KeyStep Firmware Update V1.1.0.18

[MajorFubar]

I chose the keyboard because I needed a smaller keyboard than my 49 key version.  When I read that it had a sequencer AND Aftertouch, that was icing on the cake.

Same here. Actually I don't even use the sequencer, all I wanted was a 25-note or 32-note midi controller in a small form factor with aftertouch. I would have much preferred a Minilab mkII, but I was surprised and dismayed to find the Minilab mkII lacks aftertouch despite it using what is obviously a shortened Keystep keybed.

Sometimes I feel manufacturers purposefully leave off obvious features to give them scope for delivering the features in the next mk.

[gphantom]

Same here. Actually I don't even use the sequencer, all I wanted was a 25-note or 32-note midi controller in a small form factor with aftertouch. I would have much preferred a Minilab mkII, but I was surprised and dismayed to find the Minilab mkII lacks aftertouch despite it using what is obviously a shortened Keystep keybed.

The sequencer seems like it could be useful to provide a drum beat with some snares, high-hats etc.  I could make modifications using MCC and then record it into Ableton.  Haven't gotten to that point yet but could be interesting to check out.
The Arpegiator - I experimented with it to emulate the "The Who - Wont get fooled again" track.  Came close but some tweaking is in order.  Maybe I'll find a use for it some day.

To think I got the keystep so I could use it at the cottage with my laptop.  But nooooo - Got myself a touch of cancer in my neck's lymph node.  A virus entered through my tonsil and wound up as a lump in my neck... Which led to a PET scan which revealed a cancer in my tonsil... So now, need radiation till the end of October which will be too late to get to the cottage and use the keystep and laptop till next year... Best laid plans of mice and men.  And all this started a few months before I received my Canadian pension... Though it will help fill in some of the lost finances from a shorter work day.  You look forward to your pension then zap, you can't spend it on stuff like a beatstep etc...

[megamarkd]

Same here. Actually I don't even use the sequencer, all I wanted was a 25-note or 32-note midi controller in a small form factor with aftertouch. I would have much preferred a Minilab mkII, but I was surprised and dismayed to find the Minilab mkII lacks aftertouch despite it using what is obviously a shortened Keystep keybed.

The sequencer seems like it could be useful to provide a drum beat with some snares, high-hats etc.  I could make modifications using MCC and then record it into Ableton.  Haven't gotten to that point yet but could be interesting to check out.
The Arpegiator - I experimented with it to emulate the "The Who - Wont get fooled again" track.  Came close but some tweaking is in order.  Maybe I'll find a use for it some day.

To think I got the keystep so I could use it at the cottage with my laptop.  But nooooo - Got myself a touch of cancer in my neck's lymph node.  A virus entered through my tonsil and wound up as a lump in my neck... Which led to a PET scan which revealed a cancer in my tonsil... So now, need radiation till the end of October which will be too late to get to the cottage and use the keystep and laptop till next year... Best laid plans of mice and men.  And all this started a few months before I received my Canadian pension... Though it will help fill in some of the lost finances from a shorter work day.  You look forward to your pension then zap, you can't spend it on stuff like a beatstep etc...

So sorry to hear you are beginning such a painful battle.  I wish you the strength to tackle it and win!  Hopefully you will not be too weakened by the treatment to not be able to pull out the lappy and KS every now and then and have some fun with headphones on.

The KeyStep works great for percussion if you are used to programming drums on an old late 80's workstation (read as: "an M1"  ).  You need to program it in step mode and to remember to hold down the first note you strike to add more to that particular step.  It can be done in real-time, but you have to be able to finger drum decently as there is no overdub mode.  Of course a Beatstep (or BSP) is much better for the task, but hey, work with what you got!

[MajorFubar]

To think I got the keystep so I could use it at the cottage with my laptop.  But nooooo - Got myself a touch of cancer in my neck's lymph node.  A virus entered through my tonsil and wound up as a lump in my neck... Which led to a PET scan which revealed a cancer in my tonsil... So now, need radiation till the end of October which will be too late to get to the cottage and use the keystep and laptop till next year... Best laid plans of mice and men.  And all this started a few months before I received my Canadian pension... Though it will help fill in some of the lost finances from a shorter work day.  You look forward to your pension then zap, you can't spend it on stuff like a beatstep etc...

Sorry to hear that, hopefully everything will turn out alright for you

[gphantom]

Sorry to hear that, hopefully everything will turn out alright for you

Thanks...

When they said that a "Virus" entered through my tonsils, to me it seems rather trivial (but who knows.)  From what I've read, a virus causes a cell to build more ports which allows EFP? to cause the cell to replicate faster than a normal cell.  Following a Immunotherapy trial which is supposed to remove those extra ports.  So far, no reactions (Good thing) so no chemo (really good thing) and radiation coming up (less of a good thing but it seems it's more like a sun burn - no big deal... I hope)

In any case, I should be able to get a beat-step machine (love those natural sounding drum sounds) after all this fun stuff is over with.  Next year, after getting my taxes back, a 3D printer.  Don't know what I can build that's related to music but, I'll think of something.  So much to think about.  So long to wait.

[megamarkd]

Sorry to hear that, hopefully everything will turn out alright for you

Thanks...

When they said that a "Virus" entered through my tonsils, to me it seems rather trivial (but who knows.)  From what I've read, a virus causes a cell to build more ports which allows EFP? to cause the cell to replicate faster than a normal cell.  Following a Immunotherapy trial which is supposed to remove those extra ports.  So far, no reactions (Good thing) so no chemo (really good thing) and radiation coming up (less of a good thing but it seems it's more like a sun burn - no big deal... I hope)

In any case, I should be able to get a beat-step machine (love those natural sounding drum sounds) after all this fun stuff is over with.  Next year, after getting my taxes back, a 3D printer.  Don't know what I can build that's related to music but, I'll think of something.  So much to think about.  So long to wait.

All sounds rather positive, best of luck!

We're getting pretty off-topic, but hey, maybe a mod can spilt this off to a new thread with the subject I've made up above?

Which machine are you talking about with the natural sounding drum sounds?  The Arturia drum machines don't sound too natural really, albeit familiar in a way.  They do a good job at providing some classic analogue drum sounds.

As far as what you can print that is related to musc, it all depends on what you are using.  For a start cable management clips are something all electronic musicians need.  Cable management clips are something all computer users with a mass of peripherals need, for that matter!  Then there are custom knob-caps.  You can print tabletop tiered instrument stands, for space management.  And if you get bitten by the eurorack bug, you will probably want some patch cable clip panels to keep them all out of the way of the module controls.  But the real must for eurorack modules are Lego stud panels!  All modular synths need Lego figurines standing sideways on them, if not a Lego laser turret, or even just a word or two spelt out in Lego at either end   Check out this site: https://www.thingiverse.com/

[gphantom]

Which machine are you talking about with the natural sounding drum sounds?  The Arturia drum machines don't sound too natural really, albeit familiar in a way.  They do a good job at providing some classic analogue drum sounds.

As far as what you can print that is related to musc, it all depends on what you are using.  For a start cable management clips are something all electronic musicians need.  Cable management clips are something all computer users with a mass of peripherals need, for that matter!  Then there are custom knob-caps.  You can print tabletop tiered instrument stands, for space management.  And if you get bitten by the eurorack bug, you will probably want some patch cable clip panels to keep them all out of the way of the module controls.  But the real must for eurorack modules are Lego stud panels!  All modular synths need Lego figurines standing sideways on them, if not a Lego laser turret, or even just a word or two spelt out in Lego at either end   Check out this site: https://www.thingiverse.com/

Drum machine... Well, the one I found was the SPARK 2 which is a super simple emulator that I can understand.  I've tried two others and they were too complicated for me to use.  I am not ready to tweak different parameters, a simple analog drum machine is what I'm into.  Not into hip-hop or other stuff.  Gimme rock and roll anytime (though I do like electronic stuff and other esotheric sounds) but, I am looking for natural instruments for the time being...  Later on comes the newer (1980's and beyond.)  I might get the Spark LE controller later on.  Who knows.

Some good ideas for 3D printing.  Will definitely look into some of those.  I wrote a program which shows keypresses for different root keys, modes, scales, chords etc.  It allows me to see at a glance, which keys to use when composing something (since I don't have any training in keyboards other than a few great courses on Youtube) so, with that in mind, maybe a template for my midi controller... Hmmmmm.

(Here's what my program looks like: 

[megamarkd]

Drum machine... Well, the one I found was the SPARK 2 which is a super simple emulator that I can understand.  I've tried two others and they were too complicated for me to use.  I am not ready to tweak different parameters, a simple analog drum machine is what I'm into.  Not into hip-hop or other stuff.  Gimme rock and roll anytime (though I do like electronic stuff and other esotheric sounds) but, I am looking for natural instruments for the time being...  Later on comes the newer (1980's and beyond.)  I might get the Spark LE controller later on.  Who knows.

Some good ideas for 3D printing.  Will definitely look into some of those.  I wrote a program which shows keypresses for different root keys, modes, scales, chords etc.  It allows me to see at a glance, which keys to use when composing something (since I don't have any training in keyboards other than a few great courses on Youtube) so, with that in mind, maybe a template for my midi controller... Hmmmmm.

Ah that's right, Arturia have the Spark-le hybrid "drum computer" (as they were called in the early 80's when I first heard space music )  I've not looked into it myself although I've been tempted.  I just can't get into 'point-and-click' music making and prefer the good old blackbox programming modus operandi.  You could call me old fashioned and you'd be correct LOL!  I was considering Spark-le as I thought it would bring that hardware element to computer drums, but then decided I should just use the drum machines I have.  I once filled-in for a drummer in my mate's country band.  That was an interesting gig.  I finger-drummed country beats on a Yamaha RY-30 using a dance kit, it was the only kit that actually sounded good on the PA.  The crowd didn't seem to mind but I'm dead sure anyone walking past the front of the pub thought there was a disco going on inside.  We got a hen's-party dancing for a good 3hrs and it doesn't matter what sort of music you are playing, if you get the girls moving, then you are doing it right!

Your program looks great.  But to wheel this off-topic banter around back to the Keystep, you know it has a chord mode, yeah?  You can play a chord into it then do the whole one-finger chord thing like in the olden-days of the auto-accompaniment Hammonds!  It's a blast and turns you into a prog-rock synth master.  Only thing you need to do after that is get yourself a cape and a mullet hair cut and Keith Emmerson (RIP) you will become

[spacefog]

I regret downloading firmware update. When I sync into the keystep from the korg volca the sequence from the keystep doesn't start from the beginning. Seems to start on the last few notes then repeats. It's really frustrating. Any ideas?