Neither of these sequencers is very common, but I am wondering if anyone has both, and if so what are your thoughts about their strengths and weaknesses compared to each other? Thanks!
Of course I tried that, but didn’t find any info I was looking for. I even tried google and YouTube too! Hoping someone with first hand experience with both units actually exists.
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The thing is if you have a Circklon, you probably won’t feel the need for another Sequencer and vice versa. Hapax is very young too, not a lot of owners.
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I had a Cirklon. It’s very expensive and honestly kind of outdated in some ways. What it is great at is the clock timing and connectivity. What it is annoying at is creating polyphonic sequences - chords…etc. I ended up playing them in via a keyboard and live recording, which I can just do in a DAW.
The Hapax seems to have a pretty good chord mode. It is very easy to automate velocity and other things, which makes it almost like a Push2 if you have it running into your laptop.
I am sure the Hapaz build quality is not on par with the Cirklon, but the Cirklon also really is a better fit if you have a lot of hardware and love to make techno or music with a lot of mono sequences. I prefer a sequencer that can get me messing with new chords and harmonies, so it’s more Oxi One versus Hapax. Since I owned the Cirklon, I just am not interested in getting it again.
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Thanks so much, this is exactly the kind of info I was interested in. I was actually really wondering about sequencing chords on the cirklon, so that is especially good to know. I have seen a cirklon in a couple of studios but it seems to always be in a hardcore techno setup. I have all my midi connected to a motu midi timepiece so don’t necessarily need a million connections on the hardware itself either.
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As an opposing opinion, I actually like polyphonic sequencing using the cirklon.
Forward to 27:38. But I agree in general Cirklon may be overkill unless you have a lot of external synths.
IMHO the cirklon really shines in the studio when it comes to workflow and interface. it has an elegant solution for every single issue or headache that you can experiment with complex midi sequencing and interfacing. I never feel stuck with it. it works. it solves problems. it’s fluid.
Yes Hapax and others may surpass it for some “modern” and fast compositional tools that are built in like Euclid sequencing, fancy chord modes, or features tailored for live usage. imho cirklon is more suited for the studio.
but what the cirklon does it does it well. the OS has been refined and perfected for years listening to the community and I believe it is an ongoing process.
Oh yes I also love my Toraiz squid, what a refreshing design, very very fun and intuitive. But some basic features are missing and I am often struggling with it in real world scenarios. feature was not on the initial roadmap? will never see that happen. deal with it, they moved on to an other project…
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cant a daw do everything and more than Cirklon. and to solve daw MIDI timing, ERM Midi Clock. CONSIDERABLY cheaper.
keep in mind, im on the list for a Cirk, but am pretty positive I will buy to sell or pass my turn on. I was hyped, not so much these days
Of course not, but whether you need one is another matter.
*) it’s a sequencer with a custom-fit UI setup (16 push encoders, 16 cherry keys w/lights, dedicated buttons for track/pattern/fill/etc.), comprehensive MIDI I/O w/ almost obsessively tuned sync and jitter, logic operations that range from useful to weird and everything in between, inter-track interaction, etc etc.
I did sell mine though, waiting for a Hapax.
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No I know all about it, Cirklon that is. I was just stating the obvious.
you can get a bunch of controllers and build whatever you want with a daw, max what have you. I wish I knew the werd I was thinking of for what I had said. It sucks being stupid.
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I have the Hapax. Big thing for me is the CV outs. I don’t have a lot of eurorack or anything, just a Moog Grandmother and Matriarch and being able to add extra envelopes and LFOs with the CV is pretty great. I know there’s probably cheaper ways to go about it, even MIDI to CV converters, but while I fiddle around trying to figure out the right Max plug-ins and what not I can just get going with the Hapax, plus it interfaces all my other synths.
But yeah, if all I had was MIDI devices I would just use my Push 2 with ableton.
The Push is ok, but costs as much as a Hapax almost or an Oxi One. These newer grid base samplers have a lot of MIDI FX that you could only access with Max4Live and spending time on the screen, since they dont all map to the Push.
I think the Push is really expensive for what it is. An Oxi One/Hapax can sequence your DAW, your hardware, your modular and doesn’t need to be tethered to a laptop all the time. I think its the way to go, personally.
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I’ve got an FH-2 with 16 extra outs for 24 midi to CV out, and and ES-8, with and extra MOTU for an additional 8 out of straight CV out.
I’m on the list for a Cirklon but am thinking that it’s not really going to add to anything I can’t already do.
Except add more shit for me to learn in top of the stuff I haven’t fully learned yet. I’m no pro, or even decent am….just trying to find if there is SOMETHING it offers that, as I said, I can’t do already.
Oh…and I’m on NGNY so no buying anything for another few months. And I’ve been on the list since mid 2018. So probably still a ways to go.
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I guess it also depends on how much of the plug-ins you use. I still very much use my Ableton Instruments and FX and the Push 2 gets me closer to controlling those, I feel like setting that stuff up would be a bit of a nightmare with an external sequencer but maybe not, I honestly haven’t tried it.
There definitely is a degree on elegance with using the generative tools on the Hapax, though and being able to punch in notes and draw automations within the interface is also pretty big
I do think Ableton seems to have forgotten the Push over the years.
Correction mid 2019
Yes, I think a DAW should be able to do everything a Cirklon can do- just differently so. I still use it with Logic, but using Logic/Cubase/Studio One/Ableton (of which I’ve used) alone I never got timing as good. Currently I do use the Cirklon as the sequencer and Logic basically as a recorder and editor. Maybe my setup computer sequencing setup wasn’t as good as it should’ve been, idk. It’s mostly a workflow thing. Once I learned my way around the Cirklon I can create things much faster than I could in a daw, and find the workflow more organic (hate to use such a buzzword, but…). I find it more pleasurable/faster/tighter. For sure it’s probably not for everyone.
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Yeah and no shade, I just often see that UI and tactility are pretty underappreciated, even though people like, say, their Elektrons 
The Cirk is definitely sexy!
As a cirklon owner I think it is the opposite of sexy. It is more of a professional tool to me : sharp, accurate, flexible, optimized, reliable.
The Hapax sounds way sexier to me!
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