Arturia Forums
Hardware Sequencers => KeyStep Pro => KeyStep Pro - General Discussions => Topic started by: marcel-x on June 15, 2020, 04:25:54 pm
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I thought it would be nice to share a picture of my current setup with the KSP as center piece!
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Very nice!
JV-2080's are a great machine for all those big old Roland poly sounds. Definitely able to hold it's own against a Blofeld still. A few questions about the gear on the peripherals, you seem to own a museum ;) (I can't talk, still think I should replace my M1 with the M1r :P) Is that a QY700 on the shelf, above left, and what is the box on the right, a VS-1680? The QY700 actually has some very nice drums on it.
A more relevant question now, why no CV from the KSP to it yet?
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I'm amazed you did recognize a QY700 and a VS-1680 from the side! Though you missed the Casio VL-1 in between. :o
I used the QY700 and the build-in XG soundset together with the VS-1680 (later replaced by a VS-2480) until the IBM Death-Star HDD failed.
A M1R might be more practical, but then the M1 might be more iconic. Tough choice.
I haven't got the CV working after a couple of attempts. ( https://forum.arturia.com/index.php?topic=102458 )
After growing up with 6.3mm jacks, XLR connectors and DIN 5-pin plugs, which have proven to be rather stage proof, the toy-like 3.5mm and micro/mini USB connections are a big step down imho.
I prefer to use MIDI for it is so much more convenient to use. Way back, MIDI was a huge improvement over the non-standard musical interfaces.
[edit: add topic link]
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Oh I see the Casio now! To be fair, there is virtually no distinguishing features in view even if I did own one for me to identify.
I still use my QY700 as it is a seriously good hi-res MIDI sequencer, but not that often. I tend to run if for long chord progressions and to capture CC's. It sits up out of the way, so my view of it is very similar to that in the photo. Well I should say "was sitting" since it's actually in storage at the moment, as is most of my gear. I'm in between permanent residences right for another month or so. I'll have to share my KSP set-up photo when the new place is finished.
Way back at the turn of the century a mate had a VS-1680 and I was jealous as could be of it. He transferred many of my 4-trk cassette recordings to cd for me, so I've plugged into the back there a good number of times.
Yeah I hear you on the 1/4" jack thing. Took me a bit to accept the 1/8" jacks. My kack-handed mate can play guitar like a beast but has troubles plugging in to patch bay using 1/4"ers. Needless to say he only turns knobs on my modular set up!
The move to 1/8" MIDI is something I hope doesn't catch on too much more than it has. I was very relived that the KSP used DIN MIDI and USB B sockets. I've found that some companies do make decent strength 1/8"ers but there can be some variance the quality of the sockets too. I'm up to three MIDI router/switches now (four if including the MIO4) and have found that if I can avoid using an instrument's MIDI port, I will. Drum machines with a sync plug get a gate out from the BSP (or KSP now) and anything with a CV pitch in gets the CV/Gate treatment.
I guess the Model D doesn't really have much too patch into besides the pitch, velocity and gate, but you can achieve some expression by also routing a second CV voice to send from the same track to send the Velocity CV to the Filter CV (velocity track the filter response), Pitch CV to the LFO CV (keytrack its speed), or even use CV routed from a different track to modulate those same parameters for some wacky cutoff and LFO speed changes. Just some food for thought there. You can even stick with MIDI for controlling the main three controls, you can have eight CV modulation sources for patching into the D, feed off four different tracks.
I've even considered re-purposing and old audio patchbay for CV so to have my route points easy to get to and not be fiddling with little plugs when re-routing. The only hurdle there is getting a hold of a silly number of 1/4" to 1/8" patch cables.
for the sake of sharing a photo related to all this talk, here's something from a few years ago: https://i.ibb.co/7J4Nvjn/DSC-0050.jpg (https://i.ibb.co/7J4Nvjn/DSC-0050.jpg)
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Haha, I was teasing about the Casio. The QY700 is indeed a good sequencer but the cursor keys make it a bit cumbersome to operate.
I was pleasantly surprised to see the KSP has DIN midi and usb B.
Although getting mobile with some gear is neat, I would opt for more solidity over miniature. I've seen plenty enough gear with mini and macro usb that were beyond repair. (shouldn't we all be more ECO aware and choose durable products?)
I never encountered latency from the 2 midi out on the QY700, I used to chain many devices starting with drums and ending with the pads.
Indeed the Model D has not much patching options.
Now, I know how to assign the CV, I removed the midi plug and directed the velocity to the cut off frequency. And wow! How expressive it it is now!
Assigning multiple CV, resulted in multiple mute keys. I haven't figured out what is causing that.
LOL, your setup is invested with tiny creatures! I guess they point you the knobs to press or turn.
I do recognize the M1 and QY700 and wondered if you will keep the KS and BSP, now you got the KSP.
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I still have the BSP and Keystep out, they were two things that I definitely couldn't pack away will I wait for the new house. I like to have dedicated keyboard controller for certain things and the Keystep filled that roll for my Tetra. I think it will remain that way with the KSP running the Blofeld since it is a multi-track.
The BSP too has its place since it provides mono-tracks and can address multiple drum sources via MIDI and the gate outs. With it I can hit drums on a bunch of machines while also sending the various gates out to boxes that can be clocked via sync pulses. Doing that turns those drum machines into trackers in a way, where I step through their sequences with a gate signal from one of the drum tracks on the BSP. Makes for some rather unorthodox percussion (be careful of putting in too many kicks if you do this!).
The QY700 is a bit cumbersome to program, I agree, and its event limit does tend to make it only able to store one full blown song (not to mention backing-up to 3.5" disc is a real pain today). Between that and the MV8000 (big silver machine above the QY700), I can do some heavy duty sequencing, but like the QY700, the MV8000 could benefit from a touch screen (I should get the mouse option for it).
Oh the robots! They are little mascots. I used make the bigger Bandai models but they don't fit on the front plate of most of my stuff.
The photo I posted is one of several from that night and is only some of what I had running at the time. There is an RY30 in that photo but it has a sheet of cloth over it, rather like what you do to a deceased human (RIP). The QY700's drums run on basically the same engine as the RY30; same two voice architecture, same resonant digital filters, same base sample library and same envelopes, but the QY700 just isn't as great a percussion sequencer as the RY30 is. Luckily the BSP can match it!
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Figured I would add to the pile. . .
My phone's not the greatest but here's a shot of my KSP nestled in amongst my synths.
Short clip of me jamming some library music worship that demonstrates what they sound like:
https://clips.twitch.tv/SparklingHardAirGuitarSmoocherZ
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Nice collection of little synths, all three are quite desirable, not to mention the MAD-5 (goddamn you!).
The SE really has quite a signature sound. I have the Grainy Clampit and even though it is their first digital module, the voice still has that unique SE sound.
The EHX pedals are a nice addition to your percussion, but there is something that has put me off the space drum. Dunno what it is, maybe its the affiliation with disco, but I can't bring myself to use a space drum sound.... :'(
On the subject of small companies doing nice little synths, it is really great to see that Dreadbox are taking on Behringer in the eurorack world as far as affordability and bang for buck is concerned. They recently released a line of modules that each do a fair bit on their own and as a whole will build a complete system for far less than what a Behringer complete modular system would (if you already own the case and power of course, which another small company from France starting A and ending with rturia have for a great price while being very sexy too! ;) ). And to top it off, the Dreadbox modules will provide the player a very interesting and flexible synth.
The roof is on the new house and it's about a month until lock-up, I will post pics and sound then. Currently I have to step over synths to get to my bed, I'm not kidding! I've attached a quick snippet of what I intend of connecting my KSP to once I hit post and get out from in front of this pc.
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The EHX pedals are a nice addition to your percussion, but there is something that has put me off the space drum. Dunno what it is, maybe its the affiliation with disco, but I can't bring myself to use a space drum sound.... :'(
The SSD actually makes a really solid kick if you turn down the decay, does a lot more than standard "doo doo pewoo" type toms. In my setup one's used for a solid kick and the other is pitched more like a woodblock most of the time. I've also been feeding the Crash Pad into distortion lately which is fun.
Currently I have to step over synths to get to my bed, I'm not kidding! I've attached a quick snippet of what I intend of connecting my KSP to once I hit post and get out from in front of this pc.
Love the form factor, looks like it's a perfect match almost for the KSP dimensions.
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The EHX pedals are a nice addition to your percussion, but there is something that has put me off the space drum. Dunno what it is, maybe it's the affiliation with disco, but I can't bring myself to use a space drum sound.... :'(
The SSD actually makes a really solid kick if you turn down the decay, does a lot more than standard "doo doo pewoo" type toms. In my setup one's used for a solid kick and the other is pitched more like a woodblock most of the time. I've also been feeding the Crash Pad into distortion lately which is fun.
Yeah the Crash Pad sounds great I thought. Everything sounds better with a Boss Turbo Distortion, I feel, especially drums. The original DS-1 and OD-1 combo is good, but the DS-2 does bass better and has a more versatile sound.
And I yeah, I noticed the SSD did do a great kick. I have to stop buying percussion though. It's getting silly. Once things are back out I will probably need to have an entire desk for drums, pretty much.
Currently I have to step over synths to get to my bed, I'm not kidding! I've attached a quick snippet of what I intend of connecting my KSP to once I hit post and get out from in front of this pc.
Love the form factor, looks like it's a perfect match almost for the KSP dimensions.
The KSP is indeed great for the standard skiff size. The original KeyStep certainly is the go-to controller for eurorack/modular synths if you look at YouTube demo people. The KSP does occupy more real-estate but less than a KeyStep and BSP so, it's a trade-off. But it is a fine trade-off, multi-channel pitch/gate/duty cv and drum gates at your fingers!
I need to find a nice bag for the KSP. I have a really good Samsonite laptop back pack that fits the Nifty Case (patched and all) in the main section and the KeyStep in the laptop section at the back. The KSP sticks out the top and tends to advertise that I've got expensive stuff in my bag.
(Arturia, you really should get-in on this module racket. See it like you are making expanders for your synth range. Good modules are a license to print money!)
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Apologies for the double post, but I finally have a photo of my KSP in my current place. And even it is out of date now by about a week. The contents of the rack has changed and probably will again in a week from now.
(https://i.ibb.co/02sttCN/DSC-0083small.png)
The Pulse is actually not plugged in currently and is more of a mascot currently. I have way too much on my plate so unfortunately it needs to be be silent so I can work on other things.
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I have an irrational desire for the Pulse, always wanted one back in the day when I was less adverse to menu diving.
Sound-wise how does it compare to your modular stuff?
Also, you must have very long arms or be wider than you are tall to reach that fader box on the left.
=)
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I wish I didn't have OCD, like mark. All those cables and headphones just lying right on top of the KSP, would drive me nuts. I am so anal about marks, scratches etc. I use mine so gently and cover it with a towel every time I am done. I really wish Decksaver came out with a cover for this.
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I have an irrational desire for the Pulse, always wanted one back in the day when I was less adverse to menu diving.
Sound-wise how does it compare to your modular stuff?
Also, you must have very long arms or be wider than you are tall to reach that fader box on the left.
=)
Hahaha, yeah nah it's set and forget on the L-12. Currently as I'm only running the modular, I set the levels to not clip and if I want to record I arm record for audio detection.
With the KSP, the photo does make it look further than it really is. I can play a chord with my right hand for live play easily while reaching across to the dials on the synth. For sequencing, it is easy enough to create a patch and then plonk down in front of the KSP to program using both hands.
The Pulse is a super sounding synth and is hard to replace. The Pulse 2 sounds different to it, and I think Waldorf intended it that way so the Pulse is not made redundant by the new-century iteration.
I have chosen modules to complement my hardwired synths. I have several analogue monosynths so it would be rather silly to make another in modular format. I've only got one analogue oscillator and the rest are digital. The same applies with the filters I've chosen. Although they are all analogue filters, I've gone with filter designs I can't get in the hardwired world to a great extent. So all that said, I have a different sound from my modular than I have from almost any other synth I own. What sets it apart from, say my MicroFreak (perhaps the one that is most like my modular sound) are the modulation possibilities. I have links in my signature below to my Modular Grid "Everythink" racks if you want a better look at my modules.
I actually prefer the original Pulse for programming to the Pulse 2. It is not really menu-diving on the og. You have a matrix basically, similar to the MicroFreak. There are six "pages" (so to speak, they are really lines of text printed on the front face) and six parameters per page controlled by the six knobs. An LED indicates which page you are on. Each page has two layers and the LED will flash if you are on layer two, which you enter by pressing shift. This all lets you easily navigate through and edit the parameters quickly. The numeric display is only to tell you what the parameter you are turn the knob for is at as the knob position will never represent a level unless chance is on your side.
I wish I didn't have OCD, like mark. All those cables and headphones just lying right on top of the KSP, would drive me nuts. I am so anal about marks, scratches etc. I use mine so gently and cover it with a towel every time I am done. I really wish Decksaver came out with a cover for this.
Yeah I wish there was a deck saver too. My headphones have very soft padding so they aren't going to hurt the KSP, but I am worried about dust. Dust is digital encoder's worst enemy! I have a nice hippy throw that I used to cover things when it was all just at the one end of the desk, but things have expanded so the cloth won't make it all.
I was given a tip by a friend to use a large shaving cream brush to dust everything with regularly. The are nice and large and softer than a tooth brush while still able to get into all the nooks and crannies.
As for the patchcable salad that is happening there, when I am in my new place and have the room to set-out more than that one huge rack, I will make some smaller configurations that will not really change. When that happens I'll be able to use little velcro cable tidies to neaten-up some static routes. And since that photo, I've received a Future Sound Systems MTX9 Pin Matrix which mimics the modulation matrix of the EMS Synth. That has really helped not only with keeping things tidy but also for ease of repatching. Arturia made a wonder version of it for the MatrixBrute with rubber buttons and lights to indicate the active routing.
But all that is just a minor niggle when I think about what I need to do with regards repatching my music room once the house is ready to be moved into. I'm really not looking forward to the audio lay for it all! It makes cable management on a modular seem like child's play.