The Tracks adds dedicated mode buttons for several of these features, which makes for a much more convenient and intuitive layout. How much it would have cost to add two extra synths, even if they were “crappier” or emergency ones? A feature added to the original Circuit after we reviewed it was micro‑steps, dividing each sequencer step into six sub steps. You can also sidechain instruments, which is great, and there are plenty of settings to choose from here.

Presets and samples have also been well-organized, with groups of 128 presets and 64 samples kept in various “packs. There are 18 more rubber buttons surrounding the pads and a row of 10 smaller buttons across the top of those.

I don’t use external gear (yet) so not sure how big of an issue this may be; or I might be totally wrong here. Designed for electronic and dance music producers, it lets creativity thrive so creators can lose themselves in the seamless workflow of the hands-on sequencer. Novation Circuit Tracks is an all-in-one studio unit that includes everything you would need to design, create and perform your music. Being able to adjust this compressor would be great for achieving different loudnesses and dynamic shapes.

Pair it with a Volca or two or some other similar accessible portable instruments, and you’ve got a really powerful and great sounding little studio that is… finite. You can listen to your music through the analogue audio outputs in the form of stereo line out or with headphones.FWIW it rules it out entirely as I long ago got sick of the “pattern Tetris” approach to songwriting.

Products shown, tagged or featured on YouTube by creators are sold by merchants and are subject to merchant's terms and conditions.As with its predecessor, the synth elements of Tracks are essentially preset players, albeit with eight macro rotaries that can be used to adjust and automate various sound elements.

Access to multiple Packs from an SD card makes the Circuit Tracks more independent, although you’ll still need to connect to a computer or tablet to load new samples, get deeper control of the synths and MIDI templates. Patterns can be of longer lengths if you’re happy to reduce resolution, and there are lots of settings for this – you can even have them in non-standard lengths. Around the back are an on/off switch, a USB-C for power, a microSD slot, the aforementioned full-sized Mini sockets, an analogue sync jack socket, and all the audio inputs and outputs: Two 1/4″ jacks for audio out, a headphones 1/8″ jack, and two 1/4″ jacks for audio in (more on these later).Plenty of I/O (nice fat standard MIDI connectors, independent audio inputs to match the MIDI channels, etc.