Novation Circuit Rhythm Tips, Tricks, and Hacks

A bunch of workflow tips and workarounds on the Novation Circuit Rhythm.
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00:00 Intro
00:20 Doubling 16-step patterns
00:53 Swapping pad layouts
01:12 Creating stereo width
03:29 Cutting off samples
03:54 Mixing with filters
04:24 Isolating sidechained tracks
05:55 Chords: overview
06:30 Chords: sample slicing and pitch
08:53 Chords: separate samples
09:58 Chords: keyboard mapping
10:16 Chords: external devices
10:50 Connecting external devices
11:28 Sound design tips
13:35 Granular synthesis
14:42 Project switching
16:16 Outro
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[@summarity]

2:14 via MIDI you have access to the full controls for the reverb and delay DSP, and you can set the L:R ratio to whatever you want, really nice for creating precisely the stereo width you want :)

[@summarity]

@Michel Nielsen Easy answer: the Circuit Tracks contains four full compressor DSPs. They just happen to be configured in sidechain mode by default (for sidechaining). But via MIDI you have full control over the Attack, Sustain, Release and relative Depth, as well as the sidechain input for two of the compressors (for Synth 1 and 2). It also allows you to disconnect the sidechain input completely and just use them as normal compressors. You can't do this for Audio 1 and 2 since Novation abandoned development on the Circuits for the time being so the MIDI implementation is incomplete. You can also adjust the resonance on the master filter (both Rhythm and Tracks). For the Circuit Rhythm you always have full control over all parameters of the 7 FX DSP, in addition to the reverb and delay.

[@trufaith5765]

Great video gabe! These videos are a massive help… always using live 2 & mpc one and rhythm tricks will make me use the unit more… keep up the good work!

[@MIXtofMusic]

Thx Gabe 4 this one! Always learning new stuff about my gear 😎👌

[@shuasaladbar]

Shift chopping is a game changer, thanks man!

[@the.wanginator]

Appreciate the double back to the Rhythm. I didn't know half of what you covered here. Even with it's limitations, it's still a pretty sweet device.

[@edgarcortes]

Great tips as always Gabe! This awesome machine has now been on live shows with me and I agree that project switching is brilliant, like live switching sequences on an MPC One, which was also with me on the live set. Those two boxes are wonderful together. I can't really imagine my workflow without it now, and since I love sampling anything and everything this Circuit was custom made for my style. In my opinion this box should be a classic by now but instead I still see the Digitakt in that spot. Of course to all the amazing folks who create wonders in that device Kudos! You have seen the light beyond the hype. I just hope Novation keeps on developing and supporting the Rhythm even though it seems (in my limited knowledge) that it was not a runaway success.

[@luminousbrilliance1711]

Yeah Gabe-thanks for the heads up.

[@GeorgeLocke]

You can hard pan two channels and record in half the passes. No great loss since they're mono before effects and you can add the effects in post.

[@leewightman8619]

Iv been doing the sound designer trick its pretty cool to get the most out of the sounds

[@ciaranmulhall6123]

2 Circuit Rhythm packs plus extras for a 5er ... what a bargain !! 😊 and thanks for those tips too, very helpful

[@electrosonicnebula]

Great vid. I still don't have mine but I'm thinking of two more chord workarounds. The first is to set up 8 useful notes on the drum pads and learn how to play a chord progression using these eight notes. Resample and chop and you have your chord progression available with the slices without sample flipping. The other is to reserve two or three tracks for chords. From the pads play a major triad and resample it. Then play and resample a major triad, diminished, sus2 etc. Use the chromatic keyboard and sample flip to record in the basic progression of minors and majors or diminished etc in whatever key on just one track then use the additional two tracks for extra color notes if you need them to add to those chords. That's gonna give you a lot of possibilities. Highly useful for rhodes and piano for instance and you still have 5 tracks for drums and bass. But I think the coolest thing would be the ability to play in from the chromatic keyboard borrowing notes from adjacent tracks set up with the same sample, press record and instant render/resample onto one track, which I think the Polyend Tracker does (am I right about that?). EDIT: and like you point out that thing of playing the same chord chromatically creates beautifully mysterious non-diatonic progressions which basically made early house sound so jazzy and dark.

[@steved4714]

The Tracker does have note stealing functionality yes. It's not an instant render as such, but it is relatively easy. You just play in your notes and it will assign each note across the 3 tracks automatically. Then use the jogwheel to select the chord and the length/time and bounce to a mono sample. Delete the original notes and then put the bounced chord into your song, freeing up 2 tracks in the case of a 3 note chord. It takes a little time, but not loads. Technically this is the same process on the Rhythm, but in the Tracker it is quick to load a single note (assuming it's on your memory card), play the samples as chords/chromatically/simultaneously and then render them out. Of course you could put the notes in individually across tracks in the Rhythm (just as you could on the Tracker,) though this approach is a little more like programming than playing. On the Rhythm, because you can't play a chord, you could create a pattern with one note, copy x2 and then change the pitch on 2 of them to give you a chord to resample or play. The only other thing to say about the Tracker is the Micro SD storage. Theoretically the Rhythm has an advantage here with 222 seconds per pack vs 133 seconds per project on the Tracker. But while it does encourage the use of shorter samples in projects much like the Rhythm, there's no limit on how long an individual sample can be (that I know of), which can lead to some interesting possibilities ( example: bit.ly/3cMRPWL ) Add to that the fact that you can have samples travel across different projects in the Tracker by setting them as "instruments" which would be good for creating a pool of chords to reuse. I'm not sure if you can literally copy/paste a sample from one pack to another on the Rhythm without using Components, but this is very simple on the Tracker.

[@ilikeitdark13]

Great videos! For ease of use, and being used as a stand alone groovebox, and possible improv live jams, would you say this or the Sonicware Lofi 12?

[@Maochan81]

Thanks for the tips. Just picked up the rhythm and really enjoy the workflow. Would be very useful if Novation adds some kind of a parameter lock function. Something like hold a pad, adjust let's say sample start point and lock the start point to that step in the sequencer.

[@GabeMillerMusic]

It *does* have parameter lock! I showed how to do it a while back on the Circuit Tracks and it's the same on the Rhythm (about 14 minutes into the video): kzbin.info/www/bejne/qIK5aIZ4ZqukmZo

[@Maochan81]

​@@GabeMillerMusic OMG, that's so good. Thanks so much! You're a gem of a synthtubers, Gabe :)

[@terrytorain5364]

I just got the circuit rythem for xmas. no, I wont be filling up my minimum sample time with chords. chords is what I do on my mc 101!!

[@krisgakakrisqu0717]

U DA MAN! I already discovered the sidechain trick - suuuuper handy!!! Did you know Rhythm has built in compressor? project switching is dope but backfires as it has to be the same bpm... but still as you mentioned - it forces you to try different approach resulting in very creative outcomes!

[@GabeMillerMusic]

Yeah the Tracks and Rhythm both have a master compressor. And yeah project switching can have some bonkers results if you're not careful, but that's part of the fun. Glad you dug the video!

[@leewightman8619]

How do I access the master compressor?

[@MP-fz3bc]

Hey! I have seen that it's possible to record straight from a synth into the circuit rhythm with a normal jack cable. Can you record stuff with an electric guitar straight into the input with a jack cable too?

[@mack_solo]

I've been looking for opinions over "Novation circuit rhythm vs Elektron model samples" on KZbin, but all I'm getting spat out by A.I. is "circuit tracks vs model cycles" - clearly even A.I. thinks the names are freaking confusing 😄 Also, this looks like an opportunity for those in the have to cater to the niche of one and do the comparo of the same price bracket samplers 😃. Bo did a vid last year with rhythm, SP404mkii and digitakt, but at that budget spread one might get the One instead 😉

[@wzroq]

Any tech geegs that could maybe gimme some tips of how to connect ipad to rc505mk2? Wanna ise turnado app to effect rc505mk2. I am much of a noob.(rc505 mk2 works as an audio interface)

[@tonechapman4758]

Can I use the circuit rhythm as a midi controller for my daw samples inside logic pro x drum machine?

[@leewightman8619]

Yes u can

[@beatsbyshoro]

Is it good for finger drumming? How are the pads?

[@GabeMillerMusic]

In my opinion it's one of the better grooveboxes for finger drumming, I like the pads a lot. They're not crazy big but big enough to do some complex stuff, and they're very responsive.

[@TwinCitiesOxygen]

Could this be the alternative to a microsampler in my search for an easy to use sampler?

[@GabeMillerMusic]

It depends on how you want it to fit into your setup, but yeah I'd think so.

[@TwinCitiesOxygen]

@@GabeMillerMusic mostly to capture drum sounds and make a lot, capture small orchestral loops or musical bits and pieces to add into a song or use as the bass. Capture spoken lines from movies/shows to place in songs. Maybe play instrument samples across keyboard. Can it it do bpm sync/stretch if piece of music you sampled wasn’t records to a metronome?

[@GabeMillerMusic]

Most of that should work, as long as the samples are fairly short, as the sample time fills up easily. Also, no, there is unfortunately no timestretching, although changing pitch changes timing so you can fake it if you're in a pinch.

[@YoGribouillie]

10:16 how to midi out just one track ?

[@GabeMillerMusic]

You can choose which tracks output to which midi channels if you hit shift and setup. You'd also want to set your synth to only receive the channel that you want.

[@YoGribouillie]

@@GabeMillerMusic thx

[@YoGribouillie]

@@GabeMillerMusic I just bought myself a Roland J-6 just for this reason, with that the circuitrhythm no longer has any limitation for me

[@endercube5586]

FiRsT🤡