Hardware sequencers and MPE don't usually get mentioned in the same sentence — sequencers trigger notes, MPE controllers play them. Squarp Instruments' free Hapax 3.0 firmware update, released earlier this year, blurs that line by giving its $1,245 hardware sequencer dedicated MPE zones on every track, along with pads that now transmit three dimensions of expression at once. The result is less an incremental update and more a repositioning of the Hapax as something closer to a performance instrument than a step sequencer.
MPE Zones, Per Track
The headline addition in firmware 3.0 is per-track MPE zone assignment. Each of the Hapax's tracks can now be configured with its own MPE zone, choosing between the Lower Zone (channels 2–15, with channel 1 as master) or the Upper Zone (channels 15–1 inverted, with channel 16 as master). That means a single Hapax project can drive multiple MPE-aware instruments simultaneously, each receiving cleanly separated per-note expression data on its own zone, rather than fighting over a shared MIDI channel.
For anyone running a rig with more than one MPE synth — a software instrument in the DAW alongside a hardware synth like the Osmose or an MPE-capable Eurorack voice — this solves a routing problem that previously required careful manual channel management.
Every Pad Is Now a Three-Axis Controller
The other major shift is at the surface level. All 128 pads on the Hapax now transmit aftertouch (pressure), CC74 (timbre), and pitch bend simultaneously, with each note responding independently based on how it's pressed, slid, or bent. That's the same three-dimensional gesture vocabulary MPE controllers like the Seaboard or LinnStrument are built around, applied to a pad grid that was previously used almost exclusively for step input and pattern triggering.
Combined with the new per-track MPE zones, this means a Hapax user can now play expressive, per-note-modulated parts directly from the pads in real time, rather than using the sequencer purely as a programming tool for parts played on a separate controller.
Editing and Workflow Improvements
Firmware 3.0 also brings a set of editing refinements that complement the MPE additions: more precise note-length adjustment and transposition tools, a new mono editing mode, and the ability to save chord modifiers per track in Chord mode. A new Relatch mode improves how held notes behave during live retriggering, and the update adds SH-101-style step recording, adjustable auto-length for loops, and hard-quantization options for recording.
None of these are MPE-specific, but they matter for the same reason the MPE additions do — they're aimed squarely at performance workflows rather than studio-only sequencing, reinforcing the sense that Squarp is pushing the Hapax toward the stage.
Why It Matters
Most MPE conversations center on controllers and software instruments; sequencers have largely been treated as a separate category, useful for programming but not for expressive real-time performance. Hapax 3.0 argues that a sequencer with the right pad hardware and channel routing can do both — sequence a set, then let a performer reach in and shape individual notes with pressure and slide, all from the same box.
For Hapax owners, the update is free and available now from Squarp Instruments. For anyone shopping for a central hub to tie together multiple MPE synths without a computer in the signal path, it's a reminder that the MPE ecosystem's most useful new features aren't always coming from controller manufacturers.