How to Make FULL SONGS on the Circuit Tracks
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 ก.ค. 2024
- An in-depth tutorial on how to make full songs and live performances on the Novation Circuit Tracks, including scenes that save mute states per the 1.2 firmware update.
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00:00 Intro
00:53 Setup
01:48 Double-duty synths
03:46 Creating variation with shortened patterns and probability
04:36 Building patterns
04:50 Increasing pattern lengths
06:22 Chaining patterns
07:29 Building scenes
09:16 “Song mode”
10:18 Saving mute states
11:56 Live performance
13:01 Project switching
17:45 Outro
My current favorite music production gear:
MPC One: www.zzounds.com/a--3972602/it...
Circuit Tracks: www.zzounds.com/a--3972602/it...
Circuit Rhythm: www.zzounds.com/a--3972602/it...
Roland MC-101: www.zzounds.com/a--3972602/it...
Arturia MicroFreak: www.zzounds.com/a--3972602/it...
ATH M40 headphones: www.zzounds.com/a--3972602/it...
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Worth mentioning you can do the immediate switching like you showed with projects with patterns as well by holding down shift. You can come up with some interesting pattern compositions this way while live performing or trying to come up with ideas.
Also, it takes up a space, but sometimes I do like keeping an empty 'mute' pattern open this way as you can quickly mute a track using shift from the pattern window and it also does not cut off a note or the FX like the mixer does. This is especially nice with a long delay or if the last note of the pattern is long enough to allow it to play into the next pattern you selected.
Do you know if you can plug in a Bluetooth adapter and use my beats headphones without delay?
Thanks for this video, Gabe! I have the Circuit Tracks and while I've been able to create a lot of grooves on it, I've been having trouble turning those grooves into full songs. You're showing a lot of tips that I did not know about. Cheers.
same .. I've got a ton of D'n'B baslines, leads and drumloops but it's just not songs .. as in 3-5 mins long, start middle end songs
Wow! the mute states addition was mind-blowing. I was trying to find information when I updated my Circuit Tracks to the latest firmware but I couldn't find anything until I saw this video. Thank you so much for explaining
This is a great video. Made me completely rethink how to use the Circuit Tracks. I was struggling with creating and playing more complicated songs, and you showed me a new way of thinking about it. Indeed, why not use several projects to create an arrangement? It’s obvious once you explained it! I think the fact that the Circuit keeps playing in tempo and can switch from scenes/projects to other ones without a glitch is one of its most powerful and performance-oriented features. I have this box for 2 weeks now, and it keeps amazing me.
When was the last CT firmware update?
Thank you Gabe, this is the very video tutorial I needed for months! You covered 98.9% of what was holding me back from just tweaking existing patterns; I think I got this finally!
I've made a few one hour live sets that have a dozen songs each with the Circuit Tracks project switching and really enjoy the intuitive workflow. It's really nice that you can transition into another track using master filter, reverb and then adjust the tempo during the transition. It takes some work to make the transitions between tracks and practice to perform them, but once you've done them a few times you can get creative with them. I have not yet tried it but making projects for track1 -> transition1 -> track2 might be the best way to do a full set with more interesting transitions than just having the second track intro percussions mixed in with the first track outro.
Such a great tutorial!
Got me where I wanted to be, so thumbs up for you, Gabe! 👍
You got me totally sold on groove boxes - I've been meaning to get away from the laptop more. Got a Circuit Tracks recently and its super fun - for the first few hours. Now I'm happily going back to my DAW, realizing how great it is 😅 Thanks either way for the journey!
Thanks for revisiting the Circuit Gabe
Excellent video. Learned a ton. Thank you
Happy New Year Gabe-thanks for all the videos! Will you have a review of the new Circuit Tracks Patch packs?
If you are still looking for guitar pedals look into preamps. There is a pedal of a neve recording module. Has a warm sound and was used in Abbey Road Studios. Its called JHS Colour Box.
Just bought a circuit rhythm, super excited for it
I'm watching this for the 5th time, maybe... I keep coming back to remember some technique or trick. It's a great guide for reference. Thanks a lot for doing this!
Ah! I wish I would have known this mute state update had dropped before spending 2 hours arranging a song last night 🙂
Just a tip to share (not sure if you have mentioned this on your channel) but I will get extra mileage out of my scenes by reserving one of my midi tracks just as a timing mechanism by reducing or increasing the pattern sync rate as needed. That way I can get it to "loop" a progression multiple times in a scene without needing to take up one of my precious 16 scene slots.
Hi Gabe, thanks for all the Circuit videos, I now own a Tracks and Rhythm thanks to you and loving the combination. Can I ask, what do you do about mixing and mastering? I tend to just jam on the fly so recording individual tracks is not an option, so I end up with one audio file for the session. Mixing is then done, but is it worth exporting to a DAW for basic mastering or getting a pro to do it? Thanks
Oh! Didn’t know about mute state. I need to update my Tracks. Thanks
I liked it a lot before I sold it. I wish the synths where updated built in though , I could get over the pattern limitations really like the workflow. When you get the hang of it super fast just wish it had that same workflow with a little more complexity. But that might complicate the workflow idk 🤷♂️
Novation should be paying you (if they’re not already)
Great work, man. Keep it up
I've worked with them on paid collaborations a couple of times!
Any advice with mixing volumes in the Circuit Tracks? is there any way to clear and have the volumes in the same level (default level maybe) and just work from there?
Great video !!! Any suggestions how to create a full song with an end? I mean to stop automatically?
Please more like this. More music only using tracks
Great stuff as usual, fulfilling and concise. As I understood in Circuit OG we don't have these scenes option? It's really restraining in the prospective of creating or playing a different pieces of song on the fly.
You're correct, the OG doesn't have scenes, but it can do project switching just like the new ones. It's less flexible, but great for making different song sections. The OG also lets you chain patterns out of order, which the new ones can't do.
@@GabeMillerMusic Thanks. It would be great if they made chaining scenes like we have in OG with possibility to repeat some scenes and chain them out of order. That would be really great.
Say what you want, the engine in this thing is really good and almost a Syrum replacement. Oh and it recalls patches per pattern unlike the MPC.
I just bought my circuit tracks and I was really needing it. Hahahahahha tnx for the tutorial
Nice, glad it's helpful!
Hey, thanks for this tutorial.
I could never get the "scenes" working before. Turns out it's the shift key... For some reason this feels out of line with cirquit's normal workflow.
Anyway, thanks for this. With the rate at wich new gear is released nowadays, I'm thankful that you actually take time to dive into a piece of gear like this and make a video a few years after it's release.
Great video! Have you ever used knobs automation or you always tweak them live?
Thanks! I use knob automation for momentary stuff, like a pitched hi hat roll or a back and forth moving filter cutoff. For more large scale evolution, I only ever tweak live.
Hi Gabe, do you have a Lofi-12 review coming? I'd like to hear your opinion on it.
I did order one, so eventually!
Although everything in this video helps a lot, I do hope a firmware update will give us 64-step patterns. I have learned that I seem to be thinking in 4 bar musical pattern. And it kinda breaks my flow to immediately start chaining patterns to sketch my initial ideas. But even with 32-step patterns this already is an amazing piece of gear. Best price/performance I have ever encountered.
I don't think we will get 64 steps with a FW update, this is most likely a HW limitation. The ability to chain projects or have a counter you could set (similar to how the tempo is set) to allow specifying the number of times a pattern or scene repeats may be possible and would improve the 'song' mode by an order of magnitude. Edit: Also the ability to chain patterns/scenes in a specific order would also help in conjunction with the repeat counter.
what makes it so that you can use the mc101 for both the midi tracks? could that also be done with a synth like the cobalt8 for example? Or is there some specific feature tot the mc101 that makes it possible.
They just go to different MIDI channels. By default, MIDI 1 and 2 on the Tracks go to the actual channels 3 and 4 respectively (see the manual page 103). I don't own an MC101 or Cobalt8, but I assume at least with the former that you can route different MIDI channels to different synths on it.
Gabe, how well would the Circuit Tracks work with the MC-101 in a live setup?
Especially the pattern change ability of the Tracks in relation to MC-101 Scenes / Clips ?
I haven't tested the pattern changing for changing patches, but I think it would work fine.
Yup, i use projects to build my songs..... just a little sheet of paper and I can record my backing track to my Zoom R-16 easily and have some more complex changes
The song mode is so limited... But thanks to you, I finally understood how it is working :)
Yeah there's a reason they shy away from calling it a song mode and refer to it as scene chain. Glad this helped it make sense!
I'm using Circuit Tracks and I wonder if there's a possibility to have step 17-32 to be played before 1-16 as a variation? I can't delete just 1-16.
Circuit Tracks with the MC-101, my favorite combination ;-)
Thanks for this. Novation has been surprisingly absent on how to use the update feature (also, in your description, it should be Circuit Tracks, not Rhythm).
Updated, thanks!
Can we expect a new model of Circuit Tracks this year?
Is there a place where we can find free synth patches compatible with circuit tracks
Hey, got myself a track recently. One question: when I am using midi In to play with my arturia keyboard I can adress channel 1 and 2 to hear the Internal sounds, but 3&4 to play my external synths doesn't seem to work... do you know if there is a special setting for letting midi through? Thanks!
I don't know for sure, but I think this might be a known issue, where external controllers don't necessarily pass through properly.
@@GabeMillerMusic thanks, I will dig into this deeper.
Hi I have a problem with the drum patterns . Are there any tutorials, drum patterns on circuit tracks?
So can Project B contain completely different sound bank? Or does it have to be the same?
Projects are contained inside of sound banks, so it has to be the same bank, but the presets in synth 1 and 2 can change from project to project.
Where did the "shift/ choose patterns like you wish function go like in the original circuit? 😢
I’m wondering, it seems like Gabe is soloing the different tracks (eg around 4:40). Is there an easy way to do this? Or does he have all tracks muted and simply enables the track he wants to listen to? It all goes so fast… 😅
No soloing option unfortunately, I just had to mute all tracks but the one I want to isolate.
Tracks or Elektron Sample realtime performance.
Hola Gabe
Te escribe un suscriptor de Argentina. Por favor, activa la opción de traducción en español.
Aprovecho la oportunidad de desearte un buen año.
Excelente la propuesta de tu canal!!!
If on,y they could let us chromatically tune samples on this device - to open up a new world of sequencing
How do I import my songs into my pc so I can post them online?
You can't do that directly, but I did do a video on multiple ways to record it:
th-cam.com/video/1qdMK8iemtI/w-d-xo.html
@@GabeMillerMusic thanks Gabe
How do you chain both banks of patterns?
Hold down a pattern in the first bank, and while keeping that pad held down, hit the page down button, and select the end pattern.
@@GabeMillerMusic Thank you Gabe! Works! Oh man, i was trying to select 5 patterns, so 4 in first bank and 1st one in the second bank, but i didnt realise that i just continue holding the 1st pattern in the 1st bank, hit page down and continue holding, then release.
Appreciate your content man! All the best
Dang, only 2 bar patterns? Even in the upgraded newer version….. kinda a bummer
Yeah, but with pattern chaining and slowing down patterns for longer notes, I don't really miss having longer patterns.
TBH it's more work horse for simply having side-chain alone.
If you just let some music go without speak that wouldve been great 🤣
I mean... This is a tutorial, the goal is to talk through the process. But check the video linked at the end, where I actually turn the track in this video into a full song with no talking.
Mate, I've been watching a few of your videos since yesterday. Great, BUT I think in each video you still assume people have the unit at home and have already all the basic training and knowledge of operation and terminology used. You jump a lot forward with your thinking because you know it. Most of people watch your videos to make their mind before they decide and spend. I need to check your more basic tutorials.
I think you answered your own concern! I try to direct people towards the ideal watching order, and make stuff targeted at different stages of the journey.. reviews for people trying to decide whether to buy, beginner tutorials for people just digging into them, and more advanced tutorials for people wanting to go beyond the basics. I can't control which videos get served to people by the algorithm though, so you may see stuff "out of order." I can't do a complete beginner tutorial every single time I want to teach something new, or else the videos would be repetitive and take way too long to get to the point.
I don't know man. Everything on these entry-level grooveboxes seems to sound so cheesy, cheap, and toyish. I have yet to be impressed with anything coming out of these Novation devices. Same goes for the MC-101 btw, maybe less crappy but still not impressed. It almost seems like anything below Digitakt/ MPC One level is a waste of time.
Sampled my Digitakt drumkits into my MC-101 and sold it after that, because the Digitakt sucked.
@@80iesDude45 There's a lot about the Digitakt that legitimately sucks but it's not its sound quality. Which you basically confirm because you kept its samples.
@@Drrolfski yes, the quality of the sounds is very impressive, that's why I sampled them ;-)