Squarp Core: a 6 HP module that drives up to 64 CV outputs
Squarp launches Core, a 6 HP MIDI-to-CV brain with no jacks at all that drives one or two xp32 expanders and runs 14 generative engines. €190 ex VAT.
Squarp Instruments, the Paris-area maker of the Hapax sequencer and the Hermod+ module, unveiled Core on October 5: a 6 HP Eurorack module that converts MIDI into control voltages and generates its own. The twist is deliberate: Core has no jacks at all. Its outputs are those of one or two xp32 expanders, for up to 64 assignable outputs. Squarp’s press release sums it up in one line: Core is the brain, the xp32 is the body.
Who it is for
Core is aimed at musicians who already own a modular system and want to play it from outside: a keyboard, a DAW, a hardware sequencer. MIDI is turned into CV (control voltage, which sets a pitch or a parameter) and Gate (a pulse that triggers and holds a note). All four MIDI ports, USB Device, USB Host, TRS In and TRS Out, merge at once, so a DAW, a sequencer and a keyboard can play the same rack simultaneously.
Three kinds of user stand to benefit:
- Hapax owners: that is where the project started, according to Squarp, which wanted to reach an xp32 from its sequencer without putting a 26 HP Hermod+ in between.
- xp32 owners, whose expander could until now only be driven by Hermod+: they get a second, independent brain.
- Anyone who wants a large pool of modulation: with one xp32, Core becomes 32 lanes of MIDI automation turned into CV, or a state memory for the whole rack thanks to fixed voltages recalled per preset.
If Eurorack is new to you, our System Building section covers cases, power and HP width.
What it costs
Squarp quotes prices excluding VAT, and sells only through its own web store for now; authorized retailers are due to follow “this year”.
| Configuration | Announced price (ex VAT) | Outputs | Width |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core alone | €190 | none without xp32 | 6 HP |
| xp32 alone | €490 | 32 | 14 HP |
| Core + xp32 | €590 | 32 | 20 HP |
| Core + 2 × xp32 | €990 | 64 | 34 HP |
Squarp has not published a US dollar price. The key point: Core does not output a single volt without an xp32, so the real entry cost is the bundle.
What Core does
Fourteen engines per output
Every output on every xp32 is assigned one of Core’s fourteen engines: Pitch (notes in V/Oct or Hz/V), Gate, Velocity, Aftertouch, CC (any controller from 0 to 119, with slew), Clock, Sync, LFO, AHDSR, Slope, DC (a held voltage), Motif, Euclid and Logic. Three of them matter most for sound design:
- Motif folds Euclidean rhythm, arpeggiation and persistent step mutation into melodic loops that drift as they repeat.
- Euclid generates Euclidean rhythms (pulses spread as evenly as possible over a cycle) with probability and rotation.
- Logic runs twenty operations between any two outputs, across tracks.
AHDSR envelopes (attack, hold, decay, sustain, release) can loop, scale with velocity and invert for ducking. The engines run on the internal clock, from 1 to 360 BPM, so Core keeps the rack busy with no MIDI connected. Squarp is clear on one point though: Core is not a sequencer. No tracks, no patterns, nothing recorded. It routes, converts, generates and remembers.
Polyphony and drum triggers
Tracks that share a MIDI input form a voice pool with cycling, deterministic or random allocation, so a keyboard can play chords across several voices in the rack. For drums, TRIG NOTE routes specific MIDI notes to separate modules, with up to twelve triggers and four velocities across four tracks.
Specifications
| Item | Squarp Core |
|---|---|
| Format | Eurorack 3U, 6 HP, 25 mm deep (ribbon cables connected), 60 g |
| Outputs | Through 1 or 2 xp32: 32 outputs each (8 tracks × 4 outputs), one dedicated 16-bit DAC per output |
| Voltage range | −10 V to +10 V, configurable; V/Oct and Hz/V; custom scale quantization |
| MIDI | USB Device, USB Host, TRS In, TRS Out; sync or MIDI forwarding per port |
| Clock | Internal 1 to 360 BPM, external MIDI sync, 384 PPQN resolution, latency compensation from −128 to +127 ms per track |
| Memory | 8 global presets, Program Change recall, 32 MIDI CC mappings per preset |
| Power (without xp32) | −12 V: 5 mA; +12 V: 5 mA; +5 V: 150 mA (plus up to 500 mA if a USB device is powered by Core) |
| Operating system | coreOS 1.0, updated from a USB flash drive |
The +5 V draw is worth checking before you buy: a case power supply with a weak +5 V rail will run out quickly if a USB keyboard takes its power from Core. The xp32 adds 70 mA on −12 V, 80 mA on +12 V and 20 mA on +5 V.
What it competes with
- Squarp Hermod+: the in-house 26 HP module is a true 8-track sequencer with its own CV/Gate outputs, and it drives the xp32 too. Wider and pricier than Core, but self-contained. View at Thomann
- Expert Sleepers FH-2: a USB MIDI-to-CV interface with a built-in USB host, expandable through expanders. It has its own outputs, whereas Core depends entirely on the xp32.
- Polyend Poly 2: a polyphonic MIDI-to-CV converter designed to play chords across several voices. It offers no generative engines comparable to Motif or Euclid.
Core stands out for its density (64 outputs in 34 HP all told) and for engines that run without any MIDI source. Its limit is the total dependence on the xp32: for anyone who does not already own one, the entry ticket is €590 ex VAT.
The official walkthrough
Squarp’s video shows engines being assigned to outputs and polyphonic playing from a keyboard.
Source: Squarp Core product page and press release dated October 5, 2026.