SO –
Verdict is this:
The 16 pads work perfectly as Program Change controls, and as such can pull any patch or toggle states easil.
THe STOP and PLAY are less perfect- although they can be setup to send CC or PC data, it looks like this is IN ADDITION to the STOP and PLAY commands… and it isn’t clean on the H9.
They do work perfectly using the LOOPER to play or stop the loop.
The knobs are all useable to a limited extent.
They can all send Midi CC, and I have 10 of them setup to control the 10 variables. . . the other ones for Input/Output volume and program change (without activating)…. but they are a little bit of a bummer.
The I/O volumes seem to work perfectly.
The rest are dodgy because there is no “latch” mode..You can either have them send an absolute or relative CC value.. which doesnt necessarily match the pre-existing value in the pedal. This is a limitation of UNIDIRECTIONAL midi info, imo.
If that didnt make sense- its like this:
I have a knob set to control “Mix”. The preset has a predefined value of..30. But the Beatstep doesnt know this.. so when I first touch it- it sends a value it know.. say “60”. From that point onward the knob is smooth.. but there is an immediate jump from 30–>60 at first. Then.. say I leave the final value at 100… when I switch presets.. then NEXT preset’s mix might be “10”.. but when I twiddle the know it sends “100” up front. So its a little wonky.
Bottom Line: Preset changes with pads are PERFECT- Knobs less so.
