Two Novation hits united in a single machine: the Novation Bass Station II analog synth and its step-sequencer groovebox, the Circuit, whose test you can read in the magazine. The top of the unit presents the analog synth controls (Bass Station style), while the pads on the lower half bring to life the Circuit’s structure with its grid of pads and buttons.
Echoes of the Bass Station II
Taking a quick trip down memory lane and summing up the magic recovered from that device in the Circuit Mono Station, we point to its warm, thick, dirty sounds. An “angry” analog synth with some very biting crunch. The analog control of the Bass Station II’s sounds returns on the top of the unit we’re looking at today. With them we get quick control over the synthesizer to explore, discover and manipulate new sounds.
In short, the echoes of the Bass Station II bring that boost of inspiration for powerful, malleable sounds that only pure analog flavor can give us.
Circuit architecture
This is the second building block that the Mono Station incorporates. We recently talked about the Novation Circuit: a moderately priced unit compared with other options on the market. Designed with a highly portable, manageable, very intuitive and easy-to-understand approach. You’ll have to tinker for a while (especially if you don’t read the manual) to get the hang of it, although even the greenest newcomer to groovebox / pad-style technology will pick it up quickly.
As I said in the introduction, the focus is clearly on DJs with creative itches, tired of using other people’s patterns, as a customized tool for the DJ booth. Obviously, the Novation Circuit is also ideal for electronic beat-weavers, basically with a Dance vibe.
From the point of view of the musician who needs a more open tool or works creatively in a more “free” way, this little guy also has its appeal. It stimulates hidden parts of our creativity, brings another way of sequencing and is, ultimately, a complement that can give an unexpected twist to our classic tracks. A mix of good guitars, a vintage acoustic drum kit and the algorithms created with the Circuit’s grid can produce a fairly contemporary result.
It’s certainly an excellent option for generating ideas and quick results, although it comes with enough meat on its bones to get quite a lot out of it if we spend time and dig a little deeper. From the USB connection to a computer (Ableton Live 9 Lite included) to sample editing and customizing the tool to adapt it as best as possible to our approach.
If we consider that the price of the Novation Circuit Mono Station is around €395, we get a better idea of the charm of the two “puzzle pieces” that intersect in this tool.
The meat of the Mono Station
We find three types of analog distortion effects, a truly nasty(?) ring modulator, the thick power of its sub-oscillator and step automation of the 53 parameters. We love how the company itself describes the result we can end up with as “bloody and nasty”. Understand that the rawness and authenticity of its waves make it insultingly deep and feisty. The truth is that the instrument can be used as an experimental tool for creating polyrhythmic sounds, reworked in a paraphonic way.
The synth, which can work in monophonic or paraphonic mode, has a noise generator, two oscillators and a multimode filter (low-pass, high-pass and band-pass with 12 and 24 dB slopes). It also has four waveforms (sawtooth, triangle, square and sample and hold). To these we add the distortion modes already mentioned, ring modulation, sub-oscillator and the overdrive effect.
32 velocity-sensitive pads and a way of working similar to the Novation Circuit. Read more about it here . In short, a treat of a machine that combines the best of the Bass Station II + the Circuit’s working concept, to which we add 3 sequencer tracks.
Connectivity
The unit’s rear panel comes equipped with MIDI IN, OUT and THRU jacks, as well as CV, Aux CV, Gate and Clock in and out. Although what stands out most (to me, at least) is its audio input for processing signals brought in from outside. That is, you connect another device that produces external signals and pass them through the whole array of possibilities of the modulation sequencer. Next to this 1/4" TRS Audio IN input we find a Line OUT of the same type.
Finally we add the power jack, since the unit’s power requirements are too high for USB or battery power, and the USB connection for our link to a PC or Mac. The Novation Mono Station has no audio interface functions but does offer other utilities, such as storing our patches.
Conclusions
We take the price of the Bass Station II and that of the Circuit and now look at the Circuit Mono Station’s. The budget result works out better for us. But perhaps this saving is not the most striking thing; rather, it’s the concept of a unit that adds up the best of two machines that have already proven their worth on the market.
A simple way to join patterns and melodies in a shifting and, above all, vital machine. Exuberant, dirty, aggressive sounds on demand in an adorable little beast that fuses old and futuristic technologies. A thrilling “jalopy.”
Spec sheet
Technical specifications: https://novationmusic.com/circuit/circuit-mono-station
Compatible with Ableton Live Lite (included)
Manufacturer: Novation
Distributed in Spain and Portugal by: Zentralmedia
Recommended price: €395
