The KeyStep just gets better with this major update. Greg Scarth checks out one of the best value music tools on the market.
The Arturia KeyStep 37 mk2 is a fresh update of one of the most popular releases in recent years, already fully deserving of ‘modern classic’ status. Since the original KeyStep was launched back in 2016, the name has become a byword for fast, fun, intuitive programming which allows you to generate new ideas, spawning a more advanced Pro version along the way. With the mk2 update, the KeyStep becomes an even more powerful sequencer and live performance tool.
First, a quick recap of what the KeyStep 37 is and where it sits in Arturia’s range. Introduced in 2020, the KeyStep 37 expanded on the same basic idea as the original KeyStep: it’s a MIDI keyboard with extensive sequencing options, or a sequencer with a keyboard built in, depending on which way you choose to look at it. The 37 is a bit bigger, and the 37 mk1 offered a few new features not found on the 32 mk1, but its main advantage is usability thanks to added controls on the front panel.
The Keystep mk2 is now available in two updated versions. Like the original models, the KeyStep 37 mk2 is only slightly bigger than the entry-level 32-key KeyStep mk2, but it’s also a more streamlined and user-friendly version of the same idea. Once again, the basic model does most of the same things that the 37 can do, but the 37 gives you faster access and quicker control over some of the more advanced features thanks in large part to the four extra knobs and two buttons on the control interface. This makes dialling in settings faster and easier without menu diving. The single major advantage of the KeyStep 32 over the 37 is portability, although it does also come in around 25% cheaper at £109 compared to the £149 asking price of the 37 mk2.
Both ‘standard’ KeyStep models sit some distance below the KeyStep Pro, which is a much more advanced (and accordingly much more expensive) option with four independent polyphonic sequencing tracks, plus more extensive control of analogue gear thanks to configurable velocity/modulation outputs and eight analogue drum gate outputs. It’s worth noting that the KeyStep Pro is likely to get a mk2 update at some point as Arturia tend to be reliable when it comes to upgrading their most popular products. There’s nothing confirmed at this point, but we won’t be at all surprised to see a KeyStep Pro mk2 appear with features that bring it into line with the KeyStep 32 and 37 mk2 updates.
So, what’s new in the mk2 model of the KeyStep 37? The updates are broadly similar to those found in the KeyStep mk2. Superficially, the updates might appear cosmetic, what with the 37 mk2 being almost exactly the same dimensions as the original but slightly lighter, but what matters most isn’t the modernised appearance and the more advanced OLED display so much as what’s inside. The mk2 models both feature far more versatile sequencing engines, with eight new arpeggiator modes and the option to ‘mutate’ (changing notes) or ‘spice’ (changing gate length and ratcheting) your sequences, derived from similar features originally found on the MicroFreak synth. There are also two new modulation outputs for controlling analogue gear (via parameters including velocity, aftertouch, mod wheel, random or pulse generator signals, plus LFOs and envelopes), which is a nice bonus considering the KeyStep was already a very popular option for Eurorack modular control.
Elsewhere, there are smaller but still noteworthy changes to various aspects of the functionality. Some of these are relatively simple but effective, such as the addition of multi-coloured LEDs above the keyed which indicate features including sequencer behaviour, notes in a scale and transposition/quantisation. Likewise, ratcheting has been added to the sequencer to facilitate the Spice function. Note that those two features in particular are exclusive to the 37-key model and not found in the KeyStep 32 mk2.
The new mk2 features add up to quite a major update to the original formula without any obvious downsides. Do any of them justify an upgrade for owners of the original models? We think so. For us, it’s those generative options drawn from the outstanding MicroFreak which really stand out, allowing you to warp and twist an existing sequence and push it in new directions on the fly. The ability to mutate sequences with control over probability, randomness, polyphony and density means you can quickly take a very basic pattern and turn it into something much more interesting, or alternatively take a complex pattern and make it more minimal in real time. You can also record automation of those parameters into your sequences, making things move and shift within loops.
In terms of alternatives, quite frankly there aren’t many to be had, especially around this ultra-competitive price point. Most MIDI keyboards offer arpeggiators these days and some offer basic sequencing options, but nothing really matches the KeyStep’s versatility. If you’re simply looking for a sequencer and you’re not necessarily wedded to the keyboard format of the KeyStep, then it’s still a substantial jump up to pad-based hardware sequencers like the Cre8audio Programm, Torso Electronics T1 or the ultra-powerful OXI Instruments One MKII.
The KeyStep 37 mk2 stands out as one of the best value music tools on the market. Everything that made the original KeyStep series such a hit has been retained, but the mk2 updates bring out even more creativity and streamline the entire creative process. The functionality of the 37 mk2 might overlap quite extensively with the feature set of the 32 mk2, but as long as you’re not seeking the most compact, portable option available then the added user-friendliness of the 37-key model more than justifies the slightly higher price tag. If portability is all-important, the standard KeyStep 32 mk2 remains a perfectly good, if ever-so-slightly more fiddly option. You can’t go wrong either way.
Greg Scarth
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