Looking at the BSP

[VegaLA]

Hi all.

I have recently returned to my interest in Synthesizers and am looking to put together a modest rig. At the heart of it all of course is the sequencer so I am looking for something both affordable but solid. The Arturia BSP was actually mentioned to me from another forum so I checked it out online and like what I see, however I seem to get more confused the more I read so I have a few simple questions you guys may be able to help me with.

I read the BSP has 16 tracks, so as I understand it I could use Track 01 for Bass, Track 02 for Synth sound, Track 03 for FX, Track 04 for Drums, etc..etc.. to a couple of different hardware Synths depending on which MIDI channel I set them on? Do I have that right? The official website titles them as 16 track DRUM sequencer which confuses me as I would use most of the 16 tracks for Synth melodies/bass/Synth FX.

Another question is, well, I do not want to use a laptop for playing live. I was hoping I could find a sequencer that would read a MIDI file either directly stored on the units HD itself or reading directly from a USB thumbstick but not had any luck finding such a device at an affordable price point. So with that in mind would it be possible to record each track from either FL studio or MixCraft directly to the BSP where it will remain stored? Is that a possibility?

If these are a yes then I may well have found my Sequencer.

Many thanks in advance for any advice, I appreciate it!

[megamarkd]

Go to Arturia's main site and read the product information for a start.  That will give you the product's features outlined in a way designed to inform prospective customers of the product's purpose and functionality.  Download the manual and read it, that will clear up anything the product page doesn't mention.

[Lenny]

At the heart of it all of course is the sequencer so I am looking for something both affordable but solid.

The BSP is definitely affordable and seems to offer excellent value for the feature set, but I wouldn't describe it as solid.

I read the BSP has 16 tracks, so as I understand it I could use Track 01 for Bass, Track 02 for Synth sound, Track 03 for FX, Track 04 for Drums, etc..etc.. to a couple of different hardware Synths depending on which MIDI channel I set them on? Do I have that right? The official website titles them as 16 track DRUM sequencer which confuses me as I would use most of the 16 tracks for Synth melodies/bass/Synth FX.

The BSP has 3 tracks (Arturia call these tracks 'sequencers').  There are 2 monophonic tracks and a 16-part drum track.  So, yes, you could use track (sequencer) 1 for bass, track (sequencer) 2 for a synth sound (but no chords, it's strictly monophonic) and track 3 for drums.  The drum track/sequencer is described as 16 track.  What they mean is that it's 16-part, i.e. targeting 16 different drum sounds.

Another question is, well, I do not want to use a laptop for playing live. I was hoping I could find a sequencer that would read a MIDI file either directly stored on the units HD itself or reading directly from a USB thumbstick but not had any luck finding such a device at an affordable price point. So with that in mind would it be possible to record each track from either FL studio or MixCraft directly to the BSP where it will remain stored? Is that a possibility?

It doesn't load/save MIDI files, though you could feasibly transfer each pattern's data (one at a time) to/from a synced DAW, though that would be a bit tedious.  However, there's sufficient capacity within the BSP to hold an entire live set's worth of songs ..

The BSP's memory comprises 16 Projects.  Each Project can contain 16 patterns for each of the 3 sequencers.  If you think of a Project as a song, then you're good for 16 songs.  And with 16 patterns for bass, 16 patterns for synth and 16 patterns for drums, in *each* song.  Is that enough ?  :-)

[VegaLA]

Thank you Gents for your replies.

Thanks for taking the time Lenny to answer each of my questions. The BSP sounds tasty but the three Tracks make it a deal breaker, shame because it exceeds with the other points, because as you state the MIDI file issue can be resolved.

My search continues....