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• Page 2: Copyright And Legal Notices

  Disclaimer Novation has taken all possible steps to ensure that the information given here is both correct and complete. In no event can Novation accept any liability or responsibility for any loss or damage to the owner of the equipment, any third party, or any equipment which may result from use of this manual or the equipment which it describes.

• Page 3: Table Of Contents

  Registering your Circuit Mono Station……..

• Page 4
  SYNTHESIS TUTORIAL……….. . 59 CIRCUIT MONO STATION –…
• Page 5
  English The Envelope section ……….. 79 The LFO section .

• Page 6: Introduction

  Circuit Mono Station has been designed to let you create music fast: you can create riffs, patterns and longer sequences quickly and easily, with the fat and expansive sounds that only true analogue sound generation can provide.

• Page 7: Key Features

  Introduction and Getting Started chapters, you’ll next find a more detailed description of how to use the sequencer aspects of Circuit Mono Station. As with other Novation synth User Guides, we’ve then included a “Synthesis Tutorial” (see page 59) which explains the principles of sound generation and treatment that are the foundation of all synthesisers.

• Page 8: What’s In The Box

  What’s In The Box Circuit Mono Station has been carefully packed in the factory and the packaging was designed to withstand rough handling. Should the unit appear to have been damaged in transit, do not discard any of the packing material and notify your music dealer.

• Page 9: Registering Your Circuit Mono Station

  Power Requirements Circuit Mono Station should be powered from AC mains via the AC adaptor supplied. It cannot be powered from a computer or other device via a USB connection. The AC adaptor supplied with the unit is a 12 V DC, 1.25 A type, and can operate on mains voltages from 100 V to 240 V, 50 or 60 Hz.

• Page 10: Glossary

  English Glossary Some of the terms used in this manual have a specific meaning as applied to Circuit Mono Station. Here is a short list: Term Button Definition When the sequencer is running, the “current” note is indicated by one pad illuminated white: this Step, the Cursor current position in the pattern, is referred to as the cursor.

• Page 11
  English Term Button Definition The View that is used to assign synth notes to pattern Note View Note steps. Paraphonic Mode Shift + Scales Normal mode (default): Only Osc 1 triggers the VCA. Paraphonic Mode Both Osc 1 and Osc 2 trigger the VCA. A specific synth “sound”: defined by a set of values for Patch all synth parameters.
• Page 12
  English Term Button Definition Shift + Power Setup Page Allows control of MIDI clock and TX / RX settings. Normal operation is suspended while the Setup Page is open. Smooth Shift + Mod Applies to the Modulation Sequence: interpolates between successive assigned values to produce a gradual transition.

• Page 13: Hardware Overview

  English HARDWARE OVERVIEW Top View – controls Master controls: Volume – controls the overall level at the audio outputs. Tempo – lets you set the BPM (tempo) of the sequence. Hold down Shift to re-assign it as a Swing control, which will alter the timing between steps to change the ‘feel’ of a pattern. Tap –…

• Page 14
  English Grid controls: 32-pad playing grid – a 4 x 8 matrix of rubber pads; internally illuminated with RGB LEDs. Many Views ‘split’ the grid horizontally into two 2 x 8 matrixes, but some divide it into logical areas with different functions. Most of the remaining buttons switch the 32-pad grid into a specific .
• Page 15
  English Clear – allows deletion of individual Pattern Steps, Patches, Patterns, Sessions or automation data. Save and Sessions – let you save your current Session, or open a previously-saved one. You can also use Save to store Patches independently from Sessions. Shift –…
• Page 16
  English Synth controls: Apart from the MASTER section, the upper half of Circuit Mono Station’s control surface has the controls for the mono synth engine. OSCILLATORS section: Range – steps through the base pitch ranges of the oscillator selected by Osc 1 or Osc 2 in octaves.
• Page 17
  English FILTER section: Shape – this button steps through three filter characteristics: low-pass (LP), band-pass (BP) or high-pass (HP). Slope – toggles between two filter slopes: sets the slope of filter outside the passband to 12dB or 24dB per octave. Frequency –…

• Page 18: Rear View — Connectors

  MIDI data. Also used for firmware updates. Note – Circuit Mono Station’s USB port does not carry either DC power or audio. – power input socket. Circuit Mono Station requires 12 V DC at 1 A. Connect the AC adaptor supplied to this coaxial socket.

• Page 19: Front And Side Views

  (Headphones) – connect a pair of stereo headphones to this 3.5 mm TRS jack socket. The headphone amplifier can drive +10.5 dBu into 150 ohms. Kensington security slot – secure your Circuit Mono Station to a suitable structure if desired. Please see http://www.kensington.com/kensington/us/us/s/1704/kensington-security-slot.aspx…

• Page 20: Basics

  English BASICS Powering the unit on Circuit Mono Station must be powered from the supplied AC adaptor. Connect the adaptor to the DC input socket and plug the adaptor into the AC mains. Connect the main output to a monitoring system (powered speaker or a separate amplifier and passive monitor) or, if your prefer, plug in a pair of headphones at the front of the unit.

• Page 21: Getting Started

  We recommend that you spend some time listening to the factory demo Sessions, which have been designed specifically to illustrate the various features available in Circuit Mono Station for sound and Pattern creation. Select different Sessions and spend some time listening to them: we are sure you will be both impressed by the range of sonic possibilities and curious as to how Circuit Mono Station was programmed to create them.

• Page 22: Loading And Saving Sessions

  Loading and Saving Sessions When you power Circuit Mono Station on, the Session played will be the last one used when it was powered off. The first time you power it on out of the box, it will play Session 1, which will contain one of the demos described above.

• Page 23
  IMPORTANT – ENABLING SAVE By now you will probably have read the Getting Starting Guide shipped with your Circuit Mono Station, so will be aware that Session Saving is disabled, but in case you haven’t, we’re repeating it here: The Save function is deliberately disabled before shipping from the factory to prevent accidental erasure of the demo Sessions.

• Page 24: Starting From Scratch

  English Starting from Scratch Once you’ve experimented with the factory demos for a while, you will probably want to create a Pattern from scratch. Select Sessions and select an empty memory slot. Now select and Osc 1. When Note View you press Play you’ll see the white pad (the play cursor) progressing across the 16 steps of the Pattern display.

• Page 25
  English For a conventional piano keyboard, press and hold Scales and then press Pad 32 (the bottom right one), which will turn red. This gives the keyboard Chromatic scaling, and the layout differs from that in the other scales: Synth keyboard PLAY Pattern display Chromatic scaling offers all twelve notes in the octave;…

• Page 26: Synth Section — Basics

  In normal (default) operation only Oscillator 1 triggers the VCA. We call this mode Paraphonic Mode 1, and it is the mode you will use when playing Circuit Mono Station in live performance or for recording. This mode is confirmed by the Scales button…

• Page 27: Tracks

  Mod Seq) is a very similar process to programming other per-Step attributes, such as Gate length, Velocity and Glide. A really powerful feature of Circuit Mono Station though, is that you can make the Mod Seq data available to other compatible equipment (e.g. Eurorack modules) with the Aux CV output.

• Page 28: Dual View

  Pads 9 to 16, then 1 to 8. When Circuit Mono Station is powered up and an empty or new Session selected, Middle C will normally be the lowest note of the two octave keyboard (Pad 9). It is possible to alter the keyboard ‘layout’…

• Page 29: Expanded Note View

  English Expanded Note View To obtain a keyboard with a wider range, hold down Shift and press Note ; Note now illuminates white. This View is , and removes the pattern display in the Expanded Note View two lower rows of the grid, replacing it with keys for the next two lower octaves of the selected scale.

• Page 30: Scales

  English Scales Circuit Mono Station is extremely flexible in how it lets you configure the note pads in the playing grid to suit many musical genres in key or scale. There are two aspects to specifying how the note pads are laid out: the scale and the root note.

• Page 31: Scale Selection

  English Scale selection In Scales View, the bottom two rows allow selection of one of the 16 available musical scales. These are listed in the table below, with the notes that each scale includes when the lowest note in the scale is C: Scale Natural Minor ✓…

• Page 32: Root Note

  English by pressing Note again, the upper two rows in Note View now When you exit Scales View contain the notes in the selected scale, over two octaves. There is one exception to this – Chromatic scale. With this scale selected all 12 notes in the scale are available, which means that only a one-octave keyboard is possible to accommodate them.

• Page 33: Selecting Patches

  In this case, some notes in the pattern as it was created may not exist in the new scale. In such a case, Circuit Mono Station makes an intelligent decision as to which note to play instead, which will normally be either one semitone above or below the original note.

• Page 34: Patch Preview

  Patches, so choose one you’re not likely to need. In any event, the factory Patches can be easily reinstated using Novation Components. Full details about saving Patches and using Novation Components can be found later in this Guide.

• Page 35: Programming A Pattern

  Steps for Oscillator 2. Step editing Step editing operations in Circuit Mono Station may either be done with the pattern running (i.e., in Play mode), or not running (i.e., in Stop mode). Circuit Mono Station gives you the means of adding or deleting individual notes in a pattern without needing to worry about accurate timing, as editing is step-based and doesn’t require…

• Page 36: Deleting Notes

  English The pads for the steps which have notes associated with them will be illuminated bright blue. One step pad will flash white/blue: this shows where the pattern had reached when it was stopped. This is shown in the first diagram below. However, when you press Play again, the pattern will always restart from Step 1.

• Page 37: Inserting Notes

  Guide. Clear and Duplicate Circuit Mono Station’s Clear and Duplicate (Shift + Clear) functions can be applied to Patches, Patterns and Sessions as well as the individual steps in a Pattern. Here we are concerned only with Clearing and Duplicating steps.

• Page 38: Duplicating Steps

  In Live Record, Velocity values are assigned to each step as you play the performance pads. Note that Velocity values are associated with the Pattern step, not with the note. Circuit Mono Station lets you change the Velocity value of a step to any of 16 values, after , which is selected by pressing Velocity you’ve created a Pattern.

• Page 39
  English , the two lower rows of the grid represent the pattern steps. In the 16-step Velocity View example shown above, Steps 4, 12 and 16 are brightly lit, indicating that these steps have notes associated with them. One pad in the Pattern step display will flash alternate white/blue: this is the step whose Velocity value is being displayed.

• Page 40: Gate

  Gate value; if you hold a pad down for longer, the Gate value will be higher. A Gate value of 16 means that notes at that step will sound continuously for the entire pattern. Circuit Mono Station lets you change the Gate value of a step after you’ve created a pattern. This is done in…

• Page 41
  English The two upper rows of the grid make up a 16-segment “bargraph” meter; the number of pads illuminated white is the Gate value for the selected step. In the example shown above, the Gate value is 2: the remainder of the Gate value display is unlit. You can change the Gate value by pressing the pad in the Gate value display rows that corresponds to the Gate value;…

• Page 42: Glide

  English Glide You can add pitch glide (portamento) to any or all of the steps in a Pattern. It can be added to the Pattern Steps for either Oscillator independently. Adding Glide to a step means that the note assigned to the step will initially not be played at its normal pitch: it will ascend or descend to its normal pitch over a period determined by the Glide Time setting.

• Page 43
  English You can assign a Glide Time to a Step in either Play or Stop modes. The Pads for the Steps that have notes assigned to them will be illuminated brightly; to add Glide, press and hold the Step Pad and press the Pad corresponding to the required Glide Time. When the Pattern runs, you will see that the Glide Time value is now indicated for that Step by the Glide Time Pad illuminating brightly.

• Page 44: The Modulation Sequencer

  English The Modulation Sequencer The Modulation Sequencer (Mod Seq) is a “virtual” third Track that can record a Modulation parameter value for each Step in a Pattern. The Track is saved to the Pattern along with the Tracks for Osc 1 and Osc 2, and in all other respects is handled simply as an additional sequencer track.

• Page 45: Smooth

  English To reset the Mod Seq value to zero at a particular Step, hold Clear and press the pad in the Pattern Step display for the Step; the Mod parameter display on the upper two rows will go dark. Remember that Mod Seq will have no effect on the sound unless it is assigned in the Modulation Matrix, and the Depth control is turned up or, in most cases, down (either way, the LED should be lit orange).

• Page 46: Pattern Settings

  Osc 1. Pattern Settings Although the default length of Patterns in Circuit Mono Station is 16 steps, you can change the length to a something shorter. This is done in…

• Page 47: Pattern Direction

  English Pattern direction The default Pattern direction is “forwards”, indicated by Pad 13 being brightly illuminated. The selected Pattern will always start at Step 1, proceed to the last Step defined in Pattern Length (the default being Step 16) and then repeat. Three other options are available: •…

• Page 48: Pattern Sync Rate

  English In exactly the same manner, you can also alter the length of a Pattern by moving the start Step to a later point. To do this, hold down Shift, and press the pad corresponding to the new start point. As described above, the “earlier” step pads will then either be unlit (no notes assigned) or dim red (note assigned).

• Page 49
  Pattern, whichever occurs first. With Random direction, the tempo change will occur when the number of steps in the Pattern has been played. Sync Rate selection is especially useful when slaving Circuit Mono Station to a source of external tempo clock.

• Page 50: Storing Patterns

  Osc 1 Patterns, eight Osc 2 Patterns and eight Modulation Sequencer Patterns within one Session. The true potential of Circuit Mono Station begins to be realised when you start to create interesting variations of a Pattern, save them, and then chain them together to be played out as complete sequences of up to 256 (16 x 16) steps.

• Page 51: Clearing Patterns

  Pattern Settings View point at which the sequencer was stopped by pressing Shift and Play together. Circuit Mono Station also offers Instant Pattern Switching. While in Play mode, if you hold down Shift while selecting a Pattern, the new Pattern will begin to play immediately instead of waiting for the current Pattern to complete.

• Page 52: Duplicating Patterns

  English Duplicating Patterns , the Duplicate function can be used to perform a simple copy-and-paste Patterns View function, letting you copy a Pattern from one memory to another. This is a very useful feature, as it lets you use an existing 16-step pattern as the basis for another, slightly different one: it is often easier to modify an existing Pattern to be how you want it than create a new one from scratch.

• Page 53: Pattern Octave

  Patches View remain unaffected. If the Pattern contains notes which are already in the highest octave that Circuit Mono Station can generate, they will remain unaffected by an upward Pattern Octave shift; the same applies to the lowest notes and a downward octave shift. If this is the case, the Oct button will light red…

• Page 54: Mutate

  English Mutate Mutate is an interesting feature that shuffles the notes making up a Pattern or a Pattern Chain (if one is currently defined). The effect of Mutate is to reassign the notes in a Pattern to different Steps, while retaining the Pattern Length, Sync Rate and other Pattern parameters. The same notes are played, but because the reassignment is a shuffle action, they will be in a different order and with different timing, though the overall Pattern tempo is maintained.

• Page 55: Tempo And Swing

  Tempo and Swing are closely related and the methods of adjusting them are very similar. Tempo Circuit Mono Station will operate over a wide range of tempos. The tempo can be set by the internal tempo clock in the range 40 to 240 BPM (with a default tempo of 120 BPM), or, if you are working with other MIDI devices or a DAW, by an external MIDI clock source in the range 40 to 240 BPM.

• Page 56: Swing

  English Tap Tempo If you want to match Circuit Mono Station’s tempo to another piece of music and you don’t know its BPM, you can use Tap Tempo. Simply tap the Tap button in time with the track you’re listening to — use ¼ notes (crotchets). You need at least three taps for the tempo to change to your manual input, and the BPM will then be calculated by averaging the last five taps.

• Page 57: Swing Sync

  English Swing sync In addition to setting a Swing value manually with the Tempo control, it is also possible to set a global Swing Sync Rate. This acts as a “range” control, and defines the tempo interval by which the Swing parameter will shift alternate notes. The default value is a semiquaver, i.e., one Step (though in practice, a Swing of a whole tempo interval is not achievable due to the restricted range of the Swing control).

• Page 58: Automation Of Knobs And Sliders

  In order for the knob movements to be replayed, you must drop out of Record Mode before the sequence loops right round, otherwise Circuit Mono Station will overwrite the automation data with that corresponding to the new knob position. Provided you do this, you’ll hear the effect of the control adjustment being replayed when the sequence next loops round, at the point in the pattern where you turned the control.

• Page 59: Synthesis Tutorial

  This section covers the general principles of electronic sound generation and processing in more detail, including references to Circuit Mono Station’s facilities where relevant. It is recommended that this chapter is read carefully if analogue sound synthesis is an unfamiliar subject.

• Page 60
  English Tone Musical sounds consist of several different, related pitches occurring simultaneously. The lowest is referred to as the ‘fundamental’ pitch and corresponds to the perceived note of the sound. Other pitches making up the sound which are related to the fundamental in simple mathematical ratios are called harmonics.

• Page 61: Circuit Mono Station

  English providing changes in the character of the sound which can evolve over time. Because LFOs’ and Envelopes’ only purpose is to control (modulate) the other synthesiser sections, they are commonly known as ‘modulators’. These various synthesiser sections will now be covered in more detail. The Oscillators And Mixer The Oscillator section is really the heartbeat of the synthesiser.

• Page 62: Circuit Mono Station

  English Volume Triangle Waves Triangle Wave Harmonic Volume Volume Triangle Wave Harmonic Square Wave Harmonic These contain only odd harmonics. The volume of each decreases as the square of its position Volume in the harmonic series. For example, the 5th harmonic has a volume 1/25th of the volume of the fundamental.

• Page 63: Circuit Mono Station

  A Ring Modulator is a sound generator that takes signals from two oscillators and effectively “multiplies” them together. Circuit Mono Station’s Ring Modulator takes the waveforms from Oscillator 1 and Oscillator 2 as its inputs. The resulting output depends on the various…

• Page 64: Circuit Mono Station

  It is also possible to slightly detune one Oscillator against the other, which creates a very warm, ‘fat’ sound. Circuit Mono Station’s Mixer allows you to create a sound consisting of the waveforms of Oscillators 1, 2 and the Sub Oscillator, a Noise source, the Ring Modulator output and an external audio input, all mixed together as required.

• Page 65: Circuit Mono Station

  There are three basic filter types, all of which are available in Circuit Mono Station: low- pass, band-pass and high-pass. The type of filter most commonly used on synthesisers is low-pass.

• Page 66: Circuit Mono Station

  In addition to the traditional low-pass filter type, there are also high-pass and band-pass types. Cut-off Frequency On Circuit Mono Station, the Filter type is selected with the Shape switch Volume A high-pass filter is similar to a low-pass filter, but works in the “opposite sense”, so that it is frequencies below the cut-off point which are removed.

• Page 67
  Cut-off Frequency English Volume With a band-pass filter, just a narrow band of frequencies centered around the cut-off point is passed. Frequencies above and below the band are removed. It is not possible to fully open this type of filter and allow all frequencies to pass. Frequency Cut-off Frequency…
• Page 68
  VOLUME KEY «ON» KEY «OFF» English VOLUME TIME A string section emulation only attains full volume gradually when a key is pressed. It remains at full volume while the key is held down, but once the key is released, the volume falls to zero KEY «ON»…

• Page 69: Circuit Mono Station

  It can be used to create sounds that have a “fade-out” quality. Circuit Mono Station has a single Envelope Generator for controlling signal amplitude. It has a dedicated set of ADSR controls, and is always applied to the amplifier to shape the volume of each note played, as detailed above.

• Page 70: Circuit Mono Station

  (Patches) and creating new ones. There is no substitute for ‘hands on‘ experience. Experiments with adjusting Circuit Mono Station’s various controls will eventually lead to a fuller understanding of how the various synth sections alter and help shape new sounds.

• Page 71: Circuit Mono Station — Synthesiser Section

  Patch. “Pot pickup” on Circuit Mono Station is set Off at the factory*. See page 85 for details of how to select it. Note that the setting of Pot Pickup is saved at power-down, so if you prefer to have it On, it will remain On.

• Page 72: Synthesiser Block Diagram

  English In addition to being able to transmit MIDI data, Circuit Mono Station is also equipped with standard CV + GATE outputs which can send analogue note data to other compatible equipment. The CV and GATE outputs are separate 3.5 mm jack sockets on the rear panel.

• Page 73: The Oscillator Section

  English The Oscillator section Circuit Mono Station’s Oscillator section consists of two identical primary oscillators, plus a “sub-octave” oscillator which is always frequency-locked to Oscillator 1. The primary oscillators, Osc 1 and Osc 2, share a single set of controls; the oscillator being controlled is selected by the Osc 1 and Osc 2 buttons .

• Page 74: Oscillator Sync

  Oscillator Sync Oscillator Sync is a commonly used technique of sound modification which you are likely to be familiar with if you are already a synth user. On Circuit Mono Station, Oscillator Sync is enabled by pressing Osc 2 while holding Shift down.

• Page 75: The Mixer Section

  English The Mixer section Input level controls x6 OSC 1 Osc 1 FREQ OSC 2 LOCK Osc 2 SUB OSC OUTPUT NOISE Noise RING MOD Ring 1*2 EXT IN Audio In External Input sensitivity (Shift + Audio In) The outputs of the various sound sources can be mixed together in various proportions to produce the overall synth sound, using what is essentially a simple 6-into-1 mono mixer.

• Page 76: External Input

  By default, the Filter Section affects all the signals fed to the Mixer Section. An unusual feature in Circuit Mono Station is that you can choose not to apply the filter to Oscillator 2 and/or the Noise signal with the Bypass button .

• Page 77: Filter Shape

  English Filter Shape The filter may be configured to have a low-pass (LP), band-pass (BP) or hi-pass (HP) characteristic with the Shape button . The Slope button sets the degree of rejection applied to out-of-band frequencies; the 24 dB position gives a steeper slope than the 12 dB; an out-of-band frequency will be attenuated more severely with the steeper setting.

• Page 78: Filter Key Tracking

  English Resonance The Resonance control adds gain to the signal in a narrow band of frequencies around the frequency set by the Frequency control. It can accentuate the swept-filter effect considerably. Increasing the resonance parameter is very good for enhancing modulation of the cut-off frequency, creating a very edgy sound.

• Page 79: Overdrive

  VOLUME SUSTAIN The Envelope section Circuit Mono Station generates an envelope each time a note is played, which can be used to ATTACK DECAY RELEASE modify the synth sound in various ways. The envelope controls are based on the familiar ADSR TIME concept.

• Page 80
  (as with many real instruments) can be very effective. With the slider set to the mid-position the Release Time will be approx. 360 ms. Circuit Mono Station has a maximum release time of over 10 seconds, but shorter times will probably be more useful! The relationship between the parameter value and the Release Time is not linear.

• Page 81: The Lfo Section

  English The LFO section Circuit Mono Station has a Low Frequency Oscillator (LFO) whose output may be routed to various parts of the synth using the Modulation Matrix (see page 81). With fairly slow settings of Rate, it can typically be used to modulate oscillator frequency to give a vibrato effect or amplitude for a tremolo effect.

• Page 82: The Modulation Matrix

  – or “modulating” — another, in as many ways as possible. Circuit Mono Station provides considerable flexibility of control routing in the form of the Modulation Matrix Section. The available modulating sources…

• Page 83: Matrix Assignment

  English Matrix assignment The Modulation Matrix supports up to four modulating sources to be routed simultaneously to up to eight controlled destinations. This implies 32 possible assignments, each with a different level or “amount” of control. The four modulating sources available are: •…

• Page 84
  English Depth effectively defines the “amount” by which the controlled parameter varies when under modulation control. Think of it as the “range” of control. Depth is also “bi-polar” and thus determines the polarity of the control – positive values will increase the value of the controlled parameter and negative values will decrease it, for the same control input.

• Page 85: The Distortion Section

  Level. The Type button selects one of three analogue distortion types, simply referred to as I, II and III: Type I uses the distortion circuitry found on the Novation Bass Station II synth • • Type II: classic fuzz distortion •…

• Page 86: System Settings

  You can choose to transmit and/or receive MIDI Note data, MIDI CC (Control Change) data and MIDI clock independently. When Circuit Mono Station is shipped from the factory, it is set to transmit AND receive all three classes of MIDI information. This flexibility allows you to integrate Circuit Mono Station with other hardware in exactly the way you need.

• Page 87: Midi Channel

  Note that these buttons also effectively control selection of the analogue clock input. If Clock Tx is on, Circuit Mono Station is the clock master and its internal clock will be available as MIDI Clock at the rear panel USB and MIDI OUT connectors, and also in analogue form at the CLOCK OUT connector.

• Page 88: Pot Pickup

  Pad 24, which will be lit Yellow, either dim (off) or bright (on). IMPORTANT For any changes made to System Settings View to be retained, Circuit Mono Station must be powered off by the rear panel power switch in the normal way. Disconnecting the…

• Page 89: Session Switching

  Sessions. There are some rules governing how Circuit Mono Station responds when you change from one Session to another. If you’re in Stop Mode (i.e., with the sequencer not running) and change…

• Page 90: Appendix

  Bootloader Mode In the unlikely event of a problem with your Circuit Mono Station, it may become necessary to enable Bootloader Mode. This is strictly an “engineering mode”, and all normal unit functions become inoperative. You should not use Bootloader Mode without instructions to do so from Novation’s Technical Support team.

• Page 91: Initial Patch Parameters

  English Initial Patch Parameters The list below gives the parameters of Init Patch: Section Parameter Initial Value Oscillator Osc 1 fine 0 (centre) Osc 1 range 8′ (A3=440Hz) Osc 1 coarse 0 (centre) Osc 1 waveform Osc 1 Shape (Pulse Width) Osc 2 fine 0 (centre) Osc 2 range…

• Page 92: Session Loading Problems

  English Section Parameter Initial Value Envelope Attack Decay Sustain Release Mod Matrix Envelope destinations LFO destinations none Mod Seq destinations none Velocity destinations none Envelope > Amp Depth All other Mod Matrix routings are ‘off’ Misc Patch level Octave tranpose Session loading problems Circuit loads the last selected Session when it is powered-up.

• Page 93
  English…

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• Page 3: Copyright And Legal Notices

  Disclaimer Novation has taken all possible steps to ensure that the information given here is both correct and complete. In no event can Novation accept any liability or responsibility for any loss or damage to the owner of the equipment, any third party, or any equipment which may result from use of this manual or the equipment which it describes.

• Page 4: Table Of Contents

  Registering your Circuit ……..

• Page 5
  English THE DRUMS …………39 Playing Drums .

• Page 6: Introduction

  It’s both a compositional tool and a live performance instrument. You don’t need to connect Circuit to a computer or other device to make music – it’s completely standalone, and can run off batteries if you wish. If you’re working in the studio, Novation’s superior sound quality means you can use Circuit as the basis of your finished track.

• Page 7: Key Features

  English Key Features • Combines two MiniNova synth engines and four drum parts • 32-button multi-colour grid for playing and displaying information • Split grid displays sequence steps and notes simultaneously • Velocity-sensitive pads • 64 synth Patches • 64 drum sounds •…

• Page 8: What’s In The Box

  It is important to register your Circuit on-line using the Product/software Registration details at Step 4 of the Getting Started Guide. Apart from validating your manufacturer’s warranty, you will also then be able to download the additional software that you are entitled to as a Circuit owner: •…

• Page 9: Power Requirements

  English Power Requirements Circuit can be powered either from AC mains via the AC adaptor supplied, or from AA batteries. It cannot be powered from a computer or other device via a USB connection. Using the AC adaptor The AC adaptor supplied with the unit is a 12 V DC, 1.5 A type, and can operate on mains voltages from 100 V to 240 V, 50 or 60 Hz.

• Page 10
  Do not mix cells that are charged to a different degree – i.e., don’t mix brand new cells with partially-run-down ones. • Always remove batteries from your Circuit if it is not to be used for a long period. • Spent batteries contain hazardous substances and should be disposed of in a responsible manner.

• Page 11: Hardware Overview

  English HARDWARE OVERVIEW Glossary Some of the terms used in this manual have a specific meaning as applied to Circuit. Here is a short list: Term Button Definition Doubles the area of performance pads for the Synths, Expanded View Shift + Note and a “tap”…

• Page 12
  Circuit’s operating mode with the sequencer running; Playback Mode the Play button will be lit bright green. Circuit’s operating mode when synth notes can be added to the Pattern, or when adjustments using the Record Mode Macro controls can be saved. The Record button will be lit bright red.

• Page 13: Top View — Controls

  It is always active. Macro controls 1 to 8 – eight multi-functional rotary encoders, with associated RGB LED. The availability and function of these controls varies across Circuit’s other views. The movement of Macro controls in performance may be recorded and replayed.

• Page 14
  English Record — have both a momentary (long press) and a Most of the buttons – including latching (short press) mode. A long press will temporarily display that button’s view, but only while the button is held down. When released the view will revert to whatever it was before the button was pressed.
• Page 15
  Speaker (in base of unit) – internal loudspeaker fed with a mono mix of Circuit’s output. Note that Circuit’s moulded base provides a gap below the speaker grille; for best results, place…

• Page 16: Rear View — Connectors

  English Rear View – connectors L/MONO and RIGHT – Circuit’s main audio outputs on two ¼” TS jack sockets. Max. output level is +5.3 dBu (+/-1.5 dBu). With no plug in the RIGHT socket, the L/MONO socket carries a mono mix of L and R channels. The internal speaker is muted when a plug is inserted into either of the main output sockets.

• Page 17: Basics

  English BASICS Powering the unit on If you haven’t fitted batteries into your Circuit, connect the supplied AC adaptor to the DC input socket and plug the adaptor into the AC mains. Connect the main outputs to a monitoring system (powered speakers or a separate amplifier and passive monitors);…

• Page 18: Getting Started

  English After boot-up, the grid display will change to something like that shown below: Getting started We’ve pre-loaded 16 demo Sessions into the memories to give you an idea of how Circuit works. Press the Play button ; you should hear the first demo Session.

• Page 19: Loading And Saving

  English Loading and Saving When you press Play for the first time after powering on, the Session Circuit will play will be the last one used when it was powered off. The factory demo described in the previous section was loaded in to Memory Slot 1.

• Page 20: Customising Session Colours

  IMPORTANT – ENABLING SAVE By now you will probably have read the Getting Starting Guide shipped with your Circuit, so will be aware that Session Saving is disabled, but in case you haven’t, we’re repeating it here: The Save function is deliberately disabled before shipping from the factory to prevent accidental erasure of the demo Sessions.

• Page 21: Starting From Scratch

  Pads 17-32: Drum 2 You won’t hear anything just yet. in Circuit are always in pairs: Drum 1 on the two upper rows and Drum 2 Drum Note Views on the lower two. Drums 3 and 4 work in exactly the same way.

• Page 22
  English If you want to delete a drum hit, just press its pad again: you can do this while the sequence is playing or stopped. The brightly lit pads tell you where the hits are. Now you can add synth notes. Press Synth 1 to open .

• Page 23: The Synths

  English THE SYNTHS Each synth “engine” in Circuit is based on the powerful and versatile Novation MiniNova synth, albeit with fewer controls than the MiniNova offers. This section of the User Guide discusses the synth features in greater detail. Playing a Synth The two synth tracks –…

• Page 24: Expanded Note View

  Thus to play the notes over two octaves in ascending order, start with Pads 9 to 16, then 1 to 8. When Circuit is powered up and an empty or new Session selected, Middle C will normally be the lowest note of the two octave keyboard (Pad 9). It is possible to alter the keyboard ‘layout’…

• Page 25: Scales

  Scales Circuit is extremely flexible in how it lets you configure the note pads in the playing grid to suit many musical genres in key or scale. There are two aspects to specifying how the note pads are laid out: the scale and the root note.

• Page 26: Scale Selection

  English Scale selection , the bottom two rows allow selection of one of the 16 available musical scales. Scales View These are listed in the table below, with the notes that each scale includes when the lowest note in the scale is C: Scale Natural Minor ✓…

• Page 27: Root Note

  English by pressing Note again, the upper two rows in When you exit Scales View Note View contain the notes in the selected scale, over two octaves. There is one exception to this – Chromatic scale. With this scale selected all 12 notes in the scale are available, which means that only a one-octave keyboard is possible to accommodate them.

• Page 28: Selecting Patches

  In this case, some notes in the pattern as it was created may not exist in the new scale. In such a case, Circuit makes an intelligent decision as to which note to play instead, which will normally be either one semitone above or below the original note.

• Page 29: Exploring The Macros

  You can use the Macro controls while a pattern is playing to alter synth sounds in real time. If Circuit is in Record, the LEDs change to red as soon as the knob is turned, and parameter variations will now be recorded to the Session. See page 38 for more details.

• Page 30: Recording A Synth Pattern In Real Time

  Record button. When you’re ready to save them to the pattern, press Record and carry on playing; after the pattern has completed 16 steps, the notes will be replayed. Circuit’s synth engines are “six-note polyphonic” – that is, you can play up to six notes at once at any step in the pattern, if the Patch you’ve selected is suitably polyphonic.

• Page 31: Recording From An External Controller

  Patches; you’ll hear their effect immediately. Recording from an external controller You can also create a synth pattern in Circuit by sending it MIDI note data from an external controller. This gives you the ability to play Circuit’s synth patches using a standard music keyboard.

• Page 32: Step Editing

  English Step editing Step editing operations in Circuit may either be done with the pattern running (i.e., in Play mode) not running (i.e., in Stop mode). Circuit gives you the means of adding or deleting individual notes in a pattern without needing to worry about accurate timing, as editing is step-based and doesn’t require the notes to be…

• Page 33: Deleting Notes

  English If a bright blue step pad (i.e., one corresponding to a synth note) is pressed and held, it illuminates red, the note(s) at that step will sound, and the performance pad corresponding to the note(s) will also illuminate red (it will be two pads if it’s the highest note in the lower octave or vice versa).

• Page 34: Clear And Duplicate

  English Clear and Duplicate Clearing Steps You can delete all assigned synth notes from a step in one go using the Clear button . This has the advantage that you don’t have to search through several octaves to find all the notes assigned to the step.

• Page 35: Velocity And Gate

  Velocity values are per-step, not per-note: all notes at a step will have the same Velocity value. You can set the Velocity parameter for each step Circuit lets you change the Velocity value of a step to any of 16 values, after you’ve created a pattern. This is done in…

• Page 36
  English If you record in real time – i.e., while the sequencer is running and recording – the velocity value is set internally to 7-bit accuracy: a value between 0 and 127. However, Velocity View only display the Velocity value to a resolution of 16 increments of 8 value steps each (because there are only 16 pads available).

• Page 37: Gate

  Gate value will be higher. A Gate value of 16 means that notes at that step will sound continuously for the entire pattern. Circuit lets you change the Gate value of a step after you’ve created a pattern. This is done in , which is selected by pressing Gate…

• Page 38
  English The two upper rows of the grid make up a 16-segment “bargraph” meter; the number of pads illuminated sand is the Gate value for the selected step. In the example shown above, the Gate value is 2: the remainder of the Gate value display is unlit. You can change the Gate value by pressing the pad in the Gate value display rows that corresponds to the Gate value;…

• Page 39: Recording Knob Movements

  In order for the knob movements to be replayed, you must drop out of Record Mode before the sequence loops right round, otherwise Circuit will overwrite the automation data with that corresponding to the new knob position. Provided you do this, you’ll hear the effect of the Macro control being replayed when the sequence next loops round, at the point in the pattern where you turned the control.

• Page 40: The Drums

  English THE DRUMS Circuit has four separate drum tracks, Drum 1 to Drum 4. The grid displays for the drum tracks differ from those for the synth tracks in that the drums data is presented in odd/even pairs, and also, all of the display shows the pattern steps, there being no pitch information to display as with the synths.

• Page 41: Expand View

  Expanded Note View record additional hits. Selecting Patches Each of the four drum tracks in your Circuit can use any one of 64 pre-loaded Patches (Presets). To change the Patch for any of the drum tracks, hold down Shift and press Drum 1, Drum 2, Drum 3 or Drum 4 as appropriate.

• Page 42
  To select a different Patch, press its pad. The selected drum track (1 to 4) will now adopt the sound defined by the new Patch. You can hear what the Patches sound like while in Patch by using Circuit’s Patch Preview feature. Pressing a pad plays the Patch. If you hold down View Shift while pressing a pad in , Preview is disabled;…

• Page 43: Using The Macros For Drum Design

  English Using Step Edit with Sample Flip: Sample flip can also be carried out in Step Edit Mode. Enter either Velocity View Gate View these are non-destructive Views where you can select steps without adding or deleting them. Record Press and then select the step where the sample change is to occur;…

• Page 44: Recording A Drum Pattern

  The Pattern you make will constitute Pattern 1 (of for the currently active Session. There are eight Patterns for each of Circuit’s four tracks – two synths and two drums. Pattern 1 is the default Pattern in all Sessions, and will be the one you record to and the one you’ll hear when…

• Page 45: Manual Hit Entry And Step Editing

  Pattern isn’t running (i.e., Circuit Note View is not in Play mode), Circuit lets you add or delete individual drum hits to/from a Pattern, effectively “off-line”. All the following details apply equally – and independently — to Drums 1 and 2, and Drums 3 and 4;…

• Page 46: Drum Microsteps

  The views for Drums 3 and 4 are identical to those above except for the drum pad colours, which follow the standard used throughout Circuit. The time interval between steps is divided into six equal microsteps, represented by the six sand pads: 17-22 in the case of Drums 1 and 3, and 1 to 6 in the case of Drums 2 and 4.

• Page 47: Velocity

  Expand View values determined by how hard the pads are struck. Circuit lets you change the Velocity value of a step after you’ve created a pattern. This is done , which is selected by pressing Velocity for the drums differ…

• Page 48: Recording Knob Movements

  , you may prefer to disable Expand View Velocity; then the hits comprising your drum pattern will all be at the same volume. Circuit has a Fixed Velocity function, which sets Velocity at value of 96 (pad display12). Fixed Velocity is enabled by pressing Velocity while holding down Shift .

• Page 49
  English You can also add Macro automation to specific drum hits while the sequencer is not running (i.e., with Circuit in Stop Mode). Because for the drum tracks doesn’t include a Note View separate display of the step pattern as it does with the synth tracks, you will need to select…

• Page 50: Clear And Duplicate

  English Clear and Duplicate The Clear and Duplicate buttons perform the same functions with drum tracks as they do with synth notes (see “Clear and Duplicate” on page 33), although as altering a drum pattern is such a simple process to perform in , you probably won’t ever use them to simply add Note View or remove drum hits.

• Page 51: Patterns

  Pads #1 pulsing dim/bright The grid is divided vertically into 8 (2 x 4) pads per track. As with most of Circuit’s other views, the drum tracks are pairs of drums: each of the Pattern memories for Drum 1/Drum 2 can contain an 16-step pattern made up of hits recorded on BOTH Drum 1 and Drum 2.

• Page 52: Clearing Patterns

  Pattern, thereby ensuring that the overall sequence maintains continuity. For example, if the current Pattern had reached Step 11 when you press another Pattern’s pad while holding down Shift, Circuit will remember where the cursor is, and the new Pattern will start playing from Step 12.

• Page 53: Nudge

  English Nudge Circuit’s Nudge function is all about per-track timing adjustments. It lets you move the notes of a synth track or hits of a drum track backwards or forwards in time, in one-step increments, relative to the other tracks making up the Session. It’s useful to correct notes or hits that you didn’t manage to enter exactly on time, and can also be used creatively to move synth or drum…

• Page 54: Length

  The number of steps in a Pattern is 16 by default, but can be changed to any number of steps between 1 and 16. Furthermore, Circuit lets you define the number of steps independently for the synth parts, Drums 1 and 2, and Drums 3 and 4. As a simple example, this would let you set an 8-step or 12-step synth or bass phrase against a default 16-step drum Pattern, which can add some interesting and unusual timing variations.

• Page 55
  English Synth/Drum 2/Drum 4 version The white pads Pattern length display indicates a synth pattern of 12 steps One step pad blinks blue/white; this is the step whose Gate value The five darker pads is displayed Pattern step display have notes associated with them Steps 13 to 16 are now disabled…

• Page 56: Combining Nudge And Length Adjustments

  English Combining Nudge and Length adjustments Nudge and Length make separate adjustments to the pattern, and may be used independently. However, the effect of Nudge on shortened Pattern lengths differs from its effect on the Pattern’s original length. Nudge only shifts “active” steps in the Pattern. Thus if a Pattern of 16 steps is shortened to, say, 12 steps, the data for Steps 13 to 16 –…

• Page 57: Pattern Octave

  The above example illustrates the basic points involved in chaining Patterns together to make a longer sequence. Creating longer, more complex and more interesting sequences is merely an extension of these principles. Circuit allows sequences of up to 128 steps, with each of the four tracks changing pattern every 16 steps.

• Page 58: Tempo And Swing

  Tempo and Swing are closely related and the methods of adjusting them are very similar. Tempo Circuit will operate at any tempo in the range 40 to 240 BPM; the default tempo is 120 BPM. The tempo can be set by the internal tempo clock, or, if you are working with other MIDI devices or a DAW, by an external MIDI clock source.

• Page 59: Tap Tempo

  Tap Tempo If you want to match Circuit’s tempo to another piece of music and you don’t know its BPM, you can use Tap Tempo. Hold down Shift and tap the Tempo button in time with the track you’re listening to.

• Page 60: Mixer

  English MIXER Circuit includes a six-channel stereo mixer to let you adjust the volume of each track (i.e., instrument) relative to each other. By default, all the tracks are played at volume level of 100 (range 0 -127), leaving you with the Master Volume control to adjust the speaker volume and output level as required.

• Page 61
  Macros 2 and 4 and all other grid pads are disabled in Mixer View Track levels in Mixer View are automated. If Circuit is in Record Mode, adjustments of the individual track levels will be recorded to the Pattern. You can also position each of the tracks anywhere in the stereo image (but you’ll need to be monitoring both LEFT and RIGHT outputs, of course).

• Page 62: Fx Section

  English FX SECTION Circuit includes a digital effects processor (FX) which lets you add delay and/or reverb effects to any or all of the tracks making up your Session. Sixteen delay and eight reverb presets are provided, and you can select any one of each type. The send level from each instrument — how much reverb and/or delay there is on each track –…

• Page 63
  The FX send levels are automated in the same manner as the Macro control “tweak” functions; you can deliberately increase or reduce an effect during a sequence and if Circuit is in Record Mode, the changes will become part of the sequence. The Clear button…

• Page 64: Sidechains

  English SIDECHAINS Each of Circuit’s two synths has a Sidechain feature. This works in the same manner as common dynamics processors such as compressors, and can be used to alter the “envelope” of synth notes in time with the main beat – the “key” source for both sidechains is always Drum 1.

• Page 65: The Filter Knob

  Sidechain View THE FILTER KNOB The entire audio output of Circuit – the sum of the sounds from all six tracks – is fed through a traditional analogue-style filter section. The control for this is the large Filter knob . The Filter knob on most synthesisers is one of the key performance controls and can be used to radically change the overall sound: Filter on Circuit works in a similar way.

• Page 66: Session Switching

  Session you want to delete by playing it before you hit Clear. It is not possible to delete a Session if Save is disabled (the state that Circuit is shipped in from the factory). See page 18 for details of how to enable Save.

• Page 67: Appendix

  Bootloader Mode In the unlikely event of a problem with your Circuit, it may become necessary to enable Bootloader Mode. This is strictly an “engineering mode”, and all normal unit functions become inoperative. You should not use Bootloader Mode without instructions to do so from Novation’s Technical Support team.

• Page 68: Settings View

  Circuit to operate with other MIDI equipment Settings View for four categories of MIDI data independently: Note, CC (Control Change), Program Change and MIDI Clock. This ensures you have a high degree of flexibility in how Circuit integrates with the rest of your system.

• Page 69: Clock Settings

  AUTO mode and the BPM will be set by an externally applied MIDI clock at either the MIDI IN or the USB ports if a valid one is applied; if this is not the case, Circuit will automatically switch to its internal clock.

• Page 70: Session Loading Problems

  English Session loading problems Circuit loads the last selected Session when it is powered-up. It is possible that if the power was interrupted while a session was being saved it may have become corrupted in some way. This might mean that Circuit ends up in some anomalous state at power on.

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