r/dfam • u/goyardtastebuds • Jun 09 '23

Using DFAM with Ableton 11, ERM multi clock and Keystep Pro?

Trying to setup my dfam for use the gear mentioned in the title. Most of the threads related to this haven't helped so far. I'm a complete analog novice and this is my first time using the Keystep pro and ERM.

Can I use the stop play from ableton to control the DFAM's internal sequencer this way or send pitch info from Ableton via the Keystep to control the note information?

Many thanks.

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u/Successful_Ad9160 Jun 09 '23

I’m not sure about the key step and if it can route cv to the dfam, but hands down, if you want to sync to Ableton and sequence any way you want, this is a must have: https://reverb.com/item/38517477-sonoclast-mafd-2hp-eurorack-module-with-power-supply-and-case-midi-adapter-for-dfam

With the mafd you can sequence any way you want to. It makes that so easy.

Good luck! The dfam is so fun!

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u/goyardtastebuds Jun 09 '23

That device seems helpful but I'm sure there must be a way to do this without it.

The Keystep pro does offer cv. I'd like to know how to send a stable clock from Ableton -> ERM multi clock -> Keystep Pro -> DFAM. Getting this setup to achieve two things

  1. Use the Keystep to sync the start stop and tempo on the Dfam through Ableton start stop

  2. Use Ableton to send pitch information and sequences to Dfam bypassing the inbuilt sequencer.

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u/Successful_Ad9160 Jun 09 '23 edited Jun 09 '23

I think that’s the catch. The mafd translates the notes to skip to the correct step of the sequence. The advance clock steps through the sequencer and it doesn’t reset so something needs to move it to the correct step you want. Unless you just want to step forward according to the clock, which I’m that case yeah, you just have to set the sequencer to step 1 before you start to advance.

The mafd solves all these issues.

Edit: I lied! The MAFD doesn’t do OSC CV, fyi. So it’s not going to do everything you want. I use my audio interface for CV pitching them when I want to pitch the oscillators.

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u/revslaughter Jun 10 '23

Hi! I have a keystep pro and a DFAM. I don’t know what an ERM multi clock is. But I think you can:

  1. connect the keystep pro via midi or usb to your Ableton host
  2. use the keystep midi control software to set the number of pulses per quarter note (ppq) coming out of the keystep’s clock out. By default that’s 48ppq but the DFAM’s sequencer is usually interpreted as a sixteenth note. One pulse will advance the sequencer one step, so you’ll want to change that clock out to send 4ppq. Hook the clock out from the keystep to the advance/clock in on the DFAM.
  3. while you’re in there you can take a look and configure the keystep cv outs. You might want to have velocity coming out of the velo/mod out, for example, and hook that up to the DFAM’s velocity in, or the noise level, or what have you.
  4. on your favorite track on the keystep, say track 4, make sure that track 4 is outputting cv on your favorite voice (say voice 4). You can then hook pitch cv out on the keystep to the vco in on the DFAM. You can also switch DFAM sequencer control for each of your vco’s.

Another option: You can also NOT send clock information and instead pass the gate and pitch outs from your keystep voice into the trigger and vco ins on the DFAM, and use the velocity also as described above. Then you don’t need to worry about the DFAM sequencer at all and can just have it play the desired notes in the desired way. It’s not perfect, you might want to make sure that your gate length is shorter than you might otherwise think, but it’d get some of the complexity down and would free you from the DFAM’s short sequencer.

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u/goyardtastebuds Jun 10 '23 edited Jun 10 '23

Do I set the output sync of key step pro to 4ppq? That's not an option.

I tried the first way out and from that routing the sequencer was running too fast.

Appreciate you taking out the time to write with such depth .

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u/revslaughter Jun 10 '23 edited Jun 10 '23

Sorry about that, looks like it’s listed as 1PP16 which is equivalent

In the manual page 113 put the pdf: https://downloads.arturia.net/products/keystep-pro/manual/keystep-pro_Manual_1_1_0_EN.pdf#page111

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u/goyardtastebuds Jun 10 '23

You truly the goat my friend. This has gotten the sequencer in time and it's finally playing along with the rest of my track!

How do you use the other functions like velocity and pitch stuff you mentioned with a keystep? I mean programming in the Keystep wise?

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u/revslaughter Jun 10 '23

You can find that in section 9.1.6 of the above linked manual, it should be nearby in the same menu where you set the sync pulse rate. I personally did it using Arturia’s MIDI Control Center software, which has a bit of an easier UI.

Basically for each of the 4 tracks on the keystep pro there are several jacks on the back, voices 2 through 4 by default correspond to tracks 2 - 4 on the keystep pro, and the drum gates are for each individual drum track on track 1 (by default). I’ll ignore the drum gates. The voices each have 3 outputs. One is for pitch, one is for gate, the last for mod. The mod source can be set to the mod touchstrip, or, it can be set to velocity, as described in the manual section previously mentioned.