Novation circuit User Manual
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Novation circuit User Manual

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  • Page 3: Copyright And Legal Notices

    Disclaimer Novation has taken all possible steps to ensure that the information given here is both correct and complete. In no event can Novation accept any liability or responsibility for any loss or damage to the owner of the equipment, any third party, or any equipment which may result from use of this manual or the equipment which it describes.

  • Page 4: Table Of Contents

    Registering your Circuit ........
  • Page 5 English THE DRUMS ............39 Playing Drums .

  • Page 6: Introduction

    It’s both a compositional tool and a live performance instrument. You don’t need to connect Circuit to a computer or other device to make music – it’s completely standalone, and can run off batteries if you wish. If you’re working in the studio, Novation’s superior sound quality means you can use Circuit as the basis of your finished track.

  • Page 7: Key Features

    English Key Features • Combines two MiniNova synth engines and four drum parts • 32-button multi-colour grid for playing and displaying information • Split grid displays sequence steps and notes simultaneously • Velocity-sensitive pads • 64 synth Patches • 64 drum sounds •...

  • Page 8: What's In The Box

    It is important to register your Circuit on-line using the Product/software Registration details at Step 4 of the Getting Started Guide. Apart from validating your manufacturer’s warranty, you will also then be able to download the additional software that you are entitled to as a Circuit owner: •...

  • Page 9: Power Requirements

    English Power Requirements Circuit can be powered either from AC mains via the AC adaptor supplied, or from AA batteries. It cannot be powered from a computer or other device via a USB connection. Using the AC adaptor The AC adaptor supplied with the unit is a 12 V DC, 1.5 A type, and can operate on mains voltages from 100 V to 240 V, 50 or 60 Hz.
  • Page 10 Do not mix cells that are charged to a different degree – i.e., don’t mix brand new cells with partially-run-down ones. • Always remove batteries from your Circuit if it is not to be used for a long period. • Spent batteries contain hazardous substances and should be disposed of in a responsible manner.

  • Page 11: Hardware Overview

    English HARDWARE OVERVIEW Glossary Some of the terms used in this manual have a specific meaning as applied to Circuit. Here is a short list: Term Button Definition Doubles the area of performance pads for the Synths, Expanded View Shift + Note and a “tap”...
  • Page 12 Circuit’s operating mode with the sequencer running; Playback Mode the Play button will be lit bright green. Circuit’s operating mode when synth notes can be added to the Pattern, or when adjustments using the Record Mode Macro controls can be saved. The Record button will be lit bright red.

  • Page 13: Top View - Controls

    It is always active. Macro controls 1 to 8 – eight multi-functional rotary encoders, with associated RGB LED. The availability and function of these controls varies across Circuit’s other views. The movement of Macro controls in performance may be recorded and replayed.
  • Page 14 English Record - have both a momentary (long press) and a Most of the buttons – including latching (short press) mode. A long press will temporarily display that button’s view, but only while the button is held down. When released the view will revert to whatever it was before the button was pressed.
  • Page 15 Speaker (in base of unit) – internal loudspeaker fed with a mono mix of Circuit’s output. Note that Circuit’s moulded base provides a gap below the speaker grille; for best results, place...

  • Page 16: Rear View - Connectors

    English Rear View – connectors L/MONO and RIGHT – Circuit’s main audio outputs on two ¼” TS jack sockets. Max. output level is +5.3 dBu (+/-1.5 dBu). With no plug in the RIGHT socket, the L/MONO socket carries a mono mix of L and R channels. The internal speaker is muted when a plug is inserted into either of the main output sockets.

  • Page 17: Basics

    English BASICS Powering the unit on If you haven’t fitted batteries into your Circuit, connect the supplied AC adaptor to the DC input socket and plug the adaptor into the AC mains. Connect the main outputs to a monitoring system (powered speakers or a separate amplifier and passive monitors);...

  • Page 18: Getting Started

    English After boot-up, the grid display will change to something like that shown below: Getting started We’ve pre-loaded 16 demo Sessions into the memories to give you an idea of how Circuit works. Press the Play button ; you should hear the first demo Session.

  • Page 19: Loading And Saving

    English Loading and Saving When you press Play for the first time after powering on, the Session Circuit will play 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.

  • Page 20: Customising Session Colours

    IMPORTANT – ENABLING SAVE By now you will probably have read the Getting Starting Guide shipped with your Circuit, so will be aware that Session Saving is disabled, but in case you haven’t, we’re repeating it here: The Save function is deliberately disabled before shipping from the factory to prevent accidental erasure of the demo Sessions.

  • Page 21: Starting From Scratch

    Pads 17-32: Drum 2 You won’t hear anything just yet. in Circuit are always in pairs: Drum 1 on the two upper rows and Drum 2 Drum Note Views on the lower two. Drums 3 and 4 work in exactly the same way.
  • Page 22 English If you want to delete a drum hit, just press its pad again: you can do this while the sequence is playing or stopped. The brightly lit pads tell you where the hits are. Now you can add synth notes. Press Synth 1 to open .

  • Page 23: The Synths

    English THE SYNTHS Each synth “engine” in Circuit is based on the powerful and versatile Novation MiniNova synth, albeit with fewer controls than the MiniNova offers. This section of the User Guide discusses the synth features in greater detail. Playing a Synth The two synth tracks –...

  • Page 24: Expanded Note View

    Thus to play the notes over two octaves in ascending order, start with Pads 9 to 16, then 1 to 8. When Circuit is powered up and an empty or new Session selected, Middle C will normally be the lowest note of the two octave keyboard (Pad 9). It is possible to alter the keyboard ‘layout’...

  • Page 25: Scales

    Scales Circuit is extremely flexible in how it lets you configure the note pads in the playing grid to suit many musical genres in key or scale. There are two aspects to specifying how the note pads are laid out: the scale and the root note.

  • Page 26: Scale Selection

    English Scale selection , the bottom two rows allow selection of one of the 16 available musical scales. Scales View These are listed in the table below, with the notes that each scale includes when the lowest note in the scale is C: Scale Natural Minor ✓...

  • Page 27: Root Note

    English by pressing Note again, the upper two rows in When you exit Scales View Note View contain the notes in the selected scale, over two octaves. There is one exception to this – Chromatic scale. With this scale selected all 12 notes in the scale are available, which means that only a one-octave keyboard is possible to accommodate them.

  • Page 28: Selecting Patches

    In this case, some notes in the pattern as it was created may not exist in the new scale. In such a case, Circuit makes an intelligent decision as to which note to play instead, which will normally be either one semitone above or below the original note.

  • Page 29: Exploring The Macros

    You can use the Macro controls while a pattern is playing to alter synth sounds in real time. If Circuit is in Record, the LEDs change to red as soon as the knob is turned, and parameter variations will now be recorded to the Session. See page 38 for more details.

  • Page 30: Recording A Synth Pattern In Real Time

    Record button. When you’re ready to save them to the pattern, press Record and carry on playing; after the pattern has completed 16 steps, the notes will be replayed. Circuit’s synth engines are “six-note polyphonic” – that is, you can play up to six notes at once at any step in the pattern, if the Patch you’ve selected is suitably polyphonic.

  • Page 31: Recording From An External Controller

    Patches; you’ll hear their effect immediately. Recording from an external controller You can also create a synth pattern in Circuit by sending it MIDI note data from an external controller. This gives you the ability to play Circuit’s synth patches using a standard music keyboard.

  • Page 32: Step Editing

    English Step editing Step editing operations in Circuit may either be done with the pattern running (i.e., in Play mode) not running (i.e., in Stop mode). Circuit gives you the means of adding or deleting individual notes in a pattern without needing to worry about accurate timing, as editing is step-based and doesn’t require the notes to be...

  • Page 33: Deleting Notes

    English If a bright blue step pad (i.e., one corresponding to a synth note) is pressed and held, it illuminates red, the note(s) at that step will sound, and the performance pad corresponding to the note(s) will also illuminate red (it will be two pads if it’s the highest note in the lower octave or vice versa).

  • Page 34: Clear And Duplicate

    English Clear and Duplicate Clearing Steps You can delete all assigned synth notes from a step in one go using the Clear button . This has the advantage that you don’t have to search through several octaves to find all the notes assigned to the step.

  • Page 35: Velocity And Gate

    Velocity values are per-step, not per-note: all notes at a step will have the same Velocity value. You can set the Velocity parameter for each step Circuit lets you change the Velocity value of a step to any of 16 values, after you’ve created a pattern. This is done in...
  • Page 36 English If you record in real time – i.e., while the sequencer is running and recording – the velocity value is set internally to 7-bit accuracy: a value between 0 and 127. However, Velocity View only display the Velocity value to a resolution of 16 increments of 8 value steps each (because there are only 16 pads available).

  • Page 37: Gate

    Gate value will be higher. A Gate value of 16 means that notes at that step will sound continuously for the entire pattern. Circuit lets you change the Gate value of a step after you’ve created a pattern. This is done in , which is selected by pressing Gate...
  • Page 38 English The two upper rows of the grid make up a 16-segment “bargraph” meter; the number of pads illuminated sand is the Gate value for the selected step. In the example shown above, the Gate value is 2: the remainder of the Gate value display is unlit. You can change the Gate value by pressing the pad in the Gate value display rows that corresponds to the Gate value;...

  • Page 39: Recording Knob Movements

    In order for the knob movements to be replayed, you must drop out of Record Mode before the sequence loops right round, otherwise Circuit will overwrite the automation data 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.

  • Page 40: The Drums

    English THE DRUMS Circuit has four separate drum tracks, Drum 1 to Drum 4. The grid displays for the drum tracks differ from those for the synth tracks in that the drums data is presented in odd/even pairs, and also, all of the display shows the pattern steps, there being no pitch information to display as with the synths.

  • Page 41: Expand View

    Expanded Note View record additional hits. Selecting Patches Each of the four drum tracks in your Circuit can use any one of 64 pre-loaded Patches (Presets). To change the Patch for any of the drum tracks, hold down Shift and press Drum 1, Drum 2, Drum 3 or Drum 4 as appropriate.
  • Page 42 To select a different Patch, press its pad. The selected drum track (1 to 4) will now adopt the sound defined by the new Patch. You can hear what the Patches sound like while in Patch by using Circuit’s Patch Preview feature. Pressing a pad plays the Patch. If you hold down View Shift while pressing a pad in , Preview is disabled;...

  • Page 43: Using The Macros For Drum Design

    English Using Step Edit with Sample Flip: Sample flip can also be carried out in Step Edit Mode. Enter either Velocity View Gate View these are non-destructive Views where you can select steps without adding or deleting them. Record Press and then select the step where the sample change is to occur;...

  • Page 44: Recording A Drum Pattern

    The Pattern you make will constitute Pattern 1 (of 8) for the currently active Session. There are eight Patterns for each of Circuit’s four tracks – two synths and two drums. Pattern 1 is the default Pattern in all Sessions, and will be the one you record to and the one you’ll hear when...

  • Page 45: Manual Hit Entry And Step Editing

    Pattern isn’t running (i.e., Circuit Note View is not in Play mode), Circuit lets you add or delete individual drum hits to/from a Pattern, effectively “off-line”. All the following details apply equally – and independently - to Drums 1 and 2, and Drums 3 and 4;...

  • Page 46: Drum Microsteps

    The views for Drums 3 and 4 are identical to those above except for the drum pad colours, which follow the standard used throughout Circuit. The time interval between steps is divided into six equal microsteps, represented by the six sand pads: 17-22 in the case of Drums 1 and 3, and 1 to 6 in the case of Drums 2 and 4.

  • Page 47: Velocity

    Expand View values determined by how hard the pads are struck. Circuit lets you change the Velocity value of a step after you’ve created a pattern. This is done , which is selected by pressing Velocity for the drums differ...

  • Page 48: Recording Knob Movements

    , you may prefer to disable Expand View Velocity; then the hits comprising your drum pattern will all be at the same volume. Circuit has a Fixed Velocity function, which sets Velocity at value of 96 (pad display12). Fixed Velocity is enabled by pressing Velocity while holding down Shift .
  • Page 49 English You can also add Macro automation to specific drum hits while the sequencer is not running (i.e., with Circuit in Stop Mode). Because for the drum tracks doesn’t include a Note View separate display of the step pattern as it does with the synth tracks, you will need to select...

  • Page 50: Clear And Duplicate

    English Clear and Duplicate The Clear and Duplicate buttons perform the same functions with drum tracks as they do with synth notes (see “Clear and Duplicate” on page 33), although as altering a drum pattern is such a simple process to perform in , you probably won’t ever use them to simply add Note View or remove drum hits.

  • Page 51: Patterns

    Pads #1 pulsing dim/bright The grid is divided vertically into 8 (2 x 4) pads per track. As with most of Circuit’s other views, the drum tracks are pairs of drums: each of the Pattern memories for Drum 1/Drum 2 can contain an 16-step pattern made up of hits recorded on BOTH Drum 1 and Drum 2.

  • Page 52: Clearing Patterns

    Pattern, thereby ensuring that the overall sequence maintains continuity. For example, if the current Pattern had reached Step 11 when you press another Pattern’s pad while holding down Shift, Circuit will remember where the cursor is, and the new Pattern will start playing from Step 12.

  • Page 53: Nudge

    English Nudge Circuit’s Nudge function is all about per-track timing adjustments. It lets you move the notes of a synth track or hits of a drum track backwards or forwards in time, in one-step increments, relative to the other tracks making up the Session. It’s useful to correct notes or hits that you didn’t manage to enter exactly on time, and can also be used creatively to move synth or drum...

  • Page 54: Length

    The number of steps in a Pattern is 16 by default, but can be changed to any number of steps between 1 and 16. Furthermore, Circuit lets you define the number of steps independently for the synth parts, Drums 1 and 2, and Drums 3 and 4. As a simple example, this would let you set an 8-step or 12-step synth or bass phrase against a default 16-step drum Pattern, which can add some interesting and unusual timing variations.
  • Page 55 English Synth/Drum 2/Drum 4 version The white pads Pattern length display indicates a synth pattern of 12 steps One step pad blinks blue/white; this is the step whose Gate value The five darker pads is displayed Pattern step display have notes associated with them Steps 13 to 16 are now disabled...

  • Page 56: Combining Nudge And Length Adjustments

    English Combining Nudge and Length adjustments Nudge and Length make separate adjustments to the pattern, and may be used independently. However, the effect of Nudge on shortened Pattern lengths differs from its effect on the Pattern’s original length. Nudge only shifts “active” steps in the Pattern. Thus if a Pattern of 16 steps is shortened to, say, 12 steps, the data for Steps 13 to 16 –...

  • Page 57: Pattern Octave

    The above example illustrates the basic points involved in chaining Patterns together to make a longer sequence. Creating longer, more complex and more interesting sequences is merely an extension of these principles. Circuit allows sequences of up to 128 steps, with each of the four tracks changing pattern every 16 steps.

  • Page 58: Tempo And Swing

    Tempo and Swing are closely related and the methods of adjusting them are very similar. Tempo Circuit will operate at any tempo in the range 40 to 240 BPM; the default tempo is 120 BPM. The tempo can be set by the internal tempo clock, or, if you are working with other MIDI devices or a DAW, by an external MIDI clock source.

  • Page 59: Tap Tempo

    Tap Tempo If you want to match Circuit’s tempo to another piece of music and you don’t know its BPM, you can use Tap Tempo. Hold down Shift and tap the Tempo button in time with the track you’re listening to.

  • Page 60: Mixer

    English MIXER Circuit includes a six-channel stereo mixer to let you adjust the volume of each track (i.e., instrument) relative to each other. By default, all the tracks are played at volume level of 100 (range 0 -127), leaving you with the Master Volume control to adjust the speaker volume and output level as required.
  • Page 61 Macros 2 and 4 and all other grid pads are disabled in Mixer View Track levels in Mixer View are automated. If Circuit is in Record Mode, adjustments of the individual track levels will be recorded to the Pattern. You can also position each of the tracks anywhere in the stereo image (but you’ll need to be monitoring both LEFT and RIGHT outputs, of course).

  • Page 62: Fx Section

    English FX SECTION Circuit 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 Session. Sixteen delay and eight reverb presets are provided, and you can select any one of each type. The send level from each instrument - how much reverb and/or delay there is on each track –...
  • Page 63 The FX send levels are automated in the same manner as the Macro control “tweak” functions; you can deliberately increase or reduce an effect during a sequence and if Circuit is in Record Mode, the changes will become part of the sequence. The Clear button...

  • Page 64: Sidechains

    English SIDECHAINS Each of Circuit’s two synths has a Sidechain feature. This works in the same manner as common dynamics processors such as compressors, and can be used to alter the “envelope” of synth notes in time with the main beat – the “key” source for both sidechains is always Drum 1.

  • Page 65: The Filter Knob

    Sidechain View THE FILTER KNOB The entire audio output of Circuit – the sum of the sounds from all six tracks – is fed through a traditional analogue-style filter section. The control for this is the large Filter knob . The Filter knob on most synthesisers is one of the key performance controls and can be used to radically change the overall sound: Filter on Circuit works in a similar way.

  • Page 66: Session Switching

    Session you want to delete by playing it before you hit Clear. It is not possible to delete a Session if Save is disabled (the state that Circuit is shipped in from the factory). See page 18 for details of how to enable Save.

  • Page 67: Appendix

    Bootloader Mode In the unlikely event of a problem with your Circuit, 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.

  • Page 68: Settings View

    Circuit to operate with other MIDI equipment Settings View for four categories of MIDI data independently: Note, CC (Control Change), Program Change and MIDI Clock. This ensures you have a high degree of flexibility in how Circuit integrates with the rest of your system.

  • Page 69: Clock Settings

    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 will automatically switch to its internal clock.

  • Page 70: Session Loading Problems

    English Session loading problems Circuit loads the last selected Session when it is powered-up. It is possible that if the power was interrupted while a session was being saved it may have become corrupted in some way. This might mean that Circuit ends up in some anomalous state at power on.
  • Page 71 English...
  • Page 72 F F F A 0 0 1 2 2 0 - 0 3...

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