Bad Gear - Novation Circuit - Groovebox Evolution

[Applause] welcome to bad gear the show about the world's most hated audio tools after last week's episode about akai hitting rock bottom with its abysmal mpx-8 sample player i was looking forward to a real albeit still controversial piece of gear the novation circuit this 2015 instrument was the manufacturer's first foray into the groov box market and the logical step given novation's notable catalog of groov box worthy technology they took the multi-colored pads and sequencer technology of the launch pad pro threw in a little novel synth magic and caging instant cork electric 2 competitor in light of all the negative comments about the circuit you might expect another toy-ish noisemaker for the less initiated but movation introduced so many upgrades that it is hard to tell if the current state of the instrument still has anything to do with the product originally released let's take a closer look at the first glance the novation circuit is sticking many colorful boxes the pads that made madion famous eight endless encoders for everything else and the dj style master filter to rule them all it goes without saying that the lack of full size midi sockets and multiple outputs should be punishable by sabaro food the sample based 4 voice drum section comes with 64 preset sounds but novation implemented sample import in one of the aforementioned updates highly appreciated sound manipulation is simple but effective pitch [Applause] envelope decay [Music] distortion and filter [Music] you can garnish these drum sounds with a global fx section consisting of reverb and delay which can be applied to the synth section as well speaking of the synth section the two built-in synth offer six voice polyphony and are mostly identical to the engine of the mini nova [Music] before you get too excited if tweaking synth parameters in google chrome isn't your thing the only way to shape the sound of these very powerful synth is by using eight macro parameters that can be quite confusing [Music] [Applause] [Music] sure there's a rule of thumb for what the knobs are supposed to be doing but more often than not it's hit or miss the side chain effect is a godsend for many contemporary genres when it comes to sequences novation was able to strike a balance between ease of use and versatility the futuristic take on the tr step sequencer is super intuitive [Music] scales work like a charm even for non-musicians management of polyphonic patterns velocity and note length is well thought out and there's a non-quantized recording mode for the church of dilla another edition that came with one of the three updates every voice is triggered by up to 8 patterns you can creatively chain together patterns fx settings and all parameters of the synth and drum voices can be saved in a session of which there are 32. at first i was skeptical of novation's online editor called component but it got all the necessary features covered in-depth synth tweaking sample management import of packs you can find on the internet no problem there are too many updated features and convenient little details to cover in this episode honorable mentions are polyrhythms sample flip improved midi implementation and well panning the circuit is plasticky yet sturdy can be powered using batteries there's a built-in speaker and after the release of the circuit tracks this year used prices for the og have become very tempting the novation circuit has evolved from a very basic groov box to a powerful music production and live performance tool is it still bad gear worthy you have already heard the circuit in today's intro tune the distortion really enhanced the 707 samples i loaded into the machine a groove box should be capable of creating entire arrangements let's put it to the test [Music] [Laughter] [Music] now that's a fun and easy to use instrument no display the workflow is mostly self-explanatory and the chameleon-like pads gently show you the way i didn't really click with the synth engines though the deliberately digital sound is great but the predefined macros are a bit too much wheel of fortune for my taste time to start the online editor control an external synth via midi and see how deep the rabbit hole goes [Music] [Music] oh [Music] again i'm pleasantly surprised by the internal distortion it's smooth and adds quite some weight to the samples components the web-based editor works flawlessly and i would love to see some of the circuits sequencer features implemented in the beatstep pro the synth engine sounds great and i like the idea of total control while software and quick and dirty macro tweaking still i had a hard time getting the results i wanted and it's difficult to tell why time for some practice and a semi-inspired 21st century up-tempo downbeat gardening not architecture groov box showcase [Music] [Music] verdict the novation circuit was released as a very basic groov box aimed at but not exclusively for beginners and people who just want to generate ideas fast since then the manufacturer added boatloads of features and turned it into a completely different and without a doubt much more professional instrument i'm torn when it comes to this way of releasing products substantial updates are great especially when they come for free but the circuit in its original state is only a far cry from the groove making powerhouse you can now find in the local classifieds for 200 bucks a possible explanation for the countless comments dismissing it as a toy novation did great work here but there is also some albeit very subjective criticism whatever i tried for drum and two synth vices are hardly ever enough maybe i just need a second one thanks for watching and see you next time hey guys i hope you enjoyed the episode feel free to like subscribe become a patron and leave a comment what other kind of gear you would like to see and hear on the show

Channel: AudioPilz

Views: 42,018

Keywords: bad gear, audiopilz, novation, novation circuit, novation circuit rhythm, novation circuit tracks, groovebox, novation groovebox, updates, launchpad pro, drum machine, music production, electronic music, groovebox evolution, edm production, best groovebox for live performance, electronic musical instrument

Id: vpXwosmMC_0

Length: 9min 46sec (586 seconds)

Published: Fri Aug 13 2021