Novation Circuit Rhythm and Circuit Tracks

[holonology]

@Doug

I think that whether or not you would feel the need to make that jump depends on what you want out of it. If you don’t plan on sampling or resampling or if you don’t mind having to prep samples like you already do for the Tracks then I think the Samples might still suit you just fine.

I go back and forth on this one. I do have some packs that I use, so that made me think the Samples & Tracks combo would be absolutely fine. On the other hand, I’d likely at least play around with with live/direct sampling if I had a machine that did it. Sometimes I’ll have a little lead line on a keyboard and sequencing that with vanilla MIDI is cool, but I like the idea of either chopping it up, reversing & repitching and just messing it up. The Rhythm sounds great here because I get the feeling from the Tracks workflow that it would be pretty quick & easy to start sampling.

@Doug

I think that where the Digitakt is going to really shine over the Rhythm and the Model: Samples is actually the kind of thing you’re talking about. Taking a sample and making a little instrument out of it. Mainly because you’ll have an amp and filter envelope to work with. You’ll also have loop points. And all of that stuff can be modulated with 2 LFOs. And those parameters as well as the LFO parameters can be parameter locked.

Yeah this part is what made me look into it. I’ve seen so may folks doing really interesting things with the LFOs creating evolving sounds, ambiences and atmospheres, which is I guess where the “more than a drum machine” comments come from. I can imagine the Tracks running the basis of a song and then having something like this on the sampler machine. I notice this is doing the sample scanning which seems to be something that is often used for the “sample as synth” ambience pieces. That said; the Rhythm is probably a starting point I’d be comfortable with and (enabling common sense mode here) it might still be a great first step. I totally see the merit in the Rhythm as a first move into having a dedicated sampler; and then and making the move upwards if that works out.

@Doug

There are also MIDI tracks on the Digitakt. Those can give you access to parameters on your Tracks that aren’t available from the machine.

This comment is where it gets interesting. I need to read up on this, as there is a lot of power in the Circuit’s that are locked away! I think what makes the Digitakt worth at least mulling over is the fact that it’s a one time buy (eg: no need to upgrade later.) Whether it’s the sound shaping features like LFOs, amp envelopes or just the technical stuff like capturing stereo ins via Overbridge (and Overbridge itself), these pros do start to add up. Anything that tempers some of the limitations of the Tracks (like no audio over USB) makes the Digitakt a really interesting option as the centrepiece of a small setup.

@Doug

For example, I think that the Digitakt has much more versatile filters but I find the Rhythm’s to be better at carving out the frequencies that I want in a sample.

I had heard that in other places too, about the lack of shaping. I wonder, is this something that can be covered off by applying EQ after you’ve exported everything?

@Doug

If you want to tweak your samples live then the Elektrons have a little problem. Each pattern is independent. So tweaking the filter on pattern 1 has nothing to do with the filter settings that are saved on pattern 2. That can lead to value jumps when you change patterns. The Circuits obviously don’t have that problem.

This one would be trial and error I think. I do play with the filters as patterns play on the Tracks, although it’s not like full DJ style modulation on most patterns. I do record a lot of the automation into the sequencer once I have tweaks that I’m happy with.

@Doug

I think that I’ll probably do a video about this comparison whenever I get back into making videos. I think it’s an interesting match up because they’re really different but they’re more similar to each other than something like an MPC or the new 404.

Yeah, I’ve heard some people say (rightly or wrongly) that the Digitakt is almost like a Circuit Rhythm Pro/Digitakt Lite, if you put the apples/oranges sequencer aside. Would love to see that video though!