Redefining The Portable Keyboard Experience

This is the best small format keyboard I have purchased. I actually use every function in this mini keyboard. The keys feel weird at first as it is not mini keys (kind of reminds me of the Korg Minilogue) but in-between mini and medium sized keys. The ribbon Pitch Bend and Mod Wheels work fine. It has velocity sensitive keys and supports aftertouch. What makes this great is it has a built in sequencer, an arpeggiator, and the best part is the support for MIDI, Sync and CV. If you have older MIDI gear or Modular setup, this can be used for both. Also, while you have a sequence playing from the keyboard, you can send to another device your live playing. I have hooked up an old drum machine with a sync out, connect sync in to the Keystep, have the Keystep play a sequence to the modular and play the Waldorf Pulse 2 via MIDI. That's pretty sweet for something in this price range. Must have for noodling around or for live setup of modular synth and drum machine.

This thing is awesome. For the price, you simply can't beat it. Nice build quality, responsive keybed with aftertouch, 64 step sequencer with 8 note polyphony, arpeggiator with 8 order options, capacitive pitch and mod strips, chord mode, swing and gate functions, more than enough midi channels, and plenty of connection options to pair with other gear. There is no screen, so you will have to learn the buttons and their alternate shift function. Thankfully, Arturia put has an excellent user manual that will aid you in this. There are even more ways to program it with the online software, which is simple and easy to install. All in all, it is very fun to mess around on and can take your sound to a new level. It won't have some advanced features, but hey, its $100. Like I said, for the price, you can't beat it.

I love you using my key strap for three reasons one it's portable 2 is full size and three it's super responsive plus you can't beat the fact that it comes with Labs intro and it comes with Ableton live light for the deal I definitely can't go wrong plus being as integrated in music as I am I need a keyboard that can keep up with me or to you definitely does the job I recommend them to anybody looking for a good keyboard and they're trying to get serious about music

Here is the deal. For the price, you likely wont get a better "feeling" keyboard than the Arturia Keystep 32. I have several under-$200 midi controllers and keyboards, and the build quality on this guy sets the bar at this price range. Like its brother, the very popular "Beatstep", It has a nice weight to it and feels like a product that was made with the utmost care. My computer recognized it easily and I was able to get a midi signal instantly in every DAW I tested it in. (This includes Studio One Pro 3, Samplitude Pro X3, Mulab 7, Reason 9, Fl 12, Tracktion 7, and Reaper) My favorite feature of this controller is however, the actual key bed itself. These self described "Mini Keys" are not full size nor are they really tiny like those found on the Akai MPK Mini. They are somewhere in between the two, and boy do they feel right when put to use! They don't feel cheap or springy like many other entry-level controllers and because of this the Keystep has become my go-to midi keyboard when recording on the road or in my home studio. My only complaint is that the Transport buttons (stop,play,& record) on the controller are only usable for the built in sequencer and as DAW transport controls. Of course this is only a very minor oversight and may not even be relevant to those out there who already have a DAW controller they use for transport controls. It would be convenient though to at least have the option to make this your main controller to speed up workflow or to use on the road. The sequencing and arp features are very well integrated and though I wont go into detail on them, I would suggest a good read-through of the Keystep manual to fully take advantage of these features. All in all, despite the lack of proper DAW transport controls, the Keystep is in a class of its own in terms of quality,build, and most importantly, play-ability. Well done Arturia.

Keys feel great, the flexibility in both the sequencer and the arpeggiator are super fun and geared towards live performance, and the thing just feels well-built. I'd be hard-pressed to think of a better piece of electronic music equipment at this price point. The only thing I wish it had so far (and maybe it does and I just haven't found it yet) is a way to clear out a sequence completely at once instead of having to do it one step at a time.

Short if it's small USB connection, it's really sturdy. And that connection is pretty tight, so no drop-outs. I have found this quite handy for working on my laptop when away from the studio. A person not into much keyboard needs will find this adequate for the occasional music-making needs. I was impressed. I had an M-Audio 49 key and this impressed me much more. I love it's small footprint. Haven't twiddled with all the knobs and such. Just use the mod pads and keyboard. It's a bit smaller than a normal keyboard sized keys but I had no trouble adjusting. I've bought a bunch of stuff I returned, sold or gave away but this has a solid place in my music making needs.

Go to Youtube, check out the functionality. This product worked perfectly for me to add keyboard layers to my Video and Audio projects without taking much room. The functionality is amazing. The quality is heavy duty and the keys have an amazing touch for a product that is just over 100 dollars. 32 Keys, that can where the octave of the keyboard can be readily dropped and raised makes a limited number of keys, not a problem. The arpeggiator and sequencer will open up new worlds for those of you that may not have 20 years of keyboard experience but you want those nice pads or electronic backdrops. Check it out via Youtube! It does what it says it does. It is an amazing product for the money. They could have sold this for closer to 200 or even more. Thanks for putting it in reach for all of us Arturia.

Ive been using the key step for years and it's still a great midi controller. Arturia made a solid instrument here and it's still worth it now in 2025. If mine broke today, I would replace it immediately.