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With each new product generation, Arturia has added interface options that made it easier
to connect its range of hardware products to a Eurorack modular system. In recent years,
the BeatStep Pro has become the controller of choice for many musicians in the modular
world because of it rich feature set, including Pitch, Velocity and Gate outputs that you can
use to control external oscillators. In addition, it has eight Drum Gate outputs that you can
use to trigger Eurorack drum modules.
In many areas, though, the KeyStep Pro is more advanced than the Beatstep Pro, so we at
Arturia hope that the KeyStep Pro will become the controller of choice for keyboard-oriented
musicians and composers.
The RackBrute connects to the MiniBrute 2 and MiniBrute 2S but can also be used as a
standalone unit. As such, you can use it with all Arturia controllers – including the KeyStep
Pro – that feature Pitch, Velocity and Gate outputs.
10.1. The Modular Adventure
As soon as you start filling your Eurorack case with modules, you'll be faced with an endless
stream of questions: What kind of modules do I really need? Why are certain modules so
popular? Do I go for a standard setup with analog oscillators, or is it better to go digital? Do
I prefer West Coast or East Coast synthesis or a combination of those two types?
The answers to these questions come slowly but surely: by reading online forums,
comparing user experiences and most importantly, by diving in and experimenting. And if
you're not happy with the choices you make, there's a thriving second-hand market for used
Eurorack modules, where you can sell your modules if they don't deliver what you expect
and buy others that interest you.
Whatever you do, take the time to get to know the modules you currently own inside out.
This will help you to avoid a situation where you sit in front of your system tweaking knobs
randomly, without understanding what's happening but hoping that something magical will
happen. This is a guaranteed recipe for rapidly losing interest.
To sustain the fascination you feel, learn the functions of a module one by one and test your
knowledge continuously. It's the only way to experience the reward that comes with being
able to create the sounds as you imagine them in your musical mind.
10.2. Hardware or Software?
Eurorack gear can be pretty expensive, and it's tempting to spend loads of money on gear
you may rarely use. No wonder some people refer to Eurorack as "Eurocrack"! Fortunately,
there's a low-cost virtual alternative to Eurorack hardware: VCV Rack (
https://vcvrack.com),
which is a free software. It enables you to experiment with a wide variety of modules.
Many Eurorack hardware modules also exist in the form of a VCV Rack module (known as
a 'plugin' in VCV Rack terminology). As you get deeper into VCV Rack, you'll discover that
there's an ever-increasing range of new modules/plugins, and that many of them are free,
whereas others have to be purchased (though their prices are far lower than equivalent
Eurorack hardware modules). In the examples below, we'll use VCV Rack modules as an
alternative to hardware.
168 Arturia - User Manual Keystep Pro - KeyStep Pro and your Modular system
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