Should I buy a BeatStep?

[AustinBru]

Hey everyone,

Highly intrigued by the product, and severely concerned  about the many reported bugs, deficiencies, etc.

My intention is to use this as a standalone hardware sequencer device for my Volca Keys, and/or other MIDI sync hardware.

The question is, has the Feb2016 firmware addressed most of the serious concerns that I see on these forums? Seems like radio silence since that release. Can anybody summarize the types of issues I am likely to run into?

Thanks for your time and consideration.

[crony]

Hello,

As far as I've tested, with the latest firmware, it finally works almost as it should have been...well , 2 or 3 years ago ?
But really, all Arturia devices are getting better, even if it can take ages...
The Beatstep is very solid and capable controller AMHO.
But still some huge bugs (to me) like the encoders that does not keep values between 2 presets.
I need to double check, I'm tired tonight, I might have done something wrong...Hopefully...

[AustinBru]

Hey Crony,

Going to pick on you since you were the only one to reply. I have since purchased the Beatstep, and for the most part I am happy and have been able to achieve what I want.

The issue I am having now is related to Clock sync with my Volca Keys. If at all possible, I would like to keep the MIDI IN on my Volca Keys free'd up. And I don't know enough about the CV/Gate outputs on the beatstep, but I have a feeling neither of those would quite be the 'Sync' I am looking for. Any advice?

[tuz100]

Hey Crony,

Going to pick on you since you were the only one to reply. I have since purchased the Beatstep, and for the most part I am happy and have been able to achieve what I want.

The issue I am having now is related to Clock sync with my Volca Keys. If at all possible, I would like to keep the MIDI IN on my Volca Keys free'd up. And I don't know enough about the CV/Gate outputs on the beatstep, but I have a feeling neither of those would quite be the 'Sync' I am looking for. Any advice?

hi there.. you can sort of sync with the gate out to keys sync in, but it will only send a sync pulse when a note on signal is there... this can actually produce some interesting effects but it's probably not what you want.

[jasonwann]

If you're looking for a recommendation on a sequencer that keeps time, I'd steer away from the BeatStep. That's one thing it absolutely DOES NOT do. I've been waiting for them to fix the sync issues since I bought it almost 2 years ago and despite promises to fix it, they haven't. Proceed with caution.