Novation Circuit Groove Box with Sample Import: 2-Part Synth, 4-Part Drum Machine and Sequencer, Black (NOVSYNTH04)

First and foremost: I returned mine, thinking it would be a simple task. Make use of a drum machine with some synthesizer features. Even though it appears to have an intuitive user interface, this thing is WAY TOO difficult to learn for a novice. I gave it four stars because nothing about it is intuitive. br>br> I was tempted to give it only three stars, but I couldn't give it a fair assessment because I didn't use it in a productive manner. It does not come with a manual. br>br> You must be foresighted enough to go to their website and look for the PDF manual. br>The manual appears to be written for someone with a lot of money. Drum machines are something I know a lot about. I am not. br>I'm a guitarist who was looking for something to listen to while I practiced. br>I didn't want to waste hours trying to figure out how to use the software's basic features. Another grievance: br>br> They emphasize the fact that it has an external speaker. Because I wasn't planning on using a mixer, amplifier, or DAW software, this was a major selling point for me. When the speaker is turned up to its maximum volume, you can barely hear it. If you're going to include an external speaker, make sure it's loud enough to compete with a cellphone. br>When I was alone, I could hardly hear it. If I plugged my guitar into my amp, even at a low volume, any sound emitted by the Circuit's speaker would be drowned out by the guitar. br>br>I was blown away by the quality of the construction. It's not a toy, but it's well-made. If you're familiar with drum machines, this might be of interest to you. Expect to be frustrated if you're a beginner.

Bo Giles

| Jun 03, 2021

br>br>What's brilliant here is that you can flit through a lot of options *quickly* without menus or overly deep onboard features, setting up sequences, adding reverb/delay, selecting patches and patterns, deleting, copying, and so on, with just a few taps. There isn't a single feature on this box that takes more than a second to access and configure. Novation clearly intended for this to be the case. br>br>The complicated parts of the two oscillator synth engine can only be accessed online: you go to a web page, plug and play (the website immediately recognized the USB connection for me), and all of the deeper digital settings are there, which is a little tedious but hyper-efficient. programmable; You can assign any setting to any encoder, blend functions, and create strange modulations. You can also share and backup full packs of sounds (64) online by simply dragging and dropping the file, or you can download a pack of sounds created by someone else and drop it right onto the device. br>br>(and make sure the Circuit's software is up to date; I think Novation made an excellent device with the Circuit, and I'm just really impressed with the thought that went into keeping it so playable in the updates. br>br>I think Novation made an excellent device with the Circuit, and I'm just really impressed with the thought that went into keeping it so playable in the updates). br>br>I think Novation made an excellent device with the Circuit, and I'm just really impressed with the thought that went into keeping it so playable in the updates.

Nicole Andersen

| Sep 16, 2021

Others have commented on how bad the speaker is. It's likely that you'll want to listen to music with headphones on. br>br>According to the most helpful review, this item is far too difficult for beginners. I don't agree with you at all. There's a seven-day trial period available. XpressPads has a YouTube lesson that is less than an hour long. I watched them today and feel like I can do everything I want in a short amount of time; if you're not sure, I recommend watching the lessons and deciding for yourself whether they seem too complicated. I think it's insanely intuitive. br>br>I'm blown away by this device. I bought it to make some soundscapes for the home. I purchased the Elements pack from Limbic Beats and used USB to load the samples and patches onto the Circuit. I've been tinkering for hours now, and the possibilities seem limitless. Novation continues to release firmware updates that add new functionality, some of which have added some serious power and versatility to this box (micro steps, tied notes, complex pattern chaining, sample flipping, and so on). br>br>With all the creative potential, as well as the fact that I can load in different samples and patches if I get bored with the ones I have loaded currently, I can see this thing keeping me occupied for a very long time.

Marleigh Chandler

| Oct 18, 2021

When they first came out, I debated getting one; it seemed like a nice idea, but it appeared to be very inflexible, and the concept of only being able to access presets on the synths and a pre-programmed sequencer seemed limiting. designed sample kit didn't seem to be designed for serious electronic music producers as much as it seemed to be designed for djs and the like. Everything was completely different after the recent firmware and software updates. The isotonik editor and max4live plugin are incredibly comprehensive for a box in this price range, and the ability to import your own samples into the kits transforms this machine from what it was when it was first released (I'm curious what other features they'll add. . ). Instead of a traditional groove box, I now see this box as a two synth soundmodule and a sample trigger/seq box in my setup. Also, that Nova engine sounds great, even though I'm sure they didn't think of it when they designed a groovebox like this, but it makes great evolving ambient patches (the engine has a ton of assignable matrix controls that can all be assigned to macros, as can the 8 assignable knobs).

Zariyah Kuhn

| Jun 21, 2021