Stepmode defines how steps are filled. Hold STEP and turn the data knob

to select Stepmode from the following modes:

● NOTE (default)
● CHORD
● EUCLID
● EFFECTS
● CC MESSAGES

All stepmodes (except EUCLID) can be used together to create a track. For example, you can add chords with the CHORD stepmode, then edit these chords with the NOTE stepmode, create step-lock automation with CC MESSAGES and EFFECTS stepmodes, go back to NOTE stepmode to add extra notes...

EUCLID stepmode can't be used with NOTE or CHORD stepmodes because the euclidean algorithm takes exclusive control of the track player.

This mode allows you to program notes by filling steps.

Press a step

to fill it with the current note.

Press the step

again to remove the note. You can add multiple notes on a single step. The pad corresponding to the step filled with the current note will be softly backlit.

 Tip  Hold  2ND  and rotate

to scroll the current note list faster.

 Tip  Preview the current note by pressing

. You can also press a key

while holding

to directly enter a desired note, or press multiple keys to enter a chord (also, pressing  <  or  >  while pressing

allows you to jump octaves and navigate notes more quickly).

At any time, you can zoom to increase the step resolution and navigate the pages with  <  and  > .

Switch to MONO/POLY EDITING by pressing

POLY EDITING is enabled by default. Poly mode is useful when editing tracks controlling polyphonic instruments. This mode allows you to add multiple notes to a single step. In POLY EDITING mode, pads will be softly backlit only if they are filled with the current note, displayed on the screen. When copying steps,  copy  will only copy the current notes. The same behavior is true for  paste , transpose, move horizontally, and for velocity, width, offset quick edits.

To switch to MONO EDITING, press

(rec led will lit). It’s useful to edit tracks controlling monophonic instruments, like a classic step sequencer. Whatever the current note is, steps softly backlit if they are filled. You can’t add multiple notes on a single step: all notes of the track are stacked. If you  copy  some steps, the copy will be effective for all the notes in selection. Same behavior for  paste , transpose, move horizontally, and for velocity, width, offset quick edits.

 Tip  Switch to MONO EDITING to have a global view of which of the 16 steps are filled with notes. If you press a filled step, it will remove all notes in this step, whatever the current note is.

 Tip  A long press on a step (if MONO EDITING enable) auto-select the nearest note of the step. For example if a step contains a C2 and a C3 note, and if the current note of the piano roll is C4, a long press will select the note C3. Very handy to quickly view or edit a note in a step.

When you add a note on a step, the step is filled with its 3 current parameters: velocity, note width and offset. Default velocity is 100, default note width is 1 step and default offset is 0%.

This means that by default notes will fill a step from its start to its end. Note duration depends on zoom and time signature. If zoom = x1 (100%) and note width = 1, an added note will be a quarter note (because the 16 steps represent 16 quarter notes). If zoom = x4 (400%) and note width = 1, the added note will be an sixteenth note (because the 16 steps now represent 16 sixteenth notes). You can play with the zoom shortcut to edit your track with a high degree of resolution!

● SET NOTE VELOCITY

To change the default note velocity, hold velocity and rotate

(from 0 to 127):

 Tip  Double tap a step pad

to add a low velocity note in order to create accents quickly.

● SET NOTE WIDTH

By default notes are played the entire width of a step. To change the default note width, hold width and rotate

(from 1/32 of a step to 16 steps):

 Tip  Using a note width longer than 1 step is an easy way to create slides on monophonic instruments.

● SET NOTE OFFSET

Each note starts at the beginning of a step. To change the default offset, hold offset and rotate

(from 0% to 99% of a step):

When you hold a step (or when you hold two steps to select a row of steps), the screen displays the note parameters of the selection:

Note velocities ranges from 60 to 120, note width ranges from 1 step to 4 steps, note offsets ranges from 0% to 45%.

Now you can quickly edit selected note parameters:

● Rotate encoder  1  to transpose notes
● Rotate encoder  2  to transpose notes, by octaves
● Rotate encoder  3  to increase/decrease velocity
● Rotate encoder  4  to increase/decrease note width
● Rotate encoder  5  to increase/decrease note offset
● Press  <  or  >  to move horizontally the selection

 Tip  In POLY EDITING mode, you will edit only the current note of the selection. In MONO EDITING mode, you will edit all notes of the selection.

 Tip  Hold

to select the entire track, instead of pressing the first and the last step. For example, hold

and rotate  1  to transpose all notes.

Use your external keyboard to set the current note, or even a chord!

A step can be filled with a note received on the MIDI input, (for example C3♯). You can also perform a chord with your external keyboard (for example C2+2) instead of a note. So you can fill your step sequence with custom chords:

 Tip  You can also press a keypad

while holding

to directly select the note. Select multiple notes to quickly create a custom chord. Pressing  <  or  >  while holding

allows you to jump octaves.

Press  2ND  + a step

to mute/unmute notes in this step. It's a great way to play with your notes.

In POLY EDITING mode, you will mute only the selected note of the step. In MONO EDITING mode, you will mute all notes of the step.

Muted steps are softly highlighted.

Press DISP to view the piano roll sequencer:

An example of a track, programmed with notes of different lengths. You are viewing the page 1 (of 1 page). The current note is C4, the current velocity is 127, the current note length is 4 steps and the current offset is 0%. If you press a step to add a note, the note will be added with these parameters.

It's a great way to see the notes you are editing, for example:

● In POLY EDITING, hold

and rotate

to transpose the current notes of the track (e.g. all C4 notes).

● In POLY EDITING, hold a step

and rotate

to transpose the current note of the step.

● In MONO EDITING, hold

and rotate

to transpose all notes of the track.


● In MONO EDITING, hold a step

and rotate

to transpose all notes of the step.

 Tip  Press STEP to go to the nearest note. Press STEP again to go to the next nearest note.

This mode is similar to the Note Stepmode except the steps are filled with chords.

 Tip  Hold  2ND  and rotate

to change the chord tonality.

Press a step

to fill it with a chord. A step filled with a chord is semi-highlighted.

 Tip  Preview to the selected chord by pressing

.

You can add one chord per step. If you add a chord to a step that has already been filled, the previous chord will be replaced with the new one.

There are 7 chord degrees across the 10 octaves:
I  II  III  IV  V  VI  VII
These are the same chords you will find on the Live Mode’s chord smartpads (chord degree I is smartpad 1, chord degree III is smartpad 3, etc.)

The chord tonality (by default CMAJ) and the chord complexity (by default 3) can be set in the Live Mode using the chord smartpads.

Note: Read the Live Mode section for further details about chord generation.

Press DISP to view the piano roll sequencer:

An example of a track, programmed with chords of different lengths. You are viewing the page 1 of 1 page. The selected chord is III3, the current velocity is 100, the current note length is 1 steps and the current offset is 0%.

The Euclidean sequencer provides one of the most intuitive ways to create uncommon and rich rhythmic patterns

Originally derived from nuclear physics, and then applied to music theory, an Euclidean algorithm evenly generates distributed notes (fills) among a defined number of available slots (steps).

This leads to a great number of well-known rhythm patterns, as well as many odd-sounding ones. Almost all traditional rhythms from across the world can be generated with this tool, which is why we decided to implement on the Pyramid.

The EUCLID stepmode takes exclusive control of the track player. You can’t use it together with NOTE and CHORD stepmodes. When you change stepmodes, EUCLID is activated at the STEP pad release, and NOTE + CHORD stepmodes are disabled. As soon as you switch to NOTE, CHORD, CC MESSAGES or EFFECTS stepmodes, EUCLID is disabled again.

Hold euclid step and rotate to select the number of notes in your pattern. Hold euclid fills and rotate

to select the number of steps in your pattern.

Press  2ND + <  or  2ND + >  to rotate the pattern. Turn to change the triggered note (for example C3♯) and use note width to change the gate.

By default, there are 16 euclid steps (1 bar) and 4 euclid fills.

Turn

to change the triggered note (for example C3♯) and use note width to change the gate.

Press DISP to view the Euclidean circle:

 Tip  Steps that are filled with notes are displayed on the pads. You can press a step

to add or remove steps and thus create your own pattern.

You can create multiple euclidean tracks to generate complex rhythmic patterns. Each pattern will be 1 bar or shorter in length, but if each bar is a different length, they will shift against each other creating a constantly changing loop.

 Tip  Decrease the time signature lower number to multiply the euclidean pattern length (only if SETTINGS > MISC > SIGNATURE = POLYRHYTHMS). By default the time signature of a euclidean track is 4/16 (1 bar long) but you can set a 4/8 time signature (2 bars long), a 4/4 time signature (4 bars long)...

Use your external keyboard to set a note, or even a chord, from any mode!

The euclidean note can be filled with a note received on the MIDI input, (for example C3♯). You can also perform a chord with your external keyboard (for example C2+2) instead of a note. So you can create an euclidean pattern with custom chords.

 Tip  You can also press a keypad

while holding

to directly select the note. Select multiple notes to quickly create a custom chord. Pressing  <  or  >  while holding

allows you to jump octaves.

This stepmode allows you to create CC automation.

Using

select a CC message (0 to 119), PITCH BEND, PRESSURE or PROGRAM CHANGE message you want to automate. Hold  2ND  and rotate

to scroll the CC list faster:

PITCH BEND message is selected, the current value is 63

Now you can fill steps with the selected CC message. Hold velocity and rotate

(or hold velocity and slide the touchpad

from left to right) to select a CC value, from 0 to 127:

PITCH BEND automation is selected, the current value is 127 (if you press a step, a pitch=127 message will be added)

Continue to hold velocity while activating step pads

to create steps with different CC values.

At any moment, press DISP to display the automation:

A 16-step automation of the PITCH BEND message. The dotted line represent the current CC value.

 Tip  Press ASSIGN to activate ENCODER STEP EDIT. This allows you to select the current CC value directly with the touchpad X axis

or with the encoder  3 .

This stepmode can also be used to display and edit automation recorded in live mode, for example CC10 value performed with the touchpad:

A live recorded automation of the CC10 (PAN) message.

As in other stepmodes, you can zoom to increase the step resolution and navigate the automation pages with  <  and  >  :

A live recorded automation of the CC10 (PAN), zoomed.

You can create an infinite number of automation on the same track, rotate

to select another CC message and program another automation!

 Tip  Press the menu encoder to "preview" the current (dotted line) CC value.

 Tip  Press STEP to go to the nearest CC automation. Press STEP again to go to the next nearest CC automation.

Hold

while sliding the touchpad to draw a CC automation. Very useful for experimenting with complex automation!

Each new automation drawn will delete the last automation.

Hold a step

and rotate the encoder  3  to increase or decrease the step’s automation. Very useful for quickly creating step-lock automation.

You can also increase or decrease a row of steps

, by pressing the first and last step, and rotating the encoder  3 .

 Tip  Hold

and rotate  3  to equally increase or decrease all the values of an existing CC automation.

This stepmode allows you to create FX parameters automation. First, you need to add at least one effect with the FX manager on the current track, for example an arpeggiator.

In EFFECTS stepmode, select the effect parameter you want to automate by rotating

:

ARPEGGIATOR effect: RATE parameter is selected, the current parameter value is 1/4

Now you can fill steps with FX parameters. To choose the parameter value, hold velocity and rotate

(or hold velocity and slide the touchpad

from left to right):

ARPEGGIATOR effect : RATE parameter is selected, the current parameter value is 1/32 (if you press a step, a rate=1/32 message will be added)

Fill some steps with different parameters values. Press DISP to display the automation:

A 16-step automation of the ARPEGGIATOR effect : RATE parameter

 Tip  Press ASSIGN to activate ENCODER STEP EDIT. Then you can select the current FX value directly with the touchpad X axis

or with the encoder  3 .

As in other stepmodes, you can zoom to increase the step resolution and navigate the automation pages with  <  and  >  to create a complex automation:

A 64-step automation of the QUANTIZER effect : GRID parameter

This stepmode can also be used to display and edit automation recorded in live mode, for example a swing automation performed with an encoder:

You can create an infinite number of automation on the same track. Rotate

to select another effect parameter and program another automation!

Hold

while moving your finger across the touchpad to draw FX automation. Very useful for experimenting with complex automation!

Newly drawn automation replaces all prior automation on that track.

Hold a step

and rotate  3  to increase or decrease that step’s automation value. Very useful for quickly creating step-lock automation.

You can also edit FX parameters on a sequential range of steps

. Select a range of steps by holding the first and last step and rotate  3  .

 Tip  Hold

and rotate  3  to increase or decrease the whole existing FX automation.

Zooming in changes the track resolution (step length) and allows you to rotate your track with increasing precision.

Note: this feature can use a lot of processing resources and memory.

Press  2ND  +  copy  + any step

to copy all events contained in a step.

You can copy multiple steps by pressing  2ND  +  copy  + the first and the last steps

of your selection.

Then you can paste notes and automation in the current track or in another track. Press  2ND  +  paste  + the step

. You can also simply press  2ND  +  paste  to start the paste from the first step.

Note: copy/paste is not available in EUCLID stepmode.

Note: delete is not available in EUCLID stepmode.

At startup, the 5 encoders

can be used to assign a CC or FX parameter, in every mode. But they can do more. In STEP mode, you can decide to assign directly the 5 encoders and the touchpad to step shortcuts.

Simply press ASSIGN to enable the "encoder step edit" feature:

It's a great way to edit your notes and automation, you no longer have to rotate

while pressing a green shortcut.

In stepmode NOTE, encoders & touchpad will control:
 1   note
 2  note octave
 3  note velocity
 4  note width
 5  note offset
 touchpad X  note velocity

In stepmode CHORD, encoders & touchpad will control:
 1   chord degree
 2  chord tonality
 3  chord velocity
 4  chord width
 5  chord offset
 touchpad X  chord velocity

In stepmode EUCLID, encoders & touchpad will control:
 1   euclid steps
 2  euclid fills
 3  euclid velocity
 4  euclid gate length
 5  rotate
 touchpad X  euclid velocity

In stepmode CC, encoders & touchpad will control:
 3  CC value
 touchpad X  CC value

In stepmode EFFECTS, encoders & touchpad will control:
 3  FX value
 touchpad X  FX value

 Tip  In LIVE mode, you can also use the touchpad to set the velocity of the keyboard and the smartpads.

Press ASSIGN again to disable these shortcuts.

In stepmode NOTE and stepmode CC MESSAGES, press  2ND  + STEP to activate the filter, in order to scroll only through programmed notes or CC messages. A popup is displayed for a few time:

For example, in NOTE stepmode, rotating

will jump to the next programmed note (e.g. D4), useful if use a wide range of notes. In CC MESSAGES stepmode, rotating

will jump to the next CC automation (e.g. Program Change).

When the filter is activated, a circle pictogram is displayed next to the stepmode name:

Press  2ND  + STEP to exit the filter mode.

 Tip  Without activating the filter mode, you can also jump to the next note by simply pressing STEP.

The viewed page (viewed bars on the 16 pads) can auto-follow the player position if you press  2ND  +  DISP. Useful if you are working on multiple pages.