Novation Bass Station II

The BSII was my first hardware synth but I have some synthesis experience programming patches on VSTs for a few years now.

Now that I’ve made the switch to hardware, I’ll never look back. Don’t let the name fool you, this synth is not just for basses. I primarily use it for leads and the arp function is great.

As a starter synth, the layout is amazing, very easy to follow the signal flow on the synth. It also has a great function that shows how far you are away from a selected patch’s original setting when you twist a knob, a great learning tool.

The sound and capabilities for the price are outstanding.

Pros:
- powerful synth at a very reasonable price
- easy to use and great for learning synthesis
- a different beast when connected to external effect units (delay, reverb)
- lovely filter choices
- major firmware update released by Novation 5 years after initial release with a ton of new features, including duo mode, which turns this mono synth into a paraphonic weapon.

Cons
- for the price, none!

I have had many mono synths, and I had about 6 of them already when I got the bass station 2, but this one still blew me away beyond expectations.

The sound of the BS2 is great, and features like drive and distortion allow for those dirty gnarly bass roars, while the clean sound can give you very lush, milky bass.

The set up of the synths is not groundbreaking with its 2 oscillators, Filter and ADSR, but it uses its tool very well.

The synht is built out of solid plastic, but this does not feel like low quality or fragile build. The knobs feel good, and the larger cut off is a very nice touch, allowing for better and finer manipulation during live play.

The keyboard is really nice, and allow for velocity play. I even start using it to control other synths via my DAW.

The added features of afx mode and an array of under the hood possilibites makes this a very powerful instrument, and in my opinion the best for its value currently available.

My usage:
For home recording, also have Korg Electribe Sampler and Volca Sample, Volca Keys, Mixing board.

Summary:
Very good analogue synth. Great sounds, tweaking options and patches. Great synth for learning about how analogue synths work and sound patch creation. Arpeggiator is fun. Latch is useful for sound creation (latch simply makes the key continue to play even when you remove your finger from the key). Midi works well, but I must point out better as a slave device than as a master. It goes out of sync if I set it as master with Volca devices (which only can act as a slave device if not Korg branding), but is flawless as slave for any other midi out device.

Hardware:
Knobs and keys are all of good quality and become familiar like "old friends" after a period of usage. This, to me, symbolizes a quality instrument created for human interaction and experimentation.

Synth can be a little intimidating at first if you have never had an analogue synth, but you will learn analogue from using it and grow to love it. Price is great for what you get!

Recommendation:
Send audio thru sound effects like rooms or halls to really make it fun to tweak and come to life. You can use the provided effects in Ableton Live Lite or a mixing desk with built in effects.

Bass Station II is a very fast-to-use synth. Sonically it is quite versatile, although you can't get too far away with it, as modulation cabilities are quite limited. But where it shines, is quickly creating a bassline or a sketch of a sound (perhaps for further processing). Also tweaking a sound is a very satisfying process, as there is no menu's - everything's there right in front of you.

The built-in arpeggiator with its rhythm variations is very useful, and there is even a very simple step sequencer (no chords). This said you can also you use the Bass Station as a midi controller. (You should know, that BSII does not send midi clock, nor does it pass it through through its midi out - there is no midi thru.)

The basic character of the sound is a bit coldish, imo. (Not that everything should be warm.)

What can i say , this is actually my 2nd BassStation II i own. I had to sell mine only as my car needed fixing. As soon as i had the money i bought it back.

This synth has all the features you would expect from a mono synth. It is extremely well built. Knobs are very sturdy and the whole synth albeit being made of plastic is very stiff ( the plastic is of good quality).

One of the great things many synths lack that the Bass Station II has is the ability to be powered from USB. Imagine hooking this to a laptop without the need to use any additional Power supplies !

Speaking of sound , it has it all , 2 oscillators + Sub, 4 Filters with 12/24db switch.
2 Lfos that can be synced in any possible way.

It can sound warm and rubbery or hard and harsh if you so desire due to the 2 Overdrive and Distortion effects.

Fm Synthesis is also possible with some tweaking , and the Synth has Velocity and after-touch !

All this for less than 500? ! It's competitors have only 1 oscillator and can't do half of the sounds this baby can. Grab one !

I've been using this for the past year on a home studio as a staple for any kind of synth bass and lead.

One thing that becomes apparent right from the start is it's ability to always cut through a mix.

You can get a great array of sounds, from harsh cold and super agressive like you're used to seeing in demos on YouTube but also warm, soft, almost lush sounds. Of course you can't do anything other than monophonic, but it's much more than you can see on Demos. If you want a sound you can make it.

The only thing I'd love to have different is the pickup mode of faders and knobs when you switch between patches.

Other than that USB connection to the PC provides a very stable link, and if you have Max for Ableton Live you can control and modulate parameters of the synth that aren't modulatable by default (eg. LFO Rate). Everything on the synth is controllable by MIDI CC though.

I have owned the BSII for a couple of years now without any complaints. The build quality feels good and the sound is spectacular. This synth offers many features that other more expensive synths do not such as ring modulation,7 filter types,on board sequencing and arpeggiator which sends MIDI information out, 2 LFOs, aftertouch, pre and post filter distortion and much more.It is an absolute joy to use. The majority of features are knob per function and those which are not are easily accessible through the use of the function key and pressing the corresponding key on the keyboard. I would recommend this synth to anyone who is starting out in electronic music and also those who are more experienced. I am consistently amazed with this synth, the more time I put into it the more it gives back.