I bought a Circuit Rhythm last year based on what you said in your video “If I had to take one to a desert island, it would be a Circuit Rhythm”. You were right. Since then I have fallen in love with it over and over again.
I've struggled a bit to get to grips with the circuit tracks workflow--probably just not investing enough time. Seeing you work with either device is inspiring and makes me want to dive deeper!
Yeah the Rhythm is awesome. I have played a few live sets with it. Doing house, synthwave and darkwave. I also use your sample pack extensively ;). Thank you for the video! Oh yeah the dristortion on the Rhythm kicks some serious ass.
Just picked up a Rhythm today to compliment the Tracks. Im falling in love with the simplicity of DAWless and these devices are both simple and so powerful. They are so portable that I can pack these to produce on my train commutes which is when inspiration most often hits me.
Very beautiful. I've been curious about the Rhythm for a couple years now, mostly because everyone was so keen on the Tracks. It's nice to see my hunch was good. I think I'll snag one, cheers.
I'm a bit out of the loop now I sold my Circuit Tracks, but I think I grasp the general ideas. I like your new direction towards more industrial sounds- the energy, aggression, builds and drops are just perfect for the dancefloor. If I was to get another Circuit, I think it would be the rhythm.
I’ve asked for a Circuit Rhythm for my birthday and this video has just sealed the deal, thanks. Love what the distortion is doing to add character. I really want to know how having a bunch of Jungle breaks in it fares, as that’s my main agenda with it. I love the Tracks and am getting a TR6S for Christmas ✌️If you fancy showing some breaks in it, then that would be good to see how you handle them, like how you used the samples in this video. What are you using to generate your samples? The Tracks? Love this
I get my samples from all over the place, often from Splice Sounds, sample packs by creators I like, or my own gear/plugins. In the case of a break sample I'll show in a future video, I warped a one that I found on Splice, then loaded it in.
I recently purchased the Circuit Tracks and I’m having a really fun time with it, I always thought the Rhythm was one of the weaker samplers out there but after time with the Tracks workflow this seems so appealing to me
I'm a big fan of the Circuit Rhythm. It may not be the most powerful DAW-in-a-box ever made but as a sample based drum machine with some melodic capabilities it is excellent.
Picked it down from my storage shelf yesterday and played around with it. Sitting on charger at this moment next to me. I still like tracks more, but I got that one first. So maybe that’s why.
Circuit Rhythm is not my dream sampler, but still the closest one. I started my DAWless adventure with Circuit Rhythm, then wanted more, so also bought MPC. But I'm still nostalgically getting back to this simple unit. It provides me with incredible sense of interaction with real instrument. I miss a few features like sample time stretching, USB MIDI host, synth onboard or polyphony. But when I observe market and see new much more hyped products like EP-133, SEQTRACK or Move, I have impression that I would still miss many other features...
I owned one alongside Yamaha Seqtrak, but ended up replacing both with MPC One+. That's however because I'm all about composing and production and not performance (I guess). But nevertheless I have to say that even though I didn't use it too much, I actually enjoyed it. I guess in the future I might search for similar device like e.g. Polyend Play (because it has both synthesizer and sampler), but that's way ahead of me. Still have to learn a lot. It is nice to hear a complete high quality song produced on this device though. I can recognize job really well done even if it is not my favorite music style :)
Nice beats! Hey Gabe, i have a question: do you still use the mc101 as much as you used to? Since the time you had it, did you discover new tricks? I use it all the time and think it's severely underrated, but in this day and age of multiple grooveboxes, i need validation 😅
Thanks! Because I've been so tunneled on my live set with the Circuits (partially because of imminent gigs providing built-in deadlines to finish new material, and because I've really been enjoying it), I've not spent much time with anything else lately. I haven't picked up any new tricks on the MC-101 that I haven't already documented in videos, but tbh, the workflow tricks, sound design from scratch, assigning different patches to different clips, and multitrack recording are really all I need. Given that these things tend to go in waves, I'm sure I'll revisit it eventually.
i'm not going to go as far as to call it necessary but i think every electronic musician can benefit greatly from learning how to work with a few monophonic tracks. it just forces you to think about things you take for granted in your production and arrangement
I've got you covered! This is how I get the two devices to talk to each other: th-cam.com/video/CmLn5axfnZY/w-d-xo.html This is the workflow of building a live set for me: th-cam.com/video/5cdTkFrhNUU/w-d-xo.html And this is what it was like to play live for the first time: th-cam.com/video/EPDZaKxGjsU/w-d-xo.html And I've got more dual Circuit videos on the way
I think it is a superb unit, I wrote the most complex patterns in my entire music journey. Check "Faster Bars Ep 1 (Jungle Mission)" and "Breakbeat 199x" by PortableDJs, the patterns are written on a Rhythm. Glad to have listened to your advice time ago 🔥
It’s a great device for sure. The punch in effects are fun, the interface is a joy, the slope knob is super useful and superbly thought out. But the limited sample time is a pain (surely it should have been twice the length of the Circuit Tracks), the pack management is horrible (I wanted to build a live set but my songs were in different packs and there is no way to “collect and save”) and the “power combo” of Tracks plus Rhythm is frustrating and cumbersome. I’m currently moving over to Ableton Move but I’m actually thinking that I’m going to keep my Circuit Rhythm around for punch in effects and also a track swap looper to cover the new track coming in.
The limited sample time is the biggest pain point for me at the moment, as any time I want to expand the set I have to dig to see what I can delete or shorten. You can download individual projects in Components and upload them to different packs, but you'd have to also make sure the same samples are in the same slots in both packs. It's definitely a pain, and I put up with it because I'm super committed to this setup.
I love the tracks and Rhythm, but with the way the MPC allows me to make livesets of 1 hour and longer, I feel these two fall short. Yes i can hop from project to project and have up to 16 scenes in a project, but in the end, I feel these two make better sketch pads than live performance tools for me. I still love them though.
Hey Gabe, I just bought an MC 101 a couple months ago and a circuit rhythm a few weeks after. I’m trying to use my rhythm as the main controller and be able to sample sounds from the 101 into the rhythm on four of the tracks and use the remaining four on for samples on the rhythm. When I press a pad in the rhythm, the 101 plays as well and when I try to record a sample, nothing picks up. Is there are way to control channels 1-4 on the 101 without triggering those channels on the rhythm while also being able to still use 5-8 on the rhythm? I have the MIDI outs and ins running into each device and the mono out from the 101 to the rhythm sample in. I’m not sure if I have it setup correctly. I’m still new to midi
Question is: how often would you actually finish tracks sketched in this device? Because that's what I like about the MPC (polish your track on the device itself) and Move (continue in Ableton Live where you left off on the Move).
The funny thing is that, now that I've gotten into playing live, I worry a lot less about finishing releasable tracks. Everything I make on the Circuits these days is meant to sound as good as possible and fit right into my live set. For now, I'm happy to split my efforts between using the Circuits to make stuff meant for playing live, and use stuff like the MPC to make stuff for more proper "studio recordings."
like your videos and approach on the machines, i have circuit, need to use it more 👍 thanks. oh btw your friend - from progressive metal band - i might buy if he releases a soundbank with these scream type sounds. now i go to watch your roland videos and decide to put my next salary on elektrons or rolands. thanks for the great content, i enjoy ✌️✌️
Honestly, my take. Groove boxes are just groove boxes to make beats and then if you want to make it into an actual song, put it into a DAW! But what Gabe has done is pure genius and is accepting the limitations and not let them stifle the creative process. I don't think Novation needs to create a Circuit Rhythm PRO, it's pro already IMO.
I like the Rhythm but a few things stopped me from using it really; the lack of polyphony and the difficulty of sampling/chopping without a screen chief among them. But it definitely can do stuff like your examples and I’ve seen people play sets with just one :)
How are even able to hear it with the volume knob set there? Please talk about your audio signal path? The output volume is abysmal compared the the circuit or frankly any other device I have.
You're not wrong - I've definitely noticed this on the Rhythm and to a certain extent on the Tracks. I always have to boost the gain on the inputs of the audio interface or the mixer that these devices are hooked up to.
this is the hot take the world needs to hear. to me it;s like an ultra convenient/flexible OP version of the akai s612 - and all of the stuff people love about that machine - i.e. for the main part, you are using the manual controls and your ears for feedback, rather than looking at a waveform - i think it suffered hugely for coming out just around the same time as the big sp404 upgrade - and it can't possibly compete on features.. but then features aren't the be all and end all. if they were, we'd just use push /ableton combo as the worlds greatest sampler, end of conversation. i think the limitations are what makes this such a great machine for me - and the fact they can be had for next to nothing on ebay.. what you've done with it on this track and more generally gets a big round of applause too. nice one gabe. thanks!
Could someone name some artists which do stuff like the track in the first part of Gabe's video (that 150bpm techno with a lot of distortion)? And maybe what's the name of the subgenre to search on Beatport and similar resources. Just realized I'd like to listen to such stuff more.
Probably hard industrial techno. krista bourgeois is someone I look up to a lot for making and playing that stuff live (stuff on streaming and live sets on TH-cam).
I find the Circuit Tracks sounds really good for aggressive sounds, but if you want to do something chill, it always sounds too abrasive. I thought of getting a Rhythm to complement it, but I've come to dislike the CT so much that I just dropped the idea.
Got the Circuit Tracks and honestly its the most fun and intuitive thing to use. BUT.... try make a full track/song to hit play and then record... impossible. Making it all pointless if you want to make just one freaking song to record. Im aware all companies do this crap. They cut a DAW down and put it in a box to sell. But its always incomplete without the most basic common sense features. Eg. Circuit Tracks you dont know when you are buying it that a normal standard SD card will not actually work likely. You would have to format it or some BS. Ridiculous. Then there is the whole Scenes. If you change the steps in a pattern, it changes it globally for ALL scenes. All you can do is play with the crappy 8 patterns per track, mute/unmute tracks. Its rubbish. They could have been unbeatable if they JUST freaking enabled scenes to have the ability to store patterns with different steps. Just that would have been great. As it is, its a kids toy. Not for anyone serious about making full tracks/songs to hit play and record to compile an album.
Sorry, it only rumbled my windows and picture frames, not my neighbors' across the street. Maybe a little lighter on the high pass? (JK, lovely doots, Sir)
but for real, your voiceover is quite loud in comparison to the music you're playing. You gave me a little jump with your speaking after having the initial jam pumped LOUD on my system.
I bought a Circuit Rhythm last year based on what you said in your video “If I had to take one to a desert island, it would be a Circuit Rhythm”. You were right. Since then I have fallen in love with it over and over again.
saame😊😊😊
At 2:30 you got that diesel boy / technical itch vibe 100%. One of my favorite tracks. Awesome work man
Thanks so much!
Tech Itch is such an underrated legend
I've struggled a bit to get to grips with the circuit tracks workflow--probably just not investing enough time. Seeing you work with either device is inspiring and makes me want to dive deeper!
I love mine too, it's a joy to use, hoping we'll have another update...
Yeah the Rhythm is awesome. I have played a few live sets with it. Doing house, synthwave and darkwave. I also use your sample pack extensively ;). Thank you for the video! Oh yeah the dristortion on the Rhythm kicks some serious ass.
That's awesome to hear!
the message that no gear is really bad if you put the time into learning it hits as hard as this sick nasty a$$ beat! Sick Gabe, SICK!!!!!
Just picked up a Rhythm today to compliment the Tracks. Im falling in love with the simplicity of DAWless and these devices are both simple and so powerful. They are so portable that I can pack these to produce on my train commutes which is when inspiration most often hits me.
Very beautiful. I've been curious about the Rhythm for a couple years now, mostly because everyone was so keen on the Tracks. It's nice to see my hunch was good. I think I'll snag one, cheers.
Good stuff, Gabe! I love the cyberpunk-soaked DnB. I wish the Tracks allowed sidechaining sample tracks like the Rhythm does.
1:10 holy shit bro, your music got HARD
It’s really hard not to use the distortion on the Rhythm because it sounds so freakn good!
Mc101 and Microfreak are great choices for a world of sounds that don't take much space on the table.
Totally
Pity the 101 has shit usb noise that is unbearable. I returned 2 copies. No point in having a device with a feature that doesn’t work.
Yep. Aira Compact series, Novation duo, mc-101 + tr6s combo, digitakt + ipad. We live in amazing time
I'm a bit out of the loop now I sold my Circuit Tracks, but I think I grasp the general ideas. I like your new direction towards more industrial sounds- the energy, aggression, builds and drops are just perfect for the dancefloor. If I was to get another Circuit, I think it would be the rhythm.
I’ve asked for a Circuit Rhythm for my birthday and this video has just sealed the deal, thanks. Love what the distortion is doing to add character. I really want to know how having a bunch of Jungle breaks in it fares, as that’s my main agenda with it. I love the Tracks and am getting a TR6S for Christmas ✌️If you fancy showing some breaks in it, then that would be good to see how you handle them, like how you used the samples in this video. What are you using to generate your samples? The Tracks? Love this
I get my samples from all over the place, often from Splice Sounds, sample packs by creators I like, or my own gear/plugins. In the case of a break sample I'll show in a future video, I warped a one that I found on Splice, then loaded it in.
I love your energy great video
Gabe got good!
I have both CT and CR and seeing this just convinces me more that Novation needs to put together a souped up Tracks and Rhythm in a single box.
This, but the recipe also requires the Mono Station as an ingredient. 😉
This sounds sick!
Ooooh that's nice bro!!!!
I recently purchased the Circuit Tracks and I’m having a really fun time with it, I always thought the Rhythm was one of the weaker samplers out there but after time with the Tracks workflow this seems so appealing to me
That's some dope drum and bass
I'm a big fan of the Circuit Rhythm. It may not be the most powerful DAW-in-a-box ever made but as a sample based drum machine with some melodic capabilities it is excellent.
Picked it down from my storage shelf yesterday and played around with it. Sitting on charger at this moment next to me. I still like tracks more, but I got that one first. So maybe that’s why.
Circuit Rhythm is not my dream sampler, but still the closest one. I started my DAWless adventure with Circuit Rhythm, then wanted more, so also bought MPC. But I'm still nostalgically getting back to this simple unit. It provides me with incredible sense of interaction with real instrument. I miss a few features like sample time stretching, USB MIDI host, synth onboard or polyphony. But when I observe market and see new much more hyped products like EP-133, SEQTRACK or Move, I have impression that I would still miss many other features...
I owned one alongside Yamaha Seqtrak, but ended up replacing both with MPC One+. That's however because I'm all about composing and production and not performance (I guess). But nevertheless I have to say that even though I didn't use it too much, I actually enjoyed it. I guess in the future I might search for similar device like e.g. Polyend Play (because it has both synthesizer and sampler), but that's way ahead of me. Still have to learn a lot.
It is nice to hear a complete high quality song produced on this device though. I can recognize job really well done even if it is not my favorite music style :)
I don't have these but I love trying to figure out how I'd do it on my MPC One. Great stuff 😎👍
Thinking of picking up a Circuit Tracks and maybe the Rhythm as well.
Nice beats!
Hey Gabe, i have a question: do you still use the mc101 as much as you used to? Since the time you had it, did you discover new tricks? I use it all the time and think it's severely underrated, but in this day and age of multiple grooveboxes, i need validation 😅
Thanks! Because I've been so tunneled on my live set with the Circuits (partially because of imminent gigs providing built-in deadlines to finish new material, and because I've really been enjoying it), I've not spent much time with anything else lately. I haven't picked up any new tricks on the MC-101 that I haven't already documented in videos, but tbh, the workflow tricks, sound design from scratch, assigning different patches to different clips, and multitrack recording are really all I need. Given that these things tend to go in waves, I'm sure I'll revisit it eventually.
@ congrats on getting those gigs, it proves that your hard work pays off 🔥
That DnB slams
i'm not going to go as far as to call it necessary but i think every electronic musician can benefit greatly from learning how to work with a few monophonic tracks. it just forces you to think about things you take for granted in your production and arrangement
I'd love to see more of your workflow and how it's set up and you use it with the Circuit Tracks or other devices at the same time live.
I've got you covered! This is how I get the two devices to talk to each other:
th-cam.com/video/CmLn5axfnZY/w-d-xo.html
This is the workflow of building a live set for me:
th-cam.com/video/5cdTkFrhNUU/w-d-xo.html
And this is what it was like to play live for the first time:
th-cam.com/video/EPDZaKxGjsU/w-d-xo.html
And I've got more dual Circuit videos on the way
Nice tunes 🎉
They should really update this it's a worthy platform
How did you get this stage volume level. Very loud 🔥.
Mine doesn't sound that loud
Congratulations 🎉
I've been saying this every since I got it. Probably half of my upcoming album was started on this.
Agreed :)
Novation should be paying you for such epic videos and giving you free peaks and summits
Haha thanks, I've worked with them a bit in the past, although I'm happy to remain independent
I think it is a superb unit, I wrote the most complex patterns in my entire music journey. Check "Faster Bars Ep 1 (Jungle Mission)" and "Breakbeat 199x" by PortableDJs, the patterns are written on a Rhythm. Glad to have listened to your advice time ago 🔥
The Rhythm sounds good. One reason to buy it.
I have one too... really a beast in itself... BUT only mono samples is a bit of a missed opportunity.
nice!!
It’s a great device for sure.
The punch in effects are fun, the interface is a joy, the slope knob is super useful and superbly thought out.
But the limited sample time is a pain (surely it should have been twice the length of the Circuit Tracks), the pack management is horrible (I wanted to build a live set but my songs were in different packs and there is no way to “collect and save”) and the “power combo” of Tracks plus Rhythm is frustrating and cumbersome.
I’m currently moving over to Ableton Move but I’m actually thinking that I’m going to keep my Circuit Rhythm around for punch in effects and also a track swap looper to cover the new track coming in.
The limited sample time is the biggest pain point for me at the moment, as any time I want to expand the set I have to dig to see what I can delete or shorten.
You can download individual projects in Components and upload them to different packs, but you'd have to also make sure the same samples are in the same slots in both packs. It's definitely a pain, and I put up with it because I'm super committed to this setup.
I love the tracks and Rhythm, but with the way the MPC allows me to make livesets of 1 hour and longer, I feel these two fall short. Yes i can hop from project to project and have up to 16 scenes in a project, but in the end, I feel these two make better sketch pads than live performance tools for me. I still love them though.
Hey Gabe, I just bought an MC 101 a couple months ago and a circuit rhythm a few weeks after. I’m trying to use my rhythm as the main controller and be able to sample sounds from the 101 into the rhythm on four of the tracks and use the remaining four on for samples on the rhythm.
When I press a pad in the rhythm, the 101 plays as well and when I try to record a sample, nothing picks up. Is there are way to control channels 1-4 on the 101 without triggering those channels on the rhythm while also being able to still use 5-8 on the rhythm?
I have the MIDI outs and ins running into each device and the mono out from the 101 to the rhythm sample in. I’m not sure if I have it setup correctly. I’m still new to midi
Question is: how often would you actually finish tracks sketched in this device? Because that's what I like about the MPC (polish your track on the device itself) and Move (continue in Ableton Live where you left off on the Move).
The funny thing is that, now that I've gotten into playing live, I worry a lot less about finishing releasable tracks. Everything I make on the Circuits these days is meant to sound as good as possible and fit right into my live set. For now, I'm happy to split my efforts between using the Circuits to make stuff meant for playing live, and use stuff like the MPC to make stuff for more proper "studio recordings."
Drop these
Think if they could color code notes to represent pitch or sample nr depending on view, instead of just showing them highlighted as a note here.
like your videos and approach on the machines, i have circuit, need to use it more 👍 thanks. oh btw your friend - from progressive metal band - i might buy if he releases a soundbank with these scream type sounds. now i go to watch your roland videos and decide to put my next salary on elektrons or rolands. thanks for the great content, i enjoy ✌️✌️
Thanks! I'm not sure if that's something he'd be interested in but yeah he's a great vocalist.
Honestly, my take. Groove boxes are just groove boxes to make beats and then if you want to make it into an actual song, put it into a DAW!
But what Gabe has done is pure genius and is accepting the limitations and not let them stifle the creative process. I don't think Novation needs to create a Circuit Rhythm PRO, it's pro already IMO.
I'd still love a pro that adds some quality of life stuff and consolidates what I like about both Circuits, but thanks I appreciate that!
Okay choom.
I like the Rhythm but a few things stopped me from using it really; the lack of polyphony and the difficulty of sampling/chopping without a screen chief among them. But it definitely can do stuff like your examples and I’ve seen people play sets with just one :)
It can be done! You definitely have to be okay with the limitations to make the effort worth it though
How are even able to hear it with the volume knob set there? Please talk about your audio signal path? The output volume is abysmal compared the the circuit or frankly any other device I have.
You're not wrong - I've definitely noticed this on the Rhythm and to a certain extent on the Tracks. I always have to boost the gain on the inputs of the audio interface or the mixer that these devices are hooked up to.
Maybe I got lucky with my unit (or you got unlucky with yours?), but I haven't had an issue with the volume output on mine.
Was thinking the same thing lol 😂
Is your compressor off?
I got it set to 50% on my setup. I guess his mixer/audio interface is a bit higher gain by default?
this is the hot take the world needs to hear. to me it;s like an ultra convenient/flexible OP version of the akai s612 - and all of the stuff people love about that machine - i.e. for the main part, you are using the manual controls and your ears for feedback, rather than looking at a waveform - i think it suffered hugely for coming out just around the same time as the big sp404 upgrade - and it can't possibly compete on features.. but then features aren't the be all and end all. if they were, we'd just use push /ableton combo as the worlds greatest sampler, end of conversation. i think the limitations are what makes this such a great machine for me - and the fact they can be had for next to nothing on ebay.. what you've done with it on this track and more generally gets a big round of applause too. nice one gabe. thanks!
Could someone name some artists which do stuff like the track in the first part of Gabe's video (that 150bpm techno with a lot of distortion)? And maybe what's the name of the subgenre to search on Beatport and similar resources. Just realized I'd like to listen to such stuff more.
Probably hard industrial techno. krista bourgeois is someone I look up to a lot for making and playing that stuff live (stuff on streaming and live sets on TH-cam).
I find the Circuit Tracks sounds really good for aggressive sounds, but if you want to do something chill, it always sounds too abrasive. I thought of getting a Rhythm to complement it, but I've come to dislike the CT so much that I just dropped the idea.
This or the abelton one?
For me personally, Circuits all the way.
Got the Circuit Tracks and honestly its the most fun and intuitive thing to use. BUT.... try make a full track/song to hit play and then record... impossible. Making it all pointless if you want to make just one freaking song to record.
Im aware all companies do this crap. They cut a DAW down and put it in a box to sell. But its always incomplete without the most basic common sense features.
Eg. Circuit Tracks you dont know when you are buying it that a normal standard SD card will not actually work likely. You would have to format it or some BS. Ridiculous.
Then there is the whole Scenes. If you change the steps in a pattern, it changes it globally for ALL scenes. All you can do is play with the crappy 8 patterns per track, mute/unmute tracks. Its rubbish.
They could have been unbeatable if they JUST freaking enabled scenes to have the ability to store patterns with different steps. Just that would have been great.
As it is, its a kids toy. Not for anyone serious about making full tracks/songs to hit play and record to compile an album.
Sorry, it only rumbled my windows and picture frames, not my neighbors' across the street. Maybe a little lighter on the high pass?
(JK, lovely doots, Sir)
but for real, your voiceover is quite loud in comparison to the music you're playing. You gave me a little jump with your speaking after having the initial jam pumped LOUD on my system.
I like the circuit rhythm but sold mine after a few months and bought better gear for my needs.
Fair enough!
It’s great, but like 5 minutes of sampling time per pack? Come on!
The limited sample time is one of the biggest limitations I bump up against if I want to add totally new stuff to my live set