Review: Novation Circuit Rhythm

About half a year ago, we had the small Circuit Tracks groovebox in for review. Now, the Circuit Rhythm is also available and came to our studio for several weeks of testing.

Differences from the tracks

Externally, the only difference between the two devices is the color: Instead of black, the Rhythm comes in concrete gray. Internally, the division is such that the Tracks focuses on synthesizer sounds, while the Rhythm is responsible for the beats. Therefore, the Rhythm lacks the two polyphonic synthesizer tracks, as well as the two additional MIDI tracks for controlling external sound generators. Instead, the drum tracks have been doubled; instead of four, Rhythm offers eight of these sample-based tracks. The crucial difference is that Circuit Rhythm can record samples directly on the device via the audio inputs, while Tracks relies on import only via computer and USB. The maximum available sampling time has also been increased by a good 24 seconds to a total of 220 seconds.

There is no display – the most important synth and sequencer parameters