So I’ve been looking at this bugger for a while. I have tried many midi sequencers out there in the past 5 years. All that, only to find out that none of them could beat the immediacy and simplicity of the Alesis MMT-8. Still, the latter has it’s drawbacks. Mainly a terrible clock, low memory and no ways of entering a sequence in steps.
I am now thinking of getting the rk-008.
But the price point makes me realize that I could get a squarp pyramid second hand for cheaper than the rk-008.
Has anyone tried all three devices I mentioned?
My understanding when evaluating these is that RK 008 is the modernized version of the Alesis.
I own a Pyramid and love it , but it’s really more of a fully powered Midi work station designed to be the brain of a full hardware setup, and a bit cerebral to fully grasp how it does things at first. You can do things like midi looping, but I find it is more of a full composition tool to be programmed. You also have to conform to its unique structure based on patterns and mute states to build out your tracks.
My perception of RK 008 is it has more of a focus on the “real time” playback and capture features, which is especially attractive to keys players and those wanting to capture expression. If you read the RK 008 product description that is where most of the emphasis is placed.
I think pyramid is one of the best values out there for all that it does.
I own the Rk8 and I’m a pianist/keyboardist. Rk8 is an amazingly portable, reliable/robust and flexible tool, with a quick workflow, too. Given the size of the thing, the accent is indeed on portability and on real-time recording:
STEPTIME RECORDING
Although the realTime full MIDI recording is what the RK-008 is all about sometimes it is just handy to enter notes in a sequencer fashion, for example if you want to make a quick drumbeat or carefully timed controller data or program changes. For that we have made the stepTime recorder.
Consider the size of the screen and the number of UI elements. If step sequencing is your main gig and portability is secondary, then consider an alternative option. Nevertheless, the real-time recording workflow together with the real-time, post-destructive or post-non-destructive transforms offer a fast and flexible UX. Take a look at the manual and the retrokits forum perhaps.
If you are still interested, then let me draw your final attention to the memory limitation. The memory size is aligned with the original MMT8 to ensure full compatibility with the latter. To an extent, you can still use it for MPE (though it does not really support mpe on the event editing side) or for recording vast amounts of controller data - just be aware of the memory limitation. All in all, you’ve got plenty of space for full songwriting but if you’re mainly into recording massive cc data or MPE, then know that Rk8 offers a more limited experience in this field. Then again, limitations can make you make more creative.
Thanks @bangonadigi , that is a great write-up that helps a lot. I do have a feeling that the pyramid is something I would get lost in too quickly. Prefer things simple. But of course I wouldn’t mind trying it out
@g3o2 These are interesting limitations to know. Steprecording is secondary to me. But I do find it annoying to record another sequencer into the mmt8 for the moments where I need it. It gets quickly messy then, with one project having patterns saved in different devices. So it would be a godsend to have it on the device for that reason…
As for memory limitations: If I see it correctly, my problem with the mmt8 was not having too little memory per song. But that I was hitting a limit of total memory within the device. Then again, it’s not a problem that would make me avoid it. I just had to regularly delete patterns from older songs…
I had an mc-50 a long time ago…
Never really understood how it worked It was an unusual sequencer for today’s terms. Loved the tactility. What I remember, if I’m correct, is that it was tricky to set up a simple looping pattern? Who knows I’m gonna try it out sometime again
It was an unusual sequencer for today’s terms. Loved the tactility. What I remember, if I’m correct, is that it was tricky to set up a simple looping pattern? Who knows I’m gonna try it out sometime again