Status, October 2026: current. Pioneer DJ still lists it, though Thomann no longer stocks it.
What it is
The TORAIZ SQUID is a 16-track hardware sequencer from Pioneer DJ, announced on 24 April 2019 as the third product in its TORAIZ production range after the SP-16 sampler and the AS-1 synthesizer (Pioneer DJ product page). Its name stands for SeQUencer Inspirational Device. It makes no sound of its own: it plays and syncs other instruments, from a DAW and hardware synths to modular systems and vintage drum machines.
Each project holds 16 tracks, each track up to 64 patterns, and each pattern up to 64 steps with up to eight notes per step; the unit stores 128 projects. Notes are entered or played on 16 velocity-sensitive, multicoloured pads, with two small screens above them. Alongside the usual scale, chord, arpeggiator and randomise functions, the left side of the panel changes how a pattern plays back: 48 playback directions, speed modulation with six wave shapes, and Groove Bend, a spring-loaded slider that pushes or drags the timing by up to a step. Time Warp keeps a rolling buffer of what was played, so a part can be saved after the fact.
Round the back are a USB-B port, MIDI In, Out 1 and Thru/Out 2, two CV and two gate outputs, clock in and out, and two DIN Sync ports. There is no Pro DJ Link port, so it syncs with Pioneer DJ players over MIDI. The free SQUID Manager app for Mac and Windows backs up projects and moves patterns and MIDI clips to and from a computer. It measures 374.8 x 223.9 x 72.1 mm and weighs 1.9 kg, and the box holds the unit, a power cord, an AC adapter and the quick start guide.