Using the Launchpad Pro as a DAWless workstation | Novation Connects

video upload by Novation

"In our first episode of Novation Connects, we demonstrate how to sequence the Pulsar 23 and Fireball via midi with our Launchpad Pro, in a DAWless approach to music production.

Here's how to sequence external gear with your Launchpad Pro, using a DAWless setup. The Pulsar 23 and Fireball are connected to the Launchpad Pro via midi, allowing the user to send midi notes and cc parameters to both the Fireball and Pulsar 23. This allows you to sequence and control each instrument. The Launchpad Pro is mapped to send midi to each drum track on the Pulsar 23, and another midi channel on the Launchpad Pro is mapped to sequence the Fireball. This DAWless setup is great for both music production and live performance.

Novation Connects Episode 1 - Chapters:
0:00 - Using Launchpad's drum grid to sequence a pattern
0:41 - Creating variation with the Launchpad probability settings
0:52 - Sequencing with the Launchpad note mode and Mutate function
1:21 - Using Launchpad mute buttons to create variation
1:41 - Modifying pattern length to build tension
2:06 - Jamming with Launchpad's Sequence mode"

Novation Connects Episode 2:

We went DAWless with an AFX Station and Endorphin.es Pedals - it sounds BONKERS
video upload by Novation

"Bass Station II: https://novationmusic.com/products/ba...
Circuit Rhythm: https://novationmusic.com/products/ci...

In Novation Connects episode two, we show you how to use our epic AFX Station in a DAWless setup with Circuit Rhythm, the Endorphin.es Ghost pedal and Endorphin.es Golden Master.

This setup brings together the minds of Aphex Twin, who collaborated with us on the AFX Station, and Andrew Huang, who helped design the Endorphin.es Ghost pedal, to create a brilliant DAWless workflow.

Chapters:
0:00 - AFX Station - Endorphin.es Ghost - Circuit Rhythm - Endorphin.es Golden Master
0:37 - Manipulating sounds with the Endorphin.es Ghost
01:02 - Activating AFX Overlays
01:50 - What is AFX Mode?
02:37 - DAWless jam"

Bad Gear - Bass Station 2

video upload by AudioPilz

"Welcome to Bad Gear, the show about the world's most hated audio tools. Today we are going to talk about Novation Bass Station 2. Has the immensely popular successor to the original Bass Station from the 90s become a classic in its own right for a reason? Should you get the AFX Station? That's no moog, it's a...

Chapters:
00:00 Intro tune
01:10 Overview Novation Bass Station II
01:44 DCO Section
02:13 Filter Section, Acid Mode
02:42 Envelopes, LFOs
02:57 Effects
03:15 Arpeggiator, SH-101 Style Sequencer
03:34 Updates, Additional Features (Paraphony,...)
04:19 AFX Mode (+ Aphex Twin Heresy)
04:48 What else??? (Compontents, UI, Pricing)
05:10 Hate
05:33 Jam 1 (Dirty Bass)
06:29 Jam 2 (Novation should give me Money - Jam)
07:31 Finale (Less Musically Challenging Music)
08:01 Verdict"

Bass Station II Battle // Novation Live

video upload by NovationTV

"Watch Novation’s Product Specialist team from around the world, battle it out by creating patches and using them for four different live jams using Bass Station II.

To celebrate Bass Station's 30th year, and 10 years of Bass Station II, we're bringing our team together to show you how Bass Station II is much more than bass!

After 10 years the Novation Bass Station II is still the ultimate monosynth for warm, fat, and dirty analogue sounds. Based on the original classic 90’s Bass Station it is enhanced in every area to make it bigger, more versatile, and more powerful in every way. With two filter types, two tuneable paraphonic oscillators and a sub-oscillator (that can also be treated as an independent 3rd oscillator) plus; noise, ring mod and the unique and powerful AFX mode designed in collaboration with Aphex Twin mean the sonic possibilities of this analogue powerhouse are unlimited.

You won't want to miss this - tune in on May 31st to watch.

--- Discover Bass Station II
https://novationmusic.com/en/synths/b..."

AFX Station // -CALC- Walk-through // Novation

NovationTV

"-CALC- introduces you to AFX Station: our modern classic monosynth, remixed by Aphex Twin.

Designed in collaboration with electronic music legend Richard D James aka Aphex Twin, AFX Station is a limited edition release of Bass Station II. A sound designer’s dream, AFX Station has the same powerful feature set as Bass Station II, with the addition of AFX Mode pre-installed, which revolutionises the way the monosynth can be played and programmed.

--- Discover AFX Station: http://bit.ly/AFXStation"

Introducing the Novation AFX Station - Limited Edition Aphex Twin Collaboration

Limited edition Black Novation Bass Station II with AFX Mode for $439.99. As always see the dealers on the right for availability. Details follow:

"Introducing the Limited Edition Aphex Twin collaboration - AFX Station.

Following an exciting hunt for clues across the globe, gathered and documented by the press [on MATRIXSYNTH here and here] and public, the spotlight has been shining on Novation to reveal the mysterious Aphex Twin collaboration.

Novation is excited to finally announce AFX Station, an all-new, limited edition of their modern classic Bass Station II monosynth, designed in collaboration with electronic music legend Richard D James aka Aphex Twin.

AFX Station is a sound designer’s dream. It has the same powerful feature set that has made Bass Station II the go-to monosynth for countless music makers. In addition, it has AFX Mode pre-installed, which revolutionises the way the monosynth can be played and programmed. Perfect for sequencing and arpeggiation, with AFX Station, every key on the instrument can become a new patch, making it a powerful analogue drum module, a flexible sound design tool, or a killer bass or lead machine.

To check out the AFX Station visit our site from launch on Tuesday 20th October, 8AM PST.

Availability: Online and in-store, limited
Cost $439.99"

CLICK FOR MORE »

Novation Teases New Aphex Twin Collaboration

Apparenlty these billboards are popping up in LA, Berlin, Bristol, and London per CDM.

Click the image to the left to zoom in and find some clues, if they apply that is.

On the left you'll see X-Station. The original X-Station was a controller keyboard with the K-Station engine built in. Note the font below it.

On the right you'll see Osc Filter Mod. Below you'll see Microtuning.

Feel free to see what else you can find.

Aphex Twin also worked with Novation on the AFX Mode Bass Station II and the Warp Records WXAXRXP 30th Anniversary Bass Station II.

Rumor is we'll find out Oct 20.

Update: and an image of the purported box spotted by Soviet Space Child.

Warp Records WXAXRXP 30th Anniversary Novation Bass Station II

via Novation

"Warp Records celebrate their 30th anniversary with three-day NTS Radio takeover, including exclusive mixes and giveaways.

For the past 30 years, UK based label Warp Records have been consistently setting the bar in the electronic music world, always pushing the boundaries of the genre and thrilling music fans worldwide.

Founded by Steve Beckett and Rob Mitchell in the back of a record store in Sheffield in 1989, Warp has become the pioneer of its genre with a unique yet reliable catalogue of electronic music. Responsible for bringing to the world the likes of Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada, Squarepusher and Nightmares on Wax, plus loads more, Warp have also more recently ventured into film, art installations and their own online independent record store, Bleep.com.

This weekend, Warp are set to celebrate their 30th anniversary. Partnering with NTS, they’ll bring together their legendary roster with a packed out 100-hour schedule of music, including exclusive mixes, tributes and giveaways.

As part of the celebrations and in honour of the release of our recent Bass Station AFX update, listeners will have the chance to get their hands on a very limited edition Warp Records x Aphex Twin x Novation Bass Station II, 1 of only 5 made. For a chance to win, simply sign up for the WXAXRXP mailing list following the link below [bottom of page here].

LISTEN NOW

We’ve also compiled a selection of our favourite Warp releases spanning the past thirty years. With so many releases, we could have kept this list going on for ages, but here are ten particular highlights from the past three decades chosen by some of the team over at Novation HQ:

CLICK FOR MORE »

Bass Station 2 - AFX MODE (Aphex Twin) + Korg ER MK 2

Published on May 16, 2019 Synth Mike

- Synth Mike - Warsaw - Poland -
Bass Station 2 in Aphex Mode

Gear:
Bass: Bass Station 2
Drums: Korg Electribe R MK II (ER MK2)
Interface: iK iRig Pro Duo
Camera: iPhone Xr

Bass Station II vs Sub 37

Published on May 12, 2019 Starsky Carr

"A look at how these 2 excellent synths compare... one is great value for money and the other is great!!

They've both got their own characters but maybe the BSII is all you need.

Overview 3:25
Arp & Seq 6:25
Filters 8:10
Reso 9:25
303 Stylie 10:35
Env + FM 14:40
Sounds 17:30
PWM 29:40
Osc Sync 33:45
Conclusion 38:05"

Update:

Bass Station 2 Additional Functions (the Sub 37 can't do!)

Published on May 14, 2019 Starsky Carr

"A little addition to my Bass Station 2 vs Sub 37 video, essentially revisiting some of the content I deleted in the final edit, because I ended up demoing the new functions of the BSII, taking the focus from the comparison. It did, however, leave the BSII a little unloved in the end as pointed out by Dark Sky Synth :)

So to rebalance the discussion a little:

Ring Mod 1:25
Osc Filt Mod 3:10
Microtuning 4:37
Aphex Twin Mode 5:54
GLide Divergence 6:41
3 Individual Osc 7:31
Amp Envelope 9:36"

Novation // Bass Station II 4.14 - AFX Mode

Published on Apr 14, 2019 NovationTV

"-CALC- introduces the exciting new update for Bass Station II - v4.14.

The latest firmware update for Bass Station II adds five powerful and innovative new features to Novation’s hugely popular monosynth, all of them developed in response to user feedback and requests, one of those users being particularly noteworthy…

--- AFX Mode (the realisation of Aphex Twin)
--- Fixed duration envelopes
--- Extended sub-oscillator control
--- Oscillator glide diverge
--- Envelope retrigger count

Bass Station II owner? Download the update for free now from components:
--- https://novationmusic.com/components

For more on Bass Station II, visit:
--- https://novationmusic.com/synths/bass...

Need help installing Bass Station v4.14? We have a handy guide here: http://bit.ly/AFXModeHelp
We have also created a new v4.14 User Guide here: http://bit.ly/AFXModeUserGuide

#WeAreNovation #BassStationII #AFXMode"

Update: and the press release:

"New Bass Station II x Aphex Twin firmware update

The latest firmware update for Bass Station II adds five powerful and innovative new features to Novation’s hugely popular monosynth, all of them developed in response to user feedback and requests, one of those users being particularly noteworthy…

AFX Mode

Electronic music legend Richard James, aka Aphex Twin, has already played an instrumental part in the Bass Station II story, having provided guidance for the implementation of the micro-tuning added with Firmware v2.5. His conceptual contribution to v4.14 is even more profound.

Letting his imagination run riot, James envisioned the decidedly radical notion of having a discrete set of synthesis parameters assigned to each note of Bass Station II, either variations on a ‘seed’ patch, or disparate sounds designed to constitute a chimeric whole. Although this sort of thing could already be kludged using very fast program change messages, having multiple sounds active at the same time would clearly be a far more creative and efficient system.

AFX Mode is the realisation of James’ out-there concept. Put simply, it lets you modify your Bass Station II patch on a key-by-key basis. Use it to introduce subtle changes to a sound as you play up and down the keyboard; divide the keyboard into multiple zones (one per key if you like!), each playing its own sound; or create entire drum kits in a single preset for triggering manually or via the Arpeggiator. It’s a truly inspiring feature that really does open up a whole new world of sound design and performance possibilities.

Fixed duration envelopes

Aiding in the programming of drum sounds and plucks especially, the sustain segments of Bass Station II’s envelopes can now be set to a fixed length, moving on to the release stage regardless of when the key or trigger is actually released after playing a note. When fixed duration envelopes are enabled, the decay stage is taken out of play, and the Decay slider instead sets the duration of the Sustain stage.

Extended sub-oscillator control

With Firmware v4.14, Bass Station II’s sub-oscillator, slaved to the pitch of Oscillator 1, can be detuned using the Coarse and Fine controls. Now you can set the sub to any non-octave tracking interval you like, and knock it out of tune – subtly or dramatically – for creative effect.

Oscillator glide diverge

Prior to Firmware v4.14, both of Bass Station II’s oscillators could only be set to the same Glide time, but now you can slow down the Glide time of Oscillator 2 relative to Oscillator 1 by a variable amount, causing the two to diverge for interesting portamento effects. Just the thing for adding thickness and character to basslines, pads and leads, and certainly not a function you’ll find on many other hardware or software synths.

Envelope retrigger count

The Firmware v2.5 update added envelope retriggering, and now, to help with drum synthesis, the number of times the envelopes retrigger can be adjusted.

Introducing AFX Mode, fixed duration envelopes, extended sub-oscillator control, oscillator glide diverge and envelope retrigger count, Firmware v4.14 is a free update for all Bass Station II users, available via the Components content manager for Mac and PC."

Aphex Twin, Boards of Can, Bass Station II Patches & Tutorial Videos

Published on Oct 1, 2013 Wavestrike Electronics

"Download Patches:

https://www.tradebit.com/filedetail.p...

A very few of the patches used delay or reverb in the demo."

novationmusic.com

Bass Station II Programming and Sequencer Tutorial

Published on Oct 28, 2013

"I show from the init patch how to make a TB-303 sound, then how to program the sequencer of the Bass Station II with two TB-303 patterns."

Novation Bass Station II - First Song With It

Published on Sep 25, 2013

"BSII Patches Download:

https://www.tradebit.com/filedetail.p..."