Novation Bass Station II

The Novation Bass Station II is a compact, analog mono synth with digital control known for its powerful sound and extensive tonal capabilities. Thanks to its deep sub-oscillator and filter with built-in overdrive, this synthesizer delivers tremendous low and raw character. But the Bass Station II can do much more than its name suggests: it is also capable of producing bright leads and rich, textured sounds.

Together with Aphex Twin, Novation has developed the groundbreaking AFX Mode, available for free via a firmware update. This mode allows you to assign a custom patch to each key. This turns the Bass Station II into a versatile sound design instrument that can also be used as a drum module, Chord Organ and much more.

Combined with the built-in sequencer and arpeggiator, the Bass Station II provides a powerful platform for creative music making and endless sound experimentation.

Advanced sound design features
In addition to its unique patch-by-key capabilities, the Novation Bass Station II features an extensive arsenal of advanced sound design features. These allow you to shape sounds in detail and push the limits of your creativity. These include microtuning editing to explore alternative scales and tuning techniques, fixed duration envelopes that allow you to create tight drum sounds, independent tuning of the sub-oscillator and oscillator glide diverge. The latter causes oscillator 2 to glide slower than oscillator 1, creating special portamento effects and expressive variations.

The latest firmware update adds even more powerful tools:

• filter tracking opens up the filter cutoff as you play higher, giving extra clarity and bite
• oscillator error adds a subtle and random detune with every touch, similar to the unpredictability of a vintage analog synth
• envelope retriggering restarts the envelope after the decay phase, ideal for rhythmic effects on amplitude, pitch, filter cutoff and PWM
• paraphonic mode allows two notes to be played simultaneously with separate pitches per oscillator - perfect for drone-like bass lines under a melody
• or powerful leads over a repeating pattern

The right ingredients for expressive sounds
The Novation Bass Station II is built to create thick basses, fierce leads and creative effects, and has all the classic synth controls on board to do so. The two main oscillators can hard-sync for tight and powerful sounds, while the sub-oscillator adds depth to the low end. Thanks to the 25-key keyboard with aftertouch, you play with plenty of expression and dynamics. The Bass Station II features two separate filter types, each with its own overdrive circuit for distorted, aggressive sounds. The Classic filter, based on the original Bass Station, offers lowpass, highpass and bandpass modes. The Acid filter is a diode ladder design that provides those recognizable, ripping 303-like sounds.

Get creative with arpeggiator and step sequencer
The Novation Bass Station II has a built-in arpeggiator and step sequencer that lets you create inspiring patterns instantly. The arpeggiator offers a choice of 32 rhythmic patterns in different directions, with adjustable octave ranges. In addition, you can record up to four of your own patterns in the step sequencer and have them played back with one of the available rhythms. The step sequencer not only captures notes, but also records legato and rests. This allows you to create expressive and dynamic patterns that go far beyond the simple on/off approach of traditional sequencers. This makes the Bass Station II a powerful creative instrument for live use as well as studio.

Novation Bass Station II features:

• monophonic hybrid synthesizer with a focus on powerful basses
• AFX mode available via free firmware update
• 2 analog filter designs: classic (LPF, HPF, BPF) and acid (diode ladder, 303-style)
• 2 dco's with hard-sync for tight, punchy sounds
• sub-oscillator with square, sine and narrow pulse waveforms for extra layers
• patch-per-key functionality for sound design per key
• paraphonic mode for playing two notes at once
• fixed-duration envelope and retriggering for tight drum sounds
• independent tuning of the sub-oscillator
• oscillator glide diverge for unique portamento effects
• LFO slew function for additional modulation possibilities
• 64 factory presets and 64 user slots
• built-in arpeggiator with 32 patterns and extended step sequencer
• 25-key keyboard with aftertouch for expressive playing
• external audio input for processing line-level signals
• works on mains or via usb bus power