A powerhouse standalone sequencer designed to be the centrepiece of your studio or live setup. Greg Scarth finds out what makes the Hapax special.
The Squarp Hapax is the third sequencer offering from this young Parisian brand, following on from the Pyramid and the Hermod. It’s a much more advanced proposition than the previous two, representing what Squarp describe as a professional option, designed to be the centrepiece of your music-making (and performing) process. The Hapax is strictly a sequencer, not a workstation; there’s no audio functionality, just the ability to control hardware and software synths, drum machines and samplers. There’s no doubt that it needs to be something special to justify its hefty price tag, but Squarp might just have pulled it off.
Although the Hapax has superficial similarities to controllers like the Ableton Push, the Hapax is entirely standalone and not tied to any particular software or reliant on a DAW. In fact, it’s probably fair to assume that it will appeal mostly to producers and performers who want to step away from DAWs and treat the Hapax as the main focus of their creative process. The unit itself is beautifully made, relatively lightweight thanks to a plastic enclosure but solid and durable. The main focal points are the bank of 128 RGB pads and the dual OLED displays above them. Around the back of the unit, four MIDI ports and ten CV/gate connections hint at the Hapax’s versatility for controlling any instrument.
In terms of the broader concept, the Hapax is a versatile sequencer which draws on modern approaches like Ableton Live’s Session View and clip launching methods, while also incorporating classic step sequencing approaches and real-time recording. The most unusual aspect of the Hapax is that it can load and play two projects simultaneously, but within each of those projects, it’s an intuitive setup of 16 tracks per project, 8 MIDI effects and up to 8 patterns per track. Tracks can be set to Poly(phonic), MPE or Drum type, but within those three modes you can also use monophonic instruments and set up automation lanes which can be routed to MIDI channels or CV outputs. Within each chosen track type, four modes are available: Live for playing instruments, Step for step sequencing, Autom for editing automation, and Pattern for triggering patterns.
Programming or recording into the Hapax can be achieved in a few different ways, either by step sequencing, real-time recording using the pad matrix as an isomorphic keyboard, or via an external MIDI controller. Hooking up a conventional keyboard via the MIDI or USB input feels like a good way to get the best of both worlds, particularly using an MPE-compatible keyboard such as the McMillen QuNexus, taking advantage of the Hapax’s MPE capabilities. Whichever route you choose, the workflow of the Hapax is exceptional, making it easy to edit and tweak patterns once you’ve programmed or recorded them, copying them to new pattern slots for example, or extending the length of a pattern to add variations. It’s worth noting that the Hapax also has a USB port to connect to a computer, allowing you to use it alongside a DAW. Standalone operation seems like the more pure approach to the Hapax, but the option to straddle the hardware and software realms will have obvious appeal to anyone who wants to use soft synths, for example, or play back audio from a DAW alongside real-time hardware synths and drum machines.
The Hapax has a lot of neat tricks up its sleeve, not least of which the extensive options to manipulate patterns in real time. There are Elektron-style probability and parameter-lock features in the sequencer, with the option to introduce probability and the like, but the real depth comes in the MIDI effects available on all tracks. These range from a conventional arpeggiator through to randomisers, scale quantisation and Euclidean rhythm effects, all of which operate non-destructively, in real time, on patterns or incoming MIDI data. Algorithmic pattern generation is also possible, creating melodies or drum patterns based on defined parameters.
For live performance, the dual project concept means that you can play two projects at once and take advantage of ‘transparent’ loading and playback to mix one song into another. It’s not hard to imagine how effective that might be in a live context. The elasticity feature, meanwhile, allows you to adjust the playback speed of individual tracks independently of each other. Setting tracks to 50% or 200% playback speed creates interesting half- or double-time effects, but you can also get more weird and wonderful with uneven, mismatches playback speeds on things like automation tracks. All in all, it’s a brilliantly creative approach with an intuitive, smooth workflow.
The Hapax is by no means a cheap option. At north of £1,100, we’re well into the territory of serious sequencing options here, but the Hapax justifies its price tag with its comprehensive approach to creating, refining and performing music. The Hapax will appeal to a certain type of producer and performer who wants a comprehensive, seamless approach to performing based on a single unit. The real strength of the Hapax seems to be in treating it as a creative tool in the studio, then transferring those ideas directly to the stage for live performance, taking advantage of the ability to blend smoothly from one project to another. The cheaper OXI One puts up a decent challenge, but the Hapax’s unique dual project approach gives it the edge.
Greg Scarth
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