I have a digitone and like it a lot and while I do enjoy the sequencer, there are things It wont do that I really want for my music and the Pyramid does them (primarily pattern lengths greater than 64 and the ability to have microstep track lengths for microphasing tracks against each other, Euclidean pattern creation, easy triplets, saved pattern chaining, etc.).
I think want an intuitive sampler to use with the Pyramid that foremost sounds great, can sample directly from other hardware and has easy editing features and decent fix in the box. I’m not seeing much out there aside from the Digitakt but maybe I am missing some other good options?
MpcOne seems equally overkill but it works really well for sampling and chopping. Anything else gets into the weeds of sample rate/space/stereo-mono/no screen/etc…
I’d say if you want a really strong sampler it’s between Mpc and digitakt.
The sp-404sx/sp-555 have a very hands-on feel, velocity sensitive pads, and the pyramid allows you to replace their limited sequencer. The midi in specs are extremely lacking though.
The 1010 blackbox would give you more outputs and slightly better midi to control with the pyramid. However, the onboard effects seem kind of limiting.
The digitakt seems like it has great midi implementation and therefore probably a solid bet to use with the pyramid. And the mpcs look just as good, if not better. But I’d say squarp’s sequencer still has a lot to add.
sample player only - maybe think of it as a Kontakt-esque multi player with (apparently) lots of effects and puredata sequencing engines. Not quite out yet, but the backers remain hopeful as the developer says they are nearing the final assembly stage before shipping.
I’m waiting on a Pyramid to arrive too. I’ll be running it with a Digitakt, A4 and Microfreak. I’d had similar thoughts about overkill because the DT sequencer really is pretty good, but like you said the Squarp can do lots of other unique things too, which really appeal to me. Vaguely considered that I could sell the DT and get some other cheaper sound gen devices instead (I mainly used it for drums, so an analog drum machine could be rad - an Impact? And this would leave cash for something else too. Anyway- questions for a couple of months from now! Gotta learn the Pyramid first!
