6.5.3 for more information about that. 12.4.2 SEQ1/SEQ2 The tabs for SEQ1 and SEQ2 are identical. We’ll cover them in section 12.
The SEQ1 tab 12.4.3 DRUM The Drum tab contains almost all of the same parameters as the SEQ1/SEQ2 tabs. We’ll cover them in section 12.6, but we’d like to point out the pattern selection feature here. Look for the second set of tabs right below the 5 mode tabs. These allow you to select the individual patterns within the Drum sequencer. The DRUM tab 12.4.4 Controller Map The Controller Map tab shows the entire set of BeatStep Pro controls.
The Controller Map window We’ll go through some examples of MIDI mapping in section 12.7. 12.5 Sequence window 12.5.1 Navigation 12.5.1.1 Scroll If you have a scroll wheel you can move the piano roll view up and down. Place the cursor in the piano roll field first, not over the keyboard graphic. If you hold the Shift key on your computer keyboard the piano roll will move sideways. You can also click/drag the scroll bars at the edge and bottom of the window to reposition the sequence view.
12.5.1.2 Zoom To zoom in and out of the horizontal view, place the cursor in the piano roll field. Then press Command (Mac) or Control (Windows) and use the scroll wheel to adjust the view. To zoom in and out of the vertical view, place the cursor over the keyboard graphic first. Then press Command (Mac) or Control (Windows) and use the scroll wheel to zoom in and out. 12.5.
The SEQ1/SEQ2 Transpose window 12.5.3 SEQ Length Changing the sequence length here affects the SEQ window. For example, here’s how it looks when the length is set to 12: The patterns can be up to 64 steps long, and the unused steps are darkened because they are outside the pattern length area. The steps are numbered along the bottom of the window: 12.5.4 Sequence events 12.5.4.1 Enter/delete notes Double-click on a square inside the piano roll to enter a note.
Next, click on the middle of one of the notes and drag the selected notes up, down, left or right. Note: if one of the selected notes moves outside the MIDI note range, the entire piano roll will glow red. The same thing happens if the notes are moved beyond the 1st or 64th steps in the sequence. 12.5.4.3 Copy/paste notes After selecting a group of notes you can make another copy of those notes in another section of the sequence.
12.5.4.6 TIE a note If you continue dragging the horizontal cursor to the right past 99%, a value of TIE will appear. The right edge of the note box will become an arrow: A new note will appear in the next Step. The overlapped arrow shows that the two notes are tied: You can continue dragging the cursor to set the Gate time of the second note. If you want an even longer note, you can keep dragging the cursor until the second note’s length value also becomes TIE, and so on.
Scroll bar location 12.6.1.2 Zoom To zoom in and out of the horizontal view, place the cursor in the sequence field. Then press Command (Mac) or Control (Windows) and use the scroll wheel to adjust the view. 12.6.
12.6.3 SEQ length Changing the sequence length here affects the SEQ window. For example, here’s how it looks when the length is set to 12: The patterns can be up to 64 steps long, and the unused steps are darkened because they are outside the pattern length area. The steps are numbered along the bottom of the window: 12.6.4 Sequence events 12.6.4.1 Enter/delete events Double-click on a square inside the sequence view to enter an event.
Next, click on the middle of one of the events and drag the selected events up, down, left or right. Note: if one of the selected events moves beyond pad 1 or pad 16 the entire sequence field will glow red. The same thing happens when a note is moved beyond the 1st or 64th steps. 12.6.4.3 Copy/paste events After selecting a group of events you can make another copy of those events in another section of the sequence.
A new event will appear in the next Step. The overlapped arrow shows that the two events are tied: You can continue dragging the cursor to set the Gate time of the second event. If you want an even longer event, you can keep dragging the cursor until the second event’s length value also becomes TIE, and so on. When the lengths of multiple events are edited at the same time they will all change to the same value. 12.
Knob control options Step button control options Pad control options Each has pull-down menus with additional options. For example, the Mode of a pad can also be assigned to CC: The options of each field are different for each control type. However, there are two fields that are always available for each control: MIDI Port and MIDI Channel. 12.7.1.
12.7.1.2 MIDI Channel Another option is available for setting the MIDI channel for the control. Be sure to check the MIDI Channel assignment to make sure it matches that of the receiving device. The “User” setting allows you to change the MIDI channel of this control from within Control Mode by holding the CHAN button + pressing a Step button. So for each control you can choose whether they will be locked to a particular MIDI channel or will ‘float’ with the Control Mode MIDI channel.
These settings will allow you to send two different values of a particular MIDI CC number each time you press the pad. There are a couple of MIDI CC numbers that have been assigned the task of controlling filter brightness (CC# 74) or harmonic content (CC# 71). We’ll use CC# 74 for this example.
The first press of Pad 9 will send a CC# 74 command with a value of 78, which will close the filter down part way but still let a lot of the audio pass through. The second press of Pad 6 will send a value of 127, opening the filter completely. 12.7.3 Set encoder range for a MIDI CC The encoders are assignable using the same techniques described for the pads. Let’s give a quick example of an interesting use: setting the rate of an LFO so it operates only within a certain range.
12.8 Global parameters The right side of the MIDI Control Center window contains essential parameters you can use to optimize BeatStep Pro for your setup and your working style. 12.8.1 MIDI Channel Use the pull-down menus to select the User MIDI Channel for BeatStep Pro. This is the same parameter as the Control Mode MIDI Channel that you can set from the front panel. Changing the User Channel is a quick way to reassign many controls at once.
12.8.2.1 Latch This preference allows you to choose whether a sequence will be transposed momentarily or latched when receiving incoming MIDI notes on the Transposition Input Channel. With either setting the transposition will happen immediately; the difference is what will happen once the pad is released. When Latch is Off the sequences will transpose back to the original key immediately after the pad is released.
12.8.3 CV/Gate mode This is where you select the electrical behavior for each sequencer. The various settings are described in section 9.1.4 (SEQ1/SEQ2) and section 9.2.5 (DRUM). 12.8.4 Velo/AT 12.8.4.1 User Knob Acceleration There are four response curves for the encoders: • Slow (Off): the encoders transmit every value. It takes more turns of an encoder to move from minimum to maximum. Use this when greater precision is desired. • Medium: when turned quickly the encoders will skip a few values.
confirm whether it is capable of responding to Polyphonic Aftertouch. If it is, this is an utterly expressive way to control that device. But it also will generate a lot of extra MIDI data, so route your devices accordingly. 12.8.5 Sync These allow you to specify the response to various synchronization and tempo options. 12.8.5.1 Clock In/Out Settings This is where you determine which clocking signal will be transmitted and recognized by the Clock input and output connectors.
12.8.6 Metronome These parameters work together to define the metronome: On/Off: when set to On the Metronome will be enabled by default when the unit first powers up. Note: select the MIDI note of the metronome sound Port: the metronome note can be sent to external MIDI, your computer via USB, or both. Channel: choose the MIDI channel of the metronome sound Bar Velocity: set the velocity at which the metronome note will play on the downbeat of each bar.
12.8.7 Transport You can define the MIDI channel and CC number for each of the three main Transport commands independently. All three must transmit the same type of MIDI information, though: MMC, MIDI CC or both. 12.8.8 Drum Map The Chromatic and Custom drum map templates There are four options for the MIDI note assignments of the pads in Drum mode: • Chromatic: MIDI notes 36-51 are spread evenly across pads 1-16 • General MIDI: pads 1-16 conform to the General MIDI specification.
12.8.9 User Scale To create your own User Scale for the encoders, turn each note on or off. For example, if you wanted to set up a whole-tone scale, turn off C#, D#, F, G, A and B. That way the encoders will only select C, D, E, F#, G# and A# when they are turned.
13 PARAMETER CHARTS 13.1 Default settings The following tables list the default settings for Control Mode: 13.1.
MIDI channels MIDI port USER, 1-16 USB, MIDI, USB&MIDI User USB&MIDI 13.1.
Max velocity range Play mode 0-127 GATE/TOGGLE 127 Gate PROGRAM CHANGE mode MIDI CC MIDI channels MIDI port BANK LSB BANK MSB 0-127 USER, 1-16 USB, MIDI, USB&MIDI 0-127 0-127 Varies User USB&MIDI 0 127 NRPN mode NRPN High NRPN Low Data MIDI channels MIDI port 0-127 0-127 0-127 USER, 1-16 USB, MIDI, USB&MIDI 127 0 Varies User USB&MIDI 13.
14 ARTURIA BEATSTEP PRO – LEGAL INFORMATION 14.1 SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT In consideration of payment of the Licensee fee, which is a portion of the price you paid, Arturia, as Licensor, grants to you (hereinafter termed “Licensee”) a nonexclusive right to use this copy of the Analog Lab Software (hereinafter the “SOFTWARE”). All intellectual property rights in the software belong to Arturia SA (hereinafter: “Arturia”).
The product registration is possible during the activation process or at any time later through the Internet. In such a process you are asked to agree to the storage and use of your personal data (name, address, contact, email-address, and license data) for the purposes specified above. Arturia may also forward these data to engaged third parties, in particular distributors, for support purposes and for the verification of the upgrade or update right. 5.
10. No other Warranties The above warranties are in lieu of all other warranties, expressed or implied, including but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. No oral or written information or advice given by Arturia, its dealers, distributors, agents or employees shall create a warranty or in any way increase the scope of this limited warranty. 11.
14.3 CANADA NOTICE: This class B digital apparatus meets all the requirements of the Canadian Interference-Causing Equipment Regulation. AVIS: Cet appareil numérique de la classe B respecte toutes les exigences du Règlement sur le matériel brouilleur du Canada. 14.4 EUROPE This product complies with the requirements of European Directive 89/336/EEC This product may not work correctly by the influence of electro-static discharge; if it happens, simply restart the product.
