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Novation Bass Station II Analogue Monosynth – includes 64 factory patches, pattern-based step sequencer and arpeggiator, two oscillators plus an additional sub oscillator

£54.995£109.99Clearance
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Featuring two tuneable oscillators, plus a sub-oscillator for enhancing the all-important low end, as well as noise and ring modulation, Bass Station II more than delivers when it comes to generating raw tones. It's also got two distinct analogue filter types – the Classic multi-mode filter of the original Bass Station and the 24dB/octave Acid filter, with its darker, smoother sound – plus plenty of modulation in the shape of two LFOs and a pair of ADSR envelopes. To the right, a Mixer section allows you to blend volumes of the Oscillators and the Sub, whilst a fourth dial here can be toggled between controlling external input volume, Ring Modulation, or a Noise Generator source. Very good analogue synth. Great sounds, tweaking options and patches. Great synth for learning about how analogue synths work and sound patch creation. Arpeggiator is fun. Latch is useful for sound creation (latch simply makes the key continue to play even when you remove your finger from the key). Midi works well, but I must point out better as a slave device than as a master. It goes out of sync if I set it as master with Volca devices (which only can act as a slave device if not Korg branding), but is flawless as slave for any other midi out device. Because every key in the overlay can hold a different value for every knob or switch, you can go from subtle per‑key variations of a patch, to an entirely different sound on every key. There are just eight preset slots for overlays, and each of the 127 patches can reference one overlay. This means that if you change an overlay that is used in more than one patch, it will change for all patches.

Novation have teamed up with IDM legend Richard D James, aka Aphex Twin, to produce a special edition of their modern classic monosynth, the Bass Station 2. With the Bass Station II you get Ableton Live Lite, the lightweight version of one of the most popular digital audio workstationsaround to get started making music. And with Loopmasters you get access to a 4GB library of royalty-free samples to inspire or use in your music. Sequences are transposed by playing the keyboard, and if you want to break them up, gaps can be introduced non-destructively. When you turn the Rhythm knob all the way to the right, your sequences and arpeggios play as expected, but when you turn it to the left, an increasing number of rhythmic gaps are introduced, culminating in a spaced-out series of crotchets. An incurable sync addict, I didn't wait long before assigning oscillator 2's pitch to the mod wheel. Then, having activated sync, I wallowed in wheel-waggling delusions of Prodigy. Admittedly, the Bass Station 2 (along with almost every synth on the planet) doesn't threaten the Moog Prodigy's richness of sync, but it's not half bad. With a few thoughtful filter tweaks, the raw tones can be pushed in many directions, from dark, grungy basses to razor-sharp, piercing leads. Sync is good.

This synth can sound as mellow or aggressive as you want. Seek out sweet spots with the filter mod to make it sing. Crank the distortion and it will growl with pent up anger. Push the resonance to self-oscillation to create shrieking leads. Bass Station II can sound however you feel. Easy Controls for Complex Design

Oscillator error introduces a small and adjustable random detune on each note-on event. This can be used to generate some very beautiful, subtle (or not) musical dissonance, very much in the same way that vintage synths do (because of the looser tolerance of their electronic components). Paraphonic mode makes it as dramatic as possible. Microtuning editing &New presets Bass Station II’s pattern-based arpeggiator and step sequencer are a fun and immediate way to find new inspiration. The sequencer lets you record your own notes, ties, rests and rhythms in real time, then store them, recall them and use them with any patch you like. Easily and automatically sync them to your music software or hardware setup, or even add swing to get your groove going. Connect to Just About Anything Classic analogue filter – switch between low-, high – and band-pass modes with 12 and 24dB/octave slopes – with an aggressive overdrive Note that you will need to have the latest version of each unit's firmware installed. This can be applied by running the relevant product's installer: The Bass Station 2, like many other monosynths at the moment, only has a two-octave keyboard, but then so did the original. With a name like Bass Station 2, it's completely reasonable to expect a serious presence in the lower regions, and my subwoofer would not disagree. Extra assistance comes in the form of a sub-oscillator tied to the frequency of oscillator 1. Pitched at either one or two octaves down and with a choice of sine, square or pulse waveforms, this sub is even more versatile than that of a Roland SH101.If you're an inveterate envelope tweaker, the concept of sharing will never feel totally comfortable. Here, you can at least set the basic shape of both envelopes simultaneously, before flipping a switch and controlling the mod envelope alone to make fine adjustments. Perhaps this just felt easier, to me, than former Bass Stations because the sliders are a big improvement over the original knobs. You also get Melodics, a handy desktop app that's a fun and intuitive way to learn how to play MIDI keyboards, pad controllers, and drums. Melodics provides you with challenges, structured learning, and goals to make learning less intimidating and more exciting. Here's what Novation say about the Bass Station II: Synth can be a little intimidating at first if you have never had an analogue synth, but you will learn analogue from using it and grow to love it. Price is great for what you get! May 2017 Novation announces Peak Polyphonic Synth and Circuit Mono Station Paraphonic Analogue Synth

Bi-polar modulation is rife in the Bass Station 2 and for the filter, its sources are the mod envelope and LFO2. Ordinarily, with small controls, my preference is for positive modulation only, but here the ranges are so effectively spread over each half of the knob's travel that I forgot my usual prejudice. Features : Cutoff ♣ Resonance ♣ Overdrive ♣ Filter frequency to Mod Envelope depth ♣ Filter frequency to LFO 2 depth

Latest User Reviews

Low Frequency Oscillation which can directly control the harmonic content of the sound by pulse width modulation or filter cut-off. The Bass Station Plug-In is shipped with the classic originals along with many more totaling 100 sounds for immediate gratification. The patches cover a huge sonic range from screaming leads to phatt funky basses. All controls receive MIDI controller numbers for the recording and replay of tweaks during a performance. If you have an UltraNova, you can install MiniNova patches to it - and if you have a MiniNova, you can install UltraNova patches to it. Novation put as many controls as possible onto Bass Station II, so you can totally lose yourself in discovering and creating new sounds. Of course, Novation also laid out all those controls in the clearest and most useful way, to keep the sound design as straightforward and fun as possible. Save and Load Patches

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