Novation Circuit Rhythm review | Engadget

While obviously the whole point of a sampler is to record and perform with your own samples, I do have to give Novation credit for the stock sound selection. Most of your bases are covered from acoustic drums, to 808s, to guitar licks, electric piano and synth pads. And they sound good too, which is not something you could say about the presets on the Circuit Tracks. Basically, no matter what genre of music you make, there should be enough here to get you started.

While the basic workflow of the Circuit Rhythm and Tracks are basically identical, there are some differences. There are specific pages for recording and processing samples, for instance, and a page dedicated to what Novation calls “Grid FX”, which are basically punch-in effects like repeat, gate and vinyl simulation that give you basic tools for manipulating your beat.

But, just like the Tracks, some of the more advanced features aren’t always immediately obvious and having the manual handy is a must while you’re finding your bearings. I’m sure that eventually I’d be able to commit most functions to memory, but after a few weeks I’m still having trouble remembering how to turn threshold on and off when recording samples, it took me forever to figure out how to manually place slice points, and I still haven’t figured out how to set a count-in for unquantized recording. (I’m not even sure you can.)

The effects are also something of a mixed bag here. The delay, reverb and sidechain effects are all the same as on the Tracks. They’re charmingly lo-fi, but the line between barely noticeable and over the top (especially on the sidechain) is extremely thin. And the Grid FX are pretty mediocre. The vinyl sim is passable, but the beat repeat and gate effects always felt slightly out of sync. It’s entirely likely that I just haven’t mastered performing with the Rhythm yet, but I don’t struggle nearly as much with the same effects on Teenage Engineering’s PO-33.

There are some features that would be super useful too that I’m hoping to see Novation add in a future firmware update. For one, the ability to swap or adjust Grid FX from the device itself would be huge. You can load up to 16 of them, but they’re all presets, so you can’t change the depth of the flanger, for instance, without connecting to the Components app on your computer. This also means that if you start a new “Pack” on the Circuit (Novation’s term for a collection of projects and samples) you’re stuck with the default effects.

Fine-grained control over the tempo is also a must that’s currently missing. I spent well over an hour trying to line up a sample from “Stridulum Theme” off the soundtrack to The Visitor, but no matter what I did I couldn’t quite get it to loop cleanly. The actual BPM of the sample is somewhere between 85 and 86 BPM, but the Rhythm will only deal in whole numbers. (It doesn’t help that without a screen, trimming a loop to the perfect length is a giant PITA.)

The Circuit Rhythm is far from perfect, but definitely offers a lot of compelling features at a decent price. The question, ultimately, is what features are most important to you?

The Model:Samples is $100 cheaper at $299 and its sequencer blows the Circuit out of the water, if you ask me. But it’s not as finger-drum friendly, plus it doesn’t have built-in sampling capabilities or a battery. (You have to pay $50 for a special handle that you stick AAs in.) Korg’s Electribe Sampler feels a lot sturdier than the Circuit and can use single-cycle waveforms to essentially become a synth. But it costs $70 more, its sequencer feels a little outdated and, in my limited experience, it’s just not intuitive.

You could of course go for a Roland SP-404, from which the Rhythm is clearly takes inspiration. The modern version, the 404A, costs $550 — quite a bit more than then Circuit. It’s workflow might also feel a tad archaic if you’re used to more modern equipment. That being said, the SP-303 and SP-404 have legions of fans for a reason: They’re undeniable classics.

Then, of course, there’s the other giant of hip hop production: the MPC. As the cheapest option, the MPC One is still pretty expensive at $699, while the new touchscreen workflow has earned plenty of detractors. If you want an old-school beat-making experience you won’t find it here, and the prices for vintage MPCs are out of control.

If you’re looking for the cheapest and most portable device with sampling ability though, I can’t recommend the $89 PO-33 enough. It’s not nearly as capable as any of the other devices listed here, but it can feel like a stripped-down SP-303 that fits in your pocket once you master its quirks.