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Before the famous Novation Bass Station Rack module came the small and portable Bass Station Keyboard! This synthesizer uses digitally synchronized analog oscillators (DCO's) to reproduce the sounds of a monophonic dual-osc analog synthesizer with simple and intuitive controls via 17 knobs, 10 switches and 2 Moog-style pitch/mod wheels. Think EDP Wasp and ARP Odyssey.

The Bass Station can faithfully reproduce analog bass sounds similar to a TB-303, Micromoog or Pro One synthesizer. The small keyboard and monophonic architecture set this keyboard up for strict bassline, lead synth lines, and synth fx. It also transmits MIDI continuous controller data from its pitch/mod wheels, frequency cutoff, resonance, filter modulation depth, env1 attack, decay and env2 attack and decay.

(click to enlarge)

Unlike the Rack version, however, the keyboard lacks basic patch storage features. There are only 7 memory patches and 1 manual patch (what the knobs are doing right now). The memory can be stored externally using MIDI SysEx dumps. But for the low price (under $500) this makes a great and compact analog bass synth for any user with simple but tasteful bass needs. It is used by Apollo 440, RZA, and Lo Fidelity AllStars.

30 VISITOR COMMENTS

Smoinync

January 28, 2012 @ 3:44 am

Its my second time to own the BS, huge regret for selling the 1st one, but my luck wasn't that bad to search for used BS on the Internet. Sounds even more impressive than the previous (due to more synthesis understanding). It can emulate 303 sound with on doubt but 303 is 303 they won't be exactly the same.

lightman

January 26, 2012 @ 4:51 am

suicide sushi,

perhaps the resonance pot on your BS is faulty. As most of the features of the machine can be controlled via MIDI controllers (CC), you could try sending your BS a CC 106 (Resonance) with value 0, this should do the trick. Check out the manual (available on Novation's homepage) for more info. For softer sounds/leads, use a 12db filter setting and only one VCO (turn the VCO mix pot either completely clockwise or anti-clockwise). The BS has no arp so you will have to use an external source for that. Hope this helps.

Liquidyzer

August 18, 2011 @ 6:16 am

Cute & very usefull. I dare anyone to find a (near) analog keyboard as small cute and handy as this and yet have that certain dark magic inside. Filter screams when you push it :) Throw this in a rucksack as a portable MIDI controller keyboard aswell as producing decent basses on the road.

Martin

June 10, 2011 @ 7:29 am

Lovely little synth, designed with input from Chris Huggett who also designed the classic EDP Wasp. According to Huggett the Bass Station has the Wasp filter

Suicide Sushi

April 1, 2011 @ 2:31 pm

It sounds fantastic!!!
I just got a Bass Station Keyboard, and to me it sounds like the resonance is always on, or never at zero. Compared to my Mono/Poly the filter sounds very aggressive, which is cool for some stuff, but I would also like to make som softer arpeggios etc. Is that possible with the bass station. Is it just my Bass Station that has a faulty chip? The resonance pot works fine and it self osc's when turned all the way up. But it never seems to turn off completely.

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