User Manual

52
English
TEMPO AND SWING
Tempo and Swing are closely related and the methods of adjusting them are very similar.
Tempo
Circuit will operate at any tempo in the range 40 to 240 BPM; the default tempo is 120 BPM.
The tempo can be set by the internal tempo clock, or, if you are working with other MIDI devices
or a DAW, by an external MIDI clock source. External MIDI clock can be applied either via USB
or the MIDI IN break-out cable.
To display and adjust the BPM of the internal tempo clock, press the Tempo button
14
(like
most of Circuit’s buttons, you can press and hold to view momentarily, or make a short press to
retain the tempo display).
The BPM is displayed on the pad grid as two or three large digits in blue and white. The
“hundreds” digit (which can only ever be a “1”, “2” or off) occupies grid columns 1 and 2, while
the “tens” and “units” digits occupy three columns each, How the digits 0 to 9 are depicted is
illustrated below.
Macro control 1 is used to adjust the tempo; its LED illuminates bright blue.
External clock
No switching is required to allow Circuit to be slaved to a source of external MIDI clock (subject
to clock settings - see Appendix). If a valid clock signal is applied, it will automatically be
selected as the clock source, and the grid will display the work “SYN” in red and white. Macro 1
is disabled and its LED goes out.
While the internal tempo clock only allows discrete numbers of BPM (i.e., no fractional tempo
values), Circuit will synchronise to any external clock rates – including fractional values - in the
range 30 to 300 BPM.
If an external clock is removed (or goes out of range), Circuit will stop playing. The “SYN”
display will remain visible until Play button is pressed (i.e., cancelled). The display will then
show the BPM value that was saved with the Session and Macro 1 will be re-enabled and can
now be used to adjust the tempo.