Squarp Pyramid [compilation topic]

I must precise that the crashes are not very frequent. After a long day of intensive practice no problems!
:slight_smile:

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the issue I have occurs when I send the pyramid midi notes from the Octatrack while drawing CC automations on the Pyramid. hopefully will be resolved one day, and the Squarp team have been extremely attentive and helpful.

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@elenacortes Thanks for heads up about saving, I did not get the chance to dive into 2.0 fully yet, so far I have just been using it with a Volca sample in a tiny setup (because my main setup is all taken down at present) I think it really brings the Volca Sample to life, using the CC to note fx and such, a few euclidean tracks and some basic step mode tracks, and a little CC touchpad action - super fun!

Agree that Jean is very customer focussed, always quick to respond and helpful.

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This seems to be the achilles heel of many step sequencers, I cannot understand the thinking behind it, it makes odd time signatures almost unusable for me, it defies logic and feels like lazy programming, or paying lip service to odd meters without really considering the practicalities of using them. Apparently some people do not have a problem with it though, so maybe not enough people request having pages of equal or best fit lengths.

Consider working in a simple 13 steps to a bar pattern across 4 bars.

What seems logical?

4 pages of 13

Or

3 pages of 16 then 1 page of 4?

Dumb.

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Amen, brother! Amen! It seems like the the most obvious to me!

Interesting, coming from a tracker background I kinda got used to it being this way, but itā€™s a total hack! Now that youā€™ve mentioned it, itā€™s gonna annoy me lol :stuck_out_tongue:

Hi. I have been using an AK as my main method of external sequencing. I am drawn in by all the options the Pyramid has, as well as the midi sequencing (I use the AK to sequence 2 synths simultaneously via CV).

I was curious for those of you that switched to the Pyramid way from Elektron if you had any regrets or miss anything in particular? Did you find it being a big learning curve?

Iā€™ve watched videos of the Pyramid and it doesnā€™t seem overwhelming, but something that needs to be learned. The same could be said for Elektron, itā€™s just I already know that method.

I did not switch from Elektron myself, I added the Pyramid to my setup for sequencing my non Elektron gear, I think for me it handles midi sequencing better in many ways than Elektron gear does, not hating on Elektronā€™s midi sequencing but the approaches are different.

With the Pyramid you are not confined to max 4 pages per sequence, so for longer patterns it is easier to use the Pyramid, also the Pyramid handles velocity, chords, CCā€™s, arpeggios, and note input (thanks to Smartpads, CV etc) a little better than Elektron midi sequencers do.

I have no interest in sequencing my Elektron gear from the Pyramid as the internal sequencer on Elektron gear is so tightly integrated with the sound source that it would require a lot of CC editing to achieve anything similar using the Pyramid.

The Pyramid however can make synths or other gear with lesser or no internal sequencer come to life, CC recording and editing is a breeze, and there are some very handy midi fx which can be combined and automated in interesting, intuitive and fun ways.

Iā€™d hesitate to say that the Pyramid is like P-Locks for CC, but it is simlar in some ways, although remember that midi is a serial protocol so you wonā€™t get the same number/density of events without timing being affected, although with common sense and the implementation in Pyramid timing issues can be kept to a minimum.

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Yesterday i send picture of my Pyramid screen and one of my projects in view to remedy to the crashes last week. Squarp saying that they reproduce my crashes and find a solution to the problem. There will be a patch soon !

They still work to improove our beloved sequencer.

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Hello Crumble Finger, yes, interested.
I understand what you mean.
To have all under your eyes results very immediate and comfortable when using the PCā€¦
I also have doubts about it, but I simply think that having the pyramid in the hands at least a while is worth the experience.
Where do you live?
Are you aware that now there is a Pyramid MK2?

Other thing Crumble FIngers. I saw in your older posts that you are a bit between sequencing and sampling issues. If you want a perfect match between DAW and dedicated hardware sequencer and sampling all in one there is only one choice today., and you may know this is the MPC live. I am also tempted but I have not 1000 euro now to spend all in once so I have to go step by step in this. :confused:

Let me know please,

I am in Italy.
FAbio

Iā€™ve been thinking about getting Pyramid to use primarily with my Elektron machines, loving the enthusiasm from users and sounds like a really committed developer. Just hoping someone could clarify for me whether it stores which patch you are using for a particular sequence?

For example when I power on Pyramid and any synths connected to it, then choose a project within Pyramid, will loading this project automatically change the synth patches to the ones last used within that project? Or is this achieved through manually setting program changes? Or do you have to change the patches on the synths themselves?

Cheers

You would need to set program change messages if you wanted them to be remembered, although I have to say I have never done this.

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Just played a gig with the Pyramid this weekend. If you save the PC on the Pyramid, it will load when you open the Project.

That said, I wasnā€™t able to get it to work reliably with my MDUW (it would change the kit, but the MD would eventually switch back to the last loaded kit), but that was weirdness with the MD, not the Pyramid, so I just changed those manually. Had no issues using it with a bunch of other gear.

Thanks so much for the replies, got my eye on a second hand one atm so really good to know. I did read somewhere else about issues with program changes not registering immediately actually but like you say hopefully an exception and not the rule.

As my research has gone a little deeper Iā€™ve inevitably found myself with a few more questions if anyone could chime in.

The secondhand Pyramid Iā€™m looking at isnā€™t the latest model, does this make much of a difference? The serial number is 0344. Itā€™s not exactly a bargain for the second hand one so wondering if I should just buy new?

Also after browsing some alternatives, one thing i really like about Kilpatrick Carbon is how you could stop a pattern at any time and then jam with the same synth patch, then when youā€™re done, restart the the pattern, without affecting the rest of the song. It also seemed really good as a hub for your hardware, with a single button press selecting a different midi output for your noodling.

Just wondering if anyone using the Pyramid in this way has any opinions on how straightforward it is to start/stop patterns on the fly and move between playing one synth to another.

Tbh I can hardly see myself going for a Carbon as Iā€™m sure Iā€™d miss the depth of the Pyramid, just got me wondering how intuitive the workflow feels to those who have spent some time getting to know it.

Thanks again for any replies.

Good to hear people are taking the Pyramid into the wild, so itā€™s mostly treated you well for gigs? Guess thatā€™s a concern Iā€™ve had and I think something solid or ā€˜finishedā€™ like the Octatrack would fill me with a lot more confidence, but an evolving OS is just so much more excitingā€¦

Iā€™ve only played the one show with it so far (just getting back into playing out after a few years). But I wouldnā€™t have any worries about stability at this point. I had a couple crashes with it pre-1.0, but they really did a good job of squashing any bugs prior to the 2.0 release and I havenā€™t seen any reports of issues since then. If anything, Iā€™m impressed with how quick Squarp are to address issues. The most recent 2.2 update was basically a direct issue of me contacting them because I actually hit the RAM limits of the machine with a bunch of linear midi files I importedā€¦a week later, they had a fix out (just tested it last night, and it indeed solved the problem).

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The changes between the Pyramid versions are basically cosmetic from what I can tellā€¦I think the biggest difference is the larger, slightly recessed touchpad. Functionally, itā€™s the same. But Squarp are awesome, and if the second hand unit you found isnā€™t that great of a bargain and you like the looks of the newer hardware more I certainly recommend supporting them directly.

@darenager has owned the Carbon and Pyramid, so he can probably answer your questions best. IIRC he didnā€™t stay with the Carbon too long because of the limitations, and is now on his second Pyramid.

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Yeah I think I like the idea of going new if itā€™s gonna be a much treasured studio hub :slight_smile: Glad to hear itā€™s been stable for you as well, researching hardware sequencers got me trying out some new stuff in Bitwig with CC messages to my Analog keys Iā€™ve not tried before, it was a lot of fun with Bitwigā€™s modulators but it just doesnā€™t feel right to me taking a computer on stage just for midi duties and I donā€™t trust it like a dedicated piece of hardware. Thanks for getting me closer to justifying it :wink:

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Yes the Carbon had a bunch of bugs and was a bit too restrictive for the price, the fly in the ointment though was the announcement from Kilpatrick that no new features would be added to the OS (unless users coded them) and this was within 12 months of the product launch, which really put me off. Fair enough if there are no bugs and the product feels complete, but for me the Carbon felt like a prototype albeit a nice looking one.

The Pyramid sure has its own quirks, but feels like a mature and considered product, and Squarp seem far more committed to their users, what I really like about the Pyramid is its open endedness in its structure, that is to say the user can freely mix data types and track parameters how they see fit, so although it can be used as a ā€˜dumbā€™ pattern sequencer it is not limited to only that.

WRT the difference in hardware, I had the first revision and now have the new look, the earlier version looks a little nicer I think, but the new version touchpad feels more precise and the painted graphics are clearer and more up to date with the OS.

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hello,

i extended my setup by an squarp pyramid sequencer.

itā€™s no problem to start my synths like the 303 or a korg ms with the pyramid.

but i have problems with starting my AR with it. did anyone still connected and start it?

i connected it from pyramids ā€œOUT Aā€ to ā€œAR Midi-Inā€. i tried to use different channel but it did not worked.

Which channel do i have to use, just to start the AR with the pyramid? it seems like every channel is used for one AR Track? but which one receives start and stop signals?

thanks for your help,
frederik

hi,

found the right settings at the pyramid.

I needed to change the midi out settings.

Press ā€œ2nd + FXā€ -> ā€œMIDI-Outā€ -> ā€œstart/stop midi Aā€ -> ā€œsendā€

thanks.

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