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. When programming, don't expect to be overly aided by the display, which is of the numerical, three-digit LED type, only adorned with > and < lights to show whether a parameter's value is higher or lower than its preset value. Bass Station II is Novation’s pure analogue monosynth. Novation based it on Novation’s classic Bass Station, then enhanced every area to make it even bigger, angrier and more versatile. It has two tuneable oscillators, a sub-oscillator for enormous bass, plus noise and ring modulation. It also gives you two distinct analogue filter types: the classic multi-mode filter and a new acid filter, for a massive variation in sonic possibilities. Much More Than Bass What I love about this feature is that it forces you to think about modulation in a new way. Remember that this is still a monophonic synth, the overlays are simply changing lots of parameters every time you press a key. It’s an ingenious idea. I found there were two main approaches to using them. You can treat each key as a separate sound and create lots of individual noises — this creates great drum kits. Otherwise, more subtle overlays can be used to create variations on a melodic sound by tweaking the sound for individual keys. I found that programming a bass or lead line, and then using an overlay to inject some variation into one or two notes was very pleasing. There are enough experimental features to keep even the most diehard synthesist happy. Conclusion Analogue synth layout includes dedicated controls for all major parameters enabling instant hands-on control of the sound engine.

Bass Station II ships with 64 factory patches and a further 64 user slots. Patch dump enables you to archive and swap sounds. To celebrate 25 years of Bass Station and thank you for your support, we're releasing the Bass Station II v2.5 firmware update and giving away a Bass Station II 25th Anniversary Edition – one of only five units off the production line! Completely control the frequency triggered by each key press, giving your scales another dimension. LFO waveforms include triangle, sawtooth, square and sample & hold. Two ADSR envelopes are available for filter, pitch and pulse width modulation. Two distinct analogue filters: A brand new ‘Acid’ filter joins the ‘Classic’ original BassStation filter

Bass Station II's secret sound-design weapon is envelope retriggering. It’s now possible to configure envelopes to retrigger once the decay stage has ended, opening up a whole range of new possibilities. Bass Station II is an analogue mono synth based on the classic original BassStation but re-worked for the 21st century. It has two filters, two oscillators plus a third sub oscillator, patch save and a fully analogue effects section. Add a step sequencer, arpeggiator, full sized keys and a powerful modulation section and you have the makings of an analogue synth that is built for bass, but capable of so much more. Features Create a huge variety of sounds – two tuneable, syncable analogue oscillators with a selection of four waveforms, plus sub-oscillator, noise and ring modulation Novation loaded Bass Station II with 64 diverse patches that showcase its huge sonic variation. Novation also left 64 slots free, so you can easily save and load your own patches on the unit, or in the free librarian software. Instant Inspiration The limited display encourages you to use your ears rather than your eyes and is therefore no bad thing"

To be in with a chance of winning the limited edition monosynth, join the Synth Owners Facebook group and like the competition post from 1st - 7th November 2018.Bass Station II's secret sound-design weapon is envelope retriggering. It’s now possible to configure your envelopes to retrigger once the decay stage has ended, opening up a whole range of new possibilities. The Bass Station 2 boasts an analogue signal path, leaving the modulation sources (LFOs and Envelopes) in the hands of very capable software. Like the original, its oscillators are DCOs rather than VCOs and anyone who takes this information as justification to flounce away like a wounded teenager could be missing out. For a start, the coarse and fine tuning controls have a higher resolution than many synths with patch memories. Perhaps due to the limitations of seven-bit MIDI CCs, subtle tuning and detuning is often neglected. Here, although you'll never hit Minimoog swirliness, the oscillators rub up against each other with more warmth than DCOs typically manage. Each oscillator's nominal range is 16' to 2', with sine and triangle joining the regular saw and pulse waves. Pulse width and pitch may be swept by an envelope or an LFO, and since there are two LFOs, you can indulge in the luxury of slow, spooky vibrato and fast PWM. Turning the large cutoff frequency knob is a smoothly satisfying experience, and the display gives a hint as to why this might be. Instead of the 128 possible values of a 7-bit MIDI controller, filter cutoff insists on twice that amount for itself. An extra bit is gained (rather neatly) by reserving two CC numbers instead of one, and this doubled resolution pops up in several other parameters, making a worthwhile contribution in each case. In short, AFX Mode allows you to make changes to a sound for every key on the keyboard. This works by enabling an ‘overlay’ on any patch. Overlays are a modulation source which remembers knob and switch positions for 25 different keys (the length of the AFX Station’s keyboard). Outside of these 25 keys, the patch on top of which the overlay sits will play as normal.