Bass Station 2 firmware 4.14 AFX mode
Forum rules
READ: VSE Board-Wide Rules and Guidelines
READ: VSE Board-Wide Rules and Guidelines
- ranzee
- Active Member
- Posts: 267
- Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2014 12:07 pm
- Real name: Ranz
- Gear: http://www.ranzs.com/gear-list/
- Band: ranzee ranz
Bass Station 2 firmware 4.14 AFX mode
A quick run through the new firmware 4.14 for Bass Station II. This is a massive update and best of all it is free! I thought the last firmware update was huge – this is even bigger!
Here’s the new features:
? AFX mode – multi patch overlay tables
? Extended sub oscillator tuning – essentially a 3rd oscillator now
? Fixed duration sustain envelopes
? Envelope retriggering count
? Glide divergence
Firmware user guide: https://customer.novationmusic.com/site ... uide_0.pdf
After installing it & doing the video. Here are a couple of thoughts:
1. The sub oscillator tuning effectively makes this a 3 oscillator analog mono synth
2. The AFX mode is essentially turning this synth into a fully featured drum machine – on roids
3. The envelope retrigger count gives us huge percussive timbre possibilities …
So yeah – This is my quick and dirty look at the firmware update – only hours after it was released. We all now need to go and play with this amazing synth and let it all sink in what they’ve just given us!!! Seriously awesome stuff Novation!
- meatballfulton
- Moderator
- Posts: 6097
- Joined: Wed Apr 13, 2005 9:29 pm
- Gear: Logic Pro X
Re: Bass Station 2 firmware 4.14 AFX mode
You are not the first person to suggest this. You can't have more than two notes playing at one time (and that requires paraphonic mode, so they share the filter and amp). Just a four on the floor kick plus hats and a snare/clap requires 3 notes. Yes, some of the other features like the fixed length envelopes are useful for drum sounds, but I think expectations need to be tempered a bit here.
I listened to Hatfield and the North at Rainbow. They were very wonderful and they made my heart a prisoner.
- Jabberwalky
- Synth Explorer
- Posts: 2163
- Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2005 6:03 pm
- Gear: A hybrid of vintage and modern junk
- Band: Variar
- Location: Pgh, PA
- Contact:
Re: Bass Station 2 firmware 4.14 AFX mode
Novation is killing it on providing quality to their gear. I'm really happy with the Circuit line, and these updates have kept my Bs2 in heavy rotation for a while now! Can't wait to update and give more detailed thoughts.
- ranzee
- Active Member
- Posts: 267
- Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2014 12:07 pm
- Real name: Ranz
- Gear: http://www.ranzs.com/gear-list/
- Band: ranzee ranz
Re: Bass Station 2 firmware 4.14 AFX mode
The biggest drawback is the cutoff of sounds because it is monophonic - so yes, you're right. However, this opens the synth up to a whole new world of timbre possibilities.meatballfulton wrote: ↑Wed Apr 17, 2019 8:53 pmYou are not the first person to suggest this. You can't have more than two notes playing at one time (and that requires paraphonic mode, so they share the filter and amp). Just a four on the floor kick plus hats and a snare/clap requires 3 notes. Yes, some of the other features like the fixed length envelopes are useful for drum sounds, but I think expectations need to be tempered a bit here.
- meatballfulton
- Moderator
- Posts: 6097
- Joined: Wed Apr 13, 2005 9:29 pm
- Gear: Logic Pro X
Re: Bass Station 2 firmware 4.14 AFX mode
No question about that. Some of those features can't be found in any hardwired synth, current or vintage. I started thinking about possible uses for a BSII as soon as I saw the first videos.
I listened to Hatfield and the North at Rainbow. They were very wonderful and they made my heart a prisoner.