Product Description
MiniNova packs the sort of specs you’d expect to find in an instrument twice the size, and sounds like one double the price. Whether you’re a music production novice taking your first steps in synthesis, the keyboard player in a band looking for a sturdy, road-worthy instrument, or an experienced sound designer after a pro-quality portable addition to your existing arsenal, Novation’s backpack-sized beast more than delivers.
From the Manufacturer
Compact, super-cool studio and live synth with 256 onboard sounds. View larger
MiniNova is a compact, super-cool studio and live synth with the same sound engine as its big brother, UltraNova. It comes with 256 incredible onboard sounds that you can tweak with five knobs, or totally warp with eight ‘animate’ buttons. It has up to 18 voices with as many as five synth effects on each sound. MiniNova also has an onboard VocalTune effect as well as a classic vocoder so you can recreate iconic vocal sounds from hip hop, urban and electronic music.
But don’t let its size fool you. MiniNova is the latest in the ‘nova’ range of synths dating back to the legendary Supernova series. It has the same incredibly powerful sound engine and synth effects as the Novation UltraNova, which means it is capable of creating and editing massive bass synth sounds, soaring leads, lush pads and vintage synth sounds. All this in a 37 mini-key form with a USB port and MIDI I/O that you can hook up to your laptop and control your music software, or connect it to another keyboard or sound module.
Editing Software Included
Editing sounds in such a powerful synth can be overwhelming, so Novation created a software application that gives you visual access to the synth engine. The MiniNova Editor works as a plug-in within your DAW or music software. You can fully edit MiniNova using the hardware; the software just makes it easier to see what you are doing.
Choose Your Sound–and Get More for Free
MiniNova has 256 onboard sounds and space to save another 128 of your own sounds. You can quickly search for sounds by selecting the style of music you’re making, or the type of sound you’re after–whether it’s bass synth, lead, hip hop or techno. MiniNova comes with free software, Patch Librarian, so you can store as many sounds as you want on your computer. If 256 sounds are not enough, there are numerous soundpacks for MiniNova assembled by renowned artists and sound designers, including plenty of vintage synth sounds.
The Synth Engine and Effects
MiniNova has an enormously powerful sound engine and synth effects, unheard of in a micro synth. There are 14 conventional waveforms to choose from (square, sine, sawtooth, pulse, triangle and combinations), 36 wavetables and 20 digital waveforms. Each of the 3 oscillators (per voice) have density/detune for fattening up sounds, virtual sync and ‘hardness’–which acts as an additional lowpass filter. There are 14 filter types, 6 envelope generators, 3 LFOs and 20 modulation slots where you can link modules of the synth engine together to shape sound. MiniNova can add up to 5 effects to each sound including distortion, reverb, chorus/phase, delay, compressor, EQ and Novation’s unique gator effect.
Brand New VocalTune and Classic Vocoder Effects
MiniNova takes vocal effects one-step further. As well as a vocoder, it has VocalTune. This means you can talk into the mic and play the tune you want your voice to follow on the keyboard recreating those classic hip hop/urban vocal effects. You can also run your voice through MiniNova’s effects engine, adding reverb, distortion, chorus/phase, gator compression or EQ. This doesn’t need to be limited to your voice; there is an input into which you can plug a guitar or any other instrument and give it the same treatment.
Instant Editing and Performance Control
The ‘Perform’ section enables you to access the synth and effects engines by switching between 6 positions to assign 4 knobs, giving you instant access to 24 sound-bending parameters.
Live Synth: Tweak and Warp Your Sounds in Real Time
8 animate buttons enable you to warp and twist sounds in real time alongside a dedicated filter knob, 4 editing knobs and oversized pitch and modulation wheels.
A great compact desktop keyboard for triggering software instruments. View larger
37-Key Controller Keyboard with MIDI I/O
MiniNova is also a great compact desktop keyboard for triggering software instruments. It has physical MIDI I/O ports for triggering other external sound modules–or for connecting to a larger keyboard.
About Novation
Since Novation was born back in 1992, the company name has become synonymous with world-class analogue modeling synthesizers and unrivalled MIDI controller keyboards and solutions. The product range continues to receive critical acclaim from the music press and win numerous awards for outstanding technology and usability. Fantastic build quality, true musical instrument feel, and intuitive controls are just three of the reasons why Novation’s digital musical instruments are simply a joy to play. To keep products up to date and in tune with the user’s needs, Novation continually provides improved operating systems and brand new software available for download. Firmware updates are fueled and inspired by suggestions from existing users, so comments about Novation products are actively encouraged.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.