Novation Ships the A-Station Polyphonic Synth
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(Click for a close-up) |
October 17, 2001
Novation breaks into the entry-level synth market with the new A-Station 8-voice polyphonic synthesizer.
This new Synth has evolved from the classic Novation Bass Station, bringing in the very latest Novation technology from products such as the Nova and SuperNova II.
Oscillators
Its three Oscillators provide all the classic waveforms including a Sine wave for those sub bass floor shaking grooves. Waveforms feature "Double" facility which provides twin waveforms with no loss of polyphony.Oscillators may be set Unison, Sync'd or utilise FM for the generation of metallic of percussive timbres. A Noise Source completes waveform engine. External Audio can be input and used as an Oscillator source waveform or processed through the Mixer, Filter and Envelope sections.
New Enhanced Novation Warm Liquid Filters
The filters in the A-Station synthesizer are designed to deliver the liquid sound of an Analogue Filter. Selectable Low-pass, 12dB or 24dB, cut-off curves with resonance and overdrive make it easy to faithfully recreate anything from a distorted TB303 to tightly rounded Bass patch.
Vocoder
The onboard 12-band Vocoder makes it easy to add those Robot and Talky effects to your mix.
Immediate and Recordable Control to Get "That Sound"
The A-Station front panel is immediately satisfying with every sound shaping control clearly visible. Call up one of the 200 factory preset patches, tweak it to get "your sound" and instant save it in any of the 300 Program locations. The A-Station has a comprehensive MIDI spec and all the knobs transmit MIDI Controller data for easy recording of any movements in real-time on a sequencer.
On-Board Effects
The A-Station features a built in Effects processor section. The Distortion Effect can add the edge to harder sounds or at high levels of drive, can make a sound scream. The Stereo Chorus adds that important depth and swirl and the Reverb adds an expensive extra dimension and realism. The Stereo Panner that can be assigned to synchronised LFO's allows enhanced dynamic control of the stereo image and finally the Delay engine can add time synchronised repeats to the performance.
Pulse and Sync to the Beat
The two LFO's on the A-Station feature Sample & Hold, Tri, Saw and Square waveforms with Speed and Delay parameters. The built-in Arpeggiator's Speed, Synchronisation and Sweep Range are stored with the program for instant recall. The Arpeggiator and both of the LFOs can be individually synchronised to MIDI Clock in different time signatures. These features allow the creation of really complex audio motion effects perfectly locked to the tempo of the musical piece. Trigger signals may be generated from the External Audio Input allowing the signal to be processed automatically by the internal Filters and Envelope Generators without the need for MIDI note or Gate signals.
Main Output Tempo Sync'd Envelope Filter
For amazing live performance the main stereo output may be routed to an additional Enveloped Filter. The speed of the envelope's Attack and Decay can be locked to any musical timing (from 32nd Triplet through to several Bars) which allows for automatic tempo synchronised filtering -- there is no need for manual tweaking.
Specifications (based on preliminary data sheet - possibly subject to change)
Mod Envelope
- Velocity: -100% to +100%
- Decay: 1mS-20 Seconds
- Sustain: 0-100%
- Release: 1mS -- 20 Seconds
LFO1
- Waveform: Sample & Hold / Tri / Saw / Squ
- Speed: 0 Hz -- 1Khz
- Delay: 0 -- 5 Seconds
- LFO Sync: Internal -- MIDI Clock
LFO2
- Waveform: Sample & Hold / Tri / Saw / Squ
- Speed: 0 Hz -- 1Khz
- Delay: 0 -- 5 Seconds
- LFO Sync: Internal -- MIDI Clock
Effects
- Reverb: Level / Dry Chamber, Echo Chamber, Small-Med-Large Room / Decay /Wheel Level
- Chorus / Phaser: Level / Speed / Type / Midi Clock Sync / Feedback / Mod Depth / Wheel Level
- Distortion: Drive / Wheel Level
- Panning: Auto-Pan / Tremelo / LFO Sync / Manual / Midi Clock Sync
- Delay: Depth / Time / Feedback / Midi Clock Sync / Stereo Width / Ratio / Wheel Level
- Vocoder: On --Off / Sibilance Level / Sibilance Type
- EQ / Filter: Tempo Sync'd Enveloped Filter on Final Output / Sweepable EQ
- Arpeggiator: Speed / Range / Gate Time / Midi Clock Sync / Keysync
Connectors and physical specs
- MIDI Sockets: In / Out / Thru
- Audio Input: Line Level 2 x Mono 1/4" Jack
- Audio Output: Line Level 2 x Mono 1/4" Jack
- Power: 9 Volt A.C. 700 mA
- Dimensions: W=483mm, H=44mm, D=10mm
- Weight: 1.6 Kg
For more information, visit their web site at www.novationmusic.com. | 
