I bought my KeyStep mk2 for aftertouch and a good set of other features which are mostly optional for me. What I am missing is some sort of DAW control. Why didn’t I buy some other keyboard then, such as the Launchkey? Because the KeyStep has aftertouch which I like, and it has a small form factor.
I understand the purpose of the KeyStep is not a DAW controller but I don’t see why it could not offer that functionality, at least in a minimal way. This might not be interesting for DAW-less musicians but I guess some of us are using it with a DAW.
Now that the mk2 has a display with a menu in it, I see some room for additional functions which could be configurable with MCC. Add a DAW Control mode on/off switch in the display menu so this mode can be enabled with the rotary controller. It should also be persistent and survive a power cycle. When enabled, both SEQ and ARP buttons are lit (or whatever makes sense to indicate this mode).
I made a concept where the 8 buttons are repurposed to support DAW functions with and without the shift key:
I made this up with Logic Pro in mind. For other DAWs different functions might be preferable. As mentioned before, these functions can be assignable in MCC. Preset management comes to mind.
I know I’m asking a lot (I’m a software dev myself). To me this would greatly increase the value of this keyboard as I have little use for the sequencer.