Squarp Instruments Pyramid Sequencer Manuale utente

Pyramid Sequencer

User Guide

Squarp Instruments

Manual based on PyraOS version V 3.0

Transcribed from Squarp Instrument’s original HTML to L

X by Juan Pumarino.

Edited and revised by Ryan Gallagher (ryanpg).

This document was generated on September 12, 2018.

Contents

1 Quickstart 1

Pyramid Workﬂow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

WireUp ................... 1

Sequencer workﬂow . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Tracks vs Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Quick tour of the four Pyramid modes . . . 2

Screen.................... 3

Basics....................... 4

How to select the current track (TR01A to

TR16D) ............... 4

Capturing a performance . . . . . . . . . . 4

Using the step sequencer . . . . . . . . . 4

Muting and unmuting tracks . . . . . . . . 5

Selecting the current sequence . . . . . . 5

Creating and editing sequences . . . . . . 5

Performing sequences . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Tempo.................... 6

Undo..................... 6

Saving and loading a project . . . . . . . . 6

Eﬀect manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Assign a control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Display features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Quick track settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Play / Pause / Stop . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Metronome ................. 8

Settings menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Inputs/Outputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

MIDI connectivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

USB connectivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

CV/Gate connectivity . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

DIN Sync connectivity . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Pedal foot-switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Connectivity examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Pyramid on stage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Pyramid sequencing virtual instruments . 11

Pyramid on the studio table . . . . . . . . 11

2 The Live mode 13

Screen....................... 13

Pads........................ 13

Play with the keypad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Record your performance . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Hardrecord................. 13

Countdown ................. 13

Livelooper ................. 14

Change smartpad type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Chord smartpads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Scale smartpads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Repeat smartpads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Custom smartpads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Hold........................ 16

Relatch ...................... 16

Copy/Paste/Delete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

3 The Step Mode 17

Screen....................... 17

Pads........................ 17

Change the Stepmode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Note Stepmode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Addnotes.................. 17

Poly / Mono editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Note parameters: velocity, width, oﬀset . . 18

Quick step edits: velocity, width, oﬀset,

transpose, move horizontally . . . 18

Note learn with a keyboard . . . . . . . . 19

Muteastep................. 19

Pianoroll .................. 19

Chord Stepmode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Addchords ................. 20

Quick step edits: velocity, width, oﬀset,

transpose, move horizontally . . . 20

Pianoroll .................. 21

Euclid Stepmode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Note learn with a keyboard . . . . . . . . 22

CC messages Stepmode . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Create step automation . . . . . . . . . . 22

Draw automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Step-lock automation . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Eﬀects Stepmode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Create step automation . . . . . . . . . . 23

Draw an automation . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Step-lock automation . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Track player: pages, zoom and length . . . . . 24

Rotate....................... 25

Duplicate ..................... 25

Copy/Paste .................... 25

Delete....................... 25

Encoder step edit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Filter........................ 26

Player tracking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

4 The Track Mode 27

Screen....................... 27

Pads........................ 27

Mute/unmute tracks on the ﬂy . . . . . . . . . . 27

Mute/unmute in sync . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Mute/unmute tracks to create sequences . . . . 28

Save mute states OFF . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Track options (2ND+TRACK) . . . . . . . . . . 28

Trackname................. 28

Call instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Consolidate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Track run mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Track transpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Track patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Track PC + bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Soloatrack.................... 30

MIDIChannel................... 30

Zoom ....................... 30

Length....................... 31

Copy/Paste/Delete a track . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

How to use PATTERNS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Trackmode PATTERNS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Time signature and polyrhythm . . . . . . . . . 32

Polyrhythms signature (x:4) (default) . . . 33

Polymeters signature (x/4) . . . . . . . . . 33

Track length fraction and polymetry . . . . . . . 34

Irrational rhythms (advanced users) . . . . . . . 34

DISP track view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Microstep track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

5 The Seq Mode 37

Screen....................... 37

Pads........................ 37

How to create and edit sequences . . . . . . . 37

“PERFORM” project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

PERFORM delay selection . . . . . . . . 38

“PLAY” project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

“LOOP” project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Note about track lengths concurrence & se-

quences................... 39

Track run modes: FREE, RELATCH & TRIG . . 39

RELATCH run mode . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

TRIG run mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

FREE, RELATCH & TRIG mixed . . . . . 40

Copy/Paste/Delete a sequence . . . . . . . . . 40

DISPSEQview.................. 40

6 Eﬀect Manager 41

Eﬀect manager principles . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

How to add eﬀects to a track . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Othertools .................... 42

Eﬀectlist...................... 43

Quantizer / humanizer . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Arpeggiator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Harmonizer ................. 44

Swing .................... 44

Randomizer................. 44

Delay .................... 45

Equalizer .................. 45

Scale .................... 46

NotetoCC ................. 46

BPM..................... 46

Chance ................... 47

LFO ..................... 47

7 Assign 49

Assign principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Assign a CC message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Assign an FX parameter . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Assign a master FX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Automation recording and overdub . . . . . . . 51

Assign touchpad to smartpads . . . . . . . . . 52

Assign external knobs (midi in ”learn” CC mes-

sages).................... 53

Note about analog input voltage assignment . . 53

ii | Contents

Analog sync (CV inputs or pedal) . . . . . . . . 53

8 Save/Load 55

Save/load principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Save........................ 55

SaveAs...................... 55

Load........................ 55

New ........................ 55

Projectﬁles .................... 55

Import and export ﬁles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

9 Settings 57

Settings menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

MIDIin....................... 57

MIDIout...................... 58

CV/pedal ..................... 58

Misc........................ 59

Info ........................ 60

Save........................ 60

CV calibration tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

10 Shortcuts 61

Inanymode.................... 61

Livemode..................... 61

Stepmode .................... 61

Trackmode.................... 62

FX manager mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Assignmode ................... 62

Save/load mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

11 Deﬁnition Files 63

Deﬁnition ﬁles principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

How to create a CC deﬁnition ﬁle . . . . . . . . 63

How to create a NOTE deﬁnition ﬁle . . . . . . 64

Filters ....................... 64

Call an instrument . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Download users deﬁnition ﬁles . . . . . . . . . . 65

Contents | iii

1 Quickstart

Pyramid Workﬂow

WIRE UP

Connect the Pyramid to the supplied mini USB power

supply, or connect the Pyramid to a computer with a stan-

dard mini USB cable, and press the on/oﬀ button.

SEQUENCER WORKFLOW

Pyramid provides 64 tracks. A track is a loop that contains

polyphonic or monophonic notes, automation and eﬀects;

plays repeatedly, and controls instruments connected to

MIDI A, MIDI B, USB MIDI, or CV outputs.

The Pyramid workﬂow is designed around muting and

unmuting tracks to build sequences (groups of tracks).

Moreover, you can create up to 32 patterns (P1, P2, ...)

per tracks, to add variations to your sequences.

Pyramid allows you to easily produce your tracks from

scratch thanks to powerful creative tools, such as:

• smart chord harmonizer,

• scale generator,

• beat repeat,

• hold and relatch,

• groundbreaking step sequencer (unlimited number of

notes and CC messages per step, per-step FX param-

eter locks),

• euclidean sequencer,

• polyrhythmy & polymetry,

• real-time eﬀects.

Pyramid is an instant source of inspiration to start and ﬁn-

ish your song. You will never run out of ideas!

TRACKS VS SEQUENCES

A Pyramid project can include up to 64 tracks. Tracks are

organized into 4 banks: A, B, C, D. Each bank contains

a group of 16 tracks. Thus all 64 tracks and four banks

are organized from TR01A to TR16A (track 1 through 16,

bank A) up to TR01D to TR16D (track 1 through 16, bank

D).

Each track can be conﬁgured according to your needs.

A track can be:

• a standard pattern (e.g. a 4 bar track)

• a linear clip (e.g. a 384 bar track)

• an euclidean pattern

• a polymetric pattern (e.g. a 1+1/4 bar track)

• a polyrhythmic pattern (e.g. a 8 bar track with 7/8 time

signature)

• a micro track with a high zoom resolution (e.g. a 1/4

bar track with 1600% zoom)

A Pyramid project can be composed of up to 32 se-

quences. A sequence deﬁnes the mute states of each

of the 64 available tracks. In each sequence, you choose

which track is unmmuted (active) or muted (inactive) in

order to build your song or arrange your set:

You can choose to play 64 tracks at the same time in

a single sequence, or mute/unmute any of the 64 tracks

across 16 sequences: it’s a great and versatile way to

create songs very quickly.

In the example below SE01, (sequence 01) has only

TR02 (track 02) unmuted. In SE02 (sequence 02),

TR02A and TR11A (tracks 02 and 11) are unmuted. In

SE03 (sequence 03), tracks 01, 06, and 14 are unmuted:

Individual tracks are shared between sequences.

Changes to TR02A will apply to all sequences where

TR02A is active (SE01 and SE02 in the example above).

When the sequence changes, if a previously active track

is still active in the next sequence, it will not restart from

the beginning like a classic sequencer. It will continue

to play & loop and therefore keep its shift with the other

tracks, to keep the polymetry running (see ”Note about

track lengths concurrence & sequences” section). If you

want to restart your track from the beggining like a classic

sequencer, conﬁgure your track in ”relatch mode”.

Moreover, if you want to add some MIDI eﬀects on

TR02A, you can assign a control (e.g. an encoder) for

this eﬀect, and aﬀect the sound of the TR02A in real-time,

no matter which sequence you are in.

QUICK TOUR OF THE FOUR PYRAMID

MODES

Pyramid is a dynamic sequencer that allows you to inter-

act intuitively with tracks and sequences. All modes are

always accessible. Launch sequences in SEQ mode;

mute/unmute tracks in TRACK mode; play with eﬀects,

and even add notes and CC messages in LIVE and

STEP modes. You can assign one of the 5 multi-

functional rotary encoders to control MIDI eﬀect parame-

ters in real-time. Encoder assignments are independent

of the sequence you are viewing or the mode you are

working in.

Press LIVE : record notes and CC automation to the cur-

rent track using the built-in keypads, smartpads (8 pads

that can be conﬁgured as chord generator, note repeat

or scaled piano), an attached MIDI controller, a Control

Voltage instrument, or your computer.

Press STEP : ﬁll steps of the currently selected track with

notes and chords using the 16 pads of the NOTE

&CHORD stepmodes. Conﬁgure velocity, width, and

oﬀset of a single note or a group of notes. Edit your

live recording with surgical precision. Switch to EUCLID

stepmode to auto-ﬁll steps. Switch to CC MESSAGES

stepmode to create or edit MIDI CC automation. Switch

to EFFECTS stepmode to create or edit eﬀect parame-

ter locks. Each step (and even microstep) can contain an

unlimited number of notes, CC and FX automation!

Press TRACK : mute/unmute the tracks using the 16

pads. Change the current BANK (A/B/C/D) with <and

>. Set up the length, time signature, zoom, and MIDI

channel of the current track. Build the current sequence.

Press SEQ : launch your sequences (stored mute states

of the 64 tracks) on the ﬂy, or program a chain of se-

quences to create a complete structured song.

2 | Quickstart

SCREEN

In each of the four modes, the following data is displayed:

Pyramid mode:LIVE STEP TRACK SEQ

Track name: name of the current track.

Track zoom: zoom of the current track (/4, /2, x1, x2, x4,

x8, x16).

Track time signature: time signature of the current track

(from 1/1 to 24/16).

MIDI in ﬂashes if a MIDI message is received; MIDI out

A,MIDI out B and USB out ﬂash when a MIDI message

is sent.

Current track: track number and bank (A, B, C, D) in Live

and Step Modes.

Track out sequence number and the tracks you are editing

in TRACK mode. Can also display the next sequence to

be played in the chain.

Current sequence: shows the playing sequence (and so

the group of tracks you are editing in TRACK mode).

Can also display the next sequence to be played in the

chain.

Mode zone: highlights the main parameters of each

mode, which generally can be edited via the clickable

data encoder .

Player zone: track player (a representation of the current

track, the level of zoom, the track length), the player posi-

tion, and the page you are viewing in Live, Step and Track

modes:

The example above shows a 12 and 1/4 measure long track

(12 measures + 1 beat). The four outlined squares represent

the ﬁrst page of the track. The arrow icon indicates the player

is currently at the twelfth measure.

In SEQ mode the Player zone the set sequence chain:

In the example above, 6 sequences are chained and SE06

(highlighted) will play 2 measures.

Quickstart | 3

Basics

HOW TO SELECT THE CURRENT

TRACK (TR01A TO TR16D)

As described in ”TRACKS VS SEQUENCES” a Pyramid

project can include up to 64 tracks:

• 16 tracks in the bank A

• 16 tracks in the bank B

• 16 tracks in the bank C

• 16 tracks in the bank D

In any mode hold TRACK while pressing one of the 16

pads to select the track of the current BANK you

want to work with (for example TR03A).

To change the current track BANK (A/B/C/D), hold

TRACK and press <or >.

The current track number and its output channel are dis-

played on the screen:

Change the MIDI output channel of the selected track by

pressing TRACK +MIDI channel . Multiple tracks can

transmit on the same MIDI channel.

Note: A track is created as soon as you edit a note or a

CC message in LIVE or STEP mode.

CAPTURING A PERFORMANCE

When in LIVE mode, capture a performance on a cur-

rently playing track by pressing press rec . If the track

is paused, press rec to ”arm” the track, then press

to begin a count-oﬀ before recording begins.

You can play and record notes with the built-in keyboard

and smartpads . Use the 5 assignable en-

coders and the assignable touchpad to record

CC and FX automation.

You can also use an external MIDI controller to record

notes and automation. It’s even possible to record CV

events thanks to the CV/gate input!

Pyramid allows unlimited polyphony and CC automation

data per track. Quantize is not active by default, so you

will capture the “human feel” of your performance.

Enter STEP mode then press DISP to view the piano

roll and recorded notes:

Of course, it’s possible to add, remove, edit notes in a

ﬂash in STEP mode with the step-by-step sequencer.

USING THE STEP SEQUENCER

Enter STEP mode. The default stepmode is NOTE: that

means that you can add, remove, edit notes on the cur-

rent track:

Enter STEP mode:

• to select the note (e.g. C4), rotate

• to add a note, press one of the 16 steps

• to remove the note, press again this step

• you can also hold one of the 16 steps, and rotate to

set the note.

Pyramid is fully polyphonic, so you can add as many

notes as you want on one step. You can set the velocity ,

the width , and the oﬀset of a note. You can zoom to

set the resolution of steps (by default 1 step = a quarter

note, but you can zoom in so that 1 step = a 1/64 note).

Finally, you can set the length and the time signature

of the track, so you can work on very short or very long

patterns!

4 | Quickstart

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