Hermod users - happy?

Considering copping a Hermod. Read a lot of negative stuff on Muffwiggler but on paper it looks pretty ideal beside couple missing features (per step probability being main thing I’m surprised to not be onboard). How are users finding it now? All dealbreaker issues fixed? Stoked on the feature set and flexibility? Any regrets purchasing?
Thanks

I‘m happy with Hermod😃
Interactivity via USB/Midi is great! Anything possible within this can be done…record into DAW, record from DAW and of course Monitoring/routing. Hermod is VERY tight timingwise that was a must for me.
The concept of effects was also a big thumbs up for me-and its nice that you can stack effects in different ways to get different results-this and the matrix can make it very modular and ‚complicated‘
What i like most abt it is this easy intuitive way to record CV. And you can very easy mute tracks or effects, this is really cool to setup compositions on the go, even recording new tracks can be done on the fly (even tho only 1 at a time) 1 mentioned drawback here is that your Songs cant be very long due to 8 possible Sequences that can be used to build a project…
Even the tiny screen works out quite nicely, its a very intuitive Machine!
I think ppl that moan abt it would like to see more modularity what ever that means, i would not want step probabillity…i use it to record CV. After all i can have all modularity outside Hermod, so record some Melodies in Hermod-mangle these with outboard Modules and then come back to hermod to change Probabillitiy on tracks eg. Maybe Squarp comes from a different angle than most Modular companies do-its a sequencer company😎
Most important in my opinion is the fact that Hermod is a sequencer thats great with a keyboard and hands that play it-if your looking for Stepsequencers with a lot of modular spice, its only half it-theres menudiving and you cannot do everything everyones ever wanted to do,haha. And there‘s a lot other sequencers cant do tho =midi, track count, internal effects etc.

As for the new OS, for me its too early to say if the bugs have been squished but Squarps announcement to make it rocksolid is cool, theres been updates that squished a lot of bugs already prior to this.
We even got a user request-autoload last project😃

1last thing to remember, quite a lot of Pyramid users copped a Hermod and were disappointed by the fact that hermod didnt get all Pyramid features. Pyramid is possibly way more elaborate on many levels but only has 2CV in/outs. I stand by Hermod because its easy to use and still can tackle most modular needs (chance,matrix) but also killer musical features like scales, all while being intuitive

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I agree with Crazeebo, very happy with it.

Also happy with mine. People tend to disappointed when the are looking for a sequencer - the Hermod has a sequencer within it, but it really is a ‘brain’ more than a sequencer in a contemporary sense.

Was happy to begin with, but with the updated bootup option it’s even better.

Yes, this “load last project / autolad” feature added in firmware 1.1 was on top of the wishlist. It’s an important workflow improvement. Hermod is still in my case so yes, it’s essential in my setup, it’s the main sequencer and also the master clock. I’m happy with it. I don’t use all the effects, some of them are relatively complicated to set up or at least are easier to control in other modules (the euclidean seq for example)

I don’t own a Pyramid but I’ve heard that it has a “Live Looper” mode, this feature would be amazing in Hermod :slight_smile:

Yeah the live loop-dang! I think this will come to Hermod someday as long as we keep pestering Squarp😃
I keep switching Hermod from slave to master at any giving patch state. This works on any of the three hardware interfaces simultaneously which is great!
I‘m glad you mentioned the euclid feature, this in my setup can be way more fun with Pamela, while it is quite frustrating in Hermod…what i still have to try yet is Hermod controlling a multitimbral midi synth and go crazy with the Harmonizer/scales features. This can get from boring to multitimbral musical expansins in seconds😎

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Another thing that blew my mind is when you record/play unquantised; the abillity to actually record a performance EXACTLY like you played it…this has to do with timing and resolution of the sequencer; but it is way more accurate than recording in Ableton for example where i tend to just record with quantise💩
Also, this means there is no distinction between play or record. And it just gotten better with the hard rec feature!

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What do you mean by ‘Live Loop’ exactly? I’d like to know what this is, because I’ve already used the Hermod for live looping in a way, by setting length enabling record and just playing live/improv. in overdub mode…So I guess this ‘live looping’ function is something else I’m not aware of.

I’m pretty happy with Hermod, except for the lack of chord editing. One thing I need to try on it soon is using it as a CV recorder.

Thanks y’all for the feedback. Happy customers :slight_smile: Trying to plan out a first rack from scratch that integrates with my other stuff without any serious nasty surprises. Way more headaches/anxiety than I thought it’d be… Hermod’s looking like it’ll probably be OK for what I need it to do. Missing some stuff I’d like it to do, but that’s always the way :wink:

Is it possible to auto-start this type of loose improv sequencing with a note-on? And then hit stop and the sequence instantly loops? Like the sequencer in some organelle patches? Or is this like the ‘live loop’ thing people are talking about?

I mean not having to set the length of the sequence before recording actually :slight_smile: At the moment I use another module as a “click”, or sometimes the light of the steps, it’s helpful, but it would be better not having to think about the tempo and sequence length before you start playing and recording.

You press record, record a loop, then press play and the sequencer starts looping, it determines and set the tempo. Eventually you can even double the length of the sequence, etc Like Ableton Live.

From the Pyramid manual, their description is better than mine maybe :slight_smile:

Live looper
Pyramid provides you a new way to capture your performance in the style of looper pedals! In this mode, the length of a track grows to fit your initial performance. Press rec to start recording a loop. Press rec a second time to stop recording. Track length is now fixed. Perform freely without worrying about pre-determining track length.

As i understand it, you play notes it records these and when you stop playing, the loop engages. With a next sequence as well, this gives the possibillity to record odd number patterns without having to manually define how many steps the sequence will be-or think Guitar loop pedal

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exactly :slight_smile:

As with most modules, there is a perfect pairing with another module. In my setup that would be Hermod with Marbles (the french Revolution😂) these two play really well with each other…well Marbles is a perfect match to a lot more Modules anyway, but with Hermod you have a Dimension of creating Music in real time out of Random and Perfect scales and progressions

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Gotcha! Thanks for the explanation, that does sound really cool!

Update went well for me. Clock seems more stable to me too, normally would have a 10 minutes of 1 bmp difference that seems to have gone. Would be good to be able to cv the effects on and off, like glide you can do time but not turn it on and off as far as i can tell. Would also be good when scrolling through individual notes if it highlighted the note and then also could slide / rotate the note in the same way you can to the whole track. Great work though, very much feeling the Hermod.

Yep, we have to rely on other modules, Hermod cannot do everything on its own and the vast majority of the features requested in Hermod Firmware Wishlist will probably never happen because of technical limitations etc. But at least they are making it stable… that’s a good thing. I think I would buy it again. Now (September 2018), Hermod does what was advertised in the first place, with a very few bugs. :clap: What makes a user happy is not only frequent updates, resolved bugs and possibly new features (I want this live looper so much, it would be a game changer) but also great communication with the company. Imo that was not always the case, that was the cause of negative comments probably, but the module does its job now, not a crazy modular brain yet, not a Pyramid, but a very useful midi sequencer and midi effects processor, etc in a Eurorack case.

Interesting to read about what it does well and what it does not so well. I don’t mind using other modules for things eventually when I fill my case. Just trying to plan ahead without unwittingly building walls I’m gonna hit later. I’m someone who tends to better understand how things work from hands on use. Modular from a novice PoV is quite a lot of angles to try to assemble in imagination and there’s a lot to learn… some further questions, any help much appreciated-

Drones. I read that a note will cut at the end of a bar. Is it possible to trigger a constant, indefinite note? For drones etc.

Glide on/off. Surprised this isn’t possible per step in hermod, but can I do stuff like use a random square lfo in to one of the Cv inputs to turn glide on/off? Or use my Octatrack to send precise per step glide param per step?
Eventually I’d like the modular to be self contained tho, no Octatrack…am I correct in thinking I could apply/define glide post-Hermod with another module? Something more hands on/playable perhaps (any suggestions?)…Or does glide need to be applied/defined from the same source module as pitch(Hermod)?

Is it accurate that you can’t have an odd number amount of steps?

Clock/transport. Is it flexible/solid/practical between different configs involving Octatrack, iPad, Ableton, Pams New Workout? Both as master and slave?

Is there an option where the sequencer auto advances when you input an external keyboard note? Or do you have to select step each time, then hit note, then select step and so on?

Instant sequence jump? Can I switch between sequences without sync? Not expecting this function and it not a big deal if it’s not there but would be fun, especially if can do it via cv in…

I enjoy using the Seq-3 module in VCVrack and it seems like Hermod could be seen to cover the same bases but with 8 rows instead of 3, and a ton of extra other stuff. But I don’t fully have a grip on the modular thing yet, does the above sequencer feature comparison seem accurate?

Alright…

  1. the concept of a gate is that it will always override the last one…hence mono synth. But as OSCs are droning per se hermod can help you modulate, change gain through a vca these OSCs-this is modular basics 101. hermod can be be your brain for a drone!
    2.on glides: i dont use that effect much, but as all midieffects this can be engaged manualy on hermod-you can switch it in/out for a step😃 as for programming glides on steps you could have a sequence without and a modulation track programming an external slew that affects first track-thinking abt how to do that is more difficult than achieving it! Maybe someone has a plan on how to do it efficient…
    5.the whole clock/sync layout in Hermod is great! It can always output a gate clock for your modules AND be either master or slave via midi, the only thing you need to define is whether Hermod is being slaved! If you plug your hermod USB Device to your Mac and open Ableton, Hermod is instantly recognised-no fucking abt here…
    4.this is slightly different but clever: you hit a key/note and then press the step, meaning you could have several steps with the same note and when you want to change pitch on the next note, press a new pitch then a step-this gets fast results=clever!
    3.off course you can have odd numbered steps! Either from beginning when defining the length or after recording when you shorten your pattern or make it longer!
    6.Sequences can be switched either in time of the sequence or instantly in the middle of it!
    In the end its abt making music and finding new ways with a modular system-dont get too technical before you start, learn what your modules do and what not…and the online manual on Hermod is actually pretty precise, when i consulted it before having the machine in my system i was was like ‚wow, this can be done?‘ almost not believing the promises, hahaha