Novation’s Circuit Tracks: the best value hardware on the market?

The excellent Circuit groovebox gets an update, packing in a hell of a lot of power for the price

>Since its launch in 2015, Novation’s synth-and-sample groovebox, Circuit, has grown from an already impressive compact instrument into one of the most versatile devices about. When it first arrived it was already powerful, with two digital polysynths and a four-track sampled drum machine onboard, but subsequent firmware updates have doubled down on the flexibility and then some, adding user sample-upload, a full desktop editor for the synths and advanced sequencing tools like micro-timing.

Now Novation have launched Circuit Tracks which – despite the new name – is essentially a straight sequel to the original Circuit. Keeping all that we loved about the original but packing in even more powerful features.

Like the original, it features two six-voice digital polysynths and a four-track sample-based drum machine, all built around a pad-based sequencer grid equipped with eight multi-use macro rotaries. As before, there are effects onboard too, with reverb and delay sends plus a bi-directional master filter. Here however, the effects have been upgraded, adding a sidechain tool and master compressor into the mix.

The original Circuit was something of a dark horse for sequencing external hardware, thanks to its sleek, well-designed polyphonic sequencers. Doing so with the original, however, involved repurposing Circuit’s synth tracks, so it’s nice to see the addition of two standalone MIDI sequencers. To take advantage of these, Tracks trades the mini-jack MIDI ports of the original for full-sized MIDI in, out and thru.

There are a number of other major upgrades to the hardware and workflow too. Sticking with the I/O, Tracks adds a pair of mono audio inputs, allowing for external signals to be passed through the effects. There’s also a new MicroSD port, for loading patches, projects and samples. It also adds analogue sync in/out alongside the MIDI and USB connections. Tracks adds a built-in rechargeable battery too, with a reported four-hour lifespan.

On the workflow front, Tracks’ sequencer doubles the pattern length of the original from 32-steps to 64, while keeping all of the advanced creative tools added via later updates. It also adds the excellent Mutate tool and probability options found on Novation’s Launchpad Pro.

In all, then, there’s a lot going on, and impressively Novation have kept the price down to a thoroughly affordable £360. While that’s around

£100 more than the price of the original at launch, it’s still very much in reach of newer or younger music

makers. Bearing in mind that the price gets you two polysynths, a

drum machine, effects processor and multi-track hardware sequencer, we’d struggle to think of a more

cost-effective hardware purchase out there right now.

Circuit Tracks is out now priced at £360.