Thank you for purchasing the Bass Station II, AFX Station, or Bass Station II Swifty Edition digitally-controlled analogue synthesiser. Based on the classic 1990s Novation Bass Station synth, it combines traditional analogue waveform generation and processing with the power and flexibility of digital control, plus a set of effects and presets for the 21st century.
This user guide applies to all editions of the Bass Station II. We've used the original Bass Station II for graphics throughout. If you're using the AFX Station or Bass Station II Swifty Edition you'll have more information on the top panel relevant to the various firmware upgrades we've added over the years.
Note
Bass Station II 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 Bass Station II user guide.
We’ve tried to make this manual as helpful as possible for all types of user, and this inevitably means that more experienced users will want to skip over certain parts of it, while relative novices will want to avoid certain parts of it until they’re confident they’ve mastered the basics.
However, there are a few general points that are useful to know about before you continue reading this manual. We’ve adopted some graphical conventions within the text, which we hope all types of user will find helpful in navigating through the information to find what they 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 Bass Station II itself.
Registration of your Bass Station II is optional, however in doing so you will gain access to a range of free bundled software and access to Novation Components standalone software.
Bass Station II is shipped with a 9 V DC, 500 mA power supply. The centre pin of the coaxial connector is the positive (+ve) side of the supply. Bass Station II can either be powered by this AC-to-DC mains adaptor, or by a USB connection to a computer. To obtain the best possible audio performance from Bass Station II we recommend using the supplied adaptor.
There are two versions of the PSU, your Bass Station II will be supplied with the one appropriate to your country. In some countries the PSU comes with detachable adaptors; use the one that fits your country’s AC outlets. When powering Bass Station II with the mains PSU, please ensure that your local AC supply is within the range of voltages required by the adaptor – i.e., 100 to 240 VAC - BEFORE you plug it into the mains.
We strongly recommend that you only use the supplied PSU. Using alternative PSUs will invalidate your warranty. Power supplies for your Novation product can be purchased from your music dealer if you have lost yours.
If the synth is powered via the USB port, note that it will “go to sleep” if the host computer goes into power save mode. The synth can be “woken-up” again by pressing any key; however, this does not alter the power status of the computer.
Tip
If powering your Bass Station II via the USB connection you should be aware that although the USB specification agreed by the IT industry states that a USB port should be able to supply 0.5 A at 5 V, some computers - particularly laptops – are unable to supply this current. Unreliable operation of the synth will result in such a case. When powering Bass Station II from a laptop’s USB port, it is strongly recommended that the laptop is powered from AC mains rather than its internal battery.
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25-note (two octaves) velocity-sensitive keyboard with aftertouch.
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Pitch and Mod wheels: The Pitch wheel is mechanically biased to return to the centre position when released. The wheels are internally illuminated.
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Octave shift keys – transpose the keyboard in octave increments.
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Transpose - lets you transpose the keyboard in semitone increments, up to a maximum of +/- 12 semitones.
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Function/Exit – hold this down to use any of Bass Station II’s On-Key Functions. A wide range of “system set-up” parameters can be set in this mode.
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LED display – a three-character alphanumeric display showing various items of unit data – e.g., patch number, octave shift and parameter values – depending on which other controls are in use.
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Org. Value – one of these two LEDs will illuminate when the value of a parameter no longer matches the value stored for the patch.
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Patch/Value – allows selection of one of the 64 Factory or 64 User Patches, and are also used to set parameter values for On-Key functions.
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Save – use in conjunction with Patch keys
to save modified Patches in User Memories.
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Volume – sets the Bass Station II’s audio volume.
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Osc Select switch – assigns the controls in the Oscillator section to Oscillator 1 or Oscillator 2.
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Range – steps through the base pitch ranges of the selected oscillator. For standard concert pitch (A3 = 440 Hz), set to 8’.
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Waveform – steps through the range of available oscillator waveforms – sine, triangular, sawtooth and pulse.
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Coarse – adjusts the pitch of the selected oscillator over a range of ±1 octave.
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Fine – adjusts the oscillator pitch over a range of ±100 cents (±1 semitone).
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Mod Env depth – controls the degree by which the oscillator pitch changes as a result of modulation by Envelope 2; the control is ‘centre-off’, so that either pitch increases or decreases can be obtained.
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LFO 1 depth – controls the degree by which the oscillator pitch changes as a result of modulation by LFO 1.
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Pulse width modulation source – active only when Waveform
is set to Pulse; this switch selects the method of varying the width of the pulse waveform. The options are: modulation by Envelope 2 (Mod Env), modulation by LFO 2 (LFO 2) or manual control by the Pulse Width control
.
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Pulse Width – a multi-functional control adjusting the pulse waveform; only active when Waveform
is set to Manual, the control adjusts the pulse width directly; when set to Mod Env or LFO 2, it acts as a Modulation Depth control. Note that the pulse width may be modulated by all three sources simultaneously, by differing amounts.
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Sync 1-2 – this LED illuminates when the Osc 1/Osc 2 Sync function is enabled (an On-Key Function)
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Octave – sets the range of the sub-octave oscillator; the actual pitch of this oscillator is determined by OSC 1’s pitch, and adds additional bass frequencies (LF) to the sound. -1 adds LF one octave below OSC 1, -2 adds LF two octaves below.
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Sub Osc Wave – a choice of three waveforms is available for the sub-octave oscillator: sine, narrow pulse or square.
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LFO Delay/Speed – the two rotary controls in the LFO section are dual-function, the function being set by this switch. In Speed mode, the rotary controls adjust the frequencies of the two LFOs. In Delay mode, they set the “fade-in” time for the LFO. Speed mode can be changed to Sync mode by using one of the On-key functions. See On-key functions for further information.
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LFO waveform – these buttons step through the available waveforms for each LFO independently: triangle, sawtooth, square, sample and hold. The associated LEDs give a visual indication of the LFO speed and waveform.
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LFO rotary controls – these two controls either adjust LFO speed or delay, as set by the LFO Delay/Speed switch [23].
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OSC 1 – adjusts the proportion of Oscillator 1’s signal making up the sound.
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OSC 2 – adjusts the proportion of Oscillator 2’s signal making up the sound.
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Sub – adjusts the proportion of the sub-octave oscillator making up the sound. Additional inputs - up to three further sources may contribute to the synth output; this control sets their levels. The control’s function is set by switch
.
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Noise/Ring/Ext – determines the function of rotary control
. When set to Noise, the rotary control sets the amount of white noise added to the sound; when set to Ring, it sets the amount of the output from the Ring Modulator circuit is added (the inputs to the Ring Modulator are Osc 1 and Osc 2); in the Ext position, an external signal connected to the rear panel connector
can be mixed in.
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Type – two-position switch selecting filter type: Classic configures a variable filter, whose basic characteristics may be set with the Shape and Slope switches; Acid configures a 4-pole diode ladder lo-pass filter, which emulates a type of filter found on early ‘80s analogue synths.
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Shape – three-position switch; with Type set to Classic, sets the filter characteristic to be lo-pass (LP), band-pass (BP) or hi-pass (HP).
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Slope – two-position switch; with Type set to Classic, sets the slope of filter beyond the passband to either 12dB or 24dB per octave.
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Frequency – large rotary knob controlling the filter’s cut-off frequency (LP or HP), or its centre frequency (BP).
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Resonance – adds resonance (an increased response at the filter frequency) to the filter characteristic.
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Overdrive – adds a degree of pre-filter distortion to the mixer output.
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Mod Env depth – controls the degree by which the filter frequency is modified by the Mod Envelope.
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LFO 2 depth – controls the degree by which the filter frequency is modified by LFO 2.
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Env Select – assigns the Envelope faders [40] to vary the parameters of the Amplitude Envelope (Amp Env), Modulation Envelope (Mod Env), or both simultaneously (Amp+Mod Env).
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Envelope controls – a set of four faders adjusting the standard ADSR Envelope parameters (Attack, Decay, Sustain and Release).
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Triggering – three-position switch controlling how envelopes work with legato and portamento playing styles.
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On/Legato – turns the arpeggiator on and off. Also allows notes in a recorded arp sequence to be tied, or played in a Legato style.
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Latch/Rest – sets the arpeggiator to play the current pattern continuously. Also allows a musical rest to be inserted in an arp sequence. When the arpeggiator is off, the Latch/Rest button enables a Key Hold function, which simulates the effect of holding a key down continuously, until another key is pressed.
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Tempo – sets the arp pattern tempo in the range 40 to 240 BPM.
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Rhythm – selects one of 32 pre-defined arp rhythmic patterns. The LED display indicates the pattern number.
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Arp Mode – the arp can play the notes making up the selected pattern in a variety of sequences; Arp Mode sets the sequence, and can also put the arp into Record and Play modes for patterns based on the notes actually played rather than on the pre-defined sequences.
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Arp Octaves/SEQ – 4-position rotary switch setting the number of octaves over which the arp pattern plays. This control also selects one of four global sequences when Arp Mode is set to Play or Record.
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Glide Time – sets the portamento glide time; with the control fully anticlockwise, portamento is ‘off’.
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POWER IN – connect the supplied PSU here when powering Bass Station II from AC mains.
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Power switch – three-position switch: centre is OFF, set to ext DC if using the supplied AC mains PSU, set to USB if powering Bass Station II from a computer via a USB cable.
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USB – standard USB 1.1 port (2.0-compatible). Connect to a Type A USB port on a computer using the supplied cable.
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MIDI IN and OUT – standard 5-pin DIN MIDI sockets for connecting Bass Station II to other MIDI-equipped hardware.
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SUSTAIN – 2-pole (mono) ¼” jack socket for connection of a sustain pedal. Both N/O (Normally Open) and N/C (Normally Closed) pedal types are compatible; if the pedal is connected when the Bass Station II is powered on, the type will be automatically sensed during boot-up (provided your foot is not on the pedal!).
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EXT IN – ¼” jack socket for external microphone, instrument or line level audio inputs. Input is unbalanced. An audio source connected here may be mixed with the synth sound.
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LINE OUTPUT (MONO) – ¼” jack socket carrying the Bass Station II’s output signal; connect your recording system, amplifier and speakers, audio mixer, etc. Output is unbalanced.
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HEADPHONES – 3-pole ¼” jack socket for stereo headphones (though synth output is mono). Phones volume is adjusted by the VOLUME control [10].
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Kensington Security Slot – to secure your synth.