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Average rating:
4.7 out of 5
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This synth is just a killer!!!I can't wait to see what the special button will be for...:o))) Anyway, don't really understand people dissing at this beauty:it sounds great,warm,dirty,pure,actually,whatever you want it to sound like!! Now just go try one!
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Having saved up for a Nova for a while, I bought it recently and it's incredible. Used in a typical UK trance tune (you know the stuff, Simon Berry, Jamie Ford...) it's unbeatable, the leads you can make with it are incredible, altgough the Super Bass-Station is probably better for Basses. As an overall instrument though it's great, my most prized posession, the only slight grumble is the rather lame multitimbrality, 6 parts, I've found once or twice already that this isn't enough
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Where to start? having owned this synth for several months now, i'm still amazed by the way it sounds. I compared it to several other analog synths like the SC-Pro-one, Roland JX-3P, Juno-106, SH-101, and it surprises me how well it survives in terms of richness (fatness) of it's sounds (i tend to compare synths with all FX like chorus, delay, etc. off). Comparing it to a JP-8000 reveals that nova sounds less harsh probably.. and the nova's oscillators seem to have more depth, enabling for instance better emulations of a TB-303. Furthermore i like the way the nova lacks of stepping.. compare a quick pitch-glide of the nova with one of a JP-8000, and you'll notice that the nova's is smooth whereas the JP-s is terminally stepped, resulting in a computer-ish effect. (the nova DOES step when you adjust the filter or the pitch, or whatever, with a knob, even though novation seems to have found a way of 'hiding' it by making the transitions smoother.. something like a digitally controlled ocsillator as found in a JX-3P)
Howerver, i think there is room for improvement. How about something like an 'analog feel' function (as found on a JV-80)? When you hit 2 octaved notes on a nova, you'll hear something like a flangy effect which occurs due to a lack of instable oscs (a result of digital precision). One can emulate this effect with a subtle setting of the S/H LFO, but it'd be convenient to have something similar which won't cost you a LFO. Another niggle is the ringyness of especially the reverb effects.. They can be useable when used subtly, but any reverb used in large amounts will sound metallic.
Otherwise, as i said before, i think this synth is fantastic! I created some of the biggest strings, sharpest leads, deepest basses and weirdest FX on it, and it stands out in a mix like a sore thumb... even though i'd still like to comapre it to something like a memory-moog (the synth that comes closest as far as audio-specs are concerned, to my opinion). Speaking of which, it would be interesting to see that the 'special waveform' button would include some renditions of waveforms of such classic synths in the future.. As far as the filter is concerned i'm a happy man also, since it will faithfully let you re-create anything from a moog to a OB to a typical roland-sound. This is mainly due to the fact that someone at novation had the stroke of genius to include 'Q-amount', a feature i haven't seen on any other synth yet. It enables you to determine the amount of low-end passed by the filter in correspondence to the adjustments made to the resonance. This allows you to apply full resonance without all your low-end being squeezed out by the filter.
I think i could come up with a lot of other reasons why i love this synth so much (filter overdrive, the arpeggiator, uncompromised effects in multi-timbral mode, etc). Just go out and try it yourself!
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Don't judge the Nova because of the presets. They're not half as good as the sounds you could come up with yourself. If you exploit its potential and strengths you surely can turn this machine into a miracle. BTW, isn't that true for every good synth on the market?
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I have the Nova from a week and I can tell that it's a beast! 3 OSC per voice means very fat basses, warm strings, and generally wider sound possibilities.
In comparison with the AN1x it's generally more flexible and easier to program and to realtime control, but the AN1x has better FX section in terms of quality and it has more possibilities in terms of strange sound effects (i.e. it has better VCO, they go up to inaudible frequencies very smoothly, the Nova breaks to a certain frequency and it reaches it with more digital distortions).
In conclusion, if you are searching an instrument for making music and for processing external sources (like me) choose the Nova, absolutely. For strange effects, I think the AN1x is the better choice yet.
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