Novation K-Station?

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themantis

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Hey, I am new here, but I am one of the people that transferred over here from Samplecity (clubzero and the gang). I am looking to buy a new synth, and I am looking heavily into a Novation K-Station. I have heard all good things so far, and I want to get a bit more feedback. So how do those of you who use it feel about it? I know it is a newer synth, but I am hoping that some of you have used it. Also, I am getting it for $599, if you know of anywhere cheaper, that would be great too.


In His Service,
The Mantis
 
Can't say I know to much about this synth you speak of but before you pay 599 check ebay and you can maybe get get it for a lot less, also you can get the access virus rack for 100$ more if you want a superb instrument:)

also check out A Great store
 
The K station is a great source of sounds for sure. With I believe 8 notes of polyphony and a great built in effects unit it can really pump out some serious sonic materials. I do not own one but I work in a music store and demo both it and its rack sister the Astation quite frequently. A few drawbacks are that it has a somewhat confusing interface (to some). A small LED screen, and a tiny keyboard. If you do not find the interface confusing and do not mind the keyboard, then by all means it kicks most VA synths asses for the dollars-verses-drool factor, and is a lot of fun to work with..... however I just got the new Virus C and really appreciate the new features. As soon as they work out all the bugs it will truly be kickin! It also boasts 4 times the polyphony of the K Station (32). And it is 16 part multimbral..... on the other hand it is about 3 times the price. Worth it if you ask me.... but then again, nobody asked me. hehe. Here's an idea... an A-Station Plus, or K-Station Plus..... oh wait .... they already have that..... it's called the supernova.
 
I got a K-Station and took it back after it crashed 30+ times in 10 hours. But i heard the new patch fixes that. It's only got 1 voice of Polyphony which makes it unusable as a main workhorse synth. But if you want a 1 voice add-on to your synth arsenal it'd be ok (assuming it doesn't crash any more).

Personally I was gonna use it live cause it's got a KB and it's easy to use. If you aren't gonna play it live then I'd say get a Novation Nova instead cause it has 6 Voices (or is it 8 now with the upgrade), it's the same price (On Ebay), and it's got the same synthesis engine :D
 
I appologize if my terminology is incorrect. The K-Station can only play 1 noise at a time. It is only 1 part Multitimbral. It does have 8 voices of "polyphony", but it can only make 1 sound at a time (8 layers of 1 sound). So it is NOT a good workhorse synth, that's all I was trying to say.

The Novation site is very vague about this fact, as well they should be for a $700 Mono-Synth with only 1 filter and numerous bugs, in fact they don't even list it's Multitimbrality in their specs for the K-Station. I have seen many people say they bought this after reading it has "8 voices" and then find out it can only play 1 sound. Anywho, at work gotta go :D
 
Hey Phatt Commando....zzounds is a great store if you live in the states......they don't accept anything but american credit cards and don't ship anywhere but inside the u.s. which is really gay because they are cheap as heck......poopy:mad:
 
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Soren unless I am on crack, it is not monophonic. I have played it and was able to play small chords. Are you sure you just don't have (or had) a defective unit?
 
the k-station is monotimbral, but has 8-voice polyphony. it is plenty as a lead/pad/bass synth, and for those who don't need >1 part. the virus may have 32 voices, but the Q+ has 100. ;)

= chiisu
 
yeah.. thats what I thought... monotimbral.... not monophonic.... whew... good thing.. I was worried I was a druggie and unaware.
 
is it worth the fee ?

mmm, let´s see...
If you want a multitimbral syntethizer as the only one in a studio to use it with midifiles, sequencing, etc...the k-station is not the goal.
But, if you want one analog-type sounding machine to complete your sinthy configuration without spending a lot of money, then you must take a look at the k-station or A-station machines.
I own an A-station and it cost me about $360: it worth the fee, but I use it as a "complement" to my Roland XP30.
Think this :
this machine is only a complement. It´s monotimbrical, but it´s not a problem; I work with it as an audio input (just like the guitar or the bass).
It has "only" 8 voices of polyphony, but think it´s a virtual analog machine. You won´t have an 8 voices analog (virtual) machine for this price. On the other hand, it´s very intuitive to program a sound, it has a lot of knobs :)
Well, if I could affort, I will go for the supernova II, but...
I´m a poor one and music is only a hobby for me, so, the A-station is OK.
Look at your pocket and think what do you want to do with music, that´s all folks.
 
"You won´t have an 8 voices analog machine for this price."

Akai AX-80- $200. And there are several other analog 8 voice boards for under $400.
 
cheap analog...

I meant a new one, not second hand...
By the way, Is there an AX80 in the music-shop in the corner near home???
I think no (tell where and I´ll buy it)

:bat:
 
"I meant a new one, not second hand... "

Oh, well new the A-Station runs $550 and the K runs $700. For that price why not get a Nova? Or a Virus A/B? Or a Nord Lead 2? All of them have better Multi/Poly and way more features. You won't get a KB on the Nova or Virus A, but the Nord Lead 2 has a better one than the K.


"By the way, Is there an AX80 in the music-shop in the corner near home???"

Maybe...??? I saw one at the local Daddy's JM about a month ago and you see them on Ebay fairly regularly :D

I don't think the A-Station/K-Station are bad, I just think they are way overpriced for what you get and I guarantee if you wait a year their prices will go down at least 30%-40%. Course this is all just IMO, and i'm a moron! :D
 
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I am also looking into this machine, although every review i've read said that there has been problems with the built quality.

If i am not using the k-station live but rather in a studio environment, is it important that it is monotimbral or whatever you guys called it. (sorry noobie q). I mean, can't i just sequence it all together.

This would be my first hardware synth but I am on a budget (unhealthy vynil addiction). Is this a good synth to start on. Obviously i would love a virus c but i can't afford that. Can you guys recommend anything else in this price range.

cheers.
 
If i am not using the k-station live but rather in a studio environment, is it important that it is monotimbral or whatever you guys called it. (sorry noobie q). I mean, can't i just sequence it all together.
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Nope, it can only play 1 sound at a time. What you could do is record that one sound into a sequencer and then move to a new sound and record that etc until you have a track built. But it'd take a while.

Is this a good synth to start on.
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Despite my rampant bashing of this synth I do think it'd make an excellent beginner synth due to its ease of use. But it's still too expensive. It's going for $500+ on Ebay and you can get a Nova for that much and have a synth with 500% more power. Nova has 6X more multi (6 different sounds at once), 8 more poly (8 more total sound layers at once), High and band pass filter, more mod options, other stuff and it costs the same... or less.

Obviously i would love a virus c but i can't afford that. Can you guys recommend anything else in this price range.
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I'd take a look at the Nova. It's got the same engine (basically) as the K-Station but it's way more powerful and has tons more features. It's a bit harder to use and it doesn't have a keyboard, but I really think it's a far better value. Other good starter synths I can think of are:

Roland Juno 106 ($400).
Acess Virus B ($750).
Software Synths like Pro-52 and FM7 by Native Instruments. ($200)
 
Thanks Soren. i though about the Virus B but i don't have a midi controller and to get an oxygen8 or something would just be adding to the cost.

Maybe I should spend some more time (and money) thinking about this one.
 
\I'd take a look at the Nova. It's got the same engine (basically) as the K-Station but it's way more powerful and has tons more features. It's a bit harder to use and it doesn't have a keyboard, but I really think it's a far better value. Other good starter synths I can think of are: \


The K-station does not have the same engine as the Nova. The K-station is Novations answer to the Nord Lead. It has a more aggresive sound than the Nova for it's leads.

however, as your first synth you may want something with multitimbrality. Nord lead 2 kb is 999$ at sam ash new, a used Korg z-1 is 600$. The K-station is an excellent machine, with the best interface I have tried. It can do some FM as well, and the effects are pretty tasty.

If your fine with 8 voice polyphony and mono-timbrality, then get the K.
 
The K-station does not have the same engine as the Nova. It has a more aggresive sound than the Nova for it's leads.
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Really? Have you compared them side by side with the same settings? Cause I have. I compared my K-Station to my Supernova 2 and they sounded identical. And my friend works at a ProSound and did side-by-sides with the K-Station, Nova, and Supernova and he said they sound the same too. Except when you want to use other filters than just low pass, then they sound different. But only cause the K doesn't have anything other that Low-Pass. IMO the K-Station is just a gutted Nova engine in a pretty new box.

Course, maybe our ears aren't properly tuned in to hear the subtle differences in the engines. It's possible. Or maybe Novation re-wrote the engine since I took mine back?

And I don't think the K-Station is an answer to the Nord Lead. The Lead is really different than the K-Station (and way better). It's very likely that this was made to compete with the Indigo, MicroKorg, Ion, and the rest of the mini-KB's spawning rampantly in the last year or so.
 
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