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Contents Introduction...............................................................................................................................6 Key Features....................................................................................................................................7 About this manual...........................................................................................................................8 What’s In The Box.........................................................
Play order.....................................................................................................................................................................................56 Pattern Sync rate.........................................................................................................................................................................56 Mutate..........................................................................................................................
Side Chains..............................................................................................................................94 The Filter Knob........................................................................................................................95 Projects....................................................................................................................................96 Switching Projects.........................................................................
Introduction Circuit Tracks is an agile groovebox for creating and performing electronic music quickly and easily. Its acclaimed, hands-on sequencer gives you a seamless workflow and its two refined, polyphonic digital synth tracks let you expand your sonic capabilities. The four drum tracks let you load your own samples and shape them to perfection. Two dedicated MIDI tracks permit seamless interconnectivity with other equipment.
Key Features • Two synth tracks with 6-voice polyphony • Two MIDI tracks with programmable CC output • Four sample-based drum tracks • RGB grid with 32 velocity-sensitive pads for playing and displaying information • Eight customisable macro encoders for further “tweaking” of sounds • Hands-on sequencing with eight chainable 32-step patterns, non-quantised record, step probability, pattern mutate, sync rates, and more • Reverb, delay and side chain FX • DJ-style master filter (Low pass/High p
About this manual We’ve tried to make this manual as helpful as possible for all types of user, both newcomers to electronic music making and those with more experience, and this inevitably means some users will want to skip over certain parts of it, while relative novices will want to avoid certain parts of it until they’re confident they’ve mastered the basics. However, there are a few general points that are useful to know about before you continue reading the manual.
Getting Up and Running We’ve made getting up and running with Circuit Tracks as easy as possible, whether you’re a brand new beatmaker or a seasoned producer. To access the Easy Start Tool, first connect your Circuit Tracks to your computer with the USB-A to USB-C cable supplied. If you’re on a Mac: 1. On your Desktop, find and open the folder named TRACKS. 2. Inside the folder, click the file Circuit Tracks – Getting Started. 3.
Getting Started with Circuit Tracks If you’re brand new to Circuit, you can follow our Easy Start Guide to get up and running. To access the Easy Start Guide, connect your Circuit to your Mac or PC, and click on the Tracks folder. Inside you’ll find two files named Click Here to Get Started.url and Circuit Tracks - Getting Started.html. Click on the .url file to be taken straight to the Easy Start Guide, or open the .html file to learn more about it.
The use of AC adaptors of a type other than that supplied is not recommended. Please contact your Novation dealer for advice on alternative PSUs if necessary. Using the internal battery Circuit Tracks will also operate from its internal Lithium-ion battery. The battery is non-removable and non-replaceable. Circuit Tracks will operate for up to 4 hours, depending on battery state.
Hardware Overview Glossary Some of the terms used in this manual have a specific meaning as applied to Circuit Tracks. Here is a list: Term Expanded View Button Shift + Note Fixed Shift + Velocity FX View FX Definition Doubles the area of performance pads for the Synths, and allows you create patterns on all drum tracks simultaneously, using the currently selected samples. Allows the velocity response of the grid pads to be disabled. Allows the user to add reverb and delay to individual tracks.
Term Button Mutate Shift + Duplicate Note View Note Definition Randomises the Steps of a Pattern at which the assigned synth notes or drum hits will play. The View that is used to enter synth notes, MIDI data and drum hits. A complete set of Projects, Patches and Samples. Up Pack to 32 Packs can be exported to a Micro SD card for external storage. Patch Preset (with Synth track selected) One of the 128 patches (four pages of 32) which can be selected for each synth track.
Term Button Definition A parameter of each step in a Pattern which defines how Probability likely it is that the synth note, MIDI note data or drum hit assigned to the step will be played. Probability View Shift + Pattern Settings Lets you assign Probability values to each active step in a track. A set of all necessary data for full playback of all tracks, Project including Patterns, Sequences, automation data, etc. Up to 64 Projects can be saved as a Pack in flash memory.
Term Button Side Chain Shift + FX Definition A method of allowing the hits of a drum track to modify the dynamics of Synth notes. Each Track in a Pattern is initially based on 16 or 32 Step Steps, though shorter Patterns of any length my be defined in Pattern Settings View. See also Micro step. Collective name for the button group comprising the Step buttons Note, Velocity, Gate and Probability buttons. Circuit Tracks’ operating mode when the sequencer is Stop Mode Template not running.
Top View 4 3 2 16 18 9 15 14 5 10 6 1 11 8 17 19 20 12 13 7 1 32-pad playing grid – a 4 x 8 matrix of pads; internally illuminated with RGB LEDs. Depending on the view selected, the grid may be “split” into logical areas with different functions. 2 Master Filter – rotary control with a centre detent and RGB LED: controls filter frequency of the entire mix, like on an analogue synth. It is always active.
Most of the remaining buttons select the 32-pad grid to display a specific View. Each View provides information and control of a particular aspect of a particular track, pattern or sound selection, timing adjustments, etc. Note also that several buttons have an additional ‘Shift’ function, indicated on (or above) the button by a legend in a smaller font. Many buttons - including G Record - have both a momentary (long press) and a latching (short press) mode.
15 J and K - these two buttons have different actions (and colours) depending on the currently selected View. In Note View they let you shift the pitch of the synth pads or the MIDI tracks up by one to five octaves, or down by one to six octaves when entering notes: the pitch range of each track is adjustable independently. In some other Views, they allow the selection of a second page, e.g., in Pattern View this lets you select from eight Patterns per track although only four are displayed at a time.
Rear view 9 8 6 2 7 1 3 5 4 1 Outputs - L/Mono and R – Circuit Tracks’ main audio outputs on two ¼” TS jack sockets. Max. output level is +5.3 dBu (+/-1.5 dBu). With no plug in the R socket, the L/Mono socket carries a mono mix of L and R channels. 2 Sync – a 3.5 mm TRS jack socket supplying a clock signal of 5 V amplitude, at a rate proportional to the tempo clock: the actual ratio can be set in Setup View. The default rate is two pulses per quarter note.
Basics Powering the unit on Connect the supplied AC adaptor to the USB port 6 using the cable supplied and plug the adaptor into the AC mains. This will ensure that the internal lithium battery becomes fully charged. Connect the main outputs to a monitoring system (powered speakers or a separate amplifier and passive monitors); alternatively plug in a pair of headphones if you prefer.
Step where sequencer is stopped pulses blue/white 21
Getting started We’ve pre-loaded 16 demo Projects into the memories to give you an idea of how Circuit Tracks works. Press the Play button 13 ; you should hear the first demo Session. If it’s not already lit, press the Synth 1 button 5 ; Circuit Tracks is now displaying Note View for Synth 1. The two lower rows – the synth pads – is the “Play Area” where notes may be triggered, while the two upper rows – the Pattern steps - show the progression through the Pattern.
Loading and Saving When you press Play for the first time after powering on, the Project which Circuit Tracks plays will be the last one used when it was powered off. The factory demo described in the previous section was loaded in to Memory Slot 1. To load a different Project, you use Projects View. Press Projects 19 to open this: There are 64 memory slots, arranged as two pages of 32. Use the J and K buttons to scroll between the pages. Each pad corresponds to one of the memory slots.
There’s nothing special about the slots containing factory demo Projects: you can overwrite these if you wish: you can always re-load them by using Novation Components. You don’t need to be in Projects View to save a Project you’ve been working on. If you press Save 19 , the button flashes white; if you press it a second time, it briefly flashes green rapidly to confirm the save process.
Starting from Scratch If you’re already familiar with producing music using hardware, you can probably skip this section! But if you’re a novice, you may find it useful. Once you’ve experimented with the factory demo patterns for a while, you will probably want to create a pattern from scratch. Select Projects and select an empty memory slot. Now select Drum 1 in Note View.
PLAY Pads 1-16: Pattern Steps Pads 17-32: Drum samples New drum sample You can select a different drum sample while the Pattern is playing by simply pressing a different pad on the lower two rows: you can use any of the four sample pages. Now add a snare drum to other steps in the sequence in the same way by selecting Drum 2 in Note View and choosing a different drum sample; snare drums are mainly in sample slots 3 or 4 of a kit..
With all scales (see “Scales” on page 31) except Chromatic, the grid display looks like this: PLAY Pads 1-16: Pattern Steps Pads 17-32: Synth keyboard The “keyboard” is two octaves, with the “paler” pads representing the root notes. While the Record button is lit, anything you play in either of the Synth Views (Synth 1 or Synth 2) will be recorded to the steps in the pattern.
The Synths Each synth track employs a powerful and versatile synth engine. Circuit Tracks gives you a simple user interface that allows you to conjure great sounds very rapidly. The synth section comes loaded with 128 great factory patches to give you a wide range of sounds to start from. This section of the User Guide discusses the synth features in greater detail. Playing a Synth The two synth tracks – Synth 1 and Synth 2 - operate identically.
Synth 2 selected Step where sequencer is stopped pulses blue/white Synth 1 PLAY Synth 2 MIDI 1 Drum 1 MIDI 2 1 2 3 9 10 11 17 18 19 25 26 27 Drum 2 Drum 3 Drum 4 4 5 6 7 8 12 13 14 15 16 20 21 22 23 24 28 29 30 31 32 Pattern display Synth 2 keyboard With the exception of the Chromatic scale (see “Scales”, page 31), the upper row of the synth keyboard contains notes one octave above those in the second row.
Synth 1 selected Synth 1 MIDI 1 Synth 2 Drum 1 MIDI 2 1 2 3 9 10 11 17 18 25 Synth 2 Drum 2 Drum 3 Drum 4 4 5 6 7 8 12 13 14 15 16 19 20 21 22 23 24 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 MIDI 1 MIDI 2 Drum 1 Drum 2 Drum 3 Drum 4 Synth 1 keyboard Synth 2 selected Synth 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 Synth 2 keyboard This View is very useful when recording synth notes in real time.
Scales Circuit Tracks is extremely flexible in how it lets you configure the note pads in the playing grid to suit different musical ideas in both key and scale. There are two aspects to specifying how the note pads are laid out: the scale and the root note. Up to 16 musical scales are available: these include those common in western musical styles such as major, natural minor, pentatonic and chromatic as well as more unusual scales (or modes) such as Dorian, Lydian and Mixolydian.
Scale selection In Scales View, the lower two rows allow selection of one of the 16 available musical scales.
same layout as the keynote selection pads in Scales View. In Expanded Note View with Chromatic scale selected, a two-octave keyboard is presented: C# D# F# G# A# G A B F# G# A# A B Upper octave (Cn to Cn+1) Cn D E F C# D# Cn+1 Lower octave (C n-1 to C n) Cn-1 D E F G Cn Chromatic Scale in Extended Note View (Synth 1) Root note The default root note for all scales is C. In the Scales View shown at page 31, Pad 9, corresponding to C, is lit a darker blue than the other pads.
In Note View, each of the two lower rows (or each of all four rows in Expanded Note View) will now sound the notes of the G major scale, running from G to G’ (where G’ denotes a note one octave above G). The same principle can be applied to re-scale the synth note pads in the Note Views to any desired root key. If you have already created a Project including synth notes, you can change the keynote to transpose the notes, even while the Project is playing.
in live performance when you know which patch you’re using and don’t need to hear it on selection. Patch Preview is disabled when Circuit Tracks is in Record Mode and playback is active. External Patch Select Synth Patches may also be recalled from an external MIDI controller by sending Circuit Tracks MIDI Program Change (PGM) messages: the default MIDI channels are Channel 1 (Synth 1) and Channel 2 (Synth 2), though MIDI channels may be reassigned in Setup View.
You can use the Macros while a pattern is playing to alter synth sounds in real time. If Record Mode is active, the LEDs change to red as soon as the knob is turned, and parameter variations will now be recorded to the Project. See page 37 for more details. The Macros can also be varied by an external MIDI controller of any kind. Circuit Tracks’ MIDI I/O configuration will need to be set to receive MIDI Control Change (CC) data – this is the default setting, but see page 104 for full information.
The G Record button has the dual momentary/latching action available on several other buttons. If you hold the button down for more than half a second, Circuit Tracks will drop out of Record Mode as soon as you release it. This means that you can punch-in and punch-out of record very easily with a single action. The factory default Projects load with monophonic sounds for Synth 1 and polyphonic sounds for Synth 2. This means you can easily use Synth 1 for a bass line, and Synth 2 for keyboard sounds.
In order for the knob movements to be replayed, you must exit Record Mode before the sequence loops, otherwise Circuit Tracks will overwrite the automation movements you’ve just recorded with that corresponding to the new knob position. Provided you do this, you’ll hear the effect of the Macro control being replayed when the sequence next loops round, at the point in the pattern where you turned the control.
Recording from an external controller You can also create a synth pattern in Circuit Tracks by sending it MIDI note data from an external controller. This gives you the ability to play Circuit Tracks’ synth patches from a standard music keyboard. The default settings are: MIDI note data Receive is ON; Synth 1 uses MIDI Channel 1 and Synth 2 uses MIDI Channel 2.
These two steps have synth notes associated with them One step pad blinks blue/white to show where pattern is stopped Hold pad down to see which note(s) play at this step (HOLD) Keyboard pad(s) illuminate red to indicate note at the selected step If a bright blue step pad (i.e.
Deleting notes To delete a note from a step, press the step pad (lights red) and then press the unwanted keyboard pad (also lights red). The keyboard pad will resume the native colour of the other (unplayed) notes. Inserting notes You can add a synth note to a step by holding down the step pad and pressing the desired note. Note that Record Mode does not need to be enabled. Now when you run the pattern, you will find that the note has been added. You can add multiple notes to the same step if you wish.
Velocity, Gate and Probability Every step in a pattern has three further parameters that are available to you to adjust. These are Velocity, which determines how the volume of a note is related to how hard the pad is struck; Gate, which sets the duration of the note; and Probability, which determines how likely a step is to trigger.
One step pad pulses blue/white; this is the step whose Velocity value is displayed These three steps have synth notes associated with them Pattern step display 1 2 3 9 10 11 4 5 6 7 8 12 13 14 15 16 Velocity value display This indicates a Velocity value of 11 In Velocity View, the two upper rows of the grid represent the pattern steps. In the example shown above, Steps 4, 14 and 16 are brightly lit, indicating that these steps have notes associated with them.
The table below shows the relationship between actual Velocity values and the pad display: No. of lit pads Velocity value No. of lit pads Velocity value 1 8 9 72 2 16 10 80 3 24 11 88 4 32 12 96 5 40 13 104 6 48 14 112 7 56 15 120 8 64 16 127 You can change Velocity value by pressing the pad in the Velocity value display corresponding to the Velocity value.
Per-note velocity It is also possible for synth notes on the same step to have different Velocity values, provided Circuit Tracks is not in Fixed Velocity Mode. When notes are inserted manually, the velocity value that each note is struck with will be saved to the step.
Gate Gate is essentially the duration of the note at a Step, in units of steps. The Gate parameter is not restricted to integer values, fractional values are also allowed: It may have any value between onesixth and 16, in increments of one-sixth of a Step, giving a total of 96 possible values. The number represents the time – as the number of steps - for which the notes at the step will sound.
You can change the Gate value by pressing the pad in the Gate value display that corresponds to the Gate value; that is, the number of pattern steps that the note at the step should sound for. If you wanted the note at Step 1 in the example above to sound for four steps instead of two, you would press pad 4; Pads 1 to 4 then illuminate sand (off white). You can either lengthen or shorten the note in this way.
Probability You can introduce a degree of random variation into a pattern with Circuit Tracks’ Probability function. Probability is essentially a further step parameter, which decides whether or not the notes on the step will be played during each pass of the Pattern. All steps are initially assigned with a Probability value of 100%, meaning that all notes will always be played, unless their Probability value is reduced: this is done using Probability View.
To assign a Probability to a step in Stop Mode, press and release the pad for the step you wish to edit and press the pad in Row 3 corresponding to the Probability value. To assign Probability to a step while in Play Mode, you must keep the step pad held while you set a probability. All notes assigned to the step will have a collective chance of being played according to the percentages above. This means that either all of the notes at the step will play, or none of them will.
Selected step pulses blue/white PLAY 1 2 3 9 10 11 0 1 4 5 6 7 8 12 13 14 15 16 Pattern step display 2 3 4 Synth micro-nudge steps 5 25 Play note at selected step. Pads 26+ will also illuminate if multiple notes are present at the step. The fourth grid row will show one or more pads in the track colour. These let you choose which note at the step is to have a delay altered: if only one note is assigned, only one pad will be lit.
Select required step (shows red while pressed, then blinks white) 1 PLAY 9 0 (PRESS) 2 3 10 11 1 25 One of three notes at selected step. Pads 26+ also illuminate if multiple notes are present at the step. 4 5 6 7 8 12 13 14 15 16 Pattern step display 2 3 Synth micro steps 27 4 5 28 Selected note at the step is now delayed by 3 ticks Multiple notes can be selected by pressing their pads simultaneously or by holding down one pad and tapping others.
1 PLAY 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 14 15 16 Pattern step display 9 10 0 1 25 11 12 13 2 3 4 Synth micro-nudge steps 26 27 5 28 There are four notes at the selected step; some of them are at micro step 0 (no delay), others at micro step 3 (3 ticks delay) When auditioning a step that contains notes with different micro steps, playback of the notes will be staggered according to their micro step delays. This allows for the playback of “strummed” chords.
You can now turn the tie-forward setting on/off for this step by pressing pad 24 as shown above. To make the tied note work you need to set the gate length so that the note ends just before the next note is played or overlaps with it.
Pattern Settings Although default Pattern lengths are either 16 or 32 steps (see also “Step Page and 16/32-step Patterns” at page 76), it is possible for the Pattern in any track to be any other number of steps in length, up to the maximum of 32 steps. Furthermore, the start and end points of a Pattern may be independently defined, so that sub-sections of a Pattern, of any length, may be played against other tracks with different Pattern lengths, creating some very interesting effects.
Repositioned end point – Pattern length is now 12 steps Dim red pad indicates that note/hit data still exists for this step Pattern step display End point 1 2 3 Sync rate display 4 5 6 7 8 Play order selection Altering the start point is exactly the same process, except that Shift needs to be held down while selecting the new start point: Dim red pad indicates that note/hit data still exists for this step Press Shift to see and Repositioned start point – move the start point Pattern length is
Play order Pads 29 to 32 in Pattern Settings View let you choose the play order the currently selected Pattern will use. The pad for the selected play order illuminates brightly: the default play order is forwards (i.e., normal), indicated by Pad 29. Play order selection 29 30 Reverse Forwards (Default) 31 32 Ping-pong Random Alternatives to the normal forward play order are: • Reverse (Pad 30).
The selected sync rate is indicated by the brightly-lit pad: the default rate is “x1” (pad 5 in row 3), which means the track will play at the set BPM. Selection of a higher-numbered pad increases the rate at which the play cursor progresses through the Pattern relative to the previous one. Similarly the lower-numbered pads will decrease the play rate. The sync rates available are 1/4, 1/4T, 1/8, 1/8T, 1/16, 1/16T, 1/32, 1/32T, with T representing triplets.
The MIDI Tracks Introduction The two MIDI tracks behave just like the Synth tracks and support all the same sequencer functions, but have a couple of key differences. They do not control an internal synth engine but are intended to control external equipment or software via MIDI. Note data is transmitted from the performance pads in Note View , and from the sequencer just like the synth tracks. CC data is also transmitted by the Macro knobs, depending on the selected MIDI template.
Default Templates The eight default MIDI templates are identical. Select any one and use Components Editor to make any changes that are needed to make the Macro controls work effectively with your external equipment. You may find that the default settings are usable, as many synths use the same CC messages to adjust similar parameters: furthermore, many synths allow internal re-mapping of CC messages.
Connecting to external hardware via MIDI Out To sequence and control external equipment from Circuit Tracks, connect a 5-pin MIDI cable from Circuit Tracks’ MIDI Out port (or MIDI Thru if set to duplicate the MIDI Out port, see Setup View, page 103). If notes, clock, or CC messages are not being received by your external hardware, make sure that all eight pads in the bottom row are brightly lit in Setup View (accessed by holding down Shift while pressing Save.
The Drums Circuit Tracks has four separate drum tracks, Drum 1 to Drum 4. The grid displays for the drum tracks are similar to those for the synth tracks in that the upper two rows show the same Pattern display. Each of the 16 pads of the lower two rows triggers a different percussion sample: there are four pages of these (each with 16 samples), which can be selected with the J and K buttons 15 . Note that the intensity of illumination of these indicate the page currently in use.
You can audition the samples by pressing the sample pads. To change the active sample, give a different sample pad a quick tap: a longer press will play the sample but leave the previous sample assigned as the active one. To assign the active sample to Pattern steps in Stop Mode or Play Mode, tap the Pattern step pads that correspond to where you want drum hits to be triggered. The steps with hits will illuminate bright blue.
The samples played by each of the four pads is the current active sample for each drum track. You can play the drum pads in Expanded Note View freely in real time, or record them into a pattern if you press G Record. If Rec Quantise is enabled, Circuit Tracks will quantise the timing to place the drum hits precisely on a pattern step; if Rec Quantise is disabled, they will be placed at one of the six ticks between adjacent steps.
pad for the required sample (it turns red) and then press the step pads in the Pattern display where you want to place that sample in the pattern – they also turn red. When you run the pattern, the new sample will play at the steps it was assigned to instead of the one that was assigned previously. The Pattern display differentiates between steps that are sample flipped: steps with hits of the active sample illuminate bright blue, but any that have been flipped illuminate pink.
Recording a Drum Pattern Creating a drum pattern is a slightly different procedure from creating a synth pattern. When you’re in Record Mode and Note View for a drum track, just hitting the sample pads in real time establishes hits at those steps in the Pattern, and Pattern step pads light bright blue.
In Note View, one sample pad will always be lit, though it may not be on the currently visible page of four. This is the current default sample: if you tap (short-press) a step pad, the default sample will be assigned to that step, and the step pad will show bright blue. If you long-press a step pad, it will show red: now you can press any sample pad, that sample will now be assigned to the chosen step, and the step pad will show pink.
Micro step edit When quantised recording is not enabled, the timing of drum hits recorded in real time is assigned to one of six “micro steps” in between adjacent Pattern steps. Any drum hits added “off-line” (i.e., in Stop Mode, see preceding section) will always be assigned to the step’s first micro step, which is on the exact beat of the step.
Press a lit step pad to display the micro step value at the step (PRESS) PLAY Pattern step display 1 2 Drum micro steps 3 4 5 6 When only micro step 1 is bright, the drum hit at the selected step will be exactly on the beat PLAY Pattern step display (PRESS) 1 2 Drum micro steps 3 4 5 6 Micro step 4 is bright: the drum hit at the selected step will be delayed by three ticks (half a step interval) If the first pad is illuminated (as in the first example above), it indicates that the drum hi
You are not limited to tweaking drum hit timing – you can have the hit on as many micro steps as you want: each micro step pad can be turned “on” or “off”. In the example below, Step 5 will trigger the sample assigned to it three times, once on the beat and twice more two and four ticks later.
have Velocity values determined by how hard the sample pads are struck. This applies both to normal Note View and Expanded Note View. To select Fixed Velocity, hold Shift and press Velocity: the Velocity button changes colour to green. Now all drum hits entered using the sample pads will always have a fixed velocity of 96 (12 pads lit in Velocity View – see below). This also applies both to normal Note View and Expanded Note View.
You can change Velocity value by pressing the pad in the Velocity value display rows that corresponds to the Velocity value. If you wanted the hit at Step 12 in the example above to have a Velocity value of 96 instead of 40, you would press pad 12; Pads 1 to 12 now illuminate sand. If you want to decrease a Velocity value, press the pad corresponding to the required value. No. of lit pads Velocity value No.
Recording Knob Movements As with synth sounds, you can tweak the drum sounds in real time using the Macro controls 3 . Circuit Tracks features automation, which means you can add the effect of these tweaks to the recorded pattern by entering Record Mode (by pressing G Record 13 ) while moving the knobs. On the drum tracks, only the even-numbered Macro controls are used, and knob movements are only recorded when Velocity View, Gate View or Probability View are selected.
Clear and Duplicate The Clear and Duplicate buttons perform the same functions with drum tracks as they do with synth notes (see page 41), although as altering a drum pattern is such a simple process to perform in Note View, you probably won’t ever use them to simply add or remove drum hits. Note that clearing a step will delete all parameters (Velocity, Micro steps and Probability) that were assigned to the step.
Patter ns Each Project in Circuit Tracks has memory space for eight separate Patterns per track, so you can create eight Patterns for each synth, eight Patterns for each drum and eight Patterns for each of two external MIDI instruments within a project. The true potential of Circuit Tracks begins to be realised when you start to create interesting variations of a Pattern, save them, and then segue them together to be played out as a complete chain of up to 256 (8 x 32) steps.
play. One pad per track will be pulsing slowly between dim and bright: this is the Pattern that was playing when Play was last stopped. Initially (i.e., when a new Project is started), Pattern 1 in each track will be in this state with all the other memories empty, and the pads dimly lit. To select a different Pattern for any track, simply press its pad. You can do this in Stop or Play Mode.
Duplicating Patterns In Patterns View, the Duplicate button 18 can be used to perform a simple copy-and-paste function, letting you copy a Pattern from one memory to another. This is a very useful function, as it lets you use an existing Pattern as the basis for another, slightly different one: it is often easier to modify an existing Pattern to be how you want it than create a new one from scratch.
assigned to the first 16 steps after using Clear. If you extend the Pattern length to 32 steps once again, all notes/hits previously assigned to steps 17 to 32 will still be there. You can also use Duplicate with the Step Page button. Holding down Duplicate and pressing the Step Page button will extend the Pattern length for the currently selected track to 32 steps, and copy all data at steps 1 to 16 to steps 17 to 32 respectively, including automation data.
The following example will illustrate chaining: Synth 1 (Pulsing bright/dim) 1 2 Synth 2 MIDI 1 (Pulsing bright/dim) (Pulsing bright/dim) 1 MIDI 2 1 2 Drum 1 1 2 2 Drum 2 1 (Pulsing bright/dim) 2 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 Drum 3 Drum 4 (Pulsing bright/dim) 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 (Pulsing bright/dim) 1 Patterns View – Page 1 Synth 1 5 Synth 2 5 MIDI 1 MIDI 2 5 Drum 1 5 Drum 2 5 5 6 6 (Pulsing bright/dim) Drum 3 (Pulsing bright/dim) Drum 4 5 5 6 6
• Synth 1 - Patterns 1 to 4 • Synth 2 - Pattern 1 only • MIDI 1 – Patterns 1 and 2 • MIDI 2 – Patterns 6 and 7 • Drum 1 - Patterns 2 and 3 • Drum 2 – Patterns 3 to 6 • Drum 3 - Patterns 5 and 6 • Drum 4 – Patterns 1 to 8 When you press Play, each track will loop round its own chain of Patterns. The longest chain is Drum 4 – this defines the overall length of the sequence, in this case, 128 (8 x 16) steps. Drum 4 will play Patterns 1 to 8 in order, then loop back to Pattern 1 and start again.
extension of these principles. Circuit Tracks allows Pattern chains of up to 256 (8 x 32) steps, where any of the eight tracks can change their pattern every 16 steps (or fewer if start/end points are also altered from the default). Every time you press Play, the Pattern Chain restarts from the start point of the first Pattern in the chain. You can restart the Chain from the point at which the sequencer was stopped by pressing Play while holding down Shift.
View Lock By default, the Pattern Step display on the upper two rows changes with the selected Pattern (and current Page), so that the play cursor is always visible. If you want to edit one pattern while continuing to play another Pattern or complete Pattern Chain, you can make use of View Lock. One use of View Lock is to “freeze” the Pattern Step display to the current Pattern (and Page) by holding down Shift and pressing Patterns 10 .
Scenes Scenes let you assign multiple patterns and pattern chains within a project to a single pad, allowing you to trigger part of a song easily. Scenes themselves can also be chained to arrange much longer sequences and thus build up complete song structures.
Mixer View with Shift pressed: Synth 1 Synth 2 MIDI 1 MIDI 2 Drum 1 Drum 2 Drum 3 Drum 4 Scene pads Pad where Scene is being stored lights brightly while Shift is held All the selected pattern chains are now stored as that Scene.
When you select Mixer View, you will immediately be able to see where Scenes are already stored, as their pads will be lit bright white, or bright gold when you press Shift. Assigning Pattern Chains to a Scene does not affect current playback and will not select the Scene nor change your Scene Chain (see below) if you are already in Play Mode: the selected Scene will start when the current Pattern or Pattern Chain is completed – see “Queuing Scenes” below.
Synth 1 Synth 2 MIDI 1 MIDI 2 Drum 1 Drum 2 Drum 3 Drum 4 (Pulsing bright/dim) Scene pads A Scene Chain is defined here by pressing pads 4 and 6. Scenes 4, 5 and 6 will now play in sequence; the pulsing of Scene 4's pad confirms that it will be the first to play. Note that you can use Scenes to overcome the restriction in Patterns View of not being able to define a Pattern Chain of non-contiguous Patterns.
Tempo and Swing Tempo and Swing are closely related and the methods of adjusting them are very similar. Tempo Circuit Tracks will operate at any tempo in the range 40 to 240 BPM; the default tempo for a new Project is 120 BPM. The tempo can be set by the internal tempo clock, or by an external MIDI clock source. External MIDI clock can be applied either via the USB port or the MIDI In port. To display and adjust the BPM of the internal tempo clock, press the Tempo/Swing button 16 to open Tempo View.
If an external clock is removed (or goes out of range), Circuit Tracks will stop playing. “SYN” remains displayed until Play is pressed. The grid then shows the BPM that was saved with the Project, Macro 1 will be re-enabled and you can then adjust the tempo. Tap Tempo If you want to match Circuit Tracks’ tempo to an existing piece of music and you don’t know its BPM, you can use Tap Tempo. Hold down Shift and tap the Tempo/Swing button in time with the track you’re listening to.
adjusting tempo and swing alternately, you may notice a short delay before the knob adjustment takes effect. This is to allow you to check the current Tempo and Swing values without altering them. Swing can be used to add an extra “groove” to your pattern. Note that as it is the even steps that are “swung”, these can be interpreted as 1/16-notes (semiquavers). Click track The Click (or metronome) can be activated or deactivated by holding Shift and pressing Clear 17 .
Mixer Circuit Tracks includes an eight-channel mixer to let you adjust the volume of each track relative to the others. By default, all the tracks play at a volume level of 100 (arbitrary units, range 0-127), leaving you with the Master Volume control 4 to adjust the output level as required.
synths into Circuit Tracks’ mix. Track level adjustment with the Macros may be automated. If Circuit Tracks is in Record Mode, changes to the individual track levels will be recorded to the Pattern. To delete Volume Level automation, hold Clear 17 and turn the Macro control. The Macro LED will light red to indicate that the deletion has been completed. Panning You can also position each track anywhere in the stereo image (but you’ll need to be monitoring both left and right outputs, of course).
FX Section Circuit Tracks includes a digital effects processor (FX) which lets you add delay and/or reverb effects to any or all of the tracks making up your Project. There is also a master compressor which is applied to your mix by default. Sixteen delay and eight reverb presets are provided, and you can select any one of each type. The send levels from each track – i.e., how much reverb and/or delay is added – are individually adjustable for each track using the Macro controls.
Reverb To add reverb to one or more of your tracks, select a reverb preset. The pad corresponding to the active preset illuminates brightly. The Macros are now the reverb send level controls for the eight tracks: this is exactly the same arrangement as used in Mixer View. The Macro LEDs are now dimly lit cream; as you increase a send level you will hear reverb being added to the track it controls and the LED will increase in brightness.
Details of the 16 delay presets are given the table below: PRESET DELAY TYPE MUSICAL DESCRIPTION 1 Slapback Fast Very rapid repeats 2 Slapback Slow Rapid repeats 3 32nd Triplets 48 cycles per bar 4 32nd 32 cycles per bar 5 16th Triplets 24 cycles per bar 6 16th 16 cycles per bar 7 16th Ping Pong 16 cycles per bar 8 16th Ping Pong Swung 16 cycles per bar with swing 9 8th Triplets 12 cycles per bar 10 8th dotted Ping Pong 8 cycles per 3 beats with Stereo Spread 11 8th 8 cycl
Side Chains Each of the synth tracks and external audio inputs (represented by the MIDI tracks) can be Side Chained. Side Chains work in the same manner as in common dynamics processors such as compressors, and can be used to alter the “envelope” of synth notes in time with any of the drum tracks. Side Chain allows the hits of the selected drum track to duck the audio level of the synths.
Side Chain View will display either the side chain controls for the Synth tracks or the MIDI tracks (the external inputs) depending on which track was selected when Shift + FX was pressed. You can use the J and K buttons 15 to switch between Synth and MIDI track Side Chain Views.
Projects A basic overview of loading and saving Projects can be found at page 23. This chapter looks at some additional aspects surrounding the use of Projects. Switching Projects There are some rules governing how Circuit Tracks responds when you change from one Project to another. If you’re in Stop Mode (i.e.
Saving Projects to new slots Use Save 19 to store the tracks you’ve been working on to a Project memory slot. Save needs to be pressed twice to complete the store process: the first press will flash the Save button; a second press will save your work to the last Project memory that was in use. This means that if your current work was based on a previously-saved Project, the original version will be overwritten. To ensure that your work gets saved in a different Project memory, switch to Projects View.
Packs A Pack is defined as everything currently saved on your Circuit Tracks: you can export the current Pack to a removable microSD card. The card slot is on the rear panel 7 . A Pack contains the totality of Circuit Tracks’ current operation, including the contents of all 64 Project memories, all 128 synth Patches and all 64 drum Samples.
Loading a Pack First select a Pack by pressing any lit pad other than that for the currently loaded Pack. It will start pulsing between dim and bright (in its assigned colour) to confirm that it is “primed” and can now be loaded. It is not possible to load an “empty Pack slot”, as it will not contain any synth patches, MIDI templates or drum samples. It is also not possible to reload the current pack. [If you do not wish to load a primed Pack, either prime a different Pack for loading or exit Packs View.
Using microSD Cards WARNING: Do not remove the microSD card from Circuit Tracks during Save or Load operations. Doing so may result in the loss of previously saved work. Note that Save operations include the process of duplicating a pack and transferring content from Components. A microSD card inserted into the rear panel card slot allows access to multiple Packs.
If a microSD card is removed while the internal Pack is loaded, Circuit Tracks will behave as described above for operating from power-up without a card present. Doing so does not hinder the user’s ability to load synth patches and samples, or to save and load Projects. It is possible to remove the microSD card while a Pack loaded from the SD card is that currently in use. Sequencer playback will not stop, and any unsaved changes will not be lost at this point.
Components About Components & Navigating to Circuit Tracks Novation Components is the online companion for Circuit Tracks. With Components, you can: • Download new content • Create and edit synth patches • Load your own samples • Edit MIDI track templates • Backup your projects • Load new packs • Update to the latest firmware version Components requires a Web MIDI enabled browser to communicate with your device. We recommend using Google Chrome or Opera.
Appendix Firmware Updates In order to access all features, you may need to update Circuit Tracks to the latest firmware version. Components will let you know whether the connected unit is up to date and, if it’s not, Components can update the unit’s firmware to the latest version.
Brightness Pad 24 (illuminated white) controls the brightness of the grid pads. The default setting is for full brightness, but pressing Pad 24 dims them by approximately 50%. This can be of benefit if you are running Circuit Tracks on its internal battery. You may also wish to run with reduced brightness if performing in conditions of low ambient lighting. The brightness setting is saved when Circuit Tracks is powered down.
MIDI I/O Circuit Tracks is able to send and receive MIDI data both via the USB port 6 and the MIDI In/Out/ Thru sockets 4 . Setup View allows you to decide how you want Circuit Tracks to operate with other MIDI equipment for four categories of MIDI data independently: Note, CC (Control Change), Program Change (PGM) and MIDI Clock. This ensures you have a high degree of flexibility in how Circuit Tracks integrates with the rest of your system.
Clock settings When Clock Rx is OFF, the clock is in internal mode and Circuit Tracks’ BPM is defined only by the internal tempo clock. Any external clock will be ignored. When Clock Rx is ON, Circuit Tracks is in AUTO mode and the BPM will be set by an externally applied MIDI clock at either the MIDI In or the USB ports if a valid one is applied; if this is not the case, Circuit Tracks will automatically switch to its internal clock.
Advanced Setup View Some additional preferences may be set in Advanced Setup View. It is entered by holding down Shift while powering the unit on, and exited by pressing Insert play icon Play 13 . The 8 x 4 grid is not illuminated in Advanced Setup View; adjustments are made using various other buttons. Easy Start Tool (Mass Storage Device) The Easy Start Tool may be disabled in Advanced Setup View if you do not wish Circuit Tracks to appear as a Mass Storage Device when connecting it to a computer.
Save Lock The Save Lock feature allows you to temporarily disable the Save function. This can be useful if you have a live set prepared on your Circuit Tracks, and you don’t want to risk accidentally overwriting any important projects. To enable Save Lock, hold both Shift and Save down while powering the unit on. While Save Lock is enabled, the Save button is unlit at all times. Save Lock status is retained during subsequent power cycles.
Bootloader Mode In the unlikely event of a problem with your Circuit Tracks, it may become necessary to enable Bootloader Mode. This is strictly an “engineering mode”, and all normal unit functions become inoperative. You should not use Bootloader Mode without instructions to do so from Novation’s Technical Support team.
