Tempo and Swing are closely related and the methods of adjusting them are very similar.
Circuit Tracks will operate at any tempo in the range 40 to 240 BPM. The tempo can be set by the internal tempo clock, or by an external MIDI clock source. External MIDI clock can be applied either via the USB port or the MIDI In port.
To display and adjust the BPM of the internal tempo clock, press the Tempo/Swing button to open Tempo View. (Like most buttons on Circuit Tracks, you can short-press to switch the grid to Tempo View, or long-press to check the BPM momentarily.)
The BPM is displayed on the pad grid as two or three large digits in blue and white. The “hundreds” digit (which can only ever be a “1”, “2” or off) occupies grid columns 1 and 2, while the “tens” and “units” digits occupy three columns each, How the digits 0 to 9 are depicted is shown below.
Macro control 1 is used to adjust the tempo; its LED illuminates bright blue.
No switching is required to allow Circuit Tracks to be synced to a source of external MIDI clock (subject to clock settings – see “Clock settings” on Clock settings). If a valid external clock is applied, it will automatically be selected as the clock source, and the grid will display “SYN” in red if Macro 1 is turned. Adjusting Macro 1 will not alter the internal tempo when an external clock is in use.
While the internal tempo clock only allows integer BPMs (i.e., no fractional tempo values), Circuit Tracks will synchronise to any external clock rates – including fractional values - in the range 30 to 300 BPM.
If an external clock is removed (or goes out of range), Circuit Tracks will stop playing. “SYN” remains displayed until Play is pressed. The grid then shows the BPM that was saved with the Project, Macro 1 will be re-enabled and you can adjust the tempo.
If you want to match the tempo to an existing piece of music but you don’t know its BPM, you can use Tap Tempo.
Hold down Shift and tap the Tempo/Swing button in time with the track you’re listening to. You need at least three taps for Circuit Tracks to change its tempo setting to your manual input, and it calculates the BPM by averaging the last five taps.
You can use Tap Tempo at any time, but if you’re in Tempo View, you’ll see the BPM display update itself to the tap tempo.
By default, all steps in a pattern are equally spaced in time. At tempo of 120 BPM, a 16-step pattern will repeat every two seconds, making the steps one-eighth of a second apart. Changing the Swing parameter from its default value of 50 (the range is 20 to 80) changes the timing of even-numbered steps (the off-beats); a lower swing value shortens the time between an even step and the previous odd step, a higher Swing value has the opposite effect.
Swing is adjusted with Macro 2, while in Tempo View; its LED illuminates orange. Note that when adjusting tempo and swing alternately, you may notice a short delay before the knob adjustment takes effect. This is to allow you to check the current Tempo and Swing values without altering them.
Swing can be used to add an extra “groove” to your pattern. Note that as it is the even steps that are “swung”, these can be interpreted as 1/16-notes (semiquavers).
The Click (or metronome) can be activated or deactivated by holding Shift and pressing Clear . Clear will light bright green when Click is enabled and dim red when it is not. When enabled, you will hear a metronome tick at every quarter note on all audio outputs whenever the sequencer is playing. This is a global setting, therefore Click will remain on or off regardless of Pack or Project changes. The setting is not saved when Circuit Tracks is powered off.
To adjust the volume of the Click, press Tempo/Swing and use Macro 5. Click level is also a global setting and applies to all Packs and Projects. The level setting is saved when the device is powered off using the power button .
It is very easy to synchronise external equipment – e.g., analogue synths – to Circuit Tracks with the rear panel Sync Out connector . This provides a sync pulse at a rate proportional to the tempo clock (BPM); the actual ratio can be set in Setup View – see Setup view. The default rate is two pulses per quarter note.
Circuit Tracks includes an eight-channel mixer to let you adjust the volume of each track relative to the others. By default, all the tracks play at a volume level of 100 (arbitrary units, range 0-127), leaving you with the Master Volume control to adjust the output level as required.
Press Mixer to open Mixer View:
The illuminated pads on Row 1 are Mute buttons for each track. Press a pad to stop the sequencer triggering the synth track notes, drum track hits, MIDI track notes outputs and CC automation, which in turn will mute the track; press again to unmute. The pad’s illumination dims to indicate a Mute state.
By default, in Mixer View the Macros control volume level of each track. This is indicated by the ▼ button being lit. Macro LEDs light in the corresponding track colour, and dim as the track level is reduced.
Macro controls 3 and 4 (the MIDI tracks) control the level of external analogue audio sources connected to the rear panel Inputs 1 and 2 . These can be used to add the outputs of external synths into Circuit Tracks’ mix.
Track level adjustment with the Macros may be automated. If Circuit Tracks is in Record Mode, changes to the individual track levels will be recorded to the Pattern. To delete Volume Level automation, hold Clear and turn the Macro control. The Macro LED will light red to indicate that the deletion has been completed.
You can also position each track anywhere in the stereo image (but you’ll need to be monitoring both left and right outputs or using headphones to hear any effect). Pressing the ▼ button converts the Macro controls to pan controls for each track. The ▼ button goes out and the ▲ button illuminates. The default pan position of every track is stereo-centre, indicated by the Macro LEDs showing white. Panning a track left turns the LED increasingly bright blue; panning to the right turns it increasingly bright pink.
To quickly return a panned track to the centre of the stereo image, hold down Clear and turn the Macro control clockwise. The Macro LED will light purple to indicate that the action has been completed.
The Pan controls are automated in the same way as the Level controls. To delete Pan automation, hold Clear and turn the Macro control anticlockwise. The Macro LED will light red to indicate that the action has been completed.
Pressing ▲ will return the Macros to their level control function.
Muting can be used for more creative purposes than simply silencing a track; it lets you perform in real time over the unmuted tracks. When a track is muted, its sequencer step pads become inactive. However, they then become available to play synth notes or chords, or drum hits, in real time.
To experiment with this, select a Project with active Drum tracks, and mute a synth track in Mixer View. Select Note View for the muted track: the step pads will still show the sequence in progress, but because the track is muted, no notes will be triggered by the sequencer. The step pads may now be used to play synth notes “manually” – in real time. You can either play notes or chords already assigned to steps by pressing the step pads, or, if the track is empty, you can assign note(s) to any of the step pads. You now have a set of 16 pads which can be used to trigger any combination of notes as and when you wish. Furthermore, Macro automation can be applied in Step Edit Mode to any of the programmed step pads, which would be very difficult to do in real time.
The same principle can be used with Drum tracks, but here it will be necessary to select either Velocity View or Gate View, as the Drum tracks do not display a separate set of sequencer steps. If you use Gate View, you have the added advantage of access to the Drum Micro Steps.
Circuit Tracks includes a digital effects processor (FX) which lets you add delay and/or reverb effects to any or all the tracks making up your Project. There is also a master compressor which is applied to your mix by default.
Sixteen delay and eight reverb presets are provided, and you can select any one of each type. The send levels from each track – i.e., how much reverb and/or delay is added – are individually adjustable for each track using the Macro controls. Any effects added can be saved to the Project in the usual way.
Each of the “peach” pads on Rows 1 and 2 calls up a delay preset, and similarly, the “cream” pads on Row 3 enable reverb presets. By far the best way to evaluate the various effects is to listen to them, most effectively using a single repeating hit like a snare drum. As a general rule though, the reverb presets are arranged with increasing reverberation time from Pad 17 to Pad 24, and the delay presets with increasing complexity from Pad 1 to Pad 16. All the delay presets feature feedback for multiple echoes, and some include swung timing and stereo “ping-pong” effects as well. For presets 3 to 16, delay time is related to the BPM: see the table on Automating FX sends for a full list of presets.
To add reverb to one or more tracks, select a reverb preset. The pad corresponding to the active preset illuminates brightly. The Macros are now the reverb send level controls for the eight tracks: this is exactly the same arrangement as used in Mixer View. The Macro LEDs are now dimly lit cream; as you increase a send level you will hear reverb being added to the track it controls and the LED will increase in brightness.
You can add the selected reverb effect to any or all tracks to different degrees by using the other Macro controls. It is not possible to use different reverb presets on different tracks, however.
Adding delay is the same process as reverb: to add delay to your tracks, select an effect from the pads on Rows 1 and 2. The Macros are now per-track delay send level controls; you’ll see that their LEDs are now showing peach to confirm their reassignment to the delay FX.
Although the same Macros are used as reverb send levels and delay send levels, the two effects remain independent: the Macros adopt one function or the other according to whether the last FX pad pressed was a reverb preset or a delay preset.
Details of the 16 delay presets are given the table below:
|
PRESET |
DELAY TYPE |
MUSICAL DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Slapback Fast |
Very rapid repeats |
|
2 |
Slapback Slow |
Rapid repeats |
|
3 |
32nd Triplets |
48 cycles per bar |
|
4 |
32nd |
32 cycles per bar |
|
5 |
16th Triplets |
24 cycles per bar |
|
6 |
16th |
16 cycles per bar |
|
7 |
16th Ping Pong |
16 cycles per bar |
|
8 |
16th Ping Pong Swung |
16 cycles per bar with swing |
|
9 |
8th Triplets |
12 cycles per bar |
|
10 |
8th dotted Ping Pong |
8 cycles per 3 beats with Stereo Spread |
|
11 |
8th |
8 cycles per bar |
|
12 |
8th Ping Pong |
8 cycles per bar |
|
13 |
8th Ping Pong Swung |
8 cycles per bar with swing |
|
14 |
4th Triplets |
6 cycles per bar |
|
15 |
4th dotted Ping Pong Swung |
4 cycles per 3 bars with swing |
|
16 |
4th Triplets Ping Pong Wide |
6 cycles per bar |
Note that below certain BPM values, the delay presets will not match the above rates.
The reverb and delay send levels may be automated by turning a Macro control while Record Mode is active. You can alter the amount of an effect during a sequence. The Clear button can be used to delete automation data for the FX send control: hold Clear and turn the send control for which you no longer require automation; the LED turns red to confirm the action.
This is enabled or disabled by the FX button in Setup View: see Setup view.
Each of the synth tracks and external audio inputs (represented by the MIDI tracks) can be Side Chained. Side Chains work in the same manner as in common dynamics processors such as compressors, and can be used to alter the “envelope” of synth notes in time with any of the drum tracks.
Side Chain allows the hits of the selected drum track to duck the audio level of the synths. Using synth sounds with long sustain or long Gate times, you can make a drum sample “pump” the synth sounds to produce some interesting and unusual effects.
Seven Side Chain presets are available, each allowing the selected drum track to modify the sound of the synth tracks (or signals at the external audio inputs) in subtly different ways. The default state is for Side Chain to be OFF on both synths and both MIDI tracks.
Side Chain View is the secondary view of the FX button . Open by holding Shift and pressing FX, or press FX a second time if already in FX View to toggle the View.
Side Chain View will display either the side chain controls for the Synth tracks or the MIDI tracks (the external inputs) depending on which track was selected when Shift + FX was pressed. You can use the ▼ and ▲ buttons to switch between Synth and MIDI track Side Chain Views.
The two lower rows of pads corresponds to the seven Side Chain Presets (Pads 2 to 8 in each row) for Synth 1 and Synth 2 respectively (or MIDI 1 and MIDI 2); the first pad in each row is ‘the OFF button’ – this disables side chain processing for the synth (or audio input). Pad 1 is illuminated bright red when the Side Chain is OFF; press any other pad in the row to enable one of the Side Chain Presets, and Pad 1 becomes dim and the selected Pad shows bright in the track colour.
Pads 5 to 8 on the top row let you select which Drum track will be the side chain trigger for the chosen track (selected by pressing a side chain preset for the track).
As with many of Circuit Tracks’ other features, by far the best way of understanding side chain processing is to experiment and listen. A good starting point is to set a single synth note to have a Gate value of 16 so that it sounds continuously, and make Drum 1 play a few kick drum beats. As you select different Side Chain Presets, you’ll hear the different ways in which the continuous synth note is “interrupted” by the drum. The same Side Chain Preset may have a markedly different effect when used with different synth patches, so it is worth experimenting with various synth sounds as well. Also note that the effect will be more or less interesting depending on the relative timings of the synth patterns and Drum 1.
Side Chain ducking will continue even when the level of the source track is reduced to zero in the Mixer View. This is a feature which can be used quite creatively! However, if you mute the drum track selected as the key in Mixer View, side chain triggering is disabled.
The entire audio output of Circuit Tracks – the sum of the sounds from all eight tracks - is fed through a traditional DJ-style filter section. The control for this is the large Master Filter knob . The Filter knob is one of the key performance controls and can be used to radically change the overall sound.
The Filter encompasses both low-pass and high-pass types. A high-pass filter removes low frequencies (bass) from the output and a low-pass filter removes high frequencies (treble).
The Master Filter knob controls a low-pass filter when you turn it anticlockwise from the centre position and a high-pass filter when you turn it clockwise from the centre position. Note that the control has a detent in the centre – in this position, no filtering takes place and the LED below the knob is dimly lit white.
As you turn the knob clockwise, you’ll hear the lower frequencies disappear leaving you with a much thinner sound; in the opposite direction, the high frequencies disappear first, leaving you with a muffled sound. The LED changes to pale blue when either filter type is active, with the brightness increasing as the control is turned.