soapbox Posted December 19, 2001 Share Posted December 19, 2001 Originally posted by Harmony Central: Novation's New K-Station to Ship in January 2002 December 18, 2001 -- Novation has announced the new K-Station, which is expected to ship in January 2002. The K-Station is a powerful, yet compact, keyboard synthesizer and uses the A-Station sound engine. The generous control panel allows plenty of space for knobs and sliders for that all-important realtime control, whilst the blue LCD gives an ultra clear view of settings. http://www.harmony-central.com/Newp/2001/K-Station-small.jpg Enthusiasm powers the world. Craig Anderton's Archiving Article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Bryce Posted December 19, 2001 Share Posted December 19, 2001 Needs more keys... dB ==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <== Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod S Posted December 19, 2001 Share Posted December 19, 2001 what the hell is up with these mini keyboards? seems to be a growing trend.... Korg Kronos X73 / ARP Odyssey / Motif ES Rack / Roland D-05 / JP-08 / SE-05 / Jupiter Xm / Novation Mininova / NL2X / Waldorf Pulse II MBP-LOGIC American Deluxe P-Bass, Yamaha RBX760 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bucktunes Posted December 19, 2001 Share Posted December 19, 2001 No sale. I'd rather see a tabletop version without keys that could perch on a vacant area of another keyboard. The synth engine is way too cool to only have a 2 octave keyboard. That's not even enough for spirited synth bass playing! And not nearly enough for lead. C'mon, at least a 3 octave keyboard? Pleeease? Peace all, Steve ><> Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marino Posted December 19, 2001 Share Posted December 19, 2001 Originally posted by SWBuck1074@aol.com: No sale. I'd rather see a tabletop version without keys that could perch on a vacant area of another keyboard. Absolutely. I'd like to add my voice here: What the hell were they thinking... Imagine, say, Jackson coming out with a new, cool guitar, and stopping the neck at the 6th fret. Cute to watch, perhaps, but I guess any serious guitarist (well, if such a thing would exist ) would just laugh at it. 3 octaves, aftertouch, same price, they would have a winner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
industriac Posted December 19, 2001 Share Posted December 19, 2001 am I the only one? But, I have no qualms with the K-station having only a two octave keyboard. Well, maybe cuz I dont write stuff thats overly complicated. To me, I think the K-station is a replacement for the Bassstation keyboard that came out awhile ago, and I think that too only had a two octave keyboard. Im gonna decide to pick one up once I see the price of it. Its probably gonna be used live as I dont want to carry large synths with me to gigs, and considering im a one man act too.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burningbusch Posted December 19, 2001 Share Posted December 19, 2001 Must I always play the contrarian? I need something this size to fit on my computer desk. I just don't have the space for anything bigger but want something to test patches and do soft synth programming while viewing my computer screen. I was going to get one of the little Oxygen controllers, but this works out even better. I tell you what, the A-Station is one of the best sounding VAs out there. You might think I'm full of it but compare it to the higher priced spreads sometime. During a recent music shop visit, I had a chance to A/B it against a handful of other VAs; here's my take. Against the Waldorf Q-Rack and Microwave, the A-Station had way more high-end with the filter wide open (made the Waldorfs sound like they had head colds). It faired well against a Nord Lead 2 and Korg VA--I thought it had more balls than either one. The A/K-Stations boast a 24KHz filter. Novation's marketing hype says the A-Station "redefines the standard for analogue sound modelling." I think they're on to something. The Access Virus Indigo has a three octave keyboard, no after-touch, a better build quality (I'll grant that), but it sells for THREE times as much. My prediction: the days of the $2,000 - $3,000 VAs are over. Busch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tenthplanet Posted December 19, 2001 Share Posted December 19, 2001 I like the A station, but this thing needs a 3 octave keyboard at least. Michael Q:What do you call a truck with nothing in the bed,nothing on the hitch, and room for more than three people in the cab? A:"A car".... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbox Posted December 19, 2001 Author Share Posted December 19, 2001 Originally posted by burningbusch: I need something this size to fit on my computer desk. I just don't have the space for anything bigger but want something to test patches and do soft synth programming while viewing my computer screen. My thoughts exactly! For serious playing, I could always control it from a full sized keyboard. At least it has an LCD instead of an LED like the A-Station has... Enthusiasm powers the world. Craig Anderton's Archiving Article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steadyb Posted December 19, 2001 Share Posted December 19, 2001 Originally posted by burningbusch: I was going to get one of the little Oxygen controllers, but this works out even better. What's the price difference between the two? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natura Posted December 19, 2001 Share Posted December 19, 2001 I wish it had only one octave... Seriously, I think the he keyboard on the K Station is just an add on. You can always play it from a master MIDI keyboard. I just bought a Midiman Oxy 8 MIDI controller and it has 2 octaves and I love it! Forces you to play the good notes because you can't go all the way up and down playing flashy licks. Of course these small keyboards are fun only if you have some others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intheether Posted December 19, 2001 Share Posted December 19, 2001 ...The lack of keys is okay since it will be used as a sound module more than a keyboard...BUT...8 note polyphony? The reason I never bought the a-station. oh well. ~nel * Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbox Posted December 19, 2001 Author Share Posted December 19, 2001 Yeah, it makes a big difference whether or not this would be one of many keyboards and modules or one of few for a prospective owner. If it would be one of few, the eight note polyphony and the two octave keyboard should rule it out for most users. If it would be one of many, it could find a home in a lot of setups. Enthusiasm powers the world. Craig Anderton's Archiving Article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Felix_dup1 Posted December 19, 2001 Share Posted December 19, 2001 My Moog Prodigy has only 2 1/2 octaves, and one note polyphony. I wouldn't part with it. This is a cool synth - 8 voices of VA is still useful (as demonstrated by the many JP8000 or MS2000 users out there), and 2 octaves for a "lead" synth - well, it is what it is. Would you rather pay more for another octave or two? How much more would you pay? I like this new K-Station - I give it two thumbs up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coren Posted December 19, 2001 Share Posted December 19, 2001 keys like this look interesting soley based on the transporability... ive always wondered about getting a key like this, a drum pad/machine, and a laptop.. you could do writing while touring, at a restrant, etc. can anyone say if this is doable? or are laptops to weak for the midi/ audio I/O's ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intheether Posted December 19, 2001 Share Posted December 19, 2001 ...good points felix and soapbox. I mean in theory 128 note polyphony sounds fantastic...in practice though, it's not necesary. I still would rather they shot for 16 note. If the sound engine is the same as the a-station...I'd rather get the a-station as it comes in at $100 less I believe and I would use it as a module, not a one octave keyboard. Not to mention more knobs and that sweet blue! Coren, a good laptop is more than capable of equal midi use and almost equal audio (I am still undecided on sound mngr. apps vs. a pci card) to a tower. I can't speak for pc's, but a fast ibook or ...sigh...titanium g (laptop of my dreams), woud kick ass for music. I think a one ocatave keyboard would suffice. If it's just for midi, you can pick up a studio logic keyboard/midi controller for a heck of a lot less, though. ~nel * Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burningbusch Posted December 20, 2001 Share Posted December 20, 2001 A few points as to why the K-Station has some advantages over the A-Station. I own an A and have worked with it for about a week. Here are some thoughts. - The K has more knobs and switches. 29 knobs/sliders for the K, 25 for the A; 29 switches for the K, 24 for the A. - The K appears to have a single line LED that can reasonably identify parameters/patches. The A has a two digit LED (much like the Prophet 5). This doesn't give you a lot of information which is helpful in submenu programming as well as patch labeling. - The A uses hardware switches which are OK sometimes, but can be a hassle. For example, if you're programming Osc 1 and then switch to Osc 2, the switches will be left at their Osc 1 setting (eventhough they don't reflect the actual sound). You have to physically switch them in order for them to match the actual settings. The K uses LEDs so when you switch they should reflect the actual setting. - The K has dedicated knobs for arp and effects. These are buried in submenus on the A. - The mixer for Osc 1 and 2 are combined on one knob on the A, each osc has its own level knob on the K. - Some settings, such as the sine/triangle Osc waves are accessed via a shift function on the A. They are directly accessable on the K. - Like the bigger Novations, the A/K have quite a bit of depth in programming. These are all done in submenus, which appear to be easier to manage on the K. - The knobs are quite tight on the A but look to have a bit more room on the K. Like I said earlier I think the A sounds great and is well worth the price. The K seems to have overcome some of 1RU interface issues. For me the polyphony isn't a big deal. I tend to record tracks one at a time. These aren't multitimbrel synths, BTW. Busch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Bryce Posted December 20, 2001 Share Posted December 20, 2001 Originally posted by nelz: ...The lack of keys is okay since it will be used as a sound module more than a keyboard...BUT...8 note polyphony? The reason I never bought the a-station. oh well. ~nel Awww..c'mon, nelz - you wouldn't want a Jupiter-8?? It's only got 8 voices. How about a Prophet-5 (5 voices)? Or a Mini-Moog/Arp 2600 (basically one voice)? I'll bet that you'd gladly own any/all of those, right? I kinda tend to lean towards believing that a great, unique synth can usually find a home on your music regardless of the polyphony... More fun with "lack of polyphony": Guitar - six voices. Bass guitar - you can play four voices, but it's pretty much a one voice axe. Most of the instruments of the orchestra - basically one voice. Singer - one voice... dB ==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <== Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soapbox Posted December 20, 2001 Author Share Posted December 20, 2001 Busch, thanks for the hands-on A/B comparisons (or should I say "A/K" comparisons?). I'm still deciding which one to get. You input was very helpful! Enthusiasm powers the world. Craig Anderton's Archiving Article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intheether Posted December 20, 2001 Share Posted December 20, 2001 dB: check mate! excellent points...but can't a girl still want more voices? i really do need something (cheap!) oldschool analog style...i am between the a-station and the an200. Care to offer up a minimoog, prophecy or jupiter8...how about your andromeda? I'll trade it you my dx7 for it.....(laughter all around...) ~nel * Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Teeth Posted December 20, 2001 Share Posted December 20, 2001 What exactly would be the diference between K and the Novation Nova Laptop synth? I mean if, like some one said, the K is about $800- $900 you only had to pay 300 more to get the laptop that for me(i think i am wrong) goes far away the K.In any case the most of you said that the K is ok for use as a sound module. Rebuilding My Self Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Teeth Posted December 20, 2001 Share Posted December 20, 2001 Could K handle multiple effects at once like the rest of nova synths? Rebuilding My Self Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Teeth Posted December 20, 2001 Share Posted December 20, 2001 Speaking of cheap synths. What do you think of RedSound's DarkStar synth? Rebuilding My Self Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.