Despites some of its limitations, it’s an absolutely wonderfull jam machine. Plug, improvise, twist patterns…It’s really like an instrument, you always have something to do on it !
I really like it for what it is ! Not the most complete sequencer, not for linear sequencing of your 7 hours symphonic piece, but come with that under your arm and a nord drum 2 for exemple and you’ll spit interesting beats for days !
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The patch change per pattern is still an issue though ?
I own both a Pyramid and a Squid (and I’ve been using MIDI sequencers since the 80s).
Honestly, I’m selling my Pyramid. Yes, you can do much longer patterns on Pyramid, and you have some cool MIDI effects…but for dance music…the Squid is WAY more real-time and way more geared to create NEW GROOVES from your existing data. The ability to skip, ratchet, and retrig ANY steps in your pattern is so sick…and the ability to scrub back through the last 16 bars of jamming and then render that as a whole new pattern…priceless. For me at least. Also I’m tired of squinting at the Pyramid screen. Just sayin’
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I have both too, and others also, and i like them all.
Now, since i play with Squid, I see what is really nice with it.
Yes it’s a live instrument more than the Pyramid. Futhermore, if you use Pyramid for live practice you don’t use the long pattern capability (just because it’s easy to get lost in the many pages that can involve many bars for editing).
Squid is one of the most immediat and easy sequencer hardware I ever seen (Cirklon is not to be consider here, cause it always occupe a specific place in the sequencer universe) even for chords traitment.
It bring to me what Pyramid lacks on the chords side. The possibility to try them “à la volée”, change them even if it’s already record. Ok, all those things can be made with Pyramid by the way of midifx, but far less easily.
I think that Squid is realy made for improvisation, creation of patterns with immediacy and easy mangling midi. A kind of OT for midi (if you consider the OT ability of mangling audio samples).
An other instrument to be consider, even if you want to go experimental (my cup of tea) it offers you great opportunities to work evolving patterns.
The main points are immediacy, simplicity and natural/ergonomic use of the gear.
It became my first to go gear to produce patterns before record them in my other sequencers in view to extand patterns for the making of longer pieces and songs.
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I’d like to know this too. I think it is, cant find anything on it.
Now that I have used it more I can afford some informations.
The Squid is an oriented sequencer. If you want to produce complete gig with it, that’s not it’s function. It is possible, but you will need to develop work around and strategies and you’ll still be confronted to inconvenients.
For example, as it is mentionned in above video of Ricky Tinez, there’s only a Prog Change per track. It’s a first problem. Second, if you can afford a pretty nice numbers of patterns per track (64), that permit to makes several musical parts of your gig, you’ll certainly run out of patterns, mainly if you want lot of variations in your songs, all depend on the music style you produce. So you will have to stop sequencer and change project.
There we reach the fact that this sequencer is DJing oriented.
Not a problem, just a known fact that we mustn’t forget when buying.
This sequencer doesn’t have a lot of capabilities, but what it does, it does very well. This gear has been very well thinked and all possibilities very well implemented. A real pleasure to be played. The UI is simple and easy to learn. This sequencer is a very immediat/intuitive/efficience gear.
It’s main function, imho, is the creation/production of patterns and their paradigm. Then, play with.
My musical practice is multiple, so as I find it very usefull to start project, to find ideas (i’m one of those who does’nt really clearly know in adance the details of the thing i’m producing), this sequencer is a good option for easy research and its main force is to produce variant of the initial idea. That is the case when I wanted to iterate a first drum pattern in a lot of slightly different others in view to write little and orecise variations in a song (pretty efficient with the MD trick we take about here
In this situation, Squid offers a real possibility to test a lot of slice configuration in very few instants. But it’s exactly the moment where you will find the Squid isn’t able to construct a song with lot of variations.
So now I reach this points :
- 1 this sequencer is usefull in my research, because it offers me the possibility to create very easily bunch of variations of a pattern. It’s a kind of draft. But maybe it’s a bit expensive to just have a sketchbook. Fortunatly I find one second hand realy mint at good price.
- 2 subsequently, this sequencer cannot be alone in my production practice. I need another sequencer to record it and produce long songs, mangling the roughdraft that Squid gives me. Fortunatly, i’ve some.
- 3 this sequencer cannot be reasonably compared with others (Pyramid, Cirklon) because it respond to it’s own objective : quick creation of patterns and mangling them in live, exactly what Toraiz propose to sell. In that way, all Squid video by Toraiz really well shown the capability of the produce.
- 4 I find it very efficient too in the playing of experimental improvisations (one of my great pleasure).
- 5 will I keep it ? Can’t I do the same with my others sequencers ? I’m still in doubt. It gave me ideas to use differently my other sequencers. It has it’s marvelous immediacy of testing lot of variation without destructive modifications (like 16 undo, or modifying chords immediatly).
So always the same problem for us, when does the ultimate sequencer wil be done ?
Finaly : a very good sequencer, a bit expensive for what it does (and it’s all plastic and fragile constitution). A cool toy if you can afford it, immediat satisfaction, cool creative accidents, specialist of modification and runing process of endless pattern mangling.
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If your’re talking about Pchange, it’s per track, on the last OS 1.12 since 07.19.
So that’s no confortable, per pattern would be more eficient.
Edit :
This shows well that this kind of use (I mean changing the sound of synth or drum machine several time in a project in view to make evolution of sound or song) is not the way the conceptors had. This inform us on the philosophy of the gear.
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Are there Elektronauts with Squid that can share their vision and use of this sequencer. I’m still in doubt about keeping it or sell it. Any thought ?
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Using it as central jam sequencer for all my Elektron boxes and synths. Keeping track of what pattern is running where on the individual sequencers drives me crazy, Squid solves that. The random generators and time warp bring hours of jam fun.
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If selling I might be interested if in EU 
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Ha ha, I’ll tell you if I do 
Do you sometimes record patterns on Elektron gear or are they just playing like expanders ?
They are just playing as expanders. If I record into the Elektron boxes I forget where the patterns are anyway. Somehow I like it to have everything into 1 interface sequencer. Besides that to record the euclidian rhythms from the Squid into the Elektron boxes the pattern lengths need to be setup correct.
Now I only need to worry about kits, no longer about the patterns on the Elektron boxes.
I would love to see something like the Squid from Elektron though. Ideally combined with a mixer.
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Right now l’m looking to connect my Squid with my AS-1 and my SP-16. I may even try to connect some (maybe all) of my Boutique synths. We’ll see. 
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The Squid has been the brain of my studio since its release. Overall, I find the unit somewhat of a hit and miss for my needs, but it has improved my studio workflow. I truly wish it had a song mode, count-in record option, and longer pattern lengths.
My synths/romplers are sequenced in the Squid, and drum machines are synced via MIDI.
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A Squid and an AS-1 would make a great combo!
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Lucky enough to find one for 420 euros!
I kind of bought it based on YT vids and stories alone.
I’m planning to sell my euro sequencers (Metron with Voltera and Nerseq) to go for HW sequencer, like Squid or Pyramid, or something more connected to SW and DAW, like Maschine, Push or MPC.
Do you guys think Squid is a good option to control multiple HW synts and modular (I’m getting MIDI to CV modules)?
Incredible sequencer.
I use it for midi device and with USB vst plugins. Never use it with CV.
Works great.
That’s interesting. How do you do that?