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in live performance when you know which patch you’re using and don’t need to hear it on selection.
Patch Preview is disabled when Circuit Tracks is in Record Mode and playback is active.
External Patch Select
Synth Patches may also be recalled from an external MIDI controller by sending Circuit Tracks MIDI
Program Change (PGM) messages: the default MIDI channels are Channel 1 (Synth 1) and Channel 2
(Synth 2), though MIDI channels may be reassigned in Setup View. Additionally, Circuit Tracks must be
set to receive Program Change messages: again, this is the default setting, but see page 104 for full
information.
The separate downloadable document Circuit Tracks Programmer’s Reference Guide contains full
details.
Exploring the Macros
You can modify Circuit Tracks’ synth sounds extensively with the Macro controls
3
. Each of the 128
factory Patches available for each synth can have up to four of its parameters “tweaked” by each Macro
control to alter the sound. The primary function of each Macro is indicated below the knob, but the
audible effect of any adjustment will depend to a large degree on the source Patch itself: on some
Patches the effect of a given Macro will be more obvious than on others.
Each Macro has an RGB LED below the knob, which illuminates in either violet or pale green according
to which synth is selected. The rotary controls are ‘endless’; the LEDs therefore provide an indication
of the parameter value, with the LEDs’ brightness indicating the current value of the parameter as the
knob is turned.
With certain Patches, some Macros will be assigned a function quite different to their
normal one. This is also likely to be the case with Patches other than the default factory
ones, such as those created using Novation Components’ Synth Editor.
By far the best way of understanding the effect of each Macro control is to load some different
Patches, and experiment with the controls while listening. You will find that with certain Patches,
turning some of the Macro controls will have an audibly different effect when other Macro controls
have different settings. Try moving pairs of controls together to create unusual and interesting sonic
variations. However, it must be emphasised that the effects of the Macros will vary to a greater or
lesser degree with different Patches, and that there is no substitute for experimentation!
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