Arturia BeatStep Pro MIDI/Analog Controller and Sequencer Kit with CV/Gate Cables (Black) - Manual (Page 81)

8. CV/GATE FUNCTIONS
BeatStep Pro provides direct access to some of the best music technology the world has
produced in the last six decades: USB, MIDI, Clock and CV/Gate connectors are all present
on its rear panel in a space not much larger than a pencil.
Connection diagrams for each of these interfaces are available in Making the Connections
[p.5] .
In this chapter we’ll focus on the features of the BeatStep Pro CV/Gate circuitry. See the
MIDI Control Center [p.84] chapter for in-depth coverage of the MIDI features available to
you with that software.
8.1. SEQ1/SEQ2: Pitch, Velo and Gate
When SEQ1 or SEQ2 is selected the notes you play on the pads are translated immediately
into Control Voltage (CV) and Gate signals and sent to the connectors on the back panel.
Three independent voltages are sent for each note: Pitch, Velocity, and Gate open/close.
The sequencers can record what you play on the pads, and then you can use the encoders
to change the pitch, velocity and gate time (duration) of each note. When sequences play
back they send those signals to the attached devices through the CV/Gate connectors, just
like the pads would.
However, the pads can’t “play” the CV/Gate connectors while the unit is in Control Mode. You
can start the sequencers, though, and they will play the attached devices while you control
your DAW and play your MIDI devices from Control Mode.
8.1.1. CV/Gate signals: DAW configuration
It's possible to use the BSP as a MIDI to CV converter, it means you can send note data from
a couple of MIDI tracks on your DAW to the BeatStep Pro CV/Gate jacks. When the MIDI
channels match, that’s what will happen. The procedure for selecting the MIDI Channels for
the sequencers is detailed here [p.57] .
There are two things to keep in mind, though:
• All CV/Gate jacks are monophonic, so if the selected MIDI track on the DAW
contains polyphonic data, playback could be extremely unpredictable. It’s best
to send only one note at a time to the CV/Gate jacks.
• CV/Gate jacks can send only basic signals: pitch, velocity and note on/off.
In other words, the BeatStep Pro encoders aren’t able to control synthesizer
parameters through the CV/Gate jacks, for example. All edits to your modular
synth settings need to be made on the synth itself.
8.1.2. Routing signals
Typically the Pitch (CV) output is connected to a Voltage Controlled Oscillator (VCO), the Gate
output is connected to a trigger input or a Voltage Controlled Amplifier (VCA), and the Velo
output is connected to a VCA or a Voltage Controlled Filter (VCF) or both through a splitter
or a patch bay. Those routings will produce the most predictable results. But you can send
those signals to any parameters that will accept them.
Arturia - User Manual BeatStep Pro - CV/Gate functions 76