Toraiz Squid Workflow & Usage Discussion

[tenembre]

That note earlier about the cc knobs not recording - that seems like an omission, but in general - how strong are the modulations, how easy to use them in practice, and to have fun with this thing. I like sequencers where you can evolve patterns through internal and external modulation. The pyramid doesn't have some of the classic modulations, but those midi fx are great, and the recording of everything is great. etc.

The Squid works best if you approach it like an analog sequencer, i.e. get a pattern going and then explore various ways to modify it. A lot of the modulation is aimed at groove and tempo, which is unusual. How strong the modulation feature set is depends on what you like and if the provided tools are useful to you, but these can be played and modified without disrupting the flow. It's fun as hell to mess around with.

[DiscoDevil]

but in general - how strong are the modulations, how easy to use them in practice, and to have fun with this thing. I like sequencers where you can evolve patterns through internal and external modulation. The pyramid doesn't have some of the classic modulations, but those midi fx are great, and the recording of everything is great. etc.

Honestly, it's a great pattern generator but some of the modulations are gimmicky and not particularly useful but cool here and there. The front panel real estate could have offered a lot more like bigger pads, a larger screen, x0x step buttons like the SP-16, etc and done without the whole speed and groove section or at least made those controls assignable to whatever you want. You can't externally modulate anything in the SQUID because the only data it responds to is clock, note on/off and velocity. The other data is passed thru but ignored. No CC control over parameters or recording incoming CCs for external gear, no remote program changes, etc.

[damase]

sequencer looks fun, been trying to find out though...
my concern though is the ability to have space in a pattern.
i like a nice simple pattern (using the groovy things squid can offer) but to repeat it only once every 256 steps or 512 ect...

i see the count feature, seems like it might help a little to add this on unpopulated steps. track resolution effectively forces your notes into a longer quantization im assuming but can be used to some extent with the arp and ratchet

is there anything im missing here? no pattern chaining?
just seems very limited if you like space in your sequence. for that matter it also seems difficult to have just a longer melodic pattern also

[dubonaire]

sequencer looks fun, been trying to find out though...
my concern though is the ability to have space in a pattern.
i like a nice simple pattern (using the groovy things squid can offer) but to repeat it only once every 256 steps or 512 ect...

i see the count feature, seems like it might help a little to add this on unpopulated steps. track resolution effectively forces your notes into a longer quantization im assuming but can be used to some extent with the arp and ratchet

is there anything im missing here? no pattern chaining?
just seems very limited if you like space in your sequence. for that matter it also seems difficult to have just a longer melodic pattern also

There is no pattern chaining, only 16 pattern sets.

[DiscoDevil]

So yeah... this thing has been out for 6 months now and is still lacking so much basic functionality, it's like Toraiz is trolling their customer base at this point.

[RhythmDroid]

Forgive me if this has been brought up yet, but has anybody mentioned the trick of slowing down a sequencer track to 1/2 speed, then setting up quantization to 32nd notes in order to get a sort of usable 8-bar pattern? Early tests seem to be promising!

[boxxgrooved]

I have been watching Pioneer stuff for a while because some of it interests me. One thing I cannot get over is that you cannot sync any music gear to Pioneer's Dj software Rekordbox using midi clock.

Given that you can simply grab any size of loop (from 16ths to as many bars as you like) and have them seamlessly playback in sync and lined up with the current beat makes for a production weapon with enormous potential when combined with drum machines and synths.

You can even retune the loops without changing their tempo in Rekordbox and make a sequence of loops, but alas no midi clock sync whatsoever. I imagine this is intentional so that their software doesnt compete with their SP-16 as a remix sampler. Other DJ software like NI's Traktor has midi clock sync.

[RhythmDroid]

So yeah... this thing has been out for 6 months now and is still lacking so much basic functionality, it's like Toraiz is trolling their customer base at this point.

I'm informed that they are currently working on the next firmware update.

[DiscoDevil]

So yeah... this thing has been out for 6 months now and is still lacking so much basic functionality, it's like Toraiz is trolling their customer base at this point.

I'm informed that they are currently working on the next firmware update.

Yes, this is what I've been told as well. Mine has been sitting unused now since July. At this point I guess I have stopped caring.

[Funky40]

So yeah... this thing has been out for 6 months now and is still lacking so much basic functionality, it's like Toraiz is trolling their customer base at this point.

has there been any changes ? whats the status ?
what are you Folks opinions today ?


i think i want to have a "jamm-sequenzer" for my modular ( not necessarily needing the CV outs here)
and i thought "now" the squid could be it.


but if it feels like a "baustelle" ? ( work in progress)

[Nelson Baboon]

I don't know why I ordered this damn thing. I did find myself tempted by some of the positive things said about the squid, and not caring about some of the negative comments.

I've been playing with it for just an hour or 2. I'm finding the verbiage in the text to be pretty difficult - kind of like it's gone through a couple of translators, but it sinks in after a bit. I've really just touched on the basics, but I have to say that the real time recording, using the fixed length mode, moving back and forth from step mode, etc, is great fun in itself.

On the one hand, I had actually thought that you could record in real time from an external keyboard. And I hadn't expected the step recording to be so cumbersome. But the forced workflow seems to have some play in it.

will obviously need to find modulation/help sequences to evolve, etc.

[dubonaire]

I also bought one to record sequences from. But I haven't used it very much at all.

[Nelson Baboon]

i can see that. I find myself compelled to use a cliche, which is tempered to some degree by not remembering what the cliche is.....

i'm finding that unlike the more powerful sequencers, this is OBVIOUSLY very limited, but it doesn't only force me to do cumbersome things. It channels some of that rage into spontaneity. the feel of it is unlike other sequencers that I've used.

I like having fun. I have a congenital disposition against it.

[dubonaire]

i can see that. I find myself compelled to use a cliche, which is tempered to some degree by not remembering what the cliche is.....

i'm finding that unlike the more powerful sequencers, this is OBVIOUSLY very limited, but it doesn't only force me to do cumbersome things. It channels some of that rage into spontaneity. the feel of it is unlike other sequencers that I've used.

I like having fun. I have a congenital disposition against it.

it is fun, but it is loopy fun, and I have enough trouble getting stuck in loops as it is.

[knifey]

So, anyone using one in 2021? I tried it at a store when it first came out and I really liked how easy it is to do things like step repeat, step skipping, and changing directions to make instant non-4/4 patterns, but I understand the original firmware on release was really wonky. Just checked their website and the latest firmware is still from July 2019 (v.1.12), which isn't promising.

[martino_]

Yep I bought one recently and am really digging it so far despite its limitations.

It does allow for MIDI recording in realtime from an external keyboard despite the post just above.

I'm just happy to have a sequencer at the centre of my hardware studio that has great timing and is very quick to start jamming out ideas on. Sick of dealing with Ableton.

That said, I will admit I've bought my Squid as a temporary bit of kit while my spot on the Cirklon queue inches forward at a glacial pace.

[Bath House]

I fully intend to grab one of these cheap / used / or on clearance and use it as a funky pattern generator for my Cirklon.

[Grandma's trousers]

Yep I bought one recently and am really digging it so far despite its limitations.

It does allow for MIDI recording in realtime from an external keyboard despite the post just above.

I'm just happy to have a sequencer at the centre of my hardware studio that has great timing and is very quick to start jamming out ideas on. Sick of dealing with Ableton.

That said, I will admit I've bought my Squid as a temporary bit of kit while my spot on the Cirklon queue inches forward at a glacial pace.

I just got a reply from the Cirklon waiting list. 18 months lol.