If you happen to’ve ever watched a synth video on YouTube, there’s a good likelihood you’ve seen the Arturia KeyStep in some unspecified time in the future. The inexpensive keyboard and controller has been a gradual presence since its launch in January of 2016, particularly in DAWless circles. Now Arturia is lastly releasing a correct successor, the KeyStep mk2, and on paper, it looks like an enormous improve.
The core of what makes the KeyStep beloved stays unchanged: 32 strong minikeys with aftertouch, a small footprint, first rate connectivity choices, and low worth. The mk2 options USB-C for energy and MIDI, five-pin MIDI out and in ports, analog sync out and in, a maintain / expression pedal enter, plus CV and gate outputs for hooking up modular gear.
The headlining updates listed below are the brand new generative capabilities, Mutate and Spice, borrowed from the corporate’s Freak line of synths. Mutate makes semi-random modifications to an arpeggio or sequence, endlessly iterating on concepts. And if you happen to discover one thing you want, it can save you it as a brand new sequence. With this means to create joyful accidents, reworking arpeggios into sequences and again once more, YouTuber Loopop mentioned, “a brand new benchmark has been set for what a keyboard can do as a compositional assistant.”
Whereas Mutate will shift notes round, creating solely new patterns, Spice is a bit more delicate. It modifications gate size, velocity, provides ratchets, and at larger settings, will introduce octave jumps. It’s targeted virtually solely on rhythmic variation.
Synth influencer Starsky Carr mentioned there’s “a great deal of enjoyable and a great deal of inspirational instruments” contained in the KeyStep mk2. However some evaluations have been down on the construct high quality. Whereas the unique had a steel baseplate that made it surprisingly heavy for its measurement and helped it face up to long-term abuse, the mk2 has an all-plastic construct. Will folks nonetheless be taking part in their KeyStep mk2s in 10
