Novation AFX Station is a Bass Station 2 Synthesizer in the core but remixed and upgraded in features & look by Aphex Twin
The teasing and scavenger hunt are over. Novation today officially launched the AFX Station, a remixed version of the Bass Station 2 analog Synthesizer. AFX Station includes all the well-known and loved features of the Bass Station 2 Synthesizer, just in a new fancy look.
No one other than Aphex Twin is responsible for this restyling. Of course, the extremely versatile AFX mode that Novation has already introduced with firmware 4.14 is pre-installed in this remixed version.
Released in 1993, the original Bass Station Synthesizer was the second piece of hardware ever created by Novation and it’s now hailed as one of the most important in the company’s history.
What’s New
In the core of the Novation AFX Station works the well-known punchy analog Bass Station 2 engine. It features two analog oscillators, two analog filters, two envelopes & LFOs, and more. The AFX Station, however, comes with the pre-installed AFX mode, which revolutionizes the way how you can play and program the mono synth. Once activated, every key on the instrument can become a new patch, making it a powerful analog drum module, a flexible sound design tool, or a killer bass or lead machine.
It also ships with all amazing features that came on top with the AFX mode in firmware 4.1.4 including:
- fixed duration envelopes
- extended sub-oscillator control
- oscillator glide diverge
- envelope retrigger count
The highlight is the new black AFX look that gives you easier access to the AFX mode functions. Further, it comes with 128 new synth patches, 7 new overlay banks, and a new components editor. As a little extra, each unit ships with a giftbox designed by AFX visual collaborator Weirdcore.
In short: you get a classic Bass Station 2 in a new black look and interface. It finds it very beautiful. A bit of a shame, however, that so much time was put into teasers. We expected something completely new instead of a restyling for a classic mono synth. However, Aphex Twin said that they were working on something new so we can look forward to it
Novation AFX Station is available now as a limited edition for 428€
More information here: Novation
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hi,it looks good and guess has the afx mod function written on for you ,but was hoping it would have new imputs like adding ext clock in ,like on the sh101 for the arp ,or cv and gate out or in something like that maybe
Knew it! Love the new colour palette ? and cool that they labeled every function of this amazing synth.
If you don’t already own a BS2 this is an instant buy (or a Bass Station 2).
Apparently they added UI labels that help show where the new features are, so the new panel is actually somewhat useful. But you should have the same functionality if you have an older one and upgrade the firmware.
This synth is NUTS !
It’s just a Bass Station II, nothing more, so they shouldn’t have hyped it so much. And Aphex Twin, in reality, had nothing to do with a single choice or the OS changes. Those changes were in play for years and the color changes were already on another special edition BSII in the past.