Arturia KeyStep 32-Key Controller & Sequencer USB/MIDI/CV Keyboard Controller

The Arturia Keystep 37 is a compact MIDI controller that has become a core piece of my dawless setup. Its both simple in its form and interface making it incredibly easy to sketch ideas without needing a screen. Despite its simplicity, it offers deep control over my gear. For anyone aiming to keep things tactile and creative without a DAW, the Keystep is an essential centerpiece.

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.

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

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.

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.

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'm not a keyboardist. That said, I need a way to get notes into my mixes with velocity and aftertouch. I don't need 37 keys. Heck, I don't need 32 keys. If they made a smaller one with less keys, I'd buy it. I'm usually putting notes in one at a time with a midi tracker. Until they make a smaller one, this is it. That said, it feels great. I haven't made the jump to MPE and honestly probably won't until that industry standardizes on a shape.