Analog Connections (Cv And Gate) - Arturia KEYSTEP PRO User Manual

4.1.4. Analog Connections (CV and Gate)

KeyStep Pro can send control voltages (CV) to modular synthesizers and other non-MIDI
devices through its four sets of Pitch, Velo/Mod and Gate connectors on the back panel. Each
of the KeyStep Pro's four tracks has its own dedicated set of connectors, allowing you to
hook up to and control as many as four devices at the same time!
4.1.4.1. Control Voltages: Pitch, Velo/Mod and Gate
When the sequencers are running or you play a single note or multiple notes on the
keyboard, each note is translated immediately into Pitch, Control Voltage (Velocity or
Modulation) and Gate signals and sent to the four Voice outputs on the back panel. When
you play the keyboard or the sequencers in polyphonic mode, the KeyStep Pro's CV routing
options allow you to define how these signals from the four voices will be distributed.
CV Gate outputs
For each note, three independent voltages are sent: Pitch, Velo/Mod and Gate. The Velo/Mod
voltage can be either velocity or modulation, depending on what you have selected in the
Utility section or in the MIDI Control Center.
Some analog synthesizers have unusual implementations that are not fully compatible with
the KeyStep Pro's CV and Gate signals. Before purchasing an analog synth, please refer to
its manufacturer's specifications to ensure that the two devices will work together well.
We've designed the KeyStep Pro to be as flexible as possible: the downloadable MIDI Control
Center [p.126], which you can install on your computer, allows you to configure the response
of the CV/Gate jacks in a number of ways: by default, the transmitted pitch voltage is
compatible with the 1.0 V per octave standard, which means that if you play an octave
interval on the KeyStep Pro keyboard, the connected synth(s) or Eurorack module(s) should
also play an octave interval. In other words, the 'pitch tracking' is correct. However, some
synths use a 1.2 V per octave or a Hertz per Volt (Hz/V) standard. To control such beasts, you
have to change the corresponding setting in the MIDI Control Center.
Gate signals can also have quite different output ranges (S-Trig, V-Trig 5V or V-trig 10V).
These too can be set up in the MIDI Control Center.
The four Voice outputs can be set to transmit either velocity or aftertouch modulation. You
can change this in Utility>CV Settings.
By default, the control voltages sent to the Voice outputs match the 1.0 V per octave
standard. It's a standard that was defined in the early days of electronic music history. It
simply means that a 1.0 Volt increase in signal level makes an oscillator rise one octave
in pitch. This is the most commonly used standard. Please refer to the manufacturer's
documentation of your external music-making gear if you cannot get external oscillators to
track correctly. Changing the CV Pitch output setting may well solve the problem.
16 Arturia - User Manual Keystep Pro - KeyStep Pro Overview