Thank you. As a newbee to electronic music I was wondering how to sync my Circuit to my volcas and couldn't get it to work. Now I know. Excellent video
Cool video. Have started experimenting with external gear and recently got a Volca keys. Another tip is to write your patterns on the circuit sending clock+note and then record the sequence into the volca. Then switch back to just clock send on the circuit and it frees up synth 1 whilst retaining the patterns you've already written.
Thanks, I am learning to use the Circuit as a total beginner and have already got a Volca sample, Volca Bass and Monotribe- your tutorial is very clear- can't wait to combine the sequencing power of the Circuit with the analogue sounds of the Monotribe!
Monotribe nice...I'm a midi noob myself iv got novation circuit rhythm Roland t8 Yamaha DJx korg nst1 and po ko33 and a tascam multitrack I usually record my stuff on that and keep laying it so iv never really has to use midi but lately iv been sequencing the nts1 and the DJx with midi but I'm only scratching the surface
Thank you so much for doing this. You basically solidified my decision to purchase the Circuit. I was trying to understand this Midi concept the last couple of weeks, and this help me understand. Again thanks for this informative video I'm going to hook this baby up to my Reface DX to create some alien sounds haha
Thank you mate!! Glad to hear my video helped you out. Circuit + Reface seems like splendid solution. I love using 1 or 2 external synths with the Circuit since it really adds depth to the sound. Circuit can sound awesome but sometimes it pales compared to more dedicated devices.
BoBeats Hey Bo love your videos. I've been tinkering around the idea of finally buying an external synth or sequencer and the circuit is an awesome piece of kit. I learned recently you can upload your own samples directly to the circuit I was floored by the possibilities on creating live sessions. what are your thoughts on the sampling capabilities and could you do a video on loading samples and exploring ideas with that on the circuit. I love your videos. I liked and subscribed! Cheers keep it up man!
Already know all this info and how to do it but I watched anyways. How you delivered was perfect especially for beginners and even in your weakened state 😂 feeling better I hope ;)
Great explanation Bo, really appreciate your content. I'll have my new Circuit in 24 days, Merry Christmas to me. All these videos are great tutorials to get me educated on this fantastic device.
Subscribed and Liked, because this single video demystified midi for me and how the Circuit IS the device I need to un-thether myself from Logic X(no offense) and just jam on my seven synths.
Thank you for this video. It confirmed my highest hopes and debunked my disappointments with the Circuit. Originally I wasn't going to get it because I thought it could only sync clock with two synths, but now I know it's practically unlimited. Gonna have 3 Volcas (+ the free Mix they're doing the promo for), a Minilogue, and next a Circuit! Thanks again Bo for your understandable and helpful videos. This has helped me bigtime, I thought I'd have to save for a Digitakt and sacrifice polyphony on my Minilogue, but now I know that I can go with the Circuit and keep my polyphony while syncing all my synths. :) I have one important (to me) question for anyone who knows, regarding the Digitakt: Can a polyphonic synth (such as the Minilogue) still play polyphonically while synced to the Digitakt? If so, can a Digitakt sequence the Minilogue (so it plays through more than just 16 steps) to play Polyphonically (as I've heard it's monophonic as a sampler), or would I have to play the notes manually on the Minilogue while the sequencer is playing to make it polyphonic?
I love your tutorial style. Really would like you to tackle all aspects of the Elektron Analog Keys and file structure. You simply have a style that permeates my PTSD brain. I use music as a self-help naturopathic Music Therapy and you have helped tremendously. Thank you.
Robert I thank you so much for telling me!! I actually have an idea for an "Explaining the Elektron Workflow"-video/series. Because yeah its a bit tricky if you do not approach it in a pedagogical way. Thank you mate!!
No, *thank you*, and I learned a new word today, "pedagogical". Correct in that as brilliant as Elektron instruments are, they seem to convey the file structure more from an engineer's vantage point rather than a musicians. (Left/Right Brained) Synths have been part of my life since 1982 and military. Music truly is healing. I also love the Circuit and have been following your videos. Peace, always.
Perfect. I have the circuit set to control a Yamaha dx7 and model d on same midi channel 1 and crave set to clock of circuit so I can use its internal sequencer and keep it set to tempo of circuit whilst playing different notes. Great setup.
@@davidlloyd9598 wow man i just looking to do the same. my buying list includes circuit, model d and maybe the crave. so you saying that is possible to have a midi keyboard sending midi notes to circuit which will then send both notes and sequence to model d without affecting the rest performance of the circuit?
I have my circuit set up to play poly chords on channel 1 sent to dx7 which is going through zoom ms70cdr then polara all in stereo into mixer which can be layered with circuit synth. On same channel my Model D will play all of the lowest notes of chord. The crave is on a different midi channel so plays its own sequence using its arpeggiator or sequencer it syncs with circuit clock though through midi. I then have a spare channel on circuit to use for a baseline or melody or whatever. The crave could be set up on same channel to play arpeggios and using a delay behringer fx600 this works great for arps if you want. It is a great set up. I use it for making backing tracks that I can play over with my guitar. Model D and Crave are the best synths in terms of sound quality and value. The dx7 is probably the best polyphonic synthesiser you can get. It has iconic status thousands of patches and when you put it through those two pedals I mentioned it sounds beyond epic! Have fun. The circuit is a fantastic device which is a great hub and works really well.
+bowieknife thanks mate! Be sure to let me know if there are topics you want me to cover. Its not always easy to know which topics frustrate a beginner or is hard to grasp :-)
Very nicely explained. Trying to weigh up whether I want a full on groove box like a Circuit, or just a simple sequencer like a Beatstep to use alongside my old CS1x
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I have been pulling my hair out trying to figure out how to connect my Toraiz SP-16 Sampler with the rest of my synths. Although not quite sure about the MX-1mixer with it's 4 usb and spdif! I love you, man!! Lol :D
Just a little headsup for people, you have to use the blue adapter! I thought I could skip it and bought a Midi DIN to 3.5mm and it doesn't work. need a traditional Midi DIN cable into the supplied adaptor. Have fun all!
3.5mm 3 Pin TRS Plug to Standard 5 Pin MIDI Socket Adapter Lead There are several different types of these adapters, when companies started using 3.5mm connectors for MIDI there was no standard so not all companies use the same wiring. This listing is sometimes known as Type B and is suitable for: Arturia - Models including Beatstep Pro and Keystep Novation - Models including Circuit and Launchpad Pro 1010 Music - Models including MX4 Wiring inside the cable is: Tip - Pin 4 Ring - Pin 5 Sleeve - Pin 2
Hi Bo!! I love your videos! I have a question! When I have external gear hooked up to the circuit, they starts to play, when I press play on the circuit. How can I get them to just be tempo sync’d but not play through sequences, unless I press play on them. I want to start the circuit and press play on the external gear when I want. I don’t like when everything starts playing when I press play on the circuit... :(
Hey I have a question . I’m trying to get my Roland vr09 to play its internal sounds into the novation . I can control the sounds from novation but can’t see to figure out the other way round any advice would be great thanks
I NEED HELP!! Just got a beatstep pro and I’m trying to have the circuits drums be triggered and sequenced by the beatstep pro,I set the circuit to midi channel 10 and the best step to channel 10, but I’m not getting anything .any reason why?
Nice and informative guide. I've been having a nightmare time trying to get this to work via USB, however. I've tried several options and think it may be down to the iConnectMidi4+ that i use as my hub. It seems that if you connect the Circuit to the ICM4+ via USB (on a powered hub on the ICM4+s hub port) it will send midi notes but clocking has been hard to get to work. Maybe this is user error. I was able to sequence some DIN MIDI'd gear via the ICM4+ but Ableton would not recognize the Circuit in the MIDI prefs. I'm thinking one of those Kenton plain ol Thru boxes might be an easier solution. Having the whole studio clock is a good way to lose days and days trouble shooting. Anyway, just thought i'd share some experience if anyone is using a more complicated set up.
Thanks for sharing mate! What you describe is one reason I tend to stick with physical midi i/o. There is just something about midi that makes it work splendid in theory but in practise there are so many driver/settings issues that I just can't cope with. I hate fiddling with stuff :/
I agree. Thinking of abandoning USB midi. It's a nice feature but if you have DIN, then just go that way, especially if you have larger set ups. The only issue that starts to pop up is MIDI filtering, as you state in the video the nobs etc will transmit CC so some gear might freak out. The ICM4+ is great as it has loads of filtering and remapping built in, but it's just honestly not a stable enough product, unfortunately.
Bo another midi question re the circuit. Any idea how to get the circuit to recognise the pitch and mod wheels. The original mini nova synth has both but I'm told the circuit mini nova synths don't respond to a normal pitch or mod wheel send which is quite strange. Any ideas on a work around
Informative video :). Do you think that one of these splitters would enable you to send midi to two separate synths, say two different volcas, one from track 1 and the other from track 2?
I have a brand new circuit, and tried to connect it to my laptop (firmware upgrade). I had difficulties having it state "connected". After reinstalling the USB drivers, it worked, but after disconnecting it, and retrying it did not connect either. Anyone having trouble with connecting a circuit to a PC through USB?
I have seen several people having problems but I use it with a Mac so I of little help here. Have you tried contacting support or asking on Circuit Owners on Facebook?
Hi Bo, I have a Circuit and 2 Behringer TD-3's. How can I make these 3 units run at the same speed if each TD-3 has its own sequence running on it? This means that no MIDI notes should be sent, only synchronously, but at the same speed. In your first example with the Volca Keys, it runs in sync, but not at the same tempo. How do you manage that? Great Channel! 👍🏻
Hey Bo, big fan of the channel! I can't seem to sync my Circuit and Volca sample. When I hold shift and turn on the Circuit the entire bottom row lights up, not just the two at either side. Is this a change that happened during a later update? I followed your instructions, but the confusion comes with the rest of the lights. I've tried a bunch of combinations and just can't seem to get it to sync! I'd really appreciate some help here, Google doesn't seem to have the answer. Cheers
I'm having some issues when connecting NC to Behringer TD-3. The Circuit tempo syncs but I'm unable to adjust parameters on the external synth. What am I doing wrong?
Hi Bo, thanks for this video, really great again! I'm thinking of adding a volca fm to my circuit, when you connect it like you have shown, will all the sound from both synths come out from the circuit headphone slot? Also when recording into a DAW, will i just need the audio interface out from the circuit? thanks again!
Hey Bo! Are there new functions with the circuit 1.5 firmware update?? When I load the circuit with Shift+Power On, I get two green lit pads, followed by two orange lit pads, and then the two blue lit pads on the far right... any ideas?
Hey Man. I have a Question and maybe you could help me. Do the knobs from Novation Circuit send Midi CC. I want to use it to control the parameter of another Synth. I want to know if it is possible to control the Filter of another synth with the knobs of circuit, for example. If possible Do you know what number do the knobs send out ? Cheers
Yes, the knobs send fixed CC values (one per knob if I am not mistaken). If the other synth can't change CC value for the filter for example, this will be tricky. The only way I heard about making this work is having some kind of midi interface or program in between that actually "translates" the fixed CC values from Circuit to fixed CC values on the other synth. But this is cumbersome. So I think the answer is: it will be hard to make it work.
so noob question... Which of the two devices do you connect to your audio interface to get the full sound into your speakers? Or do you need a mixer with several channels for that?
ive only been in synth rabbit whole for about a year started with couple of volcas and a crave, later added a TD3, ive in the last few weeks got QUITE A FEW MORE i clueing a circuit i found in a second hand shop, nice,, but with the limited knowledge i have im only just learning about midi so very useful video for me, i dont even play keys i just a what seemed like a crazy idea of trying to make some tunes, i honestly think ive done massively better than expected hence why now buying some better things, i maybe wouldn't call volcas toy's but they are alittle over fiddly, but many thanks for this i know its not exactly new but i'll be saving it to come back to
hi, ive the mono station and drumbrute. ive tried to set them both up with 5 pin to jack. so midi out on the circuit into midi in on the drumbrute. but for some reason they dont play together when i press play on the circuit. any ideas? i have the setting set up right when i press shift and on on the circut. thanks
Hey Bo, thanks for this video which was really useful. I'm interested in something that will act as clock sync between my keystep (playing novation peak) and grandmother. I can't use either of those as master because I want to be able to run and stop the arp and seq patterns on each on independantly while they remain in sync. Do you think the Circuit would do this job while allowing me to clock divide the keystep and grandmother independantly to change their speed while remaining in sync?
I'll do that with my Crave in a couple of days (I'm not the only one ^^) but how am I supposed to manage the audio ? Should I buy a mixer or something like that ? Thx !!
Hi Bo, like always your videos are super helpful to many who want to get around their machines. Thanks Is there any video on how to use the Analog Rytm's sequencer with external synths?
CAN SOMEONE HELP ME? im trying to sync novation circult rythm with 1010 fireball..using keystep..keystep to fireball using midi ouy to midi in fireball.but i want to use CR as drum machine and record what im playing..im sure it can do this...but i cant get it to work
Hey Bo! So I finally got my Circuit and now I connected my microbrute to the unit and it works. BUT the Problem I have is that the synth also gets triggered by the drum channel! So the microbrute and the drums play at the same time. What did i do wrong?
+Honeyball Lecter hey! You should check the manual for how to turn of receiving midi input/output, cc input/output, and clock. Basically you power off the unit, hold shift and press power and then you can toggle these things :-) From what you write I assume that you want to turn off midi send. But if you want to send midi from synth channel 1 to the microbrute you need to check what midi channel the Brute recieves on so it doesnt recieve on channel 10 which is the drum chanel.
so when I sync my Novation Circuit with my Korg Volca it has to use the midi-port of the Volca? since the midi-port is already used, is there a way I could still control the Volca via my Arturia Keystep? or do I now have to play it using the ribbons?
When I first find this when I pressed a button on Synth one sample in on Volca would play now it won't I don't think it midi on my circuit as when I press play on my circuit the Volca plays too I think may be wire but it was a new wire I dunno how can just stop working
Very useful man, thank u very much. Can I know if is it possible to load midi sequences into the Circuit (not writing on it), to sequencing synths ? I want to play my tracks live without a computer, by sequencing analog synthesizers with the Circuit, so I take out midi stems from Logic or Ableton project, load them into the Circuit and then live sequencing synths, is it possible? Thank you!
Thanks mate. As to your question. I do not know if there is any good way to do this besides actually recording the midi stems into the device manually. There is no way of loading say a midi file into it.
Thank you very much for your answer man; it's unbelievable that it's so hard to find a device that can do such an easy thing ! I watched Social Entropy Engine and it looks so cool, but it costs two times more than the circuit and it's also a lot less flexible. :-(
could you maybe help me with a couple questions? ill explain the best I can here goes. ok I have a novation circuit and a zoom q2n and a zoom h5. I wanna wire these up to the zoom q2n and use the mic on the h5 for guitar into the video recorder (2qn) do I plug n the circuit to the input of the h5 then line out to the q2n then monitor it with headphone jack? and if I do it this way will the h5 have to be recording for the novation sound to make it to the q2n? to sum it up I just wanna get audio and video and get external (guitar) to the video recorder.
Im trying to understand how to tempo sync circuit, behringer neutron and arturia keystep together, and what i need to buy. I didnt quite understand this video since im new to analog :/
Hey Bo, love your work man. Can I ask you... why did you choose the volca keys over say the volca fm? Would love to use one with my Circuit. Thanks so much!
Ambient Relaxation hey mate! I picked up the Keys because I got a great second hand deal on it. And the FM was not released. If I would give advice today I would probably suggest the FM. It has some really fun functions that complements the Circuit
i was thinking of using this with my lap top for live , i use MainStage on a iMac will this link up so when i press play on MainStage will it start the circuit ? thanks
I connected the circuit via midi to my nord stage 2, i can see it receives the midi, but don't know how to get the piano to record the notes from the synth in the circuit.
I am not sure what you want to achieve. Can you elaborate a bit more what you want? Do you want the Circuit to play the piano, or other way around = piano playing synth 1 or 2 of the Circuit?
Hey bo I’m a big fan of you my Westin is can I hook up the circuit to a synth keyboard midi and play the sounds and effects from the circuit on the on the synth keyboard
Excellent video Bo! I'm a newbie and was looking a long time for a video like this to show easily how to set up and sync different devices. Also have the Circuit ...question: If I use this Kenton box with Circuit, I can sync up to 4 or 5 devices but play different sequences only on two of them because of the circuit only having 2 synth channels right? Cheers!
chatolars thanks! Yes that is correct. Unless any of those 5 synths has internal sequencers or you play them live. But the sequence can effectively sequence 2 channels from its own sequencer.
Don't forget that when doing this you could in fact play all 5 synths on the same channel to get a monster layered sound from all 5, or say 3 synths on channel 1 and 2 on channel 2, or for Kick reinforcement 2 synths channel 1, 2 synths channel 2, and perhaps Volca Kick on channel 10 (the drum/sample parts send MIDI to channel 10) The combinations are many and varied.... This may seem overboard but imagine if each synth you have connected has an arpeggiator that will use the incoming MIDI as its root note....you could have 5 different arps playing on 5 different synths with the Circuit outputting the root note so you can use it to control the chord progression. Something for the New circuit features list perhaps, on the MIDI Settings page..have an option to only output the sequencer via MIDI, and have what you play on the pads only go to the internal synths..that would let you 'noodle' over the top :)
chatolars you can do it now, all your synths can listen to the same channel if you want them to. It is down to the synth you are sending to as to what you can do with that midi. The bit I would like to see added in an update is the bit where you could send midi from the 2 sequencers and play the onboard synth separately, that would be really useful.
Really informative video and easy to understand! I have a question lol. Is there a way to use the circuit as a sequencer for the minilogue’s sound? Like not have the circuit sound and just the minilogue sound playing in the circuit? If that makes sense lol
Thanks! No the Circuit has no audio input. What you can do is to sequence the Minilogue from the Circuit and turn down the audio from the Circuit in the Circuits mixer so that you only hear the Minilogue. But you still need an audio interface/mixer to hear both sources at once.
Can you show me a link on how to get patchchorrds for circuit to run synths from novation launchkey mini, am not going to buy mini ,unless i can find correct patch cords to play synths fr0m circuit ,with circuit as launchkey asmidi controller. Thank U mj.
Thanks for the video, my own Circuit's synth recording mode seems to have been disabled after having connected my Minibrute's MIDI OUT to its MIDI IN. Doesn't make much sense, maybe the memory is full but I don't know how to check that. I thought I remembered the machine had an SD card but I don't see the slot. I can input or live record drum notes but neither record synths nor input synth notes in stop mode. Wonder if separate memory areas for synths and drums.
You are most welcome! It sounds REALLY strange the way your Circuit is behaving. perhaps you can post over on Circuit Owners forum on Facebook and see if someone can help you? I am afraid I can't really come up with a solution
Thanks anyway my good man. My circuit is indeed behaving strangely just when I was finally connecting it to the Minibrute. Damn. I will delve into the FB forum you suggest or write Novation.
Hello, can I connect the circuit with the Tr8 with a midi cabel from circuit Output into (extrnal in) Tr8 and come's midi clock from the circuit or tr8?
anyone have tried to conect the novation to a roland jd xi? if you dont know the jd xi has 2 digital synts one drum machine and an analog synth, so i wonder if the novation could expand the posobilities of my roland
I bought a used circuit, but it seems to send no clock or other midi data, no matter how i set both Rx and Tx. It also doesnt receive. 8 use 3.5 mm three pole trs to DIN midi adapters, not the originals though..
The Circuit uses the alternate "TRS MIDI B" wiring breakout cables, so perhaps you have the "MIDI A" type. Korg uses "MIDI A"; Arturia and Novation use "MIDI B".
Could you please tell me if i wanna use it with Live, do the knobs are automatically assigned to instument / effect racks, or i have to do it manually every time? thank you in advance!
bless you for explaining all this. nobody slows down to say this stuff when youre starting out.
Thanks mate! It makes me happy that I made something that can help.
Thank you. As a newbee to electronic music I was wondering how to sync my Circuit to my volcas and couldn't get it to work. Now I know. Excellent video
Just bought a pristine Circuit, case and deck saver for $160 and am getting tons out of these tutorial videos. Yours is great! TY
Cool video. Have started experimenting with external gear and recently got a Volca keys.
Another tip is to write your patterns on the circuit sending clock+note and then record the sequence into the volca. Then switch back to just clock send on the circuit and it frees up synth 1 whilst retaining the patterns you've already written.
Rupture // Rapture yes this is really cool!
I do this all the time when using circuit connected to Korg Gadget or ModStep on my iPad
I feel the trend is a dawless setup like this. I would enjoy seeing more videos on various dawless setups. Great channel Bo Dogg.
Thanks, I am learning to use the Circuit as a total beginner and have already got a Volca sample, Volca Bass and Monotribe- your tutorial is very clear- can't wait to combine the sequencing power of the Circuit with the analogue sounds of the Monotribe!
Monotribe nice...I'm a midi noob myself iv got novation circuit rhythm Roland t8 Yamaha DJx korg nst1 and po ko33 and a tascam multitrack I usually record my stuff on that and keep laying it so iv never really has to use midi but lately iv been sequencing the nts1 and the DJx with midi but I'm only scratching the surface
Your video is so brilliant and has helped me so much. Clear and concise! I am going to try this with my Circuit and Korg MS2000r. Thanks so much!🙏
Thank you so much for doing this. You basically solidified my decision to purchase the Circuit. I was trying to understand this Midi concept the last couple of weeks, and this help me understand. Again thanks for this informative video I'm going to hook this baby up to my Reface DX to create some alien sounds haha
Thank you mate!! Glad to hear my video helped you out. Circuit + Reface seems like splendid solution. I love using 1 or 2 external synths with the Circuit since it really adds depth to the sound. Circuit can sound awesome but sometimes it pales compared to more dedicated devices.
BoBeats Hey Bo love your videos. I've been tinkering around the idea of finally buying an external synth or sequencer and the circuit is an awesome piece of kit. I learned recently you can upload your own samples directly to the circuit I was floored by the possibilities on creating live sessions. what are your thoughts on the sampling capabilities and could you do a video on loading samples and exploring ideas with that on the circuit.
I love your videos. I liked and subscribed! Cheers keep it up man!
Hey Mr. Dark. I missed your comment (YT is horrible for keeping track of comments). What would you like to know about loading samples?
Already know all this info and how to do it but I watched anyways. How you delivered was perfect especially for beginners and even in your weakened state 😂 feeling better I hope ;)
Thanks mate! Yeah I am getting better but still pretty sick... Wrote a pretty tidy script for this one. Helped a lot
BoBeats get well soon bro! I can imagine I still mix things up we all do! For some reason I ALWAYS confuse high pass and low pass
haha yeah high pass low pass is a bitch!
BoBeats you said it bo!
Great explanation Bo, really appreciate your content. I'll have my new Circuit in 24 days, Merry Christmas to me. All these videos are great tutorials to get me educated on this fantastic device.
Thank you Mark! Glad your picking up the Circuit. I hope it works for you!
Subscribed and Liked, because this single video demystified midi for me and how the Circuit IS the device I need to un-thether myself from Logic X(no offense) and just jam on my seven synths.
Great explanations and so much useful info!
Thanks for focusing on difference between sending clock and clock+notes(MIDI data).
Thank you for this video. It confirmed my highest hopes and debunked my disappointments with the Circuit. Originally I wasn't going to get it because I thought it could only sync clock with two synths, but now I know it's practically unlimited. Gonna have 3 Volcas (+ the free Mix they're doing the promo for), a Minilogue, and next a Circuit! Thanks again Bo for your understandable and helpful videos. This has helped me bigtime, I thought I'd have to save for a Digitakt and sacrifice polyphony on my Minilogue, but now I know that I can go with the Circuit and keep my polyphony while syncing all my synths. :)
I have one important (to me) question for anyone who knows, regarding the Digitakt: Can a polyphonic synth (such as the Minilogue) still play polyphonically while synced to the Digitakt? If so, can a Digitakt sequence the Minilogue (so it plays through more than just 16 steps) to play Polyphonically (as I've heard it's monophonic as a sampler), or would I have to play the notes manually on the Minilogue while the sequencer is playing to make it polyphonic?
You are my hero bo!
I'll get my Circuit in a few days (finally ^^) and your videos get me all excited to use it (especially with my microbrute)
+Honeyball Lecter thanks mate! :-)
I love your tutorial style. Really would like you to tackle all aspects of the Elektron Analog Keys and file structure. You simply have a style that permeates my PTSD brain. I use music as a self-help naturopathic Music Therapy and you have helped tremendously. Thank you.
Robert I thank you so much for telling me!! I actually have an idea for an "Explaining the Elektron Workflow"-video/series. Because yeah its a bit tricky if you do not approach it in a pedagogical way. Thank you mate!!
No, *thank you*, and I learned a new word today, "pedagogical". Correct in that as brilliant as Elektron instruments are, they seem to convey the file structure more from an engineer's vantage point rather than a musicians. (Left/Right Brained)
Synths have been part of my life since 1982 and military. Music truly is healing. I also love the Circuit and have been following your videos.
Peace, always.
Thanks mate!!
I’m new to dawless jamming and love it way more the straining at a computer screen all day please help lol
This is great. I want to do this with my Behringer Crave when it arrives.
How did this work out for you? Looking to do the same
Perfect. I have the circuit set to control a Yamaha dx7 and model d on same midi channel 1 and crave set to clock of circuit so I can use its internal sequencer and keep it set to tempo of circuit whilst playing different notes. Great setup.
@@davidlloyd9598 wow man i just looking to do the same. my buying list includes circuit, model d and maybe the crave. so you saying that is possible to have a midi keyboard sending midi notes to circuit which will then send both notes and sequence to model d without affecting the rest performance of the circuit?
I have my circuit set up to play poly chords on channel 1 sent to dx7 which is going through zoom ms70cdr then polara all in stereo into mixer which can be layered with circuit synth. On same channel my Model D will play all of the lowest notes of chord. The crave is on a different midi channel so plays its own sequence using its arpeggiator or sequencer it syncs with circuit clock though through midi. I then have a spare channel on circuit to use for a baseline or melody or whatever. The crave could be set up on same channel to play arpeggios and using a delay behringer fx600 this works great for arps if you want. It is a great set up. I use it for making backing tracks that I can play over with my guitar. Model D and Crave are the best synths in terms of sound quality and value. The dx7 is probably the best polyphonic synthesiser you can get. It has iconic status thousands of patches and when you put it through those two pedals I mentioned it sounds beyond epic! Have fun. The circuit is a fantastic device which is a great hub and works really well.
@@davidlloyd9598 great reply thanks. I guess I could do the same with my yamaha psr-303
thank you very much. this was so helpful. well done. wish all my midi and connection problems had tutorials like this
Straight to the point and very well paced thanx a Zilliom!!
Thank you for very explanatory video on midi. Sometimes we all need a refresher.
Thank you for watching mate! =)
Love your beginner setup tutorials. They're so useful... :) I'm considering being a patreon! :)
+bowieknife thanks mate! Be sure to let me know if there are topics you want me to cover. Its not always easy to know which topics frustrate a beginner or is hard to grasp :-)
This video was a tremendous help
Very nicely explained. Trying to weigh up whether I want a full on groove box like a Circuit, or just a simple sequencer like a Beatstep to use alongside my old CS1x
Remember that with Beatstep+CS1x you won't get the drums/sample playback. Glad you like the video!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I have been pulling my hair out trying to figure out how to connect my Toraiz SP-16 Sampler with the rest of my synths. Although not quite sure about the MX-1mixer with it's 4 usb and spdif!
I love you, man!! Lol :D
+vixstar46 you are welcome sir!! Glad I could help. Be sure to comment with other suggestions for tutorials. Always appreciate the input
Just a little headsup for people, you have to use the blue adapter! I thought I could skip it and bought a Midi DIN to 3.5mm and it doesn't work. need a traditional Midi DIN cable into the supplied adaptor.
Have fun all!
3.5mm 3 Pin TRS Plug to Standard 5 Pin MIDI Socket Adapter Lead
There are several different types of these adapters, when companies started using 3.5mm connectors for MIDI there was no standard so not all companies use the same wiring.
This listing is sometimes known as Type B and is suitable for:
Arturia - Models including Beatstep Pro and Keystep
Novation - Models including Circuit and Launchpad Pro
1010 Music - Models including MX4
Wiring inside the cable is:
Tip - Pin 4
Ring - Pin 5
Sleeve - Pin 2
@@pflo-98 you rock!
Thanks for sharing this it was something I really wanted to learn about
Nice tutorial. Great info for newbies too.
Yeah I was hoping this would help newbies =)
Hi Bo!! I love your videos! I have a question! When I have external gear hooked up to the circuit, they starts to play, when I press play on the circuit. How can I get them to just be tempo sync’d but not play through sequences, unless I press play on them. I want to start the circuit and press play on the external gear when I want. I don’t like when everything starts playing when I press play on the circuit... :(
Love your channel!!
Siempre muy Buena Informacion
Thanks mate!
great vid! thanks for posting
Hey I have a question . I’m trying to get my Roland vr09 to play its internal sounds into the novation . I can control the sounds from novation but can’t see to figure out the other way round any advice would be great thanks
Great video and well explained, exactly what I wanted to see :-)
Thank you soooo much for this!!!!
Thanks for the helpful video! A bit shocked that there's no coffee, though
is there a way to connect the circuit to my mixer as part of a liveset
Very useful Bo! thanks for this
I was wondering how to send only the clock from circuit to the Microkorg, and here we are! I now have 4 oscillators that can run synced together
Nice! Gj mate
Thanks for doing this
Hello Sir thanks for your vídeo! I need help about conection my Studio because i am wrong no sync and no idea how to do it
I wish to know if what I found on Amazon is the same Volca Keys but guidelines won't let me show the link.
I NEED HELP!! Just got a beatstep pro and I’m trying to have the circuits drums be triggered and sequenced by the beatstep pro,I set the circuit to midi channel 10 and the best step to channel 10, but I’m not getting anything .any reason why?
Nice review. So I understand that I could control up to 6 external synths making different sequence each?
Nice and informative guide. I've been having a nightmare time trying to get this to work via USB, however. I've tried several options and think it may be down to the iConnectMidi4+ that i use as my hub. It seems that if you connect the Circuit to the ICM4+ via USB (on a powered hub on the ICM4+s hub port) it will send midi notes but clocking has been hard to get to work. Maybe this is user error. I was able to sequence some DIN MIDI'd gear via the ICM4+ but Ableton would not recognize the Circuit in the MIDI prefs. I'm thinking one of those Kenton plain ol Thru boxes might be an easier solution. Having the whole studio clock is a good way to lose days and days trouble shooting. Anyway, just thought i'd share some experience if anyone is using a more complicated set up.
Thanks for sharing mate! What you describe is one reason I tend to stick with physical midi i/o. There is just something about midi that makes it work splendid in theory but in practise there are so many driver/settings issues that I just can't cope with. I hate fiddling with stuff :/
I agree. Thinking of abandoning USB midi. It's a nice feature but if you have DIN, then just go that way, especially if you have larger set ups. The only issue that starts to pop up is MIDI filtering, as you state in the video the nobs etc will transmit CC so some gear might freak out. The ICM4+ is great as it has loads of filtering and remapping built in, but it's just honestly not a stable enough product, unfortunately.
bo i have arturia mf & novation circuit and i want to choose option number 3 , all the input output of both devices is pl so which cable do i need?
Bo another midi question re the circuit.
Any idea how to get the circuit to recognise the pitch and mod wheels. The original mini nova synth has both but I'm told the circuit mini nova synths don't respond to a normal pitch or mod wheel send which is quite strange. Any ideas on a work around
Ever think about getting another circuit and running them side by side?
Every day =)
Informative video :). Do you think that one of these splitters would enable you to send midi to two separate synths, say two different volcas, one from track 1 and the other from track 2?
+Olle Andersson yes a midi thru/splitter enables this! As long as thr synth you send to can recieve midi on channels 1-2 you are good to go.
To me this is the real attraction of this device, using it as a sequencer. Is it similar to Push? I’m not an Ableton guy, so I never looked at it.
I have a brand new circuit, and tried to connect it to my laptop (firmware upgrade). I had difficulties having it state "connected". After reinstalling the USB drivers, it worked, but after disconnecting it, and retrying it did not connect either. Anyone having trouble with connecting a circuit to a PC through USB?
I have seen several people having problems but I use it with a Mac so I of little help here. Have you tried contacting support or asking on Circuit Owners on Facebook?
Hi Bo, I have a Circuit and 2 Behringer TD-3's. How can I make these 3 units run at the same speed if each TD-3 has its own sequence running on it? This means that no MIDI notes should be sent, only synchronously, but at the same speed. In your first example with the Volca Keys, it runs in sync, but not at the same tempo. How do you manage that?
Great Channel! 👍🏻
Hey Bo, big fan of the channel! I can't seem to sync my Circuit and Volca sample. When I hold shift and turn on the Circuit the entire bottom row lights up, not just the two at either side. Is this a change that happened during a later update? I followed your instructions, but the confusion comes with the rest of the lights. I've tried a bunch of combinations and just can't seem to get it to sync! I'd really appreciate some help here, Google doesn't seem to have the answer. Cheers
This is correct. They have added more options. Unfortunately I have not looked into it much :-(
I'm having some issues when connecting NC to Behringer TD-3. The Circuit tempo syncs but I'm unable to adjust parameters on the external synth. What am I doing wrong?
Thanks for the explanation, very helpful, I’m mystified as to how you are getting audio out of the circuit and the volca keys...
The Circuit and the Volca Keys both have built in speakers.
Hi Bo, thanks for this video, really great again! I'm thinking of adding a volca fm to my circuit, when you connect it like you have shown, will all the sound from both synths come out from the circuit headphone slot? Also when recording into a DAW, will i just need the audio interface out from the circuit? thanks again!
+John Chesters midi does not transfer sound. So you will need to hook up all synths to a soundcard in order to record into a computer.
Hey Bo! Are there new functions with the circuit 1.5 firmware update?? When I load the circuit with Shift+Power On, I get two green lit pads, followed by two orange lit pads, and then the two blue lit pads on the far right... any ideas?
Yeah there are new functions in 1.5. I have not yet updated but I think the orange pads are for midi CC messages if I am not mistaken.
Hey Man. I have a Question and maybe you could help me. Do the knobs from Novation Circuit send Midi CC. I want to use it to control the parameter of another Synth. I want to know if it is possible to control the Filter of another synth with the knobs of circuit, for example. If possible Do you know what number do the knobs send out ? Cheers
Yes, the knobs send fixed CC values (one per knob if I am not mistaken). If the other synth can't change CC value for the filter for example, this will be tricky. The only way I heard about making this work is having some kind of midi interface or program in between that actually "translates" the fixed CC values from Circuit to fixed CC values on the other synth. But this is cumbersome. So I think the answer is: it will be hard to make it work.
so noob question... Which of the two devices do you connect to your audio interface to get the full sound into your speakers? Or do you need a mixer with several channels for that?
Novation Circuit Tracks
EU: thmn.to/thoprod/512775?offid=1&affid=623
US: imp.i114863.net/0kgRJ
US: bit.ly/circuittracksPC
Volca Keys
EU: thmn.to/thoprod/312865?offid=1&affid=623
US: imp.i114863.net/ZknM0
Original Minilogue
EU:thmn.to/thoprod/379052?offid=1&affid=623
US: imp.i114863.net/2PbZM
ive only been in synth rabbit whole for about a year started with couple of volcas and a crave, later added a TD3, ive in the last few weeks got QUITE A FEW MORE i clueing a circuit i found in a second hand shop, nice,, but with the limited knowledge i have im only just learning about midi so very useful video for me, i dont even play keys i just a what seemed like a crazy idea of trying to make some tunes, i honestly think ive done massively better than expected hence why now buying some better things, i maybe wouldn't call volcas toy's but they are alittle over fiddly, but many thanks for this i know its not exactly new but i'll be saving it to come back to
Hi, please, is it possible to connect just with one male midi/jack cable?
hi, ive the mono station and drumbrute. ive tried to set them both up with 5 pin to jack. so midi out on the circuit into midi in on the drumbrute. but for some reason they dont play together when i press play on the circuit. any ideas? i have the setting set up right when i press shift and on on the circut. thanks
would love to see an update to this with circuit tracks
Heya! Im actually releasing a somewhat similar tutorial soon! Next week maybe?
Hi. Im trying to do this with my Microkorg but it won't play at the same time but will stop when I press the play button... any advice?
How do I connect the novation circuit to the nord drum 3p? please help!
Can the Circuit send Program changes to external synths over midi. For instance, can it change the presets on an external synth?
No, not that I know of.
Hey Bo, thanks for this video which was really useful. I'm interested in something that will act as clock sync between my keystep (playing novation peak) and grandmother. I can't use either of those as master because I want to be able to run and stop the arp and seq patterns on each on independantly while they remain in sync. Do you think the Circuit would do this job while allowing me to clock divide the keystep and grandmother independantly to change their speed while remaining in sync?
I'll do that with my Crave in a couple of days (I'm not the only one ^^) but how am I supposed to manage the audio ? Should I buy a mixer or something like that ? Thx !!
Hi Bo, like always your videos are super helpful to many who want to get around their machines. Thanks
Is there any video on how to use the Analog Rytm's sequencer with external synths?
+Jo Azaredo hello Jo! Thank you! Yoi can not use Rytms sequencer to sequence external gear. Only send clock/cc/note values from pads etc
Thank you. I thought so too but wanted to know for sure
CAN SOMEONE HELP ME? im trying to sync novation circult rythm with 1010 fireball..using keystep..keystep to fireball using midi ouy to midi in fireball.but i want to use CR as drum machine and record what im playing..im sure it can do this...but i cant get it to work
Informative, thanks
+Jim Shannon thanks Jim!!
Hey Bo! So I finally got my Circuit and now I connected my microbrute to the unit and it works. BUT the Problem I have is that the synth also gets triggered by the drum channel! So the microbrute and the drums play at the same time. What did i do wrong?
+Honeyball Lecter hey! You should check the manual for how to turn of receiving midi input/output, cc input/output, and clock. Basically you power off the unit, hold shift and press power and then you can toggle these things :-) From what you write I assume that you want to turn off midi send.
But if you want to send midi from synth channel 1 to the microbrute you need to check what midi channel the Brute recieves on so it doesnt recieve on channel 10 which is the drum chanel.
BoBeats
Thanks for the reply mate!
I'll check it out tomorrow and try to make it work. Thank you very much :)
so when I sync my Novation Circuit with my Korg Volca it has to use the midi-port of the Volca? since the midi-port is already used, is there a way I could still control the Volca via my Arturia Keystep? or do I now have to play it using the ribbons?
Can a Zoom ARQ AR-48 Aero RhythmTrak do the same sequincing as the circuit ?
Hey when I hold shift and power up the unit my midi menu doesn't open up. Any tips?
When I first find this when I pressed a button on
Synth one sample in on
Volca would play now it won't I don't think it midi on my circuit as when I press play on my circuit the Volca plays too I think may be wire but it was a new wire I dunno how can just stop working
Very useful man, thank u very much.
Can I know if is it possible to load midi sequences into the Circuit (not writing on it), to sequencing synths ?
I want to play my tracks live without a computer, by sequencing analog synthesizers with the Circuit, so I take out midi stems from Logic or Ableton project, load them into the Circuit and then live sequencing synths, is it possible?
Thank you!
Thanks mate. As to your question. I do not know if there is any good way to do this besides actually recording the midi stems into the device manually. There is no way of loading say a midi file into it.
Thank you very much for your answer man; it's unbelievable that it's so hard to find a device that can do such an easy thing !
I watched Social Entropy Engine and it looks so cool, but it costs two times more than the circuit and it's also a lot less flexible. :-(
could you maybe help me with a couple questions? ill explain the best I can here goes. ok I have a novation circuit and a zoom q2n and a zoom h5. I wanna wire these up to the zoom q2n and use the mic on the h5 for guitar into the video recorder (2qn) do I plug n the circuit to the input of the h5 then line out to the q2n then monitor it with headphone jack? and if I do it this way will the h5 have to be recording for the novation sound to make it to the q2n? to sum it up I just wanna get audio and video and get external (guitar) to the video recorder.
Im trying to understand how to tempo sync circuit, behringer neutron and arturia keystep together, and what i need to buy. I didnt quite understand this video since im new to analog :/
Hey bo great channel I could use your help please is there any adapter or chord that I can control my circuit with my launch key 25?
Hey Bo, love your work man. Can I ask you... why did you choose the volca keys over say the volca fm? Would love to use one with my Circuit. Thanks so much!
Ambient Relaxation hey mate! I picked up the Keys because I got a great second hand deal on it. And the FM was not released. If I would give advice today I would probably suggest the FM. It has some really fun functions that complements the Circuit
i was thinking of using this with my lap top for live , i use MainStage on a iMac will this link up so when i press play on MainStage will it start the circuit ? thanks
I connected the circuit via midi to my nord stage 2, i can see it receives the midi, but don't know how to get the piano to record the notes from the synth in the circuit.
I am not sure what you want to achieve. Can you elaborate a bit more what you want? Do you want the Circuit to play the piano, or other way around = piano playing synth 1 or 2 of the Circuit?
Piqno playing synth 1 and 2
Anyone? Is there any function provided by going midi out from the Circuit using a TRS into a Volca sync' in using a TRS?
Hey bo I’m a big fan of you my Westin is can I hook up the circuit to a synth keyboard midi and play the sounds and effects from the circuit on the on the synth keyboard
Yes, you can use pretty much any midi keyboard to play the Circuit :-)
So Midi out from keyboard and Midi in to circuit?
Excellent video Bo! I'm a newbie and was looking a long time for a video like this to show easily how to set up and sync different devices.
Also have the Circuit ...question: If I use this Kenton box with Circuit, I can sync up to 4 or 5 devices but play different sequences only on two of them because of the circuit only having 2 synth channels right?
Cheers!
chatolars thanks! Yes that is correct. Unless any of those 5 synths has internal sequencers or you play them live. But the sequence can effectively sequence 2 channels from its own sequencer.
Don't forget that when doing this you could in fact play all 5 synths on the same channel to get a monster layered sound from all 5, or say 3 synths on channel 1 and 2 on channel 2, or for Kick reinforcement 2 synths channel 1, 2 synths channel 2, and perhaps Volca Kick on channel 10 (the drum/sample parts send MIDI to channel 10) The combinations are many and varied....
This may seem overboard but imagine if each synth you have connected has an arpeggiator that will use the incoming MIDI as its root note....you could have 5 different arps playing on 5 different synths with the Circuit outputting the root note so you can use it to control the chord progression.
Something for the New circuit features list perhaps, on the MIDI Settings page..have an option to only output the sequencer via MIDI, and have what you play on the pads only go to the internal synths..that would let you 'noodle' over the top :)
Andrew Cummings wow ...thanks for the info. That would nice ...is that possible now or with a future OS update ?
BoBeats great thank!
chatolars you can do it now, all your synths can listen to the same channel if you want them to. It is down to the synth you are sending to as to what you can do with that midi.
The bit I would like to see added in an update is the bit where you could send midi from the 2 sequencers and play the onboard synth separately, that would be really useful.
Is there a way to use the other 10 available midi channels on the circuit. It would be awesome to use those to sequence other hardware.
Yes, the MIDI channels are assignable since the v1.8 update. 1 to 15 are assignable.
excellent tutorial bo, really well explained, cheers 4 this
Really informative video and easy to understand! I have a question lol. Is there a way to use the circuit as a sequencer for the minilogue’s sound? Like not have the circuit sound and just the minilogue sound playing in the circuit? If that makes sense lol
Thanks! No the Circuit has no audio input. What you can do is to sequence the Minilogue from the Circuit and turn down the audio from the Circuit in the Circuits mixer so that you only hear the Minilogue. But you still need an audio interface/mixer to hear both sources at once.
BoBeats ok. Thank you
Can you show me a link on how to get patchchorrds for circuit to run synths from novation launchkey mini, am not going to buy mini ,unless i can find correct patch cords to play synths fr0m circuit ,with circuit as launchkey asmidi controller. Thank U mj.
Can the circuit record midi cc like filter cutoff from volca on its midi in port? Thanx
Thanks for the video, my own Circuit's synth recording mode seems to have been disabled after having connected my Minibrute's MIDI OUT to its MIDI IN. Doesn't make much sense, maybe the memory is full but I don't know how to check that. I thought I remembered the machine had an SD card but I don't see the slot. I can input or live record drum notes but neither record synths nor input synth notes in stop mode. Wonder if separate memory areas for synths and drums.
You are most welcome! It sounds REALLY strange the way your Circuit is behaving. perhaps you can post over on Circuit Owners forum on Facebook and see if someone can help you? I am afraid I can't really come up with a solution
Thanks anyway my good man. My circuit is indeed behaving strangely just when I was finally connecting it to the Minibrute. Damn. I will delve into the FB forum you suggest or write Novation.
I’m looking to sequence my reissued minimoog model d, would the circuit work for something like that?
Are there many kinds of midi cables or are they all the same?
The adapters that come with the Circuit use 5-pin DIN MIDI cables.
I want to sync my circuit to a Korg Volca Modular is that possible?
I really need help sequencing my Microbrute with my circuit is there anyway you can help me?
Hello, can I connect the circuit with the Tr8 with a midi cabel from circuit Output into (extrnal in) Tr8 and come's midi clock from the circuit or tr8?
+TOBIAS DOBROWOLSKI it sounds like something you can do but I dont own the tr8 so cant test
Is it possible to connect the Circuit to a Roland TB-3?
anyone have tried to conect the novation to a roland jd xi? if you dont know the jd xi has 2 digital synts one drum machine and an analog synth, so i wonder if the novation could expand the posobilities of my roland
I bought a used circuit, but it seems to send no clock or other midi data, no matter how i set both Rx and Tx. It also doesnt receive. 8 use 3.5 mm three pole trs to DIN midi adapters, not the originals though..
The Circuit uses the alternate "TRS MIDI B" wiring breakout cables, so perhaps you have the "MIDI A" type. Korg uses "MIDI A"; Arturia and Novation use "MIDI B".
Could you please tell me if i wanna use it with Live, do the knobs are automatically assigned to instument / effect racks, or i have to do it manually every time? thank you in advance!
I dont think there is any automatic mapping. This is not a midi controller
ohh :( thanks a lot for the ultrafast reply anyway! :)
Great Video ...
Thank you sir