Novation has chosen Superbooth, Berlin, as the best place to launch PEAK, a new polyphonic synthesizer that, as the manufacturer promises, is set to be the flagship of the brand. Peak’s design specialist was Chris Huggett, the man behind the Bass Station, Supernova, OSCar and many other synthesizers. Peak also has its origins in the mono synth, the Bass Station II.
Peak is an 8-voice desktop analog synthesizer with three New Oxford oscillators per voice. The oscillators have a completely analog sound because they are high-quality NCOs (Numerically Controlled Oscillators). They feature 17 digital wavetables. They can also become a linear FM source using both the analog NCO sounds and the digital wavetables, so they are capable of modulating each other in a recursive loop.
The synthesizer has a multimode resonant analog filter and three distortion points per voice, pre-filter, post-filter and global, in an analog signal chain. Peak can receive polyphonic aftertouch. It also has built-in reverb, delay and chorus effects and an arpeggiator.
The system features a 16-slot modulation matrix and 16 direct functions on the main controls, perfectly laid out for intuitive patch design and fluid sound editing. It also has three ADSR envelopes and two LFOs per voice.
More elaborate moves and secondary functions are accessed ‘via’ a single press of the menu button. In addition, there are two animate buttons that give live performers instant transformation of patches at the touch of a button.
Peak connects to modular systems via a CV modulation input, and it has MIDI in and out on 5-pin DIN ports, so it can be chained to other MIDI equipment. In addition, via USB, Peak can work directly with a Mac or PC, where patches become unlimited through Components software.
Robert Jenkins, Head of Product Strategy at Novation, says: “Peak is a desktop poly synth that holds its own with the best synthesizers on the market today. Peak is the result of Novation’s obsessive mission over the last decade to create a synthesizer that sounds completely analog and gains the flexibility of the digital domain"
Peak prices
US = $1,299.99 ex. tax (€1,191.46)
Germany = €1,429 inc. 19% VAT
UK = £1,249 inc. 20% VAT (€1,480.48)
* Available worldwide from May 2017
Peak stand
US = $99.99 ex. tax (€118.39)
Germany = €114.99 inc. 19% VAT
UK = £99.99 inc. 20% VAT (€91.61)
