Novation Circuit Rhythm assessment | Engadget

While clearly the entire level of a sampler is to document and carry out with your personal samples, I do have to offer Novation credit score for the inventory sound choice. Most of your bases are lined from acoustic drums, to 808s, to guitar licks, electrical piano and synth pads. And they sound good too, which isn’t one thing you could possibly say in regards to the presets on the Circuit Tracks. Basically, it doesn’t matter what style of music you make, there must be sufficient right here to get you began.

While the fundamental workflow of the Circuit Rhythm and Tracks are principally similar, there are some variations. There are particular pages for recording and processing samples, as an illustration, and a web page devoted to what Novation calls “Grid FX”, that are principally punch-in results like repeat, gate and vinyl simulation that provide you with fundamental instruments for manipulating your beat.

But, similar to the Tracks, a few of the extra superior options aren’t at all times instantly apparent and having the handbook useful is a should whilst you’re discovering your bearings. I’m certain that finally I’d be capable of commit most capabilities to reminiscence, however after just a few weeks I’m nonetheless having hassle remembering flip threshold on and off when recording samples, it took me perpetually to determine manually place slice factors, and I nonetheless haven’t discovered set a count-in for unquantized recording. (I’m not even certain you may.)

The results are additionally one thing of a blended bag right here. The delay, reverb and sidechain results are all the identical as on the Tracks. They’re charmingly lo-fi, however the line between barely noticeable and excessive (particularly on the sidechain) is extraordinarily skinny. And the Grid FX are fairly mediocre. The vinyl sim is satisfactory, however the beat repeat and gate results at all times felt barely out of sync. It’s solely doubtless that I simply haven’t mastered performing with the Rhythm but, however I don’t battle almost as a lot with the identical results on Teenage Engineering’s PO-33.

There are some options that might be tremendous helpful too that I’m hoping to see Novation add in a future firmware replace. For one, the flexibility to swap or regulate Grid FX from the machine itself could be enormous. You can load as much as 16 of them, however they’re all presets, so you may’t change the depth of the flanger, as an illustration, with out connecting to the Components app in your laptop. This additionally signifies that in the event you begin a brand new “Pack” on the Circuit (Novation’s time period for a group of initiatives and samples) you’re caught with the default results.

Fine-grained management over the tempo can also be a should that’s presently lacking. I spent effectively over an hour making an attempt to line up a pattern from “Stridulum Theme” off the soundtrack to The Visitor, however it doesn’t matter what I did I couldn’t fairly get it to loop cleanly. The precise BPM of the pattern is someplace between 85 and 86 BPM, however the Rhythm will solely deal in entire numbers. (It doesn’t assist that with out a display, trimming a loop to the right size is a huge PITA.)

The Circuit Rhythm is way from excellent, however undoubtedly presents quite a lot of compelling options at an honest value. The query, finally, is what options are most necessary to you?

The Model:Samples is $100 cheaper at $299 and its sequencer blows the Circuit out of the water, in the event you ask me. But it’s not as finger-drum pleasant, plus it doesn’t have built-in sampling capabilities or a battery. (You need to pay $50 for a particular deal with that you just stick AAs in.) Korg’s Electribe Sampler feels rather a lot sturdier than the Circuit and might use single-cycle waveforms to primarily develop into a synth. But it prices $70 extra, its sequencer feels a bit of outdated and, in my restricted expertise, it’s simply not intuitive.

You may after all go for a Roland SP-404, from which the Rhythm is clearly takes inspiration. The trendy model, the 404A, prices $550 — fairly a bit greater than then Circuit. It’s workflow may also really feel a tad archaic in the event you’re used to extra trendy tools. That being mentioned, the SP-303 and SP-404 have legions of followers for a purpose: They’re plain classics.

Then, after all, there’s the opposite big of hip hop manufacturing: the MPC. As the most cost effective possibility, the MPC One continues to be fairly costly at $699, whereas the brand new touchscreen workflow has earned loads of detractors. If you need an old-school beat-making expertise you gained’t discover it right here, and the costs for classic MPCs are uncontrolled.

If you’re searching for the most cost effective and most moveable machine with sampling means although, I can’t suggest the $89 PO-33 sufficient. It’s not almost as succesful as any of the opposite gadgets listed right here, however it could really feel like a stripped-down SP-303 that matches in your pocket when you grasp its quirks.