I just bought one last week, I decided to choose the Pyramid as my first "modern" sequencer and I am very happy about it. This video tutorial is my every day bible and will be for the next months. Thank you Ziv 🙌
I own one.. Have done since it was launched more or less. I still keep watching this video periodically to remind me of features I've forgotten about. Great tutorial. Thanks
This video is tremendous. You have helped me understand many features of the Pyramid. For dirt cheap you can change out the black assign knobs to multi-colored versions. It helps keep track of knob assignments when you're performing, especially in low light situations.
Wow...good job covering this. Talked with the designer at Superbooth a bit, and I was impressed when he ran down the list of features/capabilities. Since that time, I've been really surprised it hasn't received more exposure.
Just want to thank you so much for this - I'm barely a week into owning my Pyramid and it took me about that long to watch this from start to finish - but only because I'm pausing, taking notes, and playing around while I watching. The Pyramid is such a beast but a little daunting out of the box with such "non-linear" documentation - this video helped jumpstart me waaaaaaaay faster than I would have without - this coupled together w/Squarp's community has me ready to jam, compose, and create in earnest with the new "brain" of my Studio - thanks a million @loopop !
Fantastic tutorial! Buying the Pyramid is one of the best purchases I've made in recent years. Absolutely incredible hardware sequencer. I love being able to create complex pieces without a laptop. Even though I've worked with it quite a bit, I still learned plenty of great tips from this video. Thanks for doing it!
This is by far the best tutorial on the Pyramid. Squarp should hire you for a fully flushed out series since theirs are pretty much useless. I nearly returned the device after discovering the lack of educational materials for such a deep tool. Thank you and cheers!
I've learned to only watch your videos in thirds over two days, with notes and lots of on-gear imitation, and then use it for a week, and move to the next third. I'm 1/3 in and feel like I've gone from "I don't know how this works" to "I can get a mini-workflow going now". Even made some project templates and some definitions' files to make it a bit quicker. This plus a MIDI router (and routing templates) to glue the hardware together has made my life SO much better, and is still applicable with the mk3, though the 'look' of it has changed a tiny bit. Thanks loopop. Really great stuff.
This is excellent. I have had a Pyramid for a couple of years and feel pretty proficient with it. I now realise I had forgotten or totally missed some of the things you talked about. I now have a fairly hefty document of things I should learn and remember. Thank you.
This was an absolutely amazing and comprehensive guide on one of the most complex and powerful pieces of hardware out there. Thank you so much for taking the time to put something like this out. It should be on everyone who purchases the Pyramid's "must watch" list! Anytime anyone asks about this sequencer, I'll be pointing them this way.
This video convinced me to buy one, and has now become an awesome reference guide and companion to Squarp's great PDF guide. The past few weeks of using the Pyramid, every 10-15 minutes I found myself audibly saying "wow. that's unreal." My sequencer gateway drug was my (still loved) OP-Z, which in many ways feels like the Swedish baby brother to this. This video is also what tipped me over the edge into joining your Patreon! Thanks for helping me along in my musical growth 🌱
I have a Beat Step Pro and never use it. I used it for a while to sequence my Mutable Instruments Shruthi. I could never get a drum pattern going on it. This Squarp Pyramid looks great. THANKS Loopop for such a detailed tutorial, with no goofing around! You are the best!
Usually I read manuals but with your awesome and very clear tutorial, I'll only have to refer to the manual in PDF when looking specifically to something ; thank you for saving us so much time and effort
17:04 [STEP + DATA] change Step mode 18:05 [REC] show all notes (Mono mode) 21:42 [NOTE + params] Hold note to edit it 22:09 [NOTE + DATA pressed] Preview notes 22:18 [NOTE + LEFT/RIGHT] Shift note 22:23 [REC + DATA] transpose note (Poly mode) / transpose track (Mono mode) 22:37 [2nd + NOTE] mute note 22:47 [STEP] jump to active note 29:32 black bars - total length; white bar - zoom level and current page; 30:27 arrow - currently playing bar 30:34 [2nd + DISP] follow playing position 30:49 [2nd + LEFT/RIGHT] Shift steps 30:57 [TRACK + LENGTH + LEFT/RIGHT] divide/duplicate track When you shorten a track the midi data is not deleted until you save the project..
Really appreciate the work you put into this. Looking forward to future clips. Perhaps a "tips and tricks" post. I use my Pyramid everyday and there have been many eureka moments. For instance I just discovered that when I lengthen a track, i can hold down the forward arrow key and it will duplicate the measures. Super handy for making subtle modifications to a groove.
Awesome tutorial, from all the hardware sequencers I've been checking this seems to be the most promising one especially because it supports different time signatures!
I'm just now realizing something after having this for a few months. It would make A LOT of sense if the screen was on the right of the device and the trackpad on the left as most people are right handed. I see you doing what I do, crossing my hands to use my dominant hand on the encoder.
thanks for making this in depth video i have been looking for a hardware sequencer for literally years and now i think i have found one keep up the good work its appreciated :)
the interface is so well thought-out.. i normally only flyover the midi effects parts..and this one..damn, the UI .. it really communicates. also the polyrhythmic/meter bars.. so simple and effective. i love french gear.
Thanks for making this video. I owned the Pyramid since it came out and I've never really "hooked" with it. But I can't get myself to sell it. It looks so fun and powerful when you get into it. BTW - absolutely love your videos. You are one of the best music tech video creators on YT: deep info and very little fluffing around. Thanks again! /C
I’m considering one of these, but I know from experience you make everything seem easier to use than it turns out for me. You have a real gift for this stuff, so thanks!
Thanks! ... I think? I really try to present things as is with as much of the complexity explained. That said, this sequencer, while the most powerful I know, does take time to learn...
Incredible tutorial :) Your tutorials are SO well done and comprehensive. This will definitely help me utilize this gear to its maximum potential. Thank you!
This was amazing and very informative as ever! Many thanks for that since there are not so many (sorry to say so - non-French) videos out there on the Pyramid. I would love to have a session on how to hard-wire connect eg 4-6 synths and drum machine including how to use and load the definition files. E.g. it took me half a day to understand that indeed you could name the definition files either using upper or lower case, but not the .txt extension in upper case. Also I would love to see how to handle the 4 MIDI channels for Digitone. When operated from a controller they seem to get mixed.. Keep on the good work. This is essential to many of us out there!!
Just wanted to drop a line, this fills in major holes in the manual. For example, "Here are the settings available to automate an effect." ... No story whatsoever as to how to set up an automation in the first place. No description that talks about how the step mode settings are a menu of different "scopes" within a MIDI composition. You helped me alot today my friend!
Thank you for a great video tutorial! Even though I have used the Pyramid successfully for a while I learned a lot of different little things from this coverage.
This looks fun but I am very glad I went with an Octatrack instead. It is a little more awkward (quantizing non-quantized sequences never works right) but the built-in sampling possibilities are thrilling.
Your video made everything crystallize so well! The only thing missing for me would be an NRPN definition file in addition to just CC, some of my gear uses those exclusively. Aka Roland gear and Access Virii for extended parameters. Otherwise this thing works better than a charm! Thanks again!
First of all, thanks for this super detailed video of the Pyramid's overwhelming set of feautures. That said, I'd love to hear more examples of more complex polyrhythms and polymeters ... .
Thanks! I think there’s not much more I can show in terms of what it can do - obviously creative options are limitless. Let’s just say if polyrhythms and polymeters interest you, this is as good as it gets in standalone hardware
loopop Thanks so much for the quick response. I also want to know, as someone who has a number of other machines with sequencers (various Elektron boxes), would this play nice with those? I mean, can you have this triggering sequences on other machines, and have the internal sequences of the Pyramid play in time with those, or is this machine more like the sequencing master hub and everything else outside of it are just sound sources? Hope that makes sense. In a way the second option would suite me, as I’m hoping to find one machine to replace a number of others. In my mind you then have one very complex ‘brain’ that you have to really learn and wrap your head around, but that then controls a bunch of less complex things that don’t require so much attention from the user. The Elektron boxes are quite complex in their own right, but none do everything that I want in one place. So you end up spending so much time trying to get various very complex machines to all work together. This is frustrating. Pyramid focusses all of that energy in one place. At least that’s how it looks to me? :)
@@kristiaanmusiek8033 I show Pyramid sequencing Digitakt in this video, so the answer is sure it can. Obviously, you lose the more direct sequencing functions of the Digitakt. You can sequence Digitakt parameters with Pyramid but it would be a bit of a pain. So, yes, it can be a master brain, it might do less than the onboard sequencers or require more work, but you could if you wanted do almost everything in Pyramid
Very well done! You touch all the essential points that are diluted throughout the manual. I've just started with the Pyramid, so maybe I'm misunderstanding something, but I feel it's not quite appropriate for studio production because of this: yes, there are 64 tracks with 32 patterns each, but only 32 sequences (unfortunate choice of word), and each pattern change requires a sequence, so a song can only have at most 32 different "combinations". If we want a change every 4 bars, that allows at most 128 bars (4x32) before we must repeat one of the exact same combinations of notes and instruments. At 120 BPM 4/4, that's 4.3 minutes maximum. Of course, there are ways around this (bounce MIDI tracks/patterns to the DAW, record them, or do a live performance and record MIDI to the DAW, etc.) but then the whole tune cannot be contained within one Pyramid project. Using Pyramid track mutes instead of patterns hits the same limitation. Am I missing something? Before someone says "use a DAW": I got the Pyramid in order to avoid the computer as much as possible.
Thanks! I think the only thing you’re missing is that a pattern can be any length. Your song can be as long and as intricate as you like with just one sequence not to mention 32 (and I agree the term sequence is not the best)
I realize I’m late to the party, but I’m about to pull the trigger on a Pyramid or simply continue using the sequencer on my Roland FA-07. This is all for live performances with a “progressive tribute” band. I love my FA, but I’m intrigued about the power of the Pyramid. I’m running about four keyboards and want to control them with either the FA or, potentially, the Pyramid. I’ve watched this video multiple times and it never ceases to fascinate me. Another thing is: The Pyramid reminds me a lot of the old Roland MC-50, with which I’ve played countless shows. If anyone is old enough to remember the old MC-50, let me know if my comparison is accurate. I guess I WANT to be pushed into buying a Pyramid, but I’m quite comfortable with my less powerful FA. Yes, I’m probably overthinking things. 😆 Would love to hear about anyone’s experiences and comparisons between the Pyramid and any other hardware unit. Thanks so much!
hello, congrats on the channel, can you work with quintuplets, septuplets or nontuplets with the squarp pyramid? sometimes those are much more rhythmically interesting than odd bar lengths
i finally set it up yesterday... there’s so much wrong or missing in the manual! eg it says under settings you can set the din sync to sync24, sync48 etc... but where in the settings manual? it doesn’t say. oh it’s under settings cv/pedal din sync... despite the fact it’s a midi output setting.... and the midi echo feature you mention, in the manual that’s called anti echo, and it says the opposite of what you said, they said i should have it on, you said i should have it off to do the same thing... terrible documentation... i’ll be having nightmares tonight. i can’t even get midi in working at all... possibly because of midi echo!?!?
setphaser - I have the same problem. I cannot get midi in working correctly. It gets glitchy if I don’t have Echo off but nothing when turned on. No solution?
Hi, Excellent and very detailed tutorial, I see now how much I can still learn about my MKIII :-). Just a small question: how do I setup the metronom so that it continues ticking when the record starts ?
Great tutorial! Does the pyramid have the possibility of recording chains of sequences? With the entropy engine you can literary record what you do at 42:50 and then have the chain laid out. You only need to edit it afterwards!
Came to watch after seeing a video "A love letter to the MMT8". Had two in the past. Would so love to see an Alesis MMT16. 16 pads, 16 tracks, 16 bars (max) to a loop, be able to repeat and chain loops.
I got this and a Waldorf Blofeld .. can make an entire track with just those innit? I have a sampler too, Roland sp404mkii .. I think these three make a formidable combo :-) can't wait to get deeply into it all..
Yo! Thanks for the nice vid(s). Questions: once you've recorded cc sequences onto this bad gyal, how easy is it to reassign these values to elsewhere (such as different cc parameters, note data or even cv modulation values)? Can the 4 cv inputs recognize any combination of gates and continuous cv? Is this a DAW in disguise?
David Bryant you can use it with software too, super easy too because it powers via USB (also handy for portability because it can be powered via a usb battery). It’s the brain of my hybrid studio, sequencing hardware, software, and modular simultaneously.
Where has this thing been my whole life?? Awesome tutorial. I bought one and waiting for it to ship. I’d like to slave this to my Tr8s and use it to loop what I play on my JP8k. Near the end of this video you mentioned turning off MIDI echo, and I’m wondering if that would also affect Tx to the synth when the pattern loops back around? I’m assuming not since that would defeat the looping capability. Also, I like the controls on my TR8s, which is why I asked about slaving this unit. By slave I really just mean the clock.
thanks for making an awesome video, be good to see some examples of it in use like making a track in a normal "non tutorial" setting.. just to get a feel for the workflow.. can you recommend any? thanks G
Hi Loopop, love your videos. I’m looking for a central sequencer and am considering a pyramid or Seq as having tried using a octatrack for this purpose but found the learning curve too steep for me. My setup includes a grandmother, digitakt, Erebus and dfam currently. Any advice would be welcome. Thanks.
You’re going to have a similar learning curve issue with Pyramid, and you won’t with Seq, but then again hopefully with this video after 1 hour you should be good to go ;) That’s exactly the tradeoff - power and flexibility (Pyramid) vs ease of use (seq)
bloody hell....i’m only @ 20mins in the video.. and i’m REALLY impressed with this sequencer. It’s way more comprehensive and simple than the Elektron stuff, imo, ..it really appeals to me. The Euclidean sequencing mode is crazy brilliant. I’ve been looking at keyboards, as the central piece for my setup, and i’m thinking of going with a cheaper, but more Composer-style master keyboard, partnered with sth like this.... OR the Novation SL61 mkIII . 1. What do you reckon..? (i’m using midi instruments fed by the PC/Mac VSTs and iPads, rather than hardware stuff.) 2. Do you think i might as well stick with a solid iPad app instead, for a cheaper step sequencer ? Thank you Ziv and thank you for both this..and the SL61 review, which was really important for me.
My pleasure - thanks for watching. I'm not familiar with iPad sequencers, though I'm sure there are quite a few. SL MkIII is better than this at controlling Ableton plugins and devices - its integration with Live is really good. However, in terms of sequencing, this is probably the ultimate sequencer if you're ok with the learning curve and interface.
@@loopop indeed.. Imo the Squarp totally rips, Ziv.. It definitely would be a steep learning curve, for me..but this looks brilliant. I could get a cheaper MIDI 61keys controller and a Maschine Jam, for probably the same $ as the Novation 61SL . If u needed to pull audio, besides MIDI..say..from an iPad AU..or a PC vst .. what would complement the Squarp with ? I'm having a hard time grasping the signal-flow scheme, here.. .MIDI signal_ midi controller keyboard .Audio signal_ VST from PC -> signal bifurcation -> Midi into Squarp + Audio into DAW OR (if DAWless) Audio into ??
Very helpful tutorial. Question: can you have an entire "song" where the global time signature changes throughout the song e.g. intro in 4/4 > verse in 5/4 > chorus in 7/8 > outro in 6/8? That's a crazy example but I hope you get what I"m asking. I saw where you went over polymeters and rhythms but I have a much simpler need where all the tracks and it's patterns per sequence would have the same time signature (hence not poly) but over time, the time sig can change globally across all tracks.
I have a Pyramid, and I don't believe you can do this.. there is no global time signature, it's independent for each track. You could make different tracks in different time signatures, and use the SEQ mode to switch between song parts.. probably other ways as well. It's a deep machine with a shallow manual :)
Hi, I see you review a lot of very interesting sequencers. Your favorite ? This compared to the Torso what do you think? There is a machine with such advanced sequecers and at the same time the possibility of having samples ?
Thanks for this amazing tutorial! I am now considering buying one of these but am wondering whether I should wait for the hapax instead? This seems to do everything I could want and more, it's just the lack of CV/Gate outs that is putting me off.
While each can do a bit more than the other, it's really about which main interface you prefer. I find Hapax's ease of use to be a major pro, and I'm hoping over time they'll add to it everything Pyramid does and Hapax doesn't
How do you trigger a midi effect with an pre-programmed envelope? Say I'm playing a melody on an external keyboard, but at the very last note, I also hit another button that activates the midi effect (i.e., pitch down or any envelop shape) for the last note.
Hi, thanks for your help to discover new gear and possibilities... I am enjoying NDLR, i was thinking to use a polyphonic sequencer to feed him with chords, so i can concentrate on my guitar meanwhile my synths are taken care off by the NDLR... The Squarp Pyramid looks like a good tool for that, or you may recommend another device?
Thanks for this review / tutorial. This video really made me start considering selling some of my stuff to buy pyramid towards the end of the year. Let me ask a couple of questions. 1. What is the actual note limitation regarding the sequence length (not polyphony). Are we limited with the number of steps or can we program or record (or both) the "limitless" sequences (similar to those imported with midi file near the 56:00 in your video)? 2. Is there a way to emulate the best features of beatstep pro (in my opinion only of course) which are randomness / probability / beat repeat functions? 3. Do you know the history of updates for the firmware of this sequencer? In your opinion - Are there chances for the improvement / new features implementation like for example new midi effects? (my benchmark baseline for comparison is what novation did / does with circuit firmware - constantly improving it)
After some research, it seems that the Pyramid is still one of, if not the best sequencer for the price. I would love the Hapax, but they're on back order. I think I'll get a Pyramid for now, and maybe when the chip shortage gets better, the Hapax will be more available. I know this videos old, but if anyone reads this, and thinks there's a better sequencer under, or around 1k, please share. I've considered the Torso T1, Engine, Seq, Squid, Octatrack, and I'm missing a few. I thought the Polyend Play was a good option for hardware sequencing, but after doing some research, they don't seem as user friendly when it comes to sequencing hardware. So far the Pyramid is winning, unless I find something that I missed.
I'm in the market for my first sequencer, and for a long time I was set on the Pyramid, but having found out about the Hapax, I wonder if it might be more worth it. Do you think, cost or size aside, there is a reason to choose the Pyramid over the Hapax? Aside from the Hapax's increased capabilities, I feel like it might be easier to use as well.
Great stuff! if you have multiple synths connected to this thing, and you want to control them with the pyramid, how do you select the different synths / midi channels on the fly?
Damn!! What a piece of gear. I just bought an Akai MPC Live for playing external devices and it was such a waste...will get my pyramid now! Thanks, great tutorial
I wonder if you prefer the Pioneer Toraiz Squid multitrack sequencer above the Squarp's Pyramid. You reviewed the Toraiz as rising the level for hardware sequencer. If I'm not mistaken the Toraiz Squid is able to do stuff lik parameter locking too. It looks like the Pyramid is more cumbersome operating but it will deliver more when you get it under control.
How do you choose a click for your metronome sound? Or can it only be a note? When I hold 2nd and settings to go to save. I can only choose save settings or save track info. How do you name the tracks or sequences using the save as function? I can't find it anywhere. Cheers and thank you for such an in-depth tutorial.
Thanks! I didn't really create one with CC's - just the notes. These were just the samples I had going when I made it, but you can easily change them - here you go: NAME:DIGITAKT OUT:B CHANNEL:1 N0:KICK N1:RIM N2:SNARE N3:CLAP N4:SNARE2 N5:KICK2 N6:CLHHAT N7:TOM LOW
There is of course a limitation: in automation mode you can record up to 9000 events. That means, if yo try to record smooth transitions and curves as filter sweeps, you sometimes ran out of memory.
Comp Fox I’m not so sure that limitation is still accurate. A few years ago I had to quickly get a set together to play with a rock band and loaded the complete midi files for their songs into the Pyramid (not using patterns or anything to loop parts, complete songs). All was good except for one song which choked the event limit. I wrote to Squarp and they had a new firmware within a week that corrected this. The event limit could still be the same and they may have done something to consolidate data (I’m not a programmer, I just make music), but I really don’t think it’s something to be concerned about for 99% of users, as it’s unlikely you’d hit it.
At 25'13 you apply te Euclidean sequencing to a chord. Shortly afterwards you change the chord. Can you 'record' these chord changes onto another Pyramid track and therefore have playback of those chords using the Euclidean rythm patterns? I have a Pyramid now (your awesome video really helped me make the decision to buy one) but so far I have been unabe to solve this problem. Being able to record the chord changes would be a logical thing to want to do in my humble opinion, but I have not been able to find the way to do this in the manual so far. Any advice? Thanks! :-)
Great tutorial! I have a question. I'm looking for a midi sequencer for my hardware setup. Actually I m using my mpc60, which is great, I love the tight clock and the shuffle function. But I'm looking for something more modern, where I can get to some kind of arrangement just through jamming with muting tracks, making a second version of a track with little difference etc.... I was thinking about a pyramid or a akai force. What do you think is more creative in sense of getting to inspirations for differsity and an arrangement? Thanks for your time!
Thanks! There's no right answer, just what inspires you to create. Force has a whole sound engine though, whereas Pyramid is just a sequencer, but with a few extra features Force doesn't have
@@loopopthank you for your quick response. absolutely. Let's say, audio is not important in this case because all audio goes to mixer. I, m also using some drummachines which run their own sequencer via midi clock. So 'another' soundengine is not necessary for me. So it's all about the 'performance' of my midi sequences, tracks and patterns, played into the sequencer with external keyboards A playfull way to get to arrangement ideas and a clear workflow. I hope I was able to show you what I mean ;) sry for my bad writing :)
Can midi out A and B be separated? Would be nice for my Electribe since that uses each midi channel for its different samples. EDIT: Should have kept watching lol. Yeah definitely picking one up now that I see that's a feature, that's huge for my setup flow
This thing looks great. I don't know how to ask this correctly so I hope I'm getting my point across. Do it do multiple undos at once? Like how you can change a bunch of parameters and then undo them all at once. I think the digitakt does something like this.
You could reach the same result with a different workflow. You’ve got so many patterns and tracks, you could create one or more copies, mangle one and then revert to the other. This does have an undo function as well but I would do it with patterns or tracks instead
I just bought one last week, I decided to choose the Pyramid as my first "modern" sequencer and I am very happy about it. This video tutorial is my every day bible and will be for the next months. Thank you Ziv 🙌
I own one.. Have done since it was launched more or less. I still keep watching this video periodically to remind me of features I've forgotten about. Great tutorial. Thanks
Still watching this video on the regular. So helpful
Love the opening with LCD sound system.
Scrolling the comments to see if it was LCD
Song name?
@@devids51 Dance Yrself Clean
Anyone know what that mini Juno synth is?? 😮
Just picked up the pyramid. Thanks so much for this class, it's been a massive help in flattening the learning curve 💯
This video is tremendous. You have helped me understand many features of the Pyramid. For dirt cheap you can change out the black assign knobs to multi-colored versions. It helps keep track of knob assignments when you're performing, especially in low light situations.
Just ordered one of these. So glad this video exists and answered all my questions. Hats off to you sir!
Wow...good job covering this. Talked with the designer at Superbooth a bit, and I was impressed when he ran down the list of features/capabilities. Since that time, I've been really surprised it hasn't received more exposure.
Just want to thank you so much for this - I'm barely a week into owning my Pyramid and it took me about that long to watch this from start to finish - but only because I'm pausing, taking notes, and playing around while I watching.
The Pyramid is such a beast but a little daunting out of the box with such "non-linear" documentation - this video helped jumpstart me waaaaaaaay faster than I would have without - this coupled together w/Squarp's community has me ready to jam, compose, and create in earnest with the new "brain" of my Studio - thanks a million @loopop !
Fantastic tutorial! Buying the Pyramid is one of the best purchases I've made in recent years. Absolutely incredible hardware sequencer. I love being able to create complex pieces without a laptop. Even though I've worked with it quite a bit, I still learned plenty of great tips from this video. Thanks for doing it!
Just bought one used. Hasn’t arrived yet. I’ve been ingesting the manual, and this video is super handy. Love your work as always, thanks :)
This is by far the best tutorial on the Pyramid. Squarp should hire you for a fully flushed out series since theirs are pretty much useless. I nearly returned the device after discovering the lack of educational materials for such a deep tool. Thank you and cheers!
This video may be a bit old but has helped me immensely having just bought a used Pyramid. Some really excellent tips and tricks !
I've learned to only watch your videos in thirds over two days, with notes and lots of on-gear imitation, and then use it for a week, and move to the next third. I'm 1/3 in and feel like I've gone from "I don't know how this works" to "I can get a mini-workflow going now". Even made some project templates and some definitions' files to make it a bit quicker.
This plus a MIDI router (and routing templates) to glue the hardware together has made my life SO much better, and is still applicable with the mk3, though the 'look' of it has changed a tiny bit.
Thanks loopop. Really great stuff.
This is just an A-M-A-Z-I-N-G dream come true! At last a sequencer which looks like I will do more than editing 64 steps.. Thanks!!! 🙏
This is excellent. I have had a Pyramid for a couple of years and feel pretty proficient with it.
I now realise I had forgotten or totally missed some of the things you talked about.
I now have a fairly hefty document of things I should learn and remember.
Thank you.
This was an absolutely amazing and comprehensive guide on one of the most complex and powerful pieces of hardware out there. Thank you so much for taking the time to put something like this out. It should be on everyone who purchases the Pyramid's "must watch" list! Anytime anyone asks about this sequencer, I'll be pointing them this way.
This video convinced me to buy one, and has now become an awesome reference guide and companion to Squarp's great PDF guide. The past few weeks of using the Pyramid, every 10-15 minutes I found myself audibly saying "wow. that's unreal." My sequencer gateway drug was my (still loved) OP-Z, which in many ways feels like the Swedish baby brother to this. This video is also what tipped me over the edge into joining your Patreon! Thanks for helping me along in my musical growth 🌱
Thanks very much!
Three years old now but still by far the best review of Pyramid. Thank you Ziv!
he just read from the manual page by page and added nothing new
I have a Beat Step Pro and never use it. I used it for a while to sequence my Mutable Instruments Shruthi. I could never get a drum pattern going on it. This Squarp Pyramid looks great. THANKS Loopop for such a detailed tutorial, with no goofing around! You are the best!
After watching this video I bought a Pyramid Mk3. Love it! It reminds me of the Alesis MMT8 I had many years ago.
Thank you. Really detailed video
mk3....WTFluck...I only just now came here to Loopop to see if he made a Mk2 review :D Anyone find a YT link for a Mk1-2-3 comparison..? must. find. !
Usually I read manuals but with your awesome and very clear tutorial, I'll only have to refer to the manual in PDF when looking specifically to something ; thank you for saving us so much time and effort
Just bought one. This video was a big factor in my decision. Thanks.
17:04 [STEP + DATA] change Step mode
18:05 [REC] show all notes (Mono mode)
21:42 [NOTE + params] Hold note to edit it
22:09 [NOTE + DATA pressed] Preview notes
22:18 [NOTE + LEFT/RIGHT] Shift note
22:23 [REC + DATA] transpose note (Poly mode) / transpose track (Mono mode)
22:37 [2nd + NOTE] mute note
22:47 [STEP] jump to active note
29:32 black bars - total length; white bar - zoom level and current page;
30:27 arrow - currently playing bar
30:34 [2nd + DISP] follow playing position
30:49 [2nd + LEFT/RIGHT] Shift steps
30:57 [TRACK + LENGTH + LEFT/RIGHT] divide/duplicate track
When you shorten a track the midi data is not deleted until you save the project..
Really appreciate the work you put into this. Looking forward to future clips. Perhaps a "tips and tricks" post. I use my Pyramid everyday and there have been many eureka moments. For instance I just discovered that when I lengthen a track, i can hold down the forward arrow key and it will duplicate the measures. Super handy for making subtle modifications to a groove.
Awesome tutorial, from all the hardware sequencers I've been checking this seems to be the most promising one especially because it supports different time signatures!
I'm just now realizing something after having this for a few months. It would make A LOT of sense if the screen was on the right of the device and the trackpad on the left as most people are right handed. I see you doing what I do, crossing my hands to use my dominant hand on the encoder.
thanks for making this in depth video i have been looking for a hardware sequencer for literally years and now i think i have found one keep up the good work its appreciated :)
Thanks for clarifying so much on this beast... This sequencer is just wonderful to use.
Was looking hardware arpeggiator for keyboard synthesizer. And this even will gives me much more. Thank you very much!
Bravo! I really appreciate your approach to tutorial videos. The timeline is so helpful and convenient.
the interface is so well thought-out..
i normally only flyover the midi effects parts..and this one..damn, the UI .. it really communicates.
also the polyrhythmic/meter bars.. so simple and effective.
i love french gear.
Just got my pyramid sequencer,had it the last few weeks---im still learning but very happy
Thanks for making this video. I owned the Pyramid since it came out and I've never really "hooked" with it. But I can't get myself to sell it. It looks so fun and powerful when you get into it. BTW - absolutely love your videos. You are one of the best music tech video creators on YT: deep info and very little fluffing around. Thanks again! /C
SHOULD YOU DECIDE TO SELL YOUR PYRAMID, please reach out: daveypassage@me.com Thank you!
I’m considering one of these, but I know from experience you make everything seem easier to use than it turns out for me. You have a real gift for this stuff, so thanks!
Thanks! ... I think? I really try to present things as is with as much of the complexity explained. That said, this sequencer, while the most powerful I know, does take time to learn...
loopop - yeah, slightly awkward compliment, but I did mean it as a compliment to you :)
Great, now I've gotta listen to the whole album.
Incredible tutorial :) Your tutorials are SO well done and comprehensive. This will definitely help me utilize this gear to its maximum potential. Thank you!
Love that you did Dance Yrself Clean for this Loopop! Watching your Deluge video on repeat to learn that beast! Love your vids
Great tutorial! I now have an idea of how I can integrate this into my live percussion set by partnering it with my Handsonic HPD20 and Nord Drum 3P.
Great in depth review.
The sequencer & the midi fx reminds me of yamaha's RS7000.
Super helpful as always, thanks for all!
This was amazing and very informative as ever! Many thanks for that since there are not so many (sorry to say so - non-French) videos out there on the Pyramid. I would love to have a session on how to hard-wire connect eg 4-6 synths and drum machine including how to use and load the definition files. E.g. it took me half a day to understand that indeed you could name the definition files either using upper or lower case, but not the .txt extension in upper case. Also I would love to see how to handle the 4 MIDI channels for Digitone. When operated from a controller they seem to get mixed.. Keep on the good work. This is essential to many of us out there!!
Just wanted to drop a line, this fills in major holes in the manual. For example, "Here are the settings available to automate an effect."
...
No story whatsoever as to how to set up an automation in the first place. No description that talks about how the step mode settings are a menu of different "scopes" within a MIDI composition.
You helped me alot today my friend!
Thank you for a great video tutorial! Even though I have used the Pyramid successfully for a while I learned a lot of different little things from this coverage.
This looks fun but I am very glad I went with an Octatrack instead. It is a little more awkward (quantizing non-quantized sequences never works right) but the built-in sampling possibilities are thrilling.
Your video made everything crystallize so well! The only thing missing for me would be an NRPN definition file in addition to just CC, some of my gear uses those exclusively. Aka Roland gear and Access Virii for extended parameters. Otherwise this thing works better than a charm! Thanks again!
Best Pyramid tutorial hands down... thanks for doing this
Just pickled one up today & this vid is super helpful, thanks. The manual is pretty good too, to be fair to them, but this makes life much easier :)
First of all, thanks for this super detailed video of the Pyramid's overwhelming set of feautures.
That said, I'd love to hear more examples of more complex polyrhythms and polymeters ... .
freeform144 I too am interested in this aspect. I think this is what sets this device apart from others.
Thanks! I think there’s not much more I can show in terms of what it can do - obviously creative options are limitless. Let’s just say if polyrhythms and polymeters interest you, this is as good as it gets in standalone hardware
loopop Thanks so much for the quick response. I also want to know, as someone who has a number of other machines with sequencers (various Elektron boxes), would this play nice with those? I mean, can you have this triggering sequences on other machines, and have the internal sequences of the Pyramid play in time with those, or is this machine more like the sequencing master hub and everything else outside of it are just sound sources? Hope that makes sense. In a way the second option would suite me, as I’m hoping to find one machine to replace a number of others. In my mind you then have one very complex ‘brain’ that you have to really learn and wrap your head around, but that then controls a bunch of less complex things that don’t require so much attention from the user. The Elektron boxes are quite complex in their own right, but none do everything that I want in one place. So you end up spending so much time trying to get various very complex machines to all work together. This is frustrating. Pyramid focusses all of that energy in one place. At least that’s how it looks to me? :)
@@kristiaanmusiek8033 I show Pyramid sequencing Digitakt in this video, so the answer is sure it can. Obviously, you lose the more direct sequencing functions of the Digitakt. You can sequence Digitakt parameters with Pyramid but it would be a bit of a pain. So, yes, it can be a master brain, it might do less than the onboard sequencers or require more work, but you could if you wanted do almost everything in Pyramid
Incredibly lucid and thorough. Thank you for this.
Great tutorial! Deep and informative, as always! Thanks!
Very interesting. Had no idea about this product until seeing your video! Thanks. 👍👍
Very well done! You touch all the essential points that are diluted throughout the manual.
I've just started with the Pyramid, so maybe I'm misunderstanding something, but I feel it's not quite appropriate for studio production because of this: yes, there are 64 tracks with 32 patterns each, but only 32 sequences (unfortunate choice of word), and each pattern change requires a sequence, so a song can only have at most 32 different "combinations". If we want a change every 4 bars, that allows at most 128 bars (4x32) before we must repeat one of the exact same combinations of notes and instruments. At 120 BPM 4/4, that's 4.3 minutes maximum.
Of course, there are ways around this (bounce MIDI tracks/patterns to the DAW, record them, or do a live performance and record MIDI to the DAW, etc.) but then the whole tune cannot be contained within one Pyramid project. Using Pyramid track mutes instead of patterns hits the same limitation. Am I missing something?
Before someone says "use a DAW": I got the Pyramid in order to avoid the computer as much as possible.
Thanks! I think the only thing you’re missing is that a pattern can be any length. Your song can be as long and as intricate as you like with just one sequence not to mention 32 (and I agree the term sequence is not the best)
I was so close to getting one of these and then Akai did MPC 2.8.
Hopefully there's a V2 with more CV/gate and maybe a bigger screen.
Awesome thanks! I am literally just considering getting one of these, this shouldn’t have come at a better time
I realize I’m late to the party, but I’m about to pull the trigger on a Pyramid or simply continue using the sequencer on my Roland FA-07. This is all for live performances with a “progressive tribute” band. I love my FA, but I’m intrigued about the power of the Pyramid. I’m running about four keyboards and want to control them with either the FA or, potentially, the Pyramid. I’ve watched this video multiple times and it never ceases to fascinate me. Another thing is: The Pyramid reminds me a lot of the old Roland MC-50, with which I’ve played countless shows. If anyone is old enough to remember the old MC-50, let me know if my comparison is accurate. I guess I WANT to be pushed into buying a Pyramid, but I’m quite comfortable with my less powerful FA. Yes, I’m probably overthinking things. 😆 Would love to hear about anyone’s experiences and comparisons between the Pyramid and any other hardware unit. Thanks so much!
Yep, thanks for the LCD sound!
hello, congrats on the channel,
can you work with quintuplets, septuplets or nontuplets with the squarp pyramid? sometimes those are much more rhythmically interesting than odd bar lengths
really motivating opening sequence. i finally got a midi merge so i can recieve signals to my unused pyramid, not just send. one day i will set it up
i finally set it up yesterday... there’s so much wrong or missing in the manual! eg it says under settings you can set the din sync to sync24, sync48 etc... but where in the settings manual? it doesn’t say. oh it’s under settings cv/pedal din sync... despite the fact it’s a midi output setting.... and the midi echo feature you mention, in the manual that’s called anti echo, and it says the opposite of what you said, they said i should have it on, you said i should have it off to do the same thing... terrible documentation... i’ll be having nightmares tonight. i can’t even get midi in working at all... possibly because of midi echo!?!?
setphaser - I have the same problem. I cannot get midi in working correctly. It gets glitchy if I don’t have Echo off but nothing when turned on. No solution?
Great video! Got one 2nd hand shortly after seeing it, and so far I think it's great.
Hi, Excellent and very detailed tutorial, I see now how much I can still learn about my MKIII :-). Just a small question: how do I setup the metronom so that it continues ticking when the record starts ?
Great tutorial! Does the pyramid have the possibility of recording chains of sequences? With the entropy engine you can literary record what you do at 42:50 and then have the chain laid out. You only need to edit it afterwards!
thank you for this great video - massively helpful!
Came to watch after seeing a video "A love letter to the MMT8". Had two in the past. Would so love to see an Alesis MMT16. 16 pads, 16 tracks, 16 bars (max) to a loop, be able to repeat and chain loops.
The Pyramid has this and more.
somehow in my mind when I think of the MMT8 I think of the Polyend more.
nice LCD ref friend! the only hip cred i have is getting to go to the MSG show back in 2011.
I got this and a Waldorf Blofeld .. can make an entire track with just those innit? I have a sampler too, Roland sp404mkii .. I think these three make a formidable combo :-) can't wait to get deeply into it all..
I didn't realise they made a hardware version of this! i thought it was just the eurorack module.... anyway, an amazing informative video as always!
I love the smart pads 14:05
Yo! Thanks for the nice vid(s). Questions: once you've recorded cc sequences onto this bad gyal, how easy is it to reassign these values to elsewhere (such as different cc parameters, note data or even cv modulation values)? Can the 4 cv inputs recognize any combination of gates and continuous cv? Is this a DAW in disguise?
what a spectacular machine. i wish i had had one a year ago, when i had hardware. i love this thing!
David Bryant you can use it with software too, super easy too because it powers via USB (also handy for portability because it can be powered via a usb battery). It’s the brain of my hybrid studio, sequencing hardware, software, and modular simultaneously.
Where has this thing been my whole life?? Awesome tutorial. I bought one and waiting for it to ship. I’d like to slave this to my Tr8s and use it to loop what I play on my JP8k. Near the end of this video you mentioned turning off MIDI echo, and I’m wondering if that would also affect Tx to the synth when the pattern loops back around? I’m assuming not since that would defeat the looping capability. Also, I like the controls on my TR8s, which is why I asked about slaving this unit. By slave I really just mean the clock.
Best tutorial for Pyramid, great work thanks!
thanks for making an awesome video, be good to see some examples of it in use like making a track in a normal "non tutorial" setting.. just to get a feel for the workflow.. can you recommend any? thanks G
Hi Loopop, love your videos. I’m looking for a central sequencer and am considering a pyramid or Seq as having tried using a octatrack for this purpose but found the learning curve too steep for me. My setup includes a grandmother, digitakt, Erebus and dfam currently. Any advice would be welcome. Thanks.
You’re going to have a similar learning curve issue with Pyramid, and you won’t with Seq, but then again hopefully with this video after 1 hour you should be good to go ;) That’s exactly the tradeoff - power and flexibility (Pyramid) vs ease of use (seq)
bloody hell....i’m only @ 20mins in the video.. and i’m REALLY impressed with this sequencer. It’s way more comprehensive and simple than the Elektron stuff, imo, ..it really appeals to me.
The Euclidean sequencing mode is crazy brilliant.
I’ve been looking at keyboards, as the central piece for my setup, and i’m thinking of going with a cheaper, but more Composer-style master keyboard, partnered with sth like this....
OR
the Novation SL61 mkIII .
1. What do you reckon..?
(i’m using midi instruments fed by the PC/Mac VSTs and iPads, rather than hardware stuff.)
2. Do you think i might as well stick with a solid iPad app instead, for a cheaper step sequencer ?
Thank you Ziv
and thank you for both this..and the SL61 review, which was really important for me.
My pleasure - thanks for watching. I'm not familiar with iPad sequencers, though I'm sure there are quite a few. SL MkIII is better than this at controlling Ableton plugins and devices - its integration with Live is really good. However, in terms of sequencing, this is probably the ultimate sequencer if you're ok with the learning curve and interface.
@@loopop indeed.. Imo the Squarp totally rips, Ziv..
It definitely would be a steep learning curve, for me..but this looks brilliant.
I could get a cheaper MIDI 61keys controller and a Maschine Jam, for probably the same $ as the Novation 61SL .
If u needed to pull audio, besides MIDI..say..from an iPad AU..or a PC vst .. what would complement the Squarp with ?
I'm having a hard time grasping the signal-flow scheme, here..
.MIDI signal_ midi controller keyboard
.Audio signal_ VST from PC
-> signal bifurcation -> Midi into Squarp + Audio into DAW
OR (if DAWless)
Audio into ??
Very helpful tutorial. Question: can you have an entire "song" where the global time signature changes throughout the song e.g. intro in 4/4 > verse in 5/4 > chorus in 7/8 > outro in 6/8? That's a crazy example but I hope you get what I"m asking. I saw where you went over polymeters and rhythms but I have a much simpler need where all the tracks and it's patterns per sequence would have the same time signature (hence not poly) but over time, the time sig can change globally across all tracks.
I have a Pyramid, and I don't believe you can do this.. there is no global time signature, it's independent for each track. You could make different tracks in different time signatures, and use the SEQ mode to switch between song parts.. probably other ways as well. It's a deep machine with a shallow manual :)
Now that's what I call an intro! (Vol 1)
Hi, I see you review a lot of very interesting sequencers. Your favorite ? This compared to the Torso what do you think? There is a machine with such advanced sequecers and at the same time the possibility of having samples ?
No favorite, each sequencer is a different kind of dialog with your music, with different pros and cons
Thanks for this amazing tutorial! I am now considering buying one of these but am wondering whether I should wait for the hapax instead? This seems to do everything I could want and more, it's just the lack of CV/Gate outs that is putting me off.
While each can do a bit more than the other, it's really about which main interface you prefer. I find Hapax's ease of use to be a major pro, and I'm hoping over time they'll add to it everything Pyramid does and Hapax doesn't
@@loopop OK thanks for the tip. Given the price you can pick up a 2nd hand pyramid for, I think I'll go for one!
How do you trigger a midi effect with an pre-programmed envelope? Say I'm playing a melody on an external keyboard, but at the very last note, I also hit another button that activates the midi effect (i.e., pitch down or any envelop shape) for the last note.
Thanks for this clear and accurate tutorial, very helpful!!
Hi, thanks for your help to discover new gear and possibilities...
I am enjoying NDLR, i was thinking to use a polyphonic sequencer to feed him with chords, so i can concentrate on my guitar meanwhile my synths are taken care off by the NDLR...
The Squarp Pyramid looks like a good tool for that, or you may recommend another device?
Thanks for this review / tutorial. This video really made me start considering selling some of my stuff to buy pyramid towards the end of the year. Let me ask a couple of questions.
1. What is the actual note limitation regarding the sequence length (not polyphony). Are we limited with the number of steps or can we program or record (or both) the "limitless" sequences (similar to those imported with midi file near the 56:00 in your video)?
2. Is there a way to emulate the best features of beatstep pro (in my opinion only of course) which are randomness / probability / beat repeat functions?
3. Do you know the history of updates for the firmware of this sequencer? In your opinion - Are there chances for the improvement / new features implementation like for example new midi effects? (my benchmark baseline for comparison is what novation did / does with circuit firmware - constantly improving it)
I think they are still planning to do the odd update actually, according to the big boss
After some research, it seems that the Pyramid is still one of, if not the best sequencer for the price. I would love the Hapax, but they're on back order. I think I'll get a Pyramid for now, and maybe when the chip shortage gets better, the Hapax will be more available. I know this videos old, but if anyone reads this, and thinks there's a better sequencer under, or around 1k, please share. I've considered the Torso T1, Engine, Seq, Squid, Octatrack, and I'm missing a few. I thought the Polyend Play was a good option for hardware sequencing, but after doing some research, they don't seem as user friendly when it comes to sequencing hardware. So far the Pyramid is winning, unless I find something that I missed.
I'm in the market for my first sequencer, and for a long time I was set on the Pyramid, but having found out about the Hapax, I wonder if it might be more worth it. Do you think, cost or size aside, there is a reason to choose the Pyramid over the Hapax? Aside from the Hapax's increased capabilities, I feel like it might be easier to use as well.
I would like to know that too. :)
Same!
Great stuff! if you have multiple synths connected to this thing, and you want to control them with the pyramid, how do you select the different synths / midi channels on the fly?
each track is synced to specific midi channel
Damn!! What a piece of gear. I just bought an Akai MPC Live for playing external devices and it was such a waste...will get my pyramid now! Thanks, great tutorial
So did I. :D may I ask specifically which problems did you have using the Mpc?
did you get the pyramid? is it better than the live?
I wonder if you prefer the Pioneer Toraiz Squid multitrack sequencer above the Squarp's Pyramid. You reviewed the Toraiz as rising the level for hardware sequencer. If I'm not mistaken the Toraiz Squid is able to do stuff lik parameter locking too. It looks like the Pyramid is more cumbersome operating but it will deliver more when you get it under control.
there's no right or wrong, they're quite different - if you saw this and my Squid video you'll know what I know
How do you choose a click for your metronome sound? Or can it only be a note? When I hold 2nd and settings to go to save. I can only choose save settings or save track info. How do you name the tracks or sequences using the save as function? I can't find it anywhere. Cheers and thank you for such an in-depth tutorial.
Really great video! Big up!! Is your Digitakt midi def available anywhere ?
Thanks! I didn't really create one with CC's - just the notes. These were just the samples I had going when I made it, but you can easily change them - here you go:
NAME:DIGITAKT
OUT:B
CHANNEL:1
N0:KICK
N1:RIM
N2:SNARE
N3:CLAP
N4:SNARE2
N5:KICK2
N6:CLHHAT
N7:TOM LOW
very interesting... thank you loopop
Amazing tutorial, thank you!
There is of course a limitation: in automation mode you can record up to 9000 events. That means, if yo try to record smooth transitions and curves as filter sweeps, you sometimes ran out of memory.
Good to know. Do you know if its per project or track?
Obviously though, it should be over 9000
Comp Fox I’m not so sure that limitation is still accurate. A few years ago I had to quickly get a set together to play with a rock band and loaded the complete midi files for their songs into the Pyramid (not using patterns or anything to loop parts, complete songs). All was good except for one song which choked the event limit. I wrote to Squarp and they had a new firmware within a week that corrected this. The event limit could still be the same and they may have done something to consolidate data (I’m not a programmer, I just make music), but I really don’t think it’s something to be concerned about for 99% of users, as it’s unlikely you’d hit it.
At 25'13 you apply te Euclidean sequencing to a chord. Shortly afterwards you change the chord. Can you 'record' these chord changes onto another Pyramid track and therefore have playback of those chords using the Euclidean rythm patterns? I have a Pyramid now (your awesome video really helped me make the decision to buy one) but so far I have been unabe to solve this problem. Being able to record the chord changes would be a logical thing to want to do in my humble opinion, but I have not been able to find the way to do this in the manual so far. Any advice? Thanks! :-)
Great tutorial!
I have a question.
I'm looking for a midi sequencer for my hardware setup. Actually I m using my mpc60, which is great, I love the tight clock and the shuffle function. But I'm looking for something more modern, where I can get to some kind of arrangement just through jamming with muting tracks, making a second version of a track with little difference etc....
I was thinking about a pyramid or a akai force.
What do you think is more creative in sense of getting to inspirations for differsity and an arrangement?
Thanks for your time!
Thanks! There's no right answer, just what inspires you to create. Force has a whole sound engine though, whereas Pyramid is just a sequencer, but with a few extra features Force doesn't have
@@loopopthank you for your quick response. absolutely.
Let's say, audio is not important in this case because all audio goes to mixer. I, m also using some drummachines which run their own sequencer via midi clock. So 'another' soundengine is not necessary for me.
So it's all about the 'performance' of my midi sequences, tracks and patterns, played into the sequencer with external keyboards
A playfull way to get to arrangement ideas and a clear workflow.
I hope I was able to show you what I mean ;) sry for my bad writing :)
Can midi out A and B be separated? Would be nice for my Electribe since that uses each midi channel for its different samples.
EDIT: Should have kept watching lol. Yeah definitely picking one up now that I see that's a feature, that's huge for my setup flow
top marks for the Pool cover
This thing looks great. I don't know how to ask this correctly so I hope I'm getting my point across. Do it do multiple undos at once? Like how you can change a bunch of parameters and then undo them all at once. I think the digitakt does something like this.
You could reach the same result with a different workflow. You’ve got so many patterns and tracks, you could create one or more copies, mangle one and then revert to the other. This does have an undo function as well but I would do it with patterns or tracks instead
I cannot seem to get hang of how to access patterns inside a sequence track; any insights
Can live mode do the same than in the keystep on chord mode that you can record a chord and play overlaying notes?