Squarp Instruments Intros Pyramid Polyrhythmic Sequencer

pyramid-hardware-sequencer

Squarp Instruments has introduced the Pyramid – a standalone hardware sequencer that they say is ‘designed to be the perfect brain for your musical setup.’

Here’s the official Pyramid intro video:

pyramid-sequencer-connectivity

The Pyramid lets you directly sequencer a large range of electronic instruments.

  • It includes two MIDI outputs to connect your hardware ger.
  • You can also use the USB MIDI out to control your virtual instruments on your computer.
  • Pyramid embeds a DIN sync output (configurable to Sync48, Sync24,…) that lets you synchronise your vintage instruments.
  • For modular synth lovers, Pyramid can be a complete sequencing solution thanks to the full CV/Gate + ENV interface.

connect-to-this

Features:

  • 100% standalone
  • 16 tracks
  • Full connectivity
  • User friendly display
  • Customizable interface
  • MIDI effects, including quantization, swing, delay, randomizer, glitch, humanizer, harmonizer, arpeggiator.
  • Algorithmic euclidean sequencer engine per track, auto generating uncommon and rich rhythmic patterns.
  • Fully polyrhythmic
  • Save everything to a SD card
  • Doubles as a MIDI controller

pyramid-polyrhythmic-sequencer

Squarp expects to have 100 Pyramid Polythymic Sequencers available in June 2015. They are priced at 699€, vat included, and are available for pre-order via their site.

45 thoughts on “Squarp Instruments Intros Pyramid Polyrhythmic Sequencer

  1. This looks like a great new sequencer, If you could plug a monitor and a mouse in it for more indepth editing and track layout this would be stunning. A step in the right direction for MIDi hardware sequencing.

  2. Yay! Saw this earlier today and really looking forward to this little buddy! 🙂
    Just curious how userfriendly this will be in a live situation, let’s hope not too many shift-actions!
    Bring it on!

  3. Holy crap! 2015 seems to be the year of the cv capable hardware sequencer. What’s next, mpc with gate outputs?

    … This doesn’t seem quite as exciting as the engine or beat step pro though. What use are all the polyrhythms if you only have one gate out? Who’s crazy enough to ditch the computer but keep midi gear, why not go all the way?

    1. Because MIDI is still a perfectly cromulent solution to a problem that won’t go away unless all of us work exclusively in the box.

    2. And because some of us actually upon occasion play more than one note at a time, and CV isn’t particularly useful for that. And we have new and/or vintage synths that have midi connectors. Mostly because MIDI works, works well and a whole simpler than CV.

  4. My attention is for the Cirklon, but these new machine looks promising and very interesting.
    The era of hardware sequencers has arrive!

  5. What? Gate goes to only 5V? So much for using it with the Arp 2600…

    Gonna have to stick with Social Entropy’s Engine @ 10V…

    1. “Gate goes to only 5V? So much for using it with the Arp 2600.”

      That’s very interesting. I use my ARP 2600 all the time using 5V gates using hardware I’ve built myself to control it. I didn’t know there were some that didn’t accept the 5V gate since the schematics show it should work on all versions. What specific revision of the hardware are you using where it doesn’t work?

      1. @Scott– Thanks for the info. I just tried my Analog 4’s gate signal dialed to 5V and discovered that it does indeed trigger the Arp. I had bought a microbrute a while back, thinking I could use it to control the 2600, but its gate out won’t trigger the ADSR. After discovering this, I looked online and read somewhere that the 2600 requires a 10V gate to trigger it (but this apparently is not true). My microbrute’s gate signal must be less than 5V?
        Actually, the A4’s gate will trigger it when dialed down to 4.5V, but not below that.
        Good to know. Thanks.
        (Though this removes my weak excuse to NOT get this new Pyramid sequencer. Darn GAS…)

        1. OK, that’s cool, thank you for the followup. I like to use USB powered devices which of course have a 5V source. I use a fairly standard charge pump design to expand the CV voltage from 0-5V to 0-10V so I can take advantage of the full range of the ARP’s oscillators. I found though such was unnecessary for the gate signal, which simplified the designs! Every little bit helps.

  6. This is indeed what we need a “hardware sequencer”, which has the innovative features.

    It looks like a Maschine…in design 😉

    Anyway, I have a question concerning this unit:
    The unit has two midi-out, is it possible to have a midi out A and B, so you can control 32 midi channels? (Like Akai Mpc-2000) or (Akai Mpc-60, who has 16*4 = 64 midi-out channels)

  7. To see hardware sequencers on the market is a great thing. This is the best time for synthesizers and midi hardware. Computers can be a seriously weak chain in music production, latency, crashes, endless operating system updates.Supposed updates that are worse than the last .
    I am one of the many people waiting on a decent hardware sequencer that has a all the qualities of the first software sequencers , but with hardware stability .
    Dragging and dropping and track construction using most software packages today seems very shakey, very tricky and basically has elements of fear attached as , they are not as precise or as basic as the early versions. Simple tasks are no longer simple , bloat ware is an under statement in software
    Lets keep our fingers crossed for the next generation of hardware midi sequencer.
    Midi sequencing software that contain softsynths , is rather daft thing to have , when we are sequencing hardware. Just more trip ups , for CPUs, and more rubbish on cluttered screens.

  8. Given the prevalence of USB-only MIDI controllers, it seems like a missed opportunity not to include a USB host feature. This might be due to technical limitations, but having that would open up a whole new set of use cases for this cool device.

  9. This video lacks enthusiasm, fun and excitement. Something’s happening but you don’t really know what. Somebody’s pushing some buttons only because they’re there. This video says ‘you don’t need this’ 🙂 Just compare it with Arturia’s Beatstep Pro promo video. It’s a day and night difference 🙂

    1. The USB connector has become just another way to get 5V into stuff. These days, it just as often has to deal with charging and powering as it’s original intended use.

  10. Being an old-timer, I have a yearning to return to hardware sequencing. I listen to my older stuff made on the Kawai Q80 & Roland MC and it’s much better thought out; simply because the nature and limitations of the machine make you work harder.
    This box will definitely be on this years’ wish list, along with the Prophet 6…All my old MIDI toys can finally come back out of the cupboard and the PC can stay switched off.

  11. Roland really missed it, this looks almost exactly what they should have come out with instead of the too simple and over priced sync box. Its refreshing to see independent people produce great gear! Best of luck to them.

    1. Seems a bit harsh to pick on Roland for not coming out with what is really a fairly niche product. All their Aira stuff has sequencing built in already. Might as well pick on Korg for the SQ-1 not being a 16 track polyphonic MIDI sequencer, or on Yamaha for not refreshing the RS7000. Big companies need take advantage of economies of scale. Roland already did a cool mixer-kind-of-thing this year, lay off ’em 🙂

  12. Only 16 tack without sampler? I think i need a pyramid with 64 track + sampler and a power multi efx inside.

  13. After claiming they would continually update the Squarp Pyramid software, they have now changed their minds and are only focusing on bug fixes, so if your not happy with the features and workflow offered by the Pyramid then this won’t be the sequencer for you.
    I had bought it hoping it would evolve into something special but thats no longer possible.
    Really disappointed considering its UK price of £700.00.

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