#43

I picked this up, and after 3 extended jams with it, I’m really digging it. It’s really making me think about how I’m using my rack: “Could this be sampled?” It’s easy to use, but seems to reward digging into it. Additionally it’s very nice about loading sample data, in that it will just keep playing what it has until a sound has loaded and then it’s subsitutes seamlessly, ex: 808 snare plays until the 909 snare finishes loading and then it pops in on the next hit. The included sample sets are pretty solid, if you’re into the sounds.

Lot’s of things to try.

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#44

ALM posted a vid on the gram creating a short delay with the squid and I’m wondering if you have done (or intend to do) any live sampling - grabbing sounds and short loops from your system, etc

#45

I may experiment with that? That said, both the CV functionality, and live sampling are very cool features but with only 4 outputs, it’s tricky to make those uses work with others. If there were 8 outs, I’d probably get weirder with it. The looping thing certainly seems worth experimentation sometime.

#46

4 outs definitely asks us to make some choices - iirc the “delay” patch uses two channels (and the input)…personally i’m not sure how I’d fill up 8 channels but i’m sure i’d stumble into that wall soon enough.

basically all the demos are triggering cool samples (which is obviously cool and i have ages of samples to load up) - my interest would really be in real-time sampling which hasn’t been demo’d so much. i have questions!

#47

That’s fair. (The output circuit seems like it’s taken from Tangle Quartet, which makes sense in terms of their eco system.) As far as real time goes, to me the trick is having only one input, so you’d probably want it on a switch if you were wanting to grab multiple sources. It seems like it would require a fair amount of attention, even with the help it provides, so you’d want the rest of your system doing whatever it’s doing on pretty reliable autopilot? There are certainly a lot of interesting options for realtime sampling though!

#48

is definitely a big concern of mine - spending a lot of time with the dials and getting settings right instead of letting the squid be a glitchy resampling machine

#49

Well it seems like it could do that. I’d have to check if cue points are erased if you record over the same sample, but if not, you could probably get pretty wicked results by using a CV in to jump between the cues for your live sample? One thought anyway.

#50

one of many things that are floating in my head but definitely crossing into “hey dude are you using this thing exactly the way I would?” probably worth sending ALM an email…

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#51

Having an absolute blast with mine the past couple weeks. It makes salmpling very accessible. With the Record & Channel selection available by cv, I find it very quick to create a bank of related salmples from scratch. I’ve been using two pads of the Tetrapad to advance channel & start recording. I play some sparse patterns into each of the Channel gate inputs and start recording variations on a sound source. Having the pattern playing while recording is great as I get instant feedback on how well the new sample ‘fits’ with the rest of the kit. If it does, move on to making the next sound. If it doesn’t, it’s trivial to replace with a new one.

The modulation sources and destinations are limited, but very responsive. The modulation inputs work great with gate inputs as well, adding just enough slew on the rise/fall of the CV. Triggering at audio rate and changing params is a lot of fun.

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#52

how “real time” would you say sampling from your system is? do you feel you need to stop and manage Squid, or get into the menus to get a result you are looking for?

(posting as someone who is really interested in this module for live sampling from my system but also didn’t vibe with Pam’s)

#53

My impression is that with the right configuration, a system can definitely leverage real-time sampling. There are some variables around whether you want to hear, live, what is being sampled or whether you just want to be able to switch to it. Or put another way, how do you want to manage playback of what has been sampled versus the material being sampled? There isn’t one solution (modular!), so it just depends what you are hoping to accomplish. If you have more details about what you’re considering, it would be easier to theorize.

#54

i’m unsure what you mean by theorize. I was asking @yaw for anecdotal information - at it’s most basic, is this fun or is this programming (yes there is a big gray area there). I’m asking because I’m seeing very little reporting on a use case that isn’t “I record some hits and notes and play those back with Pams (etc).”

I’ve read the manual and am pretty sure the Squid will, more or less, provide me with real-time sampling different material to different channels, with channel selection and recording under CV control, and additional control over playback and treatment of those channels.

I want (and actually expect) loops that glitch and cut against each other and the sources from my system with a couple bonus free channels for percussion material bc if I can fill up 8 channels with this idea, bless me. I do not expect Squid to mirror my imagination, I expect to meet it halfway and enjoy making the adjustments required.

If I can use CV to modulate loop start/end points while the loop is looping I’m gleeful - but if I’m reading the manual right, this can be kinda accomplished with Cues written to the sample.

I’n sure I will need to spend some time setting this up, but I’m likely not affording a Squid until tax season so I’m chatting up this thread.

I’m happy to clarify but I’m also happy to read others thoughts on this module bc I don’t have a shop nearby anymore.

#55

You can probably accomplish what you’d want to with it, and I’d put it somewhere between fun and programming - with some degree of programing up front. There is room for Squid to surprise you, if you take the time to encourage it to do so with how you set it up via patching. It strikes me you can be a bit more reckless with your focus if you’re relying on sampling live more than sample loading, which does require your complete attention for a flash.

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#56

Agreed. In my limited experience, real-time is definitely possible. There is some nuance, especially with longer samples, ie if the sample in the destination slot is already playing when you trigger record it will truncate the playing sample. But the new recording is immediately available to the next trigger to that channel.

The only stop & edit feature I’ve experienced so far is editing cue sets on the device. It’s an area I need to explore some more. It’s a powerful feature - had some very eye opening moments modulating the cue sets with shipped sample bank, but it seems to need good marker placement on very small screen - maybe best for an editor offline. The only other menu-divey is the Pam’s style attenuation & offset. You can modulate start, end, and loop point.

I definitely think it can be both fun (live sampling) & for programming (setting up, creating, editing cue sets).

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#57

I haven’t played with cues much yet, and the manual is vague on this: If you record a new sample to a cued slot, will it retain it’s cues, or are the cue points cleared?

#58

The way I’ve been using cues is by preparing samples ahead of time. Ocenaudio is the editor mentioned in the Squid manual and I’ve been enjoying this workflow.

AFAIK you can’t record into a specific cue. A cue is a marker in a sample. Multiple markers become the start & end points of the cues.

@baleen You mentioned live sampling & adding cues in another thread. I haven’t had much luck with that yet, mind describing in more detail?

#59

i guess id ask what is tripping you up about this or how is it not working out?

i’ve been Salmpling for 2-3 weeks - i got a Squid almost exclusively for live sampling so once i got a basic handle on how it works I’ve been focusing on that. absolutely desirable results working loosely, generally very accommodating design and i’m definitely using it for off-label/non-video-demo’d techniques. i’m not building percussion kits or tempo synced rhythmic loops or songs but it is pretty apparent to me how you could build that kind of thing quickly.

i don’t think you can “punch in” using the current firmware to build out a sample into a larger cue set. ALM has pretty consistently been cracking our new features so ¯_(ツ)_/¯

also great support from Matthew at ALM after i found a bug.

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#60

Yeah, if you want a feature, it’s worth expressing your interest to them while they’re still working on it in earnest.

#61

cool, yeah I should just get stuck in & experiment more. There is a Split function for making cues on the sample length. I probably just need to sort out getting a nicely timed loop sampled.

But yeah, Matthew was very responsive in fixing something I found as well.

#62

yeah Cue/Split makes things really easy highly recommended

i’m also flexing hard with CV to loop start and end times

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