I’m a big fan of my Elektron devices, and yet the rhythm has earned a place in my studio. The thing I like most about it is the portability; with an external recorder I can take it with me pretty much anywhere which I find really inspiring. In a coffee shop, on a plane or at the park this thing is such a beautiful piece of inspiring hardware
@@Bonn5656 if a phone works for you then go for it. No one cares where you make your music. Just what it sounds like. And yes, I like the scene editor on the rhythm. I take the stubs out and do my final arrangements in Ableton.
@@Bonn5656 that’s pretty much a 30% drop off msrp. I paid 550CAD new so that sounds about right :). My Rhythm gets much more use than my Circuit Tracks too.
You could always do an old school technique and speed the sample up twice as fast before you record it in, to double your sample time. To get it back to normal, just pitch it down after it's sampled in 😂😂😂 works.
Just got mine yesterday, I'm now in the learning mode and incredibly thankful for your videos - clear, concise, this has me figuring it out pretty quick. It is indeed limited, but that's exactly what I wanted. I wanted a sampler to load up samples of classic drum machines into and sample my own synth playing into to get a little creative and groovy. This has exactly the right feature set to do just that, with enough features to keep me interested but not so much that it becomes overwhelming with features I'll never use. I see this becoming a rather nice addition to the setup!
I've been pestering Novation for a Circuit Pro for a while. It would be nice if they did a version that merges these, has 4 MIDI tracks and separate outputs it would be a game changer. I would pay a lot of money for that, particularly if they ditched the Nova engine for the Oxford oscillators.
@@squoblat give it some time, they have *plenty* to work with now that Focusrite has acquired Dave Smith Instruments (the filters on future projects will be nothing to f… with)
@@basswerkrec no it's mono but I have tons of other gear that can do stereo if I want. The key to rhythm is the immediacy and if you know what you're doing can make great stuff
@@RonCavagnaro sure, but its just another one where I go: Damn , its close, why did they leave out this? And its not communicated in an honest way, since there are stereo ins and I hardly find that additional information. Its like with the launchpad mini which cant play lower than C1. Im still wondering if only the tracks are mono or if also the recorded sample is mono
I got really excited about the Rhythm - I am learning all of this as I go, but two things are notable. Many reviewers have been impressed with how effective the Rhythm is for live performance. I also feel like Novation designed the feature set in a way that encourages people to get both. I am now considering the Roland MV-1 because I want polyphony, a mic preamp, and higher quality sample handling.
precisely. novation has created a market sector for itself, disposable music gear. these are priced correctly so that when a new version comes out with a couple new features, fans will go save a little money and upgrade. plenty of og circuits collecting dust after this new one came out. people buy mpcs once maybe twice in their life times.
@Ya boi There's nothing wrong with mine. Actually the build quality of the Tracks is an improvement on the original. The OG circuit had a design flaw where the macro knobs were vulnerable to popping out.
220 seconds is almost four minutes. That's 128 almost-2 second oneshots per pack. Suits me. Most drum sounds wont even be 1 second long so that leaves plenty sample time for loops to slice. My only criticism of this box so far is that it relies on the proprietary "packs" format and the proprietary Components webware. Ideally I'd like something where you could just create a folder on an SD micro and fill it with WAVs.
Still another device that can't handle long stereosamples. We have dozents of samplers that can handle small one shots but not really one that is good with long samples (sp404 maybe but that has huge other flaws). So when I wanna play a 2 hour set with over 20 minutes of sample length, I still can't.
@@aubergine777666 the One, Live and X have 2GB of ram. Not sure what you mean by your live set not fitting but that's probably something you could work around.
I can NEVER sit through a complete review in one sitting. So dense with detail and so much info at once. I need a few trips to the video to get the whole thing. It's like being in grad school. You learn a lot but goodness.....gotta take it in chunks. LOL Great work as usual. Thank you.
Great review! I've been pretty dismissive of these devices but now I'm thinking the Rhythm might actually be useful for me. It would be nice to have a sampler/groove system like this for quick and dirty music production all in one system. The learning curve doesn't look too bad.
Being all software based one would think that features like scales and note repeat would be standard issue. Not mutually exclusive from the same device family.
Yeah the scales thing is too bad but it's clearly because they want the machines to be mutually exclusive. It's probably why it's not polyphonic also. The lack of time stretching is a real drag for a sampler these days though
Great videos as always! I got my rhythm today and am very impressed with it especially for the price!! These videos really help you to make a decision which is great!! Thanks
I went back to my og Circuit. Ended up despising how you chain patterns on Tracks. Love novation, but they traded in the fast workflow that made the og Circuit special for a needlessly complex way to pattern chain.
The OG isn't that far behind the Tracks in many ways, and still ahead in others. Having to connect to a computer to do anything with samples on Tracks is the thing that put me off the original. The Rhythm has some great features (the sample split looks super useful), and then shits on it's shine by being mono samples only and not having polyphonic midi out. They've had a long time to work on these and they've just half-assed everything.
once again, such an amazingly in depth and well explained video. thank you for this, the RHYTHM looks a lot more personally appealing compared to the TRACKS. 🥞
Unfortunately this seems like a bit of an industry standard... there's not that many companies off the top of my head where you can't think of a feature that is lacking on one device for no reason only to magically appear on another. Either there's twins like this, or a feature on a higher-end model is withheld from a lower-end model without clear hardware reasons..
I think the Deluge proves your point more eloquently than anything else. It's an example of what can be done within a reasonably affordable budget, with no artificial limitations. It's also what you can do when you're not mired in a bloated product range. Come to think of it, TE managed to tie one hand behind their back with practically only the one product, when they put together the OP-Z. The one, singular, exclusive reason I bought it is that it fits in a pocket. The Deluge already belies the OP-Z's technical limitations.
Super helpful and professionally created on all levels: video, audio, titles etc. And great tunes that also demonstrate how pieces move through time. I'll look but I don't think you have demo of Components. All this is great as long as it can be saved and retrieved later.
SP404 IIRC streams samples from the SD card, which is nice (pretty much infinite sample capacity). I imagine the workflow for the Circuit might be more straightforward though and this has more pads. And the ability to map effects presets to pads seems handy. Could be fun performing with both at the same time.
Legit why i ordered one. But i heard if you sample 32 seconds of vinyl for chopping, it takes like 50 seconds to save the sample 🤦🏻♂️ load timesll be the worst part. But this might be the new king. We'll see when i get it tomorrow 😁
And in their marketing for this thing, they're like "perform with beat repeat and vinyl simulation" so you know they had their eye on the SP community haha
So now they can combine the two into a new Circuit "pro" or "workstation" that can directly sample, slice, assign tracks individually between sample, midi or the two synths. Has multi-sampling and maybe a low resolution screen to show digits/naming/tempo/swing/etc.
Novation, please start rolling out updates for the Rhythm. I bought this under the assumption it will get better but the current limitations in the realms of quantization & pack size are hard for me and Im coming from the floppy disk eating MPC2000 classic. I love my device but there are so many times I find myself saying "y U no MPC style" when Im trying to add some swing and placement to my drums. The micro step system is whack
I had a Circuit Tracks and absolutely loved it, but as my need for portability increased, the two Synth & two Midi channel setup became basically a two Synths channel setup, and that was too limiting to keep it. Now i am looking at sampler-y-grooveboxes around that pricepoint, to get my "make fun little loops/beats/tracks anywhere" fix. So... I wonder how the Circuit Rhythm stacks up against the Teenage Engineering EP-133 K.O. II The latter does have a microphone and stereo-samples, but i don't know how important those are to me yet, compared to the awesome button grid to just vibe and throw stuff together i learned to love on the Tracks. Perhaps the way to go is to get the TE EP-133 and a Novation Launchpad to complement it 🤔
Video idea - can you please try to create the same track using different sequencers or gear, and explain which one is easier to use. It can be sample based only, or synth based.
Totally. At least I won't have the same problem as on the original circuit where I progressively replaced the demos with my own sessions until I set the machine aside for a while and now there's one where I honestly don't know if I did it or it was a preset session.
There’s always a new better more complicated device - thing is there’s so much more to discover on circuit. Think once we’ve fully got all we can and utterly understand it and used it’s potential then it time to move on.
the workflow of this two is superb but it is easy to scroll down all the song projects that you have if your using it on a live gig performance for playback music 😊
I thought this was going to be a 404 killer, but only mono seems weird. Dunno just seems pretty unimpressive, maybe I just need to see someone do something crazy on it. The sequencer is going to be a million times better then the 404. Shame no midi tracks cause they could be great together.
@@nabd242 Better off getting Circuit Tracks and dedicating one of the MIDI channels to sequencing the 404. At least then you also get a pretty decent synth engine. Really, if you've got a 404, you have all the sampler you'll ever need, just buy something that can sequence it and you're all set. Unless you REALLY need choke groups.
The Tracks was marketed completely wrong. Maybe the Rhythm is a good groovebox/sampler. But the Tracks is like a really good KeyStep/BeatStep/LaunchPad. There are tons of reviews of the Tracks, but I never saw any showing it sequencing external gear. And that's the best thing about it. It's the only thing that makes it special. What else can sequence two external devices, mix/pan them, add reverb/delay, and sidechain them? The TR-8S can do the ducking, but it's not a great synth sequencer. I think the Digitakt can only sidechain the whole master channel. And the webapp is ridiculously good. You can drag/drop samples/patches, you get a surprisingly good console to configure the synth engines, and you can load MIDI templates. And they already have tons of templates for external synths. It sure seems like it was designed primarily for sequencing external synths. Look at the connectivity. It's really small, but they managed to fit three MIDI ports, sync, an SD card slot and four full-size 1/4" phono jacks. They should've called it the Circuit SL, or LaunchCircuit or something LOL. I mean it's a pretty boring groovebox. If I wanted a groovebox, I'd rather play with an SP-404 or Electribe or a Model: Cycles, or a tracker.
Great review. Due to my limited intellect I didn't grasp if the scenes really amounted to a song mode where you would not have to touch the machine for it to replay say five minutes of programmed music. On the original circuit this was not possible and I either programmed different parts of songs into different sessions, or did some gymnastics on the patterns page, with different groupings. On the Rhythm can you have a scene play several times before moving on to the next? (I want to record full songs of just drum and bass to play guitar to, and would prefer to use this sampling workflow instead of a multitrack or groove box with a song mode)
If you want a scene to last longer you can use a track that's blank and put it on a slower speed setting and link it down the 8 patterns for Many repeats of the quicker or shorter patterns in that one scene, for instance.
I wonder if the internal battery has a 3 year lifetime. Will the device work without the battery functioning ? For me the wall adapter is the best option. Then I am not dependant on the life of a battery. The new laptops are annoying because of this design.
A short video connecting them and sequencing external synths would be great, in the "loopop cuts loose" playlist. I've only been able to find one video of Rhythm live sampling a monosynths it's also sequencing..
Seems like a firmware update could make a long press on the track button "solo" said track. Having a solo option for tweaking sounds instead of having to mute all the others would be HUGE
Dear Loopop. Imho your reviews are along the best around on youtube. There is just one little thing I noticed lately when you review samplers. I think it doesn t help if you sample your own voice since its then more complicated to understand what is sampled and what is your actual voice explaining the feature.. maybe its just me ... anyways..thanks a bunch for all your efforts!!
"Marketing ... the wrong way": throw out a highly overlapping product with few improvements and few (many?) good things missing that were fine in the other model
I'm watching this all kinds of tired, but let me recap, and tell me if I got this right. 31 (32?) Packs, on the not-included SD card. Each Pack consists of 64 Projects, which share 128 (mono) samples / 220 seconds max. And the Grid FX are also "global" for the Pack, i.e. shared across all 64 Projects. A Project is 8 monophonic tracks, with each 8 Patterns of up to 32 steps, and 16 Scenes, which is a combination-state of Patterns. Both Patterns and Scenes can be chained. Individual samples can't be longer than 32 secs. The example Pack loads in 16 secs, presumably depending on the size/amount of samples. Is changing Projects within a Pack seemless? Great detailed video, the best I've found (so far atleast). Excellent work 👍
I’m trying to decide which one to get. I don’t need the synth engines on the tracks but I do need full use of my monologue and nts1 . I can add polysynth later in mix down . This is my first groovebox so…
@@sammywarren3070 One benefit of the Tracks is that it has dedicated MIDI channels for sequencing external gear, vs. the Rhythm where you would need to sacrifice sample channels to do that same sequencing. I personally think the Tracks is more versatile because you can load samples onto it and still have the benefits of polyphonic sequencing and the synth engines in case you end up wanting that.
I've been an sp404 user for years. It's my favorite sampler. But the lack of pitch adjusting, and some other things. This might actually be the closest thing to a follow up for me. It can operate like an sp, but with way more options. I ordered one, to see what i think. I hate that everything is summed to mono, and load times are a little annoying, especially if you're sampling 32 seconds of vinyl for chopping. I heard it takes like 50 seconds to save the sample. Yikes. 😂
@@vincentdelmas2792 i got rid of this thing haha but i did get the sp404mkii. But i got it right when it came out, and it was pretty buggy, and still needed some work, so i sold it, and i plan on getting one later on the future after its had a few software updates.
I don't know but maybe I am enough of this new age of gear madness, I tried to use launchpad mini for while (with alternative script) but the lack of a screen made so difficult to really improvise, unless you use it EVERY day and you create a muscle memory and then it starts to be natural to you. But no one does that, we have DAWs and other gear, and each time we pick up this we have to trial/error everything what we want to do and that is contra productive, at least for me. Unless you are Sheldon Cooper alike and you have an eidetic memory everytime you pickup this after a while not using you will struggle to be creative. Don't get me wrong I strongly support Novation and love they gear but please, at least a little screen guys.
@@articmobile ok but what I learnt with my guitar 10 years ago I will instinctively play almost without looking. Try to pick up this screen less gear after a couple of months without using it....
Hi, and thanks for the amazing video, very helpful! I have got the Tracks, can I connect it with Rhythm as Master and sync to actually have 16 channels?
9:09 loopop-ception! I thought it was this review on the phone for a minute! Would have been cool if it was. Better again if it was a future point in the video..
Hey weird question can you undo samples I was having a real hard time getting into the blank banks and I accidentally overwritten one of the presets please help.
is this a good device to start making music as a hobby? do i need a synth which the TRACKS has or will i be fine beginning with the rhythm when starting out? i dont want to get in to ableton for now because i prefer physical control and feel. this is all very confusing with the patterns, scenes and sequences but rewatching the video over and over helps out a bit :)
I'm surprised at how few people compare this to the SP 404. That's the closest analog in my mind. It's a sampler with no screen, which is exactly why I loved the 404. Wish Rhythm had more effects. It won't completely replace my 404 because of that, but it's a fun sampler. I have more fun messing with this than I do my Octatrack, Digitakt, or MPC One.
Just bought a rhythm to partner with my 404sx. I used to no screen and by ear trimming but the sample chop/resample/sample flip are all aspects missing on the 404 that I can’t wait to have to use in tender and cook some beats that give me all of what I’m looking for without looking at a screen.
Hello! The explanations and the songs are amazing! I've been using my Circuit as a MIDI controller since I watched your how to use Circuit as a 51 knob MIDI controller video. Can you change MIDI channels in Circuit Rhythm as well in order to use the 8 knobs like 50 knobs?
@loopop Quick question about a work around for polyphonic sequencing: if I were to record a chord routed from my synth as a sample, would I then have that full chord available chromatically for sequences?
Thanks for coverage on the "Misc" Program Change capability. Can PCs be sequenced to trigger external controllers? Can support for Midi Channel MSB/LSB+Program Change? Gratefully.
maybe I missed it ? Can circuit rhythm be used for live looping? Can it record phrases while in playback mode? For example, beats are playing while guitar loop being free recorded live during performance? If not what can? I'm looking for something that currently seems hard to find... I wish Korg would make a new KP3 that syncs more than 4 tracks to midi clock ! I'm at a loss as to which sampler is the best for live performance looping electronic fusion with live instruments vocals analog synth etc.
I'm eventually going to upgrade to one of these models. In the meantime, the workaround for playing melodies with samples: does it works for the original circuit, or just Tracks? I'd purchase it right now if it works for the original model.
No is the year 2021 and we still talk about Mono sampling and 3min recording limit ! Where is the 24-bit/192kHz recording in Stero sampling and infinite recording depending on how big your memory card is? And that technology is very old now.!
Hey! Nice video! I have two questions. Can you sequence both notes and sample flips in the same travk and in the same pattern? If the answer is yes, how do you do it? Can you clear packs on the machine itself?
1. Yes - just flip samples in the sample page and set their pitch in the note page 2. No - you can't clear packs on the machine itself with one push of a button. You can delete all the samples and projects but that might take a while
I’m not moaning but can anyone tell me if for the combined price of these two, would one not just be better buying an Mpc One which seems to me to have all these functions and then some..Eh!!🤷♂️
Sure. If you like menu-diving via a touchscreen interface. Different strokes 'n all that. You may also like the Roland MV1 or the MC707 but you're paying >twice as much for those as you would the Circuits and none of those machines have the same intuitive UI.
@@dinogoldie9716 I just picked up a mint MPC One for £400 (including a £90 midi keyboard). Granted that's comparing secondhand with new but that's just £50 more than the Circuit Rhythm on it's own - for a device that's an order of magnitude more functional. In terms of menu diving, you barely have to touch the screen if you don't want and it has plenty of knobs, pads and buttons. It's not particularly intuitive but it is very easy to learn and you pick the UI up in no time at all. Each to their own but it's no contest at all for me and my thought was exactly the same as OP - why on earth would anyone buy this over an MPC?
@@robinr22I Totally agree … I got a bit ridiculed in some comments when tracks was released for saying just this.. that for the combined price of Tracks and later to be released Rhythm you could get an Mpc One … I bought Tracks new, used it for a month then followed my own advice and bought Mpc one.. never looked back …magnitudes more useful… congrats on £400 tho that’s a bargain I paid £560 new and was more than happy.. 👍
A question for the experts. Can I download external sounds to the computer and transfer them to the device? to CIRCUIT TRACKS? If so how can it be done. Another question - can I connect external sounds from a synthetic device or electronic drums directly to the CIRCUIT TRACKS device and save them on the device? Thank you .
1. You can load samples from computer to the Circuit Tracks. 2. Circuit Tracks has a computer software called Component to transfer data to the Circuit. 3. You can't save sound from external device to Circuit Tracks directly. The Circuit Rhythm can sample external sound from another device and save it.
Can I use the Novation Circuit Rhythm as a looper for live playing, such as the Boss RC-505? I would like to sample an external audio source and loop it live.
