Are there any hardware sequencers that have audio-based master syncing or do you still have to use an erm multiclock etc. with everything in order to sync with you daw?
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Agreed. The OXI One is more svelte, and like the Deluge, it can be battery powered, without needing a powerbank, and a Birdcord USB cable.
I really like the BLE that OXI One offers. Not sure the Hapax has that, maybe.
Competition is great, and the consumers win, when both companies are trying to out offer each other. Not cancelling my OXI One order.
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It also fits right in my Squid spotâŚ
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Both Oxi One and Hapax have external analog CV clock sync (see here for Hapax). In fact I prefer to use analog CV instead of USB midi to sync Oxi One with Bitwig. Sending 24 ppqn via audio is more reliable in my experience.
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So you are saying you use an audio track to generate a CV clock signal in Bitiwg and use one of the audio outputs of your interface to pass it to the sequencer?
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That is the working RAM. Itâs like your SD card is a DJâs record collection, and your turntables are the working memory. You can always have up to 2 songs playing at once. I love this idea.
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If you mean non-eurorack, the Toraiz Squid has analog clock in. I donât know how strong of an audio signal you would need to pump into it to drive it. You can select pulse polarity and step value (24ppqn, 1ppqn, etc)
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Overbridge is all you need! Works with most Elektronâs machines
But this is, um, squarp ;-). I guess I should have been more specific :-).
I mean Iâm fairness is just an evolution of their Pyramid which was released years ago
The problem with the cards, or at least the one supplied with Pyramid, has nothing to do with the size, itâs that theyâre cheap slow crap. Replacing with any size SanDisk speeds up project save/load substantially.
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I have no problem with the SD card shipped with the Hermod but my brain waves are kinda slow to begin with ; )
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My experience is the opposite. I find USB-C cables difficult to manage. They all look the same but some of them behave differently from others. The âworks both waysâ is a lie; some of them donât do power and data at the same time; some of them work over X distance, some of them Y; all of them work over less distance than their older cousins. You canât plug USB-A or B in the wrong way up, but you can plug USB-C in the wrong way up (even thoâ the advertising tells you it shouldnât matter). Good luck understanding which video devices work with which cables.
Iâm too old for this stuffâŚ
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ok, now I can let the cat out of the bag ⌠
Ive been a beta tester for Hapax being helping testing, and providing suggestions for improvements for the last few months.
so if you have specific questions, feel free to askâŚ
as for overall impressions, from someone who knows the Pyramid, Octatrack, Hermod and a few other sequencersâŚ
Hapax is really specialâŚ
its very intuitive to use, and is the first sequencer that Ive had that feels more like playing a musical instrument than programmingâŚ
why? thats hard to answerâŚ
its simple to play sequences either on the pads or externally⌠and easy to edit too.
(I love its chord mode)
but you can also uses algos to help generate ideas, or modify existing once.
sprinkle on the fx, and change and trig conditions
⌠and variations just start flowing outâŚ
this is then supported by patterns , copy/paste etc, with a really nice clip launcher.
but then the really special bit comes nextâŚ
breaking the (infernal) loop !
so the above gave you plenty of ways to build variations.
now you can launch via scenes like live scences
but now you are getting idea about different combos of patterns that work.
so you can save pattern selections , as âsectionsâ , not limited by their layout on the grid.
now you have a bunch of sections, and you are getting ideas how you might arrange them.
so you can create a song from those sections.
⌠and then once its done, there are quite a lot of interesting performance features !
eg. loop a song, but keep dipping out into âperformanceâ mode to improvise, use snapshots âŚ
its just such a natural flowâŚ
Im prepping a video on this,
and whilst I was doing it, in many ways the Hapax started to remind me of the Octatrack (but for midi/cv sequencing)
the way you can start with a small germ of an idea, and it leads you play with them come up with variations⌠and then once you have enough, you can start assembling them.
⌠and having talked to Squarp a lot, its great now⌠but its only getting better !
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Looks like Hapax doesnât have a CV clock out. The manual says to use one of the CV gate outputs meaning you sacrifice a CV gate just for clock sync. That right? Would have been nice to have a dedicated clock out to trigger something like Pamâs New Workout while still having 4 CV/gate pairs - though even that is on the stingy side for my use which is mostly Eurorack. Iâve gone for an OXI with 8 cv/gate pairs and clock out but will be keeping an eye on both while I wait for delivery.
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Yeah you have to use a gate (and possibly a cv if you want reset too)
That said , itâs been ok for me âŚ
I have a Hermod which I use for cv<~>midi, so the hapax is an addition or if I want to use with a small rack - then 4 cv/gate is enough.
Also Iâm finding a lot more eurorack modules are adding TRS midi , so thatâs cool.
My attitude to midi and eurorack is changingâŚ.
I was very much against it initiallyâŚ
But now, Iâm finding that it has its place, a single cable carries lots of signals !
So really I only need cv, where I want âaudio rateâ or high precision.
A kind of trade offâŚ
Iâve also wondered if perhaps Squarp could create a âpipe likeâ extension module, using its usb host/device on hapax ?!
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Very exciting to hear from someone with hands on experience! Im a huge Pyramid fan, though I wish it had a few less complicated button combos and was a little more direct and hands on. Im hoping the Hapax is this.
I think I already know the answer to this, but the pads are just regular pads and not velocity sensitive or anything are they? The MPE piece for me excited but I believe thatâs just support from another external MPE device? I really just care about velocity sensitive, and thought I could also get ride of my Launchpad Pro but sounds like that might not be the case.
yeah, no velocity/pressure on the pads.
I think its a size thing⌠monome grid/deluge also lack this⌠I think you have to move to bigger pads for this?
so a trade off⌠and Im happy with the size of the hapax on my desk⌠whereas (e.g) I find my Push 2 is always in the way 
MPE so its currently mainly record/playback , and this works nicely.
(mainly Ive been using with an Erae Touch , and hitting various daws/softsynths⌠oh and vcv!)
from my own perspective (Ive a few MPE controllers) , whilst having poly pressure on the pads would be nice. itâd not be a replacement to an expressive controller , since its only one dimension , no slides/timbre⌠and we do have lots of options in this area now (at different price points)
But I do get the desire ⌠and also velocity is very useful for melodic lines and drum hits.
for now, Squarp are committed to adding per note expression editing,
I did talk with them about doing this on the Hapax itself (sans controller) ⌠so we will see how that pans out.
what I do think could be interesting (also discussed ;)) is the idea of the Algos adding MPE expression data , for kind of generative MPE tracks - this would be I think pretty unique.
generally I think Hapax is shaping up to the the first hardware sequencer with âproperâ MPE capabilities (beyond just record/playable) ⌠and thats exciting.
again, we have to remember this is v1 firmware on a brand new product, from a company that has a reputation for developing firmware over a products lifetime - so it is early days !
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You could use midi out 3 in Din sync mode and use a breakout cable to sync Pamâs too
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Thanks so much for sharing.
Looks like Hapax doesnât have per track time signatures at this time, but it does have per track % elasticity, which in theory is more flexible if you have your percentages straight! Any experience with that to share with respect to the ease in creating polyrhythmic sequences?
Edit: also is track elastisticty currently a modulatable parameter?