So my current setup is an Elektron A4 mk2 controlling a digitakt and a digitone keys through midi and a moog werkstatt thru cv, the digitakt also sends midi clock and transport to an rd6 and the digitone also sends clock and transport to the pyramid (which now a days is used mostly as extra cv lfo’s/utilities and to control vsts).
I should be able to then send midi outs from the pyramid and into all the elektron boxes if i get a couple of midi mergers, correct? I feel like i have all these extra lfo’s being unused in the pyramid
How does the A4 control the other boxes? Just by sending clock or notes too?
If you’d make the Pyramid master, utilize its 2 outputs and link all devices via midi thru you might not need a merger at all.
So IMHO the best way to think about the Pyramid is that it becomes your master sequencer.
I do occasionally just grab my Digitone and do some scratchpad stuff using that and and another device or two, but typically I just mix those sessions into sequences/loops on the blackbox.
Merge boxes could help but I’d have to sit down and plan with you all of your individual components and deal with network routing.
If you have spare $$ you can make that issue go away entirely with an iConnectivity mioXL. it’s what I did and I can pop machines on/off the MIDI network at will and can plug the USB devices back in and not have to worry about whether or not they’re on the right ports!
The pyramid for me works as the central brain. I initial was worried about sending mute messages etc to the Digitone, but in practice–with the Digitone, it works just fine as a standalone synth module so I’m very ala carte about using its sequencer.
This I think is less true with the A4. I only say this because with only 4 voices you need to make more use of trigger/param locks and that particular thing is too complicated to sequence from the pyramid. You would more likely want to sequence/trigger mute groups, which I haven’t quite gotten to figure it out.
From a MIDI routing perspective, the pyramid will fulfill your needs… it has a dedicated MIDI usb in/out, and two channels of 16 MIDI A/B for legacy gear. Before the mioXL I was able to get all my devices connected and sequenced, it just got to be a hassle. (Kurzweil K2661, Digitone, Dreadbox Nymphes, Access Virus, and my blackbox.) It was easy from the Squarp side, but as you learn the sequencer you find efficiencies and rewire which means when playing older projects you have to spend some time reassigning channels.
Its sending clock, transport and program changes to the digitakt and digitone keys so theyre all synced up (ex. Selecting bank c/pattern 1 on A4 also selcts it for all the boxes, i like using each machines own sequencer (altho ive toyed w the idea of also using the A4 to sequence the digitone just so i could have transpose control with one single button) , tbh i dont want to use the pyramid as a main brain, i just want it mostly for utilities/extra lfo’s/cv and cc automation for the other sequencers but i need To figure out how to set it up right
I would say that the pyramid is probably way overkill if you’re not going to use it as the brain. It’s not really what it was designed for. If you’re wanting MIDI-based CC LFOs or that kind of thing you can save $500 by snagging a blokas midihub.
If you’re willing to burn the money and leave functionality on the table, the pyramid’s design is to attach a keyboard Controller to it’s IN, and then you route that input to each of the defined MIDI tracks that you select. You’d probably want the MIDI out of the Keys mapped to the Pyramid’s IN, and then probably attach it via USB and then the other two on MIDI-A and MIDI-B respectively. That way you can easily route MIDI 1-4 of each device to its own concrete port and you don’t have to worry about remapping. So on Pyramid “Test Project” you’d have tracks 1-4 mapped to DN 1-4, 5-8 mapped to A4 1-4, and 9-12 mapped to DT 1-4. That pretty much covers the basics. You can dedicate whole other tracks at that point to CC automations.
My mind destroys itself though if you plan on routing MIDI CC from all three to the pyramid however (to record knob sweeps for example) because the idea of merging all three device outs to the MIDI In the pyramid leads me to think about how all three devices probably use the same messages for different things, and then the possibilities for MIDI loops here blows my mind up. Then you have the fact that the Pyramid itself has its own midi implementation: https://squarp.net/static/PYRAMiDi-7094a08cfe1165baf6db2b8207409fbe.pdf so you’d have the potential for device collisions among everybody.
It’s important then to remember that the Pyramid was designed for a single midi controller to be plugged into the IN, and that mental feedback loop abates.
The manual assumes that the Pyramid will be your master sequencer:
I already have a pyramid, it was collecting dust since i prefer to use the elektron sequencers but i figure i can put it to good use, but maybe i should sell it and get something like that midi hub
If you want to start with the setup I suggested I’m willing to help. Just because I have concerns doesn’t mean we can’t make it work. You can also set up a project once with dedicated CC ranges… the CC function allows arbitrary CC assignments. Up to four.
The only part I can’t get right in my head is how to set up CC automations without having to constantly swap which synth is connected to the Pyramid In.
You can experiment here… there may be a combination of settings to get it to work. By default the MIDI IN is routed to ONLY the selected track. You’d want to only turn on MIDI OUT for a device track IFF you were going to sequence an automation.
I don’t think this would be a great live jamming situation… probably want to pre-record CC automation that you don’t want to tweak by hand and push it out that way.
If I’m not helping btw just tell me to be quiet ROFL.
Yo, i have nobody to geek out with about this shit so any and all info is welcome.
I think my dumbass forgot to add that i have the digitone keys into the input of the pyramid so i can control the vsts with the keyboard, my idea was to turn clock/transport send to the pyr midi din out A+B off. Then send out midi A to the A4 and then midi B to the digitakt and digitone but id need a merge box so i can also keep the A4 - digitakt - digitone keys connection i currently have… Does that make any sense?
So im trying to experiment with different midi routings right now and im trying to use the pyramid in between the a4 and the digitone/takt by setting it up as midi out + thru for both pyramid channels A+B and then sending those to the dtone/dtakt.
I thought that sync/transport would reach the DT/DK if i set it up that way but it only seems to work if i let the pyramid also send sync and start/stop on A +B… Shouldn’t the clock/transport msgs from the A4 be able to reach the rest of the boxes if i have the midi + thru selected on the squarp??
I should be able to start/stop the pyramid without it stopping the dtone/dtakt but i cant seem to figure it out
