Do midi step sequencers like the ones on the Beatstep Pro and MPD 232 work with BM3?

edited September 2019 in General

Hi all,

As the title states, do midi controller sequencers like the ones on the Arturia Beatstep Pro
And the Akai MDP 232 fully work with BM3? I want to buy one of these controllers to use
with BM3 but I haven’t been able to find a definitive answer to this very specific question.
I hope someone can give some insight into this. Thanks in advance!

Comments

  • It depends what you mean by 'fully work'.

    You'll be able to configure almost any midi controller to operate the pads, keys, macros, and various other commands by setting up bindings in the 'Focus Actions' tab in BM3's settings.

    But.. oftentimes controllers are designed with features that only work with specific hosts.

    For example, I use my Korg Nanokey Studio with bm3 (via Bluetooth) all the time, but it works best with Gadget. And the recently released Novation LaunchKEY mk3 can be used with bm3 too, but the multicolour light-up pads will only illuminate when you use it with Ableton Live on desktop.

    I haven't personally tried the Beatstep, or Akai, but I know others that have, so I'd be fairly confident in saying that probably 90%+ of what they offer can be used in BM3.

  • @tk32, are you sure about the part regarding mk3 and only Ableton Live? There is at least a Mozaic script which manages to illuminate the pads of a Launchcontrol XL, so I would guess that should be doable for mk3 as well. Of course, BM3 would need some updating to support this (or maybe a Moazic script inside BM3 could do the job?)

  • edited September 2019

    @bleep said:
    @tk32, are you sure about the part regarding mk3 and only Ableton Live? There is at least a Mozaic script which manages to illuminate the pads of a Launchcontrol XL, so I would guess that should be doable for mk3 as well. Of course, BM3 would need some updating to support this (or maybe a Moazic script inside BM3 could do the job?)

    haha - good point. When it comes to the sheer magic you can achieve with BramBos's wonderous Mozaic, I'm tempted to say "all bets are off"

    However, it should still be made clear for the average user that they can't expect 100% of controller features to work seamlessly in an iOS host, out of the box.

  • That makes sense guys, thanks. I'm talking specifically about the step sequencers included
    in the 2 controllers I mentioned before though. Since step sequencers can't be mapped in
    BM3 (afaik) I'm simply wondering if these will work as standalone midi step sequencers that
    send midi sequencer data that can be triggered by BM3. I know I can map most of the knobs,
    sliders and buttons, but step sequencer mapping in BM3 seems not possible.

  • edited September 2019

    Apologies @KraftC - I think I read your original post in haste and didn't notice that you specifically mentioned the sequencers on those controllers.

    I don't have either of them to test with, but I would suggest trying to monitor what MIDI data these devices output when you run the sequencer - there are several options to do this on iOS, including the Monitor plugin from Audioveek's midi tools (https://audioveek.com/monitor/)

    I don't see why it wouldn't be possible to build banks in BM3 (such as a drum kit) than can be controlled from the midi controller's sequencer.

  • edited September 2019

    Actually I'm the one that has to apologise @tk32. It typed the title wrong last night and changed it later.
    I had to be more specific with the STEP sequencer question. Thanks again though, will check it out.
    I don't have these devices either (yet) but want to buy one of them to use with BM3.

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