Thank you for purchasing this Summit sixteen voice polyphonic, bi-timbral synthesiser, the best sounding synth Novation has ever made. Summit is the natural development of our Peak desktop synth, which was itself conceived as a polyphonic version of the Bass Station II analogue synth. Summit is essentially a two-part, multi-timbral hybrid instrument built around a dual implementation of Peak’s synth core. Based on Peak’s New Oxford Numerically Controlled Oscillators, Summit’s two part structure gives you unrivalled control of sound design in both 16-voice single mode and 2 x 8-voice bi-timbral mode. You can bring multiple, layered sounds into the mix, while retaining full control of every aspect of each synth engine. We have also included a great effects section to help add further colour and depth to Summit’s sounds.
As well as superlative sound quality, Summit gives you two great sets of specially-created presets – single patches, as implemented on Peak, and some stunning new multi patches, which harness the full power of Summit’s bi-timbral architecture.
Summit has a high quality, 61-note keyboard with Pitch and Mod wheels. You can use it in the studio or on stage, either stand-alone or with the MIDI controller of your choice, be it a another keyboard, DAW or a pad controller such as the Novation Summit. It has a CV (Control Voltage) input to let you interface with Eurorack and other CV-capable synths you may already have.
Note
Summit is capable of generating audio with a large dynamic range, the extremes of which can cause damage to loudspeakers or other components, and to your hearing!!
Note
To download this user guide in PDF format, go to: downloads.novationmusic.com.
This is Version 5.0 of the Summit user guide.
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Two part, multi-timbral architecture with Layer, Split, and Dual keyboard modes
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FPGA-based Numerically Controlled Oscillators (24 MHz) for analogue-quality waveforms
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Fully analogue filter section with two LP/BP/HP filters (variable slope, resonance, overdrive, modulation)
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Dual Summit architecture: independent parameters for each Part
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Sine, triangle, sawtooth and pulse waveforms, plus 60 wavetables, per oscillator
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Tuning Table function – allows creation of non-standard keyboard tunings
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Two analogue LP/BP/HP filters with variable slope, resonance, overdrive, and modulation options
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Any two filter types may be used simultaneously: separation parameter allows different frequencies
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Four LFOs, two with panel controls plus menu control of other parameters: fully routable via the Modulation Matrix
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Three Envelope sections (Amp and 2 x Mod) with six phases: DAHDSR
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Traditional dedicated rotary controls and fader controls for ADSR phases of Amp and Mod envelopes
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Pre-loaded with brand-new Patches: 384 Single Patches and 384 Multi Patches, each arranged as three banks of 128
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Two User banks for 128 additional Single Patches and 128 additional Multi Patches
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Full compatibility with Patches created on Novation Summit: Summit’s Patch banks, or individual Patches, can be imported to Summit via SysEx.
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Class-compliant USB port (no drivers needed), patch dump and MIDI
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External CV input for integration with other analogue equipment
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Two stereo output pairs for flexible routing, plus headphone out (main/aux/both)
Important
This User Guide is applicable to Summit synthesisers with the latest firmware. If your Summit has an earlier firmware version, we recommend you update it to the latest version, using Novation Components: components.novationmusic.com
We’ve tried to make this manual as helpful as possible for all types of user, and this inevitably means more experienced users will want to skip over certain parts of it, while those with a bit less synth experience will want to avoid certain parts of it until they’re confident they’ve mastered the basics. As with other Novation synthesiser User Guides, we’ve included a “Synthesis Tutorial” (see Summit synthesis tutorial) which explains the principles of sound generation and treatment that are the foundation of all synthesisers. We think this will be of help and interest to everyone.
There are a few general points that are useful to know before you continue reading this manual. We’ve adopted some graphical conventions within the text, which we hope you will find helpful in navigating through the information to find what you need to know quickly:
Where top panel controls or rear panel connectors are referred to, we’ve used a number thus: to cross-reference to the top panel diagram, and thus:
to cross-reference to the rear panel diagram.
We’ve used BOLD TEXT (or Bold Text) to name top panel controls or rear panel connectors; we’ve made a point of using exactly the same names as appear on Summit itself.
Tip
These do what it says on the tin: we include bits of advice, relevant to the topic being discussed that should simplify setting up Summit to do what you want. It’s not mandatory that you follow them, but generally they should make life easier.
You can register your Summit online at id.focusritegroup.com/register, using the information provided in the Getting Started Guide. This allows you to download the additional software you are entitled to as a Summit owner from your Novation account.
Summit is AC mains powered: the internal power supply unit (PSU) is a “universal” type, and the synthesiser will operate on all mains voltages between 100 V and 240 V. An IEC mains cable is supplied with the unit.
Summit has no user-accessible fuses. In the event of an apparent PSU failure, Summit should only be repaired by a suitably qualified technician.