After 21 years of making synthesisers, midi controllers and
accessories, British manufacturing firm Novation haven't missed a beat and
continue to generate a legacy of musical wizardry. The latest in their line of
products is the Bass Station 2, a completely analogue monophonic synth designed
as a reimagining and development on the original Bass Station synth (now yonks old!).
Following in the design ethos of the recent runaway success of
the Mininova, the BS2 is resplendent in black with blue trim and lots of shiny
chrome switches, plus a two octave keyboard and pitch/mod wheels. The general
appearance of the synth favours a lot of comparison with other mono bass
machines such as the Arturia Minibrute, though it seems that there is quite a
lot to differentiate between the two.
The BS2 combines two oscillators with the usual wave forms and a sub oscillator and routes it through the filter, which has low pass, high pass and bandpass modes in 12
and 24dB/octave flavours and is rounded off by being switchable between classic Bass Station and a Roland-style ladder filter for acid style squelching. Analogue distortion
and fm-style modulation complete the effects section and it also retains the arpeggiator and sequencer
from the original and has 128 patches (64 presets and 64 blank patches), which
should be plenty for saving original creations.
The only problem is that as of writing, there are scant
videos and audio demos of the machine, so it remains to be seen if the little
box of joy delivers its payload of bassy goodness. Of course, as Musikmesse
goes on, there will be more and more footage available and no doubt better
software updates to take advantage of this.
Again, at a price point of around £399, they are taking the
fight directly to Arturia's doorstep, with their spin on a Minibrute-esque mono
bass synth with patch support. Time and sales will tell if theirs proves as
popular with fans and producers but it is already generating interest from fans
of the original as well as those looking for an affordable analogue synth with
USB to integrate with their computers and DAWs. As I already have an analogue
mono synth, I don’t have space for two of them, but I am very impressed by this
offering and I am sure that it will hold its own with the best of the bass
synths out there.
Novation's page on this synth:
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