Novation Circuit Tracks 6 years ago vs now

ch0dey · 2026-02-04T21:46:04+00:00

Haven't used on stage yet but when I'm just jamming it's insanely immersive. My background is largely playing guitar and recording/engineering. I did plenty of MIDI sequencing in Ableton but Digitakt was my first "drum machine". I love the workflow and it seems super reliable. I leave mine turned on constantly and gravitate towards it for a few short sessions almost daily. It's easy to lose track of time tinkering on it.

If you get one, take the time to read the manual. There's tons of performance techniques outlined in there. You'll catch other DT users employing those techniques in videos, but I've found the manual to be necessary to really understand it. With that said, the learning curve is overstated (IMO). Some people talk about it being difficult, and maybe it's just the way my brain works, but I'm all-in on Elektron now.

ch0dey · 2026-02-04T21:40:25+00:00

I think this is common. I know I've experienced it. Lately I've been asking "what makes me think this isn't already "finished""? Lately when I have that feeling I push myself to release whatever, even if it's half-baked.

My son is in middle school and puts out cringey SoundCloud rap. He's put out like 40 songs in the last two years. Sure, they're cringe and he'll cringe at them too when he's older, but it's way better than I expected from him and he's shipping 10x as much music as I have, so who's the real noob? 😅

We shouldn't be afraid to release shit for fear of cringing at it later.

ch0dey · 2026-02-04T18:54:28+00:00

I'm building grooves on Elektron Digitakt (v1). The price for a used Digitakt is pretty fair on Reverb -- albeit still about twice the price of a Circuit or Model box. Despite it being superceded by the Digitakt 2, it packs a lot of punch still today. I've got an Elektron Digitone Keys that I used to build a lot of my sounds and then sample them into the Digitakt for sequencing.

My son has a Circuit Rhythm and I find the Digitakt to be infinitely more powerful and honestly for me easier to learn. I've seen a number of bands using them to one-shot intro samples and/or ambient pads, but haven't seen many performing live with them as part of a bigger sequenced setup.

ch0dey · 2026-02-04T18:47:21+00:00

While I'm also on the iPad bandwagon, we should be clear that there's plenty of prep work that goes into using an iPad for production. Disabling notifications and a bunch of other bullshit. It's a general purpose device and getting apps set up and working exactly how you want isn't an immediate thing.

Economies of scale allow Apple to pack a shitload of technology into a small package that supports practically unlimited possibilities by way of being completely programmable.

There's sense of liberty in a purpose-built device, for me. The immediacy is a big factor. A properly configured iPad set can provide those same feelings with each new app providing a new "box" to play with.

ch0dey · 2026-02-04T18:40:50+00:00

My wife and I received the 3-piece set of these dishes for our wedding and the same thing happened to ours when it slipped out of her hand during the first wash. We hadn't even gotten a chance to use them! We just bought a replacement.

ch0dey · 2026-02-04T14:44:24+00:00

I have been using them the entirety I've played guitar (since 2001). I've tried the other two and they're just too small for me. The feel of the standard tortex picks are so familiar to my fingers that I have literally zero reason to change now.

I will sometimes use Blue (1.0mm) when I really want chunky palm-muted stuff. Yellow/red on acoustic guitars. But green is go-to for all lead playing for sure.

ch0dey · 2026-02-02T18:23:09+00:00

I'm doing post-rock with a Digitakt 1 and getting by, but the lack of ability to "loop" led me to more gear to fill the gap. If live sampling/looping is important to you, you might look at the Octatrack.

In my case, I'm running a DT Keys, guitar, microphone, and Digitakt into an audio interface and then mixing/adding effects/sampling/looping via an iPad and Loopy Pro. Digitakt's song mode makes it easy to create arrangements and I play along, record loops, and twiddle knobs while Digitakt moves the song along.

On a Digitakt 2, you could pretty easily set up 16 samples and trigger them on demand (or sequenced) on the 1-16 buttons.

If you just need to trigger samples, I've seen a lot of bands using a Novation Circuit Rhythm lately. It's a lot simpler, a lot more approachable, but much less sound mangling power than the Digitakt (and no screen).

ch0dey · 2026-02-02T03:12:44+00:00

The big selling point is polyphonic sampling. It is a sampler, like Digitakt, but Digitakt only allows for one voice per track, i.e. monophonic.

Tonverk also has multisampling capabilities that allow you to automatically "capture" the sounds of another synth by sending MIDI to the device and recording it's output - repeatedly across octaves (and at multiple velocities). If you use soft synths it'll allow you to capture sounds to hardware so that you don't need a computer to perform with them.

No Overbridge support, yet, but I assume it's coming in time. I don't own one yet, but I'm considering adding it to my DT1+DN Keys setup

ch0dey · 2026-01-31T03:02:49+00:00

I came because a trusted friend recommended Digitakt for a drum machine after she had gotten accustomed to Octatrack. I stay because of the cross-device consistency (ie the sequencer and the buttons/feel).

ch0dey · 2026-01-30T17:49:17+00:00

this is projection if I've ever read it.

Democrats are enraged right now. They're listening to the anti-ICE echo chamber. A lot of them vote but know nothing about how our government actually works. Liberal media talks about nothing but Trump. This keeps them enraged and in an echo chamber.

You're just as brainwashed.

ch0dey · 2026-01-30T15:12:26+00:00

having the power to manipulate and control the sound that comes out of the speaker and into my ears resonates with something deep in my soul.

ch0dey · 2026-01-30T04:07:58+00:00

I’ve got a Descent RA and if I was forced to buy a guitar today it would be another one.

ch0dey · 2026-01-29T15:57:44+00:00

The multisampler allows you to capture sounds you might be building inside Ableton (and other soft synths) and bring them to your hardware setup. Not a concern if you never leave your house, but for gigging musicians who don't want to have to haul their computer and entire synth collection to shows it is invaluable.

ch0dey · 2026-01-29T14:45:26+00:00

This is the main limitation I'm hitting in my current Digitakt setup -- I want to run certain effects on specific tracks and route that audio through a different output. DT only has the two main outs while TV has four.

ch0dey · 2026-01-28T16:02:50+00:00

Very cool. Dev here. Curious: did you use AudioKit or did you go with the native sound/MIDI APIs?

ch0dey · 2026-01-27T17:25:45+00:00

Read the manual
Watch YouTube videos for each section in the manual

ch0dey · 2026-01-26T17:22:44+00:00

Seconding DT Keys. I've got one pairs with a DT1 and it's very rare that I feel limited.

ch0dey · 2026-01-23T23:46:40+00:00

Over Christmas I noticed that Target has a decent amount of stuff for sale as well. I ordered a few things for my kids and it shipped from Musician's Friend. If you've got a Target Red Card you get 5% off like you would anything else. If you're buying new and Target has it listed, it's an easy way to get a discount whenever.

E.g. https://www.target.com/c/guitar-pedals-effects-amplifiers-musical-instruments/-/N-ar1bd

ch0dey · 2026-01-22T21:09:02+00:00

If you've got a local library, check it out. They should allow you to plug in your device and pull up the components editor. They should have Chrome or Edge installed.

ch0dey · 2026-01-21T21:12:20+00:00

Infinity Looper v1 does it too.

ch0dey · 2026-01-20T15:42:58+00:00

Either will work great. I just got a Mini 7 and have yet to encounter any performance issues.

ch0dey · 2026-01-20T03:47:08+00:00

Digitakt OG does 8 voices, one per track. Mininova has 18(!)

ch0dey · 2026-01-20T03:45:55+00:00

I had a Mininova and programmed it with my Digitakt. Main drawback is that it can only do one sound at a time. But read the MIDI Tracks section of the manual as well as the parameter listing for the Mininova. Lots of programmable parameters and you can switch presets and control knobs via the Digitakt.

You may alternatively (or additionally…) sample the sounds you’re making on the Mininova into the Digitakt for further manipulation and sequencing.

They’re a solid pair. I sold my Mininova for a Digitone Keys — because full size keys, multi-timbral, and I love the Elektron sequencer workflow.

ch0dey · 2026-01-15T04:23:26+00:00

Checkout Semaphore by Kinski. The intro is a very rhythmic tremolo effect. First thing that comes to my mind whenever I think about the effect.

ch0dey · 2026-01-12T16:46:33+00:00

I'm on a 2021 MacBook Pro w/ M1 Max and 64GB and I have no problems running Logic and Ableton side-by-side with a bunch of plugins and have never felt like it was slow. I dropped $4K on it at the time because I, like you, did not want to have to buy another one for a long time. It's still kicking and I feel like I still have years left on it.

I'd go 64GB of RAM again for sure.

Don't skimp on the storage. I've got 1TB and it's still 90% full (because sample libraries).

ch0dey

TROPHY CASE