TBH the sequencer in the Korg i30 I got for $50 at a thrift shop a few years ago still seems more forward-thinking in a lot of ways than most of the 21st century sequencers I’ve had my hands on. But I’ve never messed with any of the current high end keyboard workstations that are still around - I’ve got the impression that they sort of exist in a parallel universe where the DAW revolution never happened and studio-hub hardware sequencers kept evolving.
You might also consider getting an Axoloti to use as a MIDI event processor. It’s more or less a hardware implementation of PD or Max/MSP (it’s not literally that, but it’s comparable) and you can accomplish a LOT with one of them. If you’re just sticking to MIDI and not doing any actual audio generation or processing in it, there’s plenty of CPU to spare. If you have the patience to design something from the ground up (I don’t, which is why mine has been pretty neglected since the original crowdfunding campaig, but I have a bandmate whose entire setup is built around two axolotis, two controllers and some pedals and it’s amazing what he can do with nothing but that and 30 years of piano lessons) it would probably be a better investment than an off-the-shelf MIDI processor.
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I’ve the RK-002 cable which can get you quite far too. Coding is in C. With my iCm4+ and a couple of VST midi processors I coded tailored to my specific needs I am not short of possibilities.
Yeah it’s pretty great. My bandmate had zero coding experience and had hardly done anything with MIDI and it only took him a couple months to get to where he is now. There are a lot more resources than there were when I was messing with it.
Sorry to say this: but when you count in your time at a reasonable value this kind of investment looks pretty terrible. It’s fun and you can do quite a lot, but a better investment? Simply “no”.
And usability-wise: nothing beats a nice web frontend like the one on the bomebox. Need to make some changes? Use your phone or tablet and a view touches later it’s done.
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Sorry but you didn’t get the point. You’re inventing me a problem that I don’t have… 
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I guess it depends on what you’re trying to do, but also I was misremembering the price of the Bome, it does a bit more and costs significantly less than I remembered so yeah, for a solid plug and play setup it seems like a good deal.
As far as “valuing your time” I value mine enough that I would almost always choose to invest more the DIY approach to anything (within reason) because the knowledge and experience you get from building your own tools is invaluable.
So did I, I just looked it up and it’s 199€ down from 299€. That’s fair.
Sharing channels with Ot and a synth is ambitious, not to say schizophrenic, 
, another sequencer is safer for brain sanity.
But, I still think it’s possible! 
As you know really well midi and midi processors the main problem is available notes range. So you use more than 6 octaves with your synths?
It is possible to control all OT parameters with 4 octaves. With midi processors you can trigger the sample and assign CC16 for pitch. Same result as C5-C7 chromatic range (tested).
I had considered remapping the keyrange but indeed I use the whole range, not neccessarily each time but I always check sounds over the full range, and sometimes end up using a very low or very high octave because it just sounds good. Or I have arps running over the full range. There’s a 88 note Fatar keyboard in my music room and I make extensive use of the octave +/- controls especially when they are conveniently placed like on the AnalogKeys. Sometimes I have 4 different smaller keyboards playing the same synth/sound mapped to different ranges…I like to keep that freedom.
I think I’ll go for that external midi sequencer. It’ll make things easier to manage. Looking for a live performance oriented sequencer with at least 96ppqn resolution and unlimited events. Pyramid is a strong contender. Squid is a real step sequencer I believe, so that’s not an option. Circlon is over the top for my needs (and budget). Looked at the Yamaha RS7000 but that one is more expensive on the used market that a new Pyramid! MPC500 if I crash financially… I’ll keep a routing from the OT to my Blofeld though: LFO’s modulating OT arp parameters that play arp’d Blofeld sounds is just incredibly cool 
Sure! Once I mapped notes to Prog changes with OT>Epp+>Blo = instant sound changes, like a drum kit!
I sold Blo for a Micromonsta. Much simpler, even more for OT midi control.
Main Mpc500 advantage compared to Mpc1000 JJOS2XL I had : limitations! Hence simplicity. JJOS warped my head much more than OT, I found a lot of workarounds with OT + midi processors, sold Mpc 1000.
Pyramid seems great. Pretty different logic.
I’m quite sure I can deal with lots of midi things with OT and Mpc500 now.
Once again, simplicity! I’m getting old, Alzheimer is soon.
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Yeah, around 5 years ago an RS7000 in good shape would be like $250-$300 (which was already way more than my MPC2kxl cost in 2009, so it seemed pretty steep to me at the time but now I wish I’d gotten my hands on one.
You can still get an RM1x for not TOO much, and from what I understand the sequencer is mostly the same as the RS7000.
I hadn’t looked at the Pyramid in a few years, I thought they were more in the Octatrack/Cirklon range. If they’re $450-$600 now then that seems like a pretty good deal all things considered.
I never really used the MPC1000/JJOS myself but I had three different friends who did amazing stuff with them for a few years. Apart from a couple gripes (situations where you have to stop the sequencer to access something) I really like the MPC2000/2000xl a lot for sequencing. It’s really fast to work with, and has a good balance of depth and accessibility - you can do a lot (in a pinch you can do full sysex programming from it) but just about everything is never more than one or two button presses away at most. The downside is it’s bulky, the prices have gotten a bit stupid, and the displays apparently have a tendency to fail although mine’s still flawless and there are aftermarket replacements now, so it’s not going to brick your MPC like it used to. The Pyramid seems like a really nice modern take on that style of sequencing, actually, if I made more money than I do I’d have my eye on one now.
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I didn’t have those but strangely I teached things on RS7000 maybe 15 years ago! Seemed really deep, but too big / heavy for me anyway. I thought Rm1x was simpler considering the midi sequencer.
Anyway it’s uggly, I prefer my Qy100! 
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I’ve got a QY-10.
PROS: It fits in a very stylish clamshell VHS tape case and you can tune the internal sounds down like 6 octaves until they turn into grainy, ambient, 12 bit noise.
CONS: Everything else.
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My QY100 should be 10 times better!
Sorry for off topic :
OT sequencing QY100 cheasy sounds
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I just watched LoopOp’s indeep video on the Pyramid and it was very informative (as usual): Pyramid seems deep yet comprehensible, and there are some cool live oriented modes. Now that would be a lot of sequencers in my set-up: the Octatrack, Analog Keys, Digitone; I have a SP16 too; plus all the onboard sequencers/arps on my synths. I will study the manual first. I wouldn’t want to run into thingies like “you can send CC’s or PC’s on pattern change but only if they are different from the last one that was sent regardless of the fact that that was done in another pattern”. That sort of stuff contributed to my frustration when using Elektron sequencers for midi: too much WTF moments “by design”. To sequence their internal audio engines they’re great though.
Now I’m wondering: if I get a Pyramid, what would be my workflow? Is it better to sequence everything in Pyramid, or would I still use OT/AK/DN sequences… let’s read that manual 
Seems like you’d have the possibility to use both. 
Can’t wait to try SPP with OT/A4/AR, as they seem to work with SPP too.
Direct jump pattern change of Dark Trinity playing with my guitar sending midi notes changing them? 
I hope you’ll try that SPP with Rk002, so I can share / participate, and learn!
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And Pyramid midi Fx controlling OT’s midi tracks parameters of course! Midi euclidian brain warping.
I have family over for the summer vacation, so that must wait a bit but I’m sure going to dive into that ASAP
That’s what I do actually, and I think it’s great for live performance, very flexible but it takes an awful lot of housekeeping and memorizing what does what.
As far as I understood, Pyramid patterns are very powerful, and the number of tracks is more than enough. I just read through the manual and it’s very easy to grasp. 384 bar patterns! No more messing around with half tempo and multipliers to get beyond 4 bars loops… linear sequencing… chord smart pads… automation drawing on the touchpad…euclidean patterns…midifile import/export… Mmmmm, I think I love this thing already!
I didn’t read about some stuff Elektron does using p-locks: for example, the DN sequencer allows for p-locking program changes (PC, MSB, LSB) so if your synth is fast enough you can have a sound per step which greatly expand the possibilies. I made really intricate and complex rythms that way with a AS-1 which is a single DSI Prophet6 voice (not a clone, the real thing: a gem really!!) I don’t know if the Pyramid can do that. If it does, I might decide to let the Digitone go for the Pyramid: it’s heavily underused in my rig. A really cool device though, especially with the new firmware (kudos Elektron for that one) . Will see…
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