How to use SH4D and Circuit Tracks together with example track
Вставка
- Опубліковано 2 чер 2024
- In this video, I explain how to combine the Roland SH-4d and the Novation Circuit Tracks to create a small, portable, battery operated combo for live performing. I go over how to connect them, assign roles and functions, and then step through how I put together a live performance of one of my songs.
Gear used in the making of this video (as an Amazon Associate, I earn commission from qualifying purchases):
Circuit Rhythm - amzn.to/3VVkBt9
Roland SH-4d - amzn.to/3IZVjCl
Kirlin Stereo Audio Cable 1/4" 6 ft. - amzn.to/3PSprmT
Tascam X8 audio recorder- amzn.to/3x8jdc0
Overhead camera mount for phone - amzn.to/4cz85VZ
VILTROX L116T LED Key Light - amzn.to/3TWrDfr
Mr. Go LED Cube - amzn.to/3J02AC6
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
00:46 Problem and Solution
1:27 SH-4d & Circuit Tracks: How They Complement Each Other
3:20 Setting Up the Hardware
5:31 Assigning Roles
8:17 Control for Live Performance
10:17 Building the Song
10:52 Scene 1
11:38 Scene 2
12:08 Scene 3
12:38 Scene 4
13:07 Scene 5
13:38 Scene 6
15:00 Scene 9
16:15 Scene 12
17:15 Scene 13
17:45 Scene 14
19:09 Final Thoughts
This is so inspiring, not only the wit put into making these two interact with each other but the Tune is just fantastic! It would fit a glorious 80s guitar solo somewhere there. Maybe be I should let the mc101 go and get the circuit tracks to interact with the SH-4D, the complex sequencing and side chaining are killer features!
Agreed. I love the sequencing on this unit.
As a SH-4d user I was missing some controls for specific drum parts in live mode! This is exactly what I need! Nice to make the most use also out of the MIDI capabilities of the Novation Tracks! Greetings from The Netherlands 🍊
You just saved me from selling my Tracks. I’m planning to sell some gear (mc101 and TR6S as I have the 707 and tr8s) to get the SH-4D and didn’t think of this. Thank you.
Excellent job in your explanation!
Glad I could help!
Hell yeah. Glad this popped into my recommended!
I am, too. Thank you for watching.
Thanks for this video! Now I can finally let my Roland control my Hydrasyth
Glad I could help!
Excellent vidéo! Thanks. Other examples of tracks most welcome !
Thank you for watching.
Great job! I have the tracks and in the process of ordering the SH4D, powerful combo. Awesome vibe on your song.
Thank you. I hope you enjoy your SH4D as much as I've enjoyed mine.
That was very dope brother, informative as well. I have a circuit tracks that pretty much goes everywhere with me. I also have a couple of other small boxes, 3 keyboard synths, a push 2, a couple launchpads, a whole assortment of midi controllers, sequencers, mixers, speakers, microphones, audio interfaces, and even a mid 90s vintage Alesia ADAT…oh, and a smaller pioneer Dj controller! I’m an Ableton user and I love it…I might even qualify as addicted…but ever since I got my Circuit Tracks I too have been dipping my toe into the idea of a dawless set up and working towards putting a live set together. Needless to say I’m glad I found your channel and you definitely earned my subscription! Looking forward to checking out your other videos
Thank you for your reply, subscription and comment. ADAT! That's great. Does it still work?
Everybody can't make that stuff sound like you it sounds good 👍
Thank you.
I have had my sh4d a while, but really would like to be able to chain longer patterns with the awesome sound engine it has, rather than hold a button down at the right time to switch to another sequence. Pretty limiting, idk why chaining wasnt included.
Great ideas 💡 here, thank you!
I find the two units to be really complimentary. The SH-4d is the superior synthesizer/sound generator. The Circuit Tracks has the superior sequencer. I agree that Roland seems to have missed an opportunity to add value to the SH-4d with a more robust sequencer.
Really cool breakdown of your song. I like how you're using these two devices together. You gave me a lot of really good ideas on how to use my setup, which is pretty similar. Thanks. Good song too 🤘
Thank you. I appreciate your feedback and encouragement.
Some great ideas here. As a longtime Circuit (OG & Tracks) owner, I combine it with my Roland MC-101 as I need additional timestreched Loops and One-Shot Vocal samples. I will have to figure out, how to combine those perfectly with my new SH-4d now for my DAWless setup ;-)
Thank you for watching and commenting. I imagine it should be an interesting solution that will combine all those units.
That is an amazing setup. Fellow circuiteer here.
Thank you.
Beautiful! - Big thanks for all the good ideas!
Thank you, and you’re welcome.
This is a fantastic video - thanks for this. I got a lot of new ideas for live performance from this and better ways to use the Circuit Tracks. Great stuff in here!
You're very welcome!
I wish you well with your channel, as you explain what you are doing with such clarity. I currently have a Circuit Rhythm and a SP404MK2. These are my first hardware devices since I owned a home studio back in early 2000! Simplicity is almost freeing compared to the racks of gear I used to have!
I have long term ill health now and quite limited funds, so a few hardware devices seemed the best option to me to dabble in this wonderful hobby. I will have about £1000 to spend in the next year, so have been looking at options to further my little dawless setup. The problem is there are so many options! Got to love there first world problems lol.
As I said, I hope your channel takes off as I think your style and clarity will be wonderful for new peeps to the hobby.
Thank you for your encouragement. The SP-404 and Circuit Rhythm are two really fun pieces of gear, and their sampling and effects offer a lot of creative possibilities. That’s a really great combo to start with.
This is a really interesting and useful tutorial, thanks.
You’re welcome. Thank you for watching.
Very cool! Havent seen this anywhere else yet! Helpful.
Thank you. I’m glad it helped.
Super video !! I have a circuit tracks which I am still getting used to and just discovered that the SH-4d existed.
I always wanted to have an elektron box and was really looking to get the syntakt to try and work with my tracks but now you have really ducked up my mind 😂
Thank you for being so clear and intuitive.
Great jam 👍🏼
Thank you for watching. I think they’re a great pairing. I wish you the best in finding the right gear for your Circuit Tracks.
That's the genius setting up🎉 Thanks very much for making this into a vedio!❤
Thank you, and you’re welcome.
Very well explained video! I have the same setup at home. Efficient, powerfull and budget friendly.
Thank you. Agreed on all points about the setup.
Great video! You did a fantastic job explaining everything, and it is quite useful for anyone who is trying to become a music producer, like me, even though I don’t have either of these instruments. All the best with your new channel, I have a feeling that you are gonna do really well!
Thanks so much!
Very nice tips :)
Thank you.
Thanks for going slow and cometely explaining! I'd like to try adding the SH-4d rhythm part for perc accents similar to what Cuckoo does.
You're welcome. Cuckoo is great. I love the way his mind works when faced with something like the SH-4d.
Circuit Tracks and SH-4d do indeed complement each other very well, the CT sequencer is great. I use it in pattern mode with the "sticky shift key" on, so I can make quick pattern jumps from time to time, rather than using the scenes.
I love too the scale function of the CT, so I also use it as a Remote Keyboard to the SH-4d.
Thank you for your comment. I haven’t experimented much with the sticky shift. I’ll have to try it out.
Cool , how did you do the fills right at the end of scene 4? Were those just 64 step sequences with the fills programmed at the end?
Yes. I can’t remember the number of steps (it’s been awhile), but it was basically a sequence that was running the whole time, but muted. When I needed the fill, I unmuted the track and triggered the next sequence.
Nice video! I have a Circuit Tracks and an SP-404 (spotted one in your video!) and am considering a SH4D - Have you tried using all three together?
Thank you for watching and commenting. Yes I have, in this video: ua-cam.com/video/ttzwm2q6UmY/v-deo.htmlsi=hxOhLjrY7WptBcl6 . However, I'm using the SP-404 as a FX processor rather than a sampler. It's FX alone are phenomenal.
Cool setup, very helpful' I was looking for an add-on to the circuit and the Sh-4d seemed cool.
Did you had any latency issues?
Thank you. I don’t recall any latency issues at the time. I’ve experienced some latency running a wireless MIDI controller through Ableton to the SH-4d, but I attribute that to Ableton and wireless. Running direct MIDI out from the Circuit Tracks to the SH-4d there was no discernible latency.
Combine them together, one would have up to 10/12 parts. Pretty powerful. The SH-4D has sold really well, making getting one a little difficult. I think the mc101 or tr-6s would also be useful as they are battery operated.
That’s pretty accurate. You get 5 parts on the SH4d (4 Tones and the Rhythm channel), and combine them with the 2 synths and 4 rhythm tracks on the Circuit Tracks, for a total of 11 tracks. Plus, you get the 2 MIDI tracks to basically supplant the SH4d’s internal 64 step sequencer with 8 32 step patterns that can be chained together, or triggered independently. I’d love to try an MC-101 some day, but I don’t currently possess one.
Great video! Thanks! Just a question, is it possible to do the same with the Circuit Rythm instead of Tracks (considering I do not use the Synth 1 and Synth 2 of the Tracks) ?
If you had to get one first, which one do you recommend? I have the Roland Juno x and thought about getting the circuit tracks but then I noticed I could get a lot of the same from sh4d and maybe I should sell the juno x. Choices lol
Hi, im looking at both of these but with the idea to use the circuit tracks as only a sequencer. Basically midi channels 1-4 for each sh4d track and channel 10 for the drums. Im hoping the 4 sample tracks on the circuit tracks can sequence the drums on the sh4d. Or even just 3 of the sample tracks leaving one sample track to trigger the odd sample as well.
Thank you for the comment. I tried something similar. Unfortunately, I was unable to sequence the SH-4d using the Circuit Tracks drum tracks. The drum tracks on the CT only send out one fixed MIDI note per drum track, regardless of which drum sample you trigger on that step. I believe it’s because the Circuit Tracks treats changing a sound on the drum tracks as “sample flipping”. It’s also an issue when trying to capture the MIDI data of your CT performance in a DAW like Ableton when you want to record, store and edit for a more finished production.
Thanks for getting back to me,. Im glad i asked before buying. I was hoping to just use the circuit tracks for external sequencing only.
What I've read or found out is, that you can change the midi channel on synth1 and synth2. Afterwards mute them. If I am correct, you should even be able to sequence all Tone parts on the SH4d and have even room for 4 drums. It's amazing gotta try that out.
Otherwise nice video and thanks for the setup. :)
Edit: okay i see you wanted to use synth 1 and synth 2 of the circuit. Well thats actually nice.
Thank you. I need to test that out. On both the Circuit Tracks and the SH-4d, it’s MIDI that is muted, not audio. For example, I muted MIDI 1 on the CT, sent to Part 3 on the SH-4d, and no MIDI information reached Part 3. For this trick to work, the Synth tracks would have to behave differently from the MIDI tracks, muting audio rather than MIDI. I’m interested to learn if this worked for you.
Sorry, I just remembered the solution. Yes, the mute button on the CT will mute the MIDI only. However, you can go to the mix page on the CT and reduce the volume on the Synth tracks so you don’t hear them.
Ah yeah thanks that was it what I've wanted. You can always like in your video easily mute on the SH4d. Love that synth and sound. Had always liked the circuit but the synth was a bit cumbersome for me to configure on the computer. Now with the SH4d it is a dreamteam. And combining sp404mk2 for sample. Full mobile dawless workstation
😂😂😂
Maybe a bit crazy but works and is a lot of fun.
Yes all parts send midi on separate channels the only difference with the “ midi tracks “ is having the 8 macros as templates , but otherwise no functional difference. There is even a cool expansion for the OG circuit ( haven’t tried with the tracks ) called the CV OCD that is a dedicated circuit to cv box to control a skiff or small modular rig .
@@Death_By_Media Helpful clarification. Thank you.
Nice job! Could this also work with a Roland SH 4D and a Akai MPC Live?
I haven't worked with the MPC Live, but a cursory glance indicates it should be possible. It might look a little different on the MPC since my approach was somewhat shaped by the idiosyncrasies of the Circuit Tracks. I'm currently adapting this track to Ableton by "modeling" some of the structure and workflow of the Circuit Tracks.
I would prefer to be able to sequence all 4 parts of the sh-4d on the novation or something very similar, is that possible do you know?
Sadly Roland have made yet again the sequencer sooooo un intuitive it’s infuriating because it sounds absolutely gorgeous.
I know what you mean. I love the sound of the unit, but find the sequencer limiting for many applications. But, that's what MIDI's for, right? Yes, you should be able to sequence all four synth parts on the SH-4d using the Circuit Tracks. Just use the 2 MIDI tracks, and the 2 synth tracks with their volume turned down and their MIDI channels assigned to the corresponding channels on the SH-4d. The Drum tracks, however, are another story, since they share the same MIDI channel, and each track's output's note is fixed (you can change the samples used in any sequence, but they're considered a "flipped sample", not a distinct MIDI note). Hope that helps.
As someone who has never used a DAW i find it always strange when they talk about a dawless setup. For me going DAW would mean a new computer, all those interfaces i have no idea about, i also never used midi other than maybe for sync, and then learn that complex software.
I see that as one of the strengths of the Circuit Tracks, especially for someone who is getting into music production who is overwhelmed by or just not interested in all the hardware, software, and the learning curve involved in the typical DAW setup. The CT interface is fairly simple and immediate. And that can be appealing even to someone who has plenty of experience with DAWs.