Is there a better sequencer than Pyramid?

Pyramid
1

Looking around at MIDI sequencers, it seems Pyramid is still probably the best out there? (aside from possibly the Cirklon at 3x the price)

It’s sad to see it’s no longer in development as with some customer research and a few feature updates, this would permanently blow everything out of the water!

They always seem to be available on the second hand market - I’m assuming because they aren’t considered a fully developed product.

I for one would be willing to pay for a software upgrade to improve its performance - notably a way to load new songs via program change or similar when performing live. I’m sure others would also be willing to pay to support further development.

I e-mailed Squarp last year with some feature requests below and received a ‘thanks for your feedback’ e-mail but no indication that anything would ever be implemented.

For studio work and live performance, are you using something else that is noticeably better than the Squarp? If so, I’d love to hear what it is!

…

Features I suggested:

Name sequence option

In Sequence view - Add Bar #/Total Bars (Bar 3 of 16) (under tempo - 3/16)

Sequence plays on midi note (wait for cue)

LFO control of other LFO parameters

Easy song loader (live set)

  • program change /bank select to load next song
  • Set list option ?

LFO delay/swell for CCs

Full project names are not visible on save/load screen

No dotted/triplet integration - ARP, MIDI delay, bar timing

Delay times should go longer (even to a couple of bars) and with options for dotted, 3/8, etc type delays
Delay blend could be more logarithmic - feels like not a lot of sweep in the wet/dry % (1% is quite a lot, low velocity perhaps?)

Harmoniser:

  • would be great to adjust velocities of each harmony (with 2nd button and encoders maybe?)
  • (could be useful to be able to reduce velocity of original part)

Divide Euclidean relevant timing? (15/16 with triplet or half time)

Knobs could have less encoding time (gate length takes a while to do 0-100% (unsuitable for live performance)
^ Rotation speed could dictate encoding amount?

CC Step Sequencer:

  • CC Min/Max (overall %) adjustments
  • CC depth per track (assignable to encoder)
  • Function to drop/raise all CC’s by x #’s

Mute groups? (Assign multiple tracks as one instrument with multiple patterns playing)

Exit naming page easily

Edit current project name without having to delete characters (ie, change a 1 to a 2 in middle of project/track name)

OP-1 Style ‘tombola’ fx

2

Pyramid is what it is at this point. i wouldn’t buy one expecting it to be more in the future. as with all sequencers it depends on what you need it for. i need a true linear arranger workflow on mine so ultimately i had to switch over to Deluge, which has similar features to Pyramid/Hapax but not nearly the implementation of MIDI FX and automation. for me that trade off is probably worth it to get an arranger mode. for others it might not. horses for courses

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3

The Hapax is significantly better in some ways for live performance because you can load up two projects at once. This lets you transition from one track to the next without stopping playback. You can also do some remixing/etc. For studio work, the Pyramid is just as good, if not better, as it has higher track count, pattern count, and its polyrhythm capabilities are top-tier.

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4

Not sure there is a better sequencer for the money than a used Pyramid.
I thought I would sell mine when my Hapax arrived but they are different enough and each have their own strengths. At this point, I really do prefer the Hapax but there are a few great things the Pyramid does that Hapax doesn’t so I’m not sure when I’ll be able to part with it.
Are there things about the Pyramid I would change if I had a magic wand? Yes but I consider it a complete product and am quite okay with that.

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5

depends who you ask. I think the pyramid is the best sequencer ever, personally. does it mean 100% of every feature is there? nope, i haven’t found one sequencer that truly does everything i could imagine. However, i do quite enjoy working with the pyramid and I feel like I make great music and visuals with it.

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6

Feels like a fully developed product to me- it does everything I need and more, plus I’ve never had a glitch or a hangup. There’s nothing in your suggested list of updates I’d pay for personally.

They’re available on the used marked because they’ve been in production for years and sold well. I doubt there is a single instrument that’s been constantly in production for five years which isn’t always available used.

7

I don’t know if these below are better than Pyramid (described over a year ago by moderators in this very forum as being STILL supported, though whatever this “support” concretely means is not clear to me).
I have kept my Pyramid, and certainly do not plan to get Hapax. Besides I really dislike two-screens gear.

Anyway you might consider OXI:

oxi
oxi1486×687 152 KB

and Reliq (to be released this year):

reliq-matrix-sequencer-mixer
reliq-matrix-sequencer-mixer1223×1078 124 KB

8

I like to combine it with the Akai Force, whose seq isn’t as powerful as the Pyramid but is its easy to use because of the colored touch screen, more buttons & pads. They complement each other nicely.

9

can’t say i’m not curious!

10

I would lower my expectations on release date for the Reliq for now. I just watched their demo and they don’t have note input on the grid yet. I think they have a ways to go. Maybe they’ll surprise me.

11

if i understood the superbooth video correctly, Reliq requires (i think) the big mod mixer box to work properly, or at least fully in terms of routing signals via the touchpad interface. not sure if you could just use the pad portion separately as a standalone sequencer. but it’s also still in alpha stage currently so who knows what the ultimate workflow will turn out to be

12

I love my pyramid.
As said above it doesn’t do everything, but it has got every features that you need to be creative. When I will have a bit more cash for a sequencer I’ll try the Midiphy stuff. SeqV4 or loopa and a Matrix…

13

I’ve owned the Pyramid for a few years now and like a lot of things with it. And I’m not sure if I’m just unlucky, but it really seems that it is too easy to corrupt project files when using the Pyramid. I haven’t had any similar issues with other gear I’ve owned, so I’m a bit bummed with it. It doesn’t get that much use because of this tbh. But as soon as I plan to have it do more stuff, I end up corrupting files (and it once again become less used). This has happened two times now, both times when I have decided to try to make it a major/central part of my setup to use it more.

My current and latest attempt was when trying to load in longer Midi files that included Midi CC information.
It ended up freezing when trying to save the project and thus corrupting the file.
I’m also unable to remove all Midi CC from the different patterns. Or I go through each pattern and remove every single Midi CC, but the pattern still shows that there is Midi CC on that pattern.
When searching the forum I cannot find anyone else who have the same issue with “ghost” Midi CC residues. I find only about the freezing upon save issue…

I’ve looked for alternatives, but can not find anything similar (same size or smaller because of flight case setup with limited space).

15

Hey there. What you describe has all the hallmarks of a problematic SD card. I would research the forum for recommended SD cards, buy, format, transfer your files, and see if the problems go away.

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16

I get the same thing when my .mid file is longer than what I have set in Track>Length. I fix this by going back to Track>Length and make it 384bars (max). This usually shows me where the data is. I also do a 2nd+Step when I am in the CC automation so I do not have to scroll through all possible CCs.

…not sure if you have tried that yet. Just a thought.

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17

I wish Squarp would just open source the Pyramid since they’re no longer updating it. The community could make it amazing.

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18

Synthstrom has granted responsibility for the open sourcing of its firmware to an experience coder with decades of knowledge (Jamie Fenton). My concern as a Pyramid owner is who would Squarp turn over the keys to for managing any future open source updates? Especially since they have their hands full with Hapax updates as it is. The promise of some additional features to Pyramid is attractive but bricking a device that is outside of Squarp’s active support is also a risk I wouldn’t want to take with mine.

19

I would happily risk bricking mine as there are some simple changes that could made to make it usable to my workflow. As of now, it sits in my closet and I continue using my RS7000. It’s 98% there, they just need to open source it or continue to support new features. It’s hugely disappointing that it’s essentially vaporware at this point. Open sourcing could fix that entirely and the community could work together to make it amazing.

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20

Thanks! You are correct, there were some residue CCs hiding many many bars past the last notes of the midi file.

21

What is “vaporware” at this point? I don’t think you know what that word means.

I don’t understand people wanting constant, never ending updates. Pyramid works well, is stable, and does everything Squarp says it does.
You’re not owed a new firmware with every pointless feature you can think of for the rest of your life.

The entitlement is hyper cringe.

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