Looks awesome!
The Keystep looks great on a picture but there are some serious limitations that make it a bad product in certain cases.
If you want to use it just as a MIDI keyboard and not as the brain of your setup then you better look for something else.
If feels like using the Keystep as a MIDI keyboard is just an afterthought. There is no dedicated keyboard mode. You can chose between the ARP and sequencer mode. If you want to use the ARP, you need a clock signal.
If you use the internal clock then there is no way to make the Keystep not output that. This will conflict with your existing hardware rig where you already have a MIDI clock leader.
You can use external MIDI clock on the Keystep but then there are issues that come up.
If you donāt want to use the ARP, the only thing you can do is to switch to the sequencer mode. If youāre using an external clock, that will now control the sequencer.
You canāt use the chord mode if the sequencer is runnig so you are forced to chose between a conflict with your MIDI clock, not using the ARP or not using chord mode.
I have one and I regretted buying it. The day something comes out
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Unless you press Stop on the KS after starting your main sequencer (in external sync mode).
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I will try that. It still feels like it shouldnāt be like that.
Another issue that I found is that sometimes the otherwise empty sequencer records something by itself.
I couldnāt find a sure way to reprocude it but switching to the sequencer from the ARP while keys are being held down seems play some role.
I have one and frankly it feels cheap and not quality and was a pain for me to use.
I have the KS37 and bought it mainly because I wanted the full size midi ports so I wouldnāt be having to faff around with usb when connecting my DN/DT. It was about Ā£110 from an online retailer. Looks good and has loads of features. I wish everything else in life had a similar cost:value ratio!
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I own a black Keystep 37 and am rather moderately satisfied with it. What bothers me is that the aftertouch is too sensitive (and cannot be switched off) and the keyboard has no fixed velocity setting. The workmanship of the hardware and the keyboard itself is okay, but this is what I expect for this price.
Actually it should have both. Can be selected in Midi Control Center.
If you really wanted to disable aftertouch, itās pretty simple to open it up and disconnect the cable for it. Fully reversible.
If we are beefing up the capabilities beyond Keystep, what do you vote for:
Korg Minilogue XD or Hydrasynth Explorer?
(Hypothetical set-up: Akai Force, Syntakt, Analog Four)
XD feels great. Also the Reface series has super nice keys even though they are technically āminiā. A CS would be a nice complement to that setup.
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Interesting. I donāt feel like the aftertouch is sensitive enough - I feel like I really have to smash the keys down to use it. That said, I donāt use my KS much these days - the keys just feel squishy and I feel like I need slightly more vertical travel than it offers.
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In Midi Control Center you can select a fixed velocity value, but only for seq/arp mode. Playing in realtime with a fixed velocity value isnāt possible.
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Ah, thanks for pointing that out.
IĀ“ve spent half of my (holi)day today to fix a problem with
my keystep (some keys didnĀ“t trig always)
tried any possible hardware/software setting and connection.
finally took that thing apart. the rubber under the keys sticked to the sensors. I didnĀ“t even clean anything.
taking everything apart and putting it together again fixed that problem !
so is the keystep the best ? certainly not !
but I bought it for cheap and ārepairedā it myself !
have nice holidays everyone 
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Wait, something that can be opened and repaired is actually a good thing these days
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back in the day I ārepairedā a cassette recorder by just dropping it to the ground (after trying everything else) and it worked !
to be honest, IĀ“ve tried that with the keystep too (didnĀ“t work)
.
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Iām not a good keyboard player, but entering notes and doodling around, aftertouch, cv/gate,ā¦
Itās small, and I donāt have thaaaat much spaceā¦
For me it is.
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How is the Microfreak midi control? Besides my KeyStepPro I want something compacter for my Typhon and my Digis so was thinking about it too!
And then this happened - looks like the Keystep 37 but with more knobs, pads, joystick and real pitch and mod wheels. Has sequencing and a similar CV spec, but looks like you can route midi from the (full size) midi port to the CV outputs, which you canāt do on the Keystep 37 (CV from internal keyboard + sequencer only).