Cre8audio Programm

Sources split on the step grid, which is also the display. On feel there is little argument: owners describe soft-click membrane buttons, not squishy pads, that are comfortable to use, though Amazona found them a little wobbly before a clear click point. On legibility opinion divides almost evenly. Amazona and several owners say the buttons glow brightly enough to read every state; Stratimus expected trouble in a bright room with poor eyesight and had none. The reviewers who filmed it disagree. Starsky Carr's one reservation is LED brightness in daylight, Molten found 'a lot of white with white' flashing at him and wished for colour, and BoBeats found note values hard to tell apart. One Thomann owner calls the all-white pads 'a little fiddly'. The split partly tracks lighting, and partly how long the owner has spent learning the glyphs.

Sources split, though unevenly. Most reviewers and owners describe a steep start that pays off. Amazona says the panel is cleverly split so the left hand picks tracks and the right sets steps, quick to learn once you accept its cryptic readouts. BoBeats calls it very musical and easy to get going with, but says its worst part is all the alt-button combinations. Molten and Starsky both say it takes time before you jell with it, and owners report that it clicked after an hour, a day or a week. A minority never gets there. One r/synthesizers owner calls the UI a major headache, says decoding the grid's 'two-bit screen' means consulting the manual, and regrets the purchase. A buyer who passed on it found editing a step on the fly too fiddly. The knobs draw smaller complaints: they are small and close together, one owner found the Value knob too sensitive, and Starsky found the pickup awkward near the end of a range. Firmware 2.0's soft-takeover rework targets that last point.

Moderately positive for a box meant to run other gear rather than a DAW. Owners use it to drive semi-modular and MIDI setups: one says it made a Moog Sound Studio 3 far easier to sequence, and others run a Seqtrak, a Volca Beats or a Hydrasynth from it. MIDI from an external keyboard records in live mode and, since firmware 2.0, can set step pitches too. The weak spots: MIDI channel settings are global rather than saved per pattern, so one owner who switches rigs has to redo the setup each time. Each melodic track gets a single CC. At launch the drum tracks shared one MIDI channel (fixed in 1.1), and one YouTube commenter returned a unit that wouldn't sync, its clock a step off. Firmware 2.0's change log fixes exactly that kind of fault.

“it really makes it so much easier to sequence the 3 modules together.”

nmv83 · Elektronauts (owner, with a Moog Sound Studio 3)

“I'm having to delete the MIDI setup and setup the new MIDI.”

electrosoma · r/synthesizers (owner, on switching between rigs)

“I got one , but returned it , could never get it to sync rib via midi o any of my other gears , clocks where off a step”

ReefandReefer · YouTube comment on BoBeats' review

Sources split on the firmware, the Programm's only software. Its feature set is widely praised: probability and conditions per step, ratchets, six groove modes, scale lock, four pattern generators (plus 2.0's context-aware 'evolve'), song chaining and the always-on recall. Reviewers also list deliberate limits: melodic tracks are monophonic, and chord mode uses preset shapes you can't play in yourself. The launch firmware was rough. BoBeats, reviewing pre-final code, had a crash, arpeggiator timing problems and chords recording an octave low. An early owner missed step preview and MIDI-note step entry badly enough to leave his unit boxed for months, and another returned one over sync. The larger camp points to how quickly that changed. Firmware 1.1 and 1.2 arrived within ten days of launch, support was described as quick and receptive, and 2.0 added step audition, MIDI pitch entry, legato and save-while-playing, which owners say fixed their main complaints.

Broadly positive, with the same caveats from almost everyone. Eight drum trigger outs, pitch/CV/gate for two melodic tracks, a chance CV input, clock and reset in and out, and TRS MIDI in and out make it a hub for a semi-modular or small Eurorack rig plus a few MIDI synths. Owners also use the trigger outs as clock dividers. The limits: only two of the four melodic tracks have analogue outputs, which Amazona lists as a con and owners keep wishing were four. There is one MIDI output, so several MIDI synths need a thru box or splitter. And the jacks sit so close that fat or LED patch cables don't fit side by side.

“Leider geben die Sequencer-Spuren 3 und 4 nur MIDI aus, sodass die analoge Fraktion hier außen vor bleibt.”

Dirk E. (Xsample) · Amazona.de (German: unfortunately sequencer tracks 3 and 4 only output MIDI, so the analogue crowd is left out)

“you will need some sort of MIDI throughbox or MIDI splitter in order to connect more pieces of gear via MIDI because there's only one output jack”

BoBeats · YouTube review

“Just having 8 drum triggers to effectively use as clock dividers when not drumming is great”

Stratimus · r/synthesizers (owner)

Strong agreement. Reviewers and owners keep coming back to how small it is: a desktop box about 21 cm wide that fits beside compact synths, or a 40 HP Eurorack module only 25 mm deep, shallow enough for a skiff. One owner bought it precisely because the sequencer, drums and voices all fit in one portable case, and another measured its draw at only 50–60 mA. The one requirement is power: it runs from its supplied wall-wart or a Eurorack bus, with no battery or USB power. Racking it means supplying your own ribbon cable, and the case screws don't fit standard rails.

“Die mit 25 mm Tiefe superflache Bauweise erweist sich dazu als absolut Skiff-freundlich, was besonders unsere mobilen Euroracker freuen wird.”

Dirk E. (Xsample) · Amazona.de (German: at 25 mm deep the ultra-flat build is entirely skiff-friendly, which will especially please mobile Eurorack users)

“Despite that, I got one, because I can fit everything in a portable case.”

boriscat1999 · YouTube comment on Starsky Carr's video (owner)

Moderately positive. The case is plastic, and nobody pretends otherwise, but owners call it rock solid and Amazona found no sharp edges or burrs, giving the build top marks. Amazona and a Thomann owner describe firm knobs with a rubberised grip, and Amazona a reassuringly clicky power switch. Molten frames it as Cre8audio's usual bargain: a plastic box with compromises built in. The small asterisks are buttons Amazona found a little wobbly, tight jacks, and a module that takes some force to lift out of its case because it plugs straight into the case's power board.

“It's plastic but rock solid.”

Stratimus · r/synthesizers (owner)

“Das gesamte Gehäuse weist eine sehr gute Verarbeitung auf, hier finden wir keine scharfen Kanten, Ecken oder gar Grate.”

Dirk E. (Xsample) · Amazona.de (German: the whole case is very well made, with no sharp edges, corners or burrs)

The clearest point of agreement after size. Amazona's verdict is a buy recommendation that singles out the price. Molten calls it 'bloody good value', BoBeats a really good sequencer for the money and far ahead of the BeatStep Pro, and a Thomann owner calls it a no-brainer at the price. One Elektronauts owner says two of them would still be an amazing deal. BoBeats places it between the BeatStep Pro and KeyStep Pro, and at a third to a fifth of the price of the OXI One, Hapax or Reliq. The dissent is about what the money doesn't buy, not the price. Polyphonic recording is the KeyStep Pro's advantage, there are no free chords and little CC control, and the one owner who called it a flop thought it only makes sense as a Eurorack module.

“it's going to be bloody good value in a plastic box with compact and compromises sort of built in”

Robin Vincent · Molten Music Technology (YouTube review)

“Von mir gibt es deshalb an dieser Stelle eine Kaufempfehlung!”

Dirk E. (Xsample) · Amazona.de (German: so from me, a buy recommendation)

“I still think two of these for $700 which gives you 16 different trigger sequencers and eight different melodic sequencers is actually an amazing deal.”

therockfrog · Elektronauts (owner)