Synth: Novation Bass Station
Review by: Mitch Anderson (DJMaytag@aol.com)
Summary: monophonic analog bass synth with MIDI. 2 octave keyboard.
17 knobs and 10 switches to program your own sounds into the
seven presets. can recreate the 303 acid sounds and can go a
bit further too!
Years Made: 1994 to present

Polyphony: monophonic
Multitimbrality: no
MIDI:

    Note on/off: yes
    MIDI controllers (aftertouch, CC, etc): pitch/mod wheels,CC's: freq-105,resonance-106,mod depth-107,env1 attack-108,env1 decay-109,env2 attack-114,env2 decay-115
    Sysex patch storage: yes
    Sysex parameter control: yes


Other inputs/external control:

    CV/gate: no
    Clock: no
    Other CV: ECG-1 hand controller grip
    Audio: no
    Proprietary (DCB, etc): no
    Programmer: no


Outputs: mono only
Patch storage: a whopping 7 presets!!
Patch dumping (MIDI, tape, etc): MIDI

Voice architecture: two oscillators with pulse and rising sawtooth
 osc's modulatable by env2, lfo, and PWM by env2,manually,
 or by an internal lfo (preset)
single lfo with random, triangle, and sawtooth waveforms
filter (2-pole/4-pole switchable): resonant low-pass
 modulatable by env2 and lfo
two envelopes (env1 is for the vca, env2 is for the vcf)
 both adsr types with velocity depth 
three env modes:autoglide,single, and multi

Interface: 2 Moog style wheels, knobs and switches galore, octave up 
and down buttons

Sequencer/arpeggiator: no
Keyboard/rack: keyboard with 25 keys
Known problems: doesn't seem to remember settings when in manual mode: if you turn it off and then back on again, or if you switch from manual to a preset and then back again, it'll usually sound different then before
Accessories: ECG-1: a external controller handgrip for mod wheel stuff
CC-1: carrying case with room for cables and stuff (or you
can fit your Roland TR-606 AND the Bass Station inside quite
comfortably, for those of us acid-techno buffs on the go!)

Related synths/gear: TB-303: no explanation needed here (i hope not anyway!)
Bass Station Rack: pretty much the same except some MIDI 
controls, CV/gate options, and oscillator sync

it's also been described as being comparable to the MiniMoog,
Prophet-5, and the EDP Wasp.

Price range: around $400.00-500.00 (retails for $650.00)
Availability: check nearest dealer

Strengths: realistic 303 emulation in 12/db mode
it just squawks like the devil in 24/db mode when the filter self oscillates!!
dual oscillators/envelopes
compact and battery powered
transmits and recieves MIDI continous controllers
transmits polyphonic MIDI data
Moog style mod wheels
great analog sounds at a fraction of the cost of a 303

Weaknesses: monaural output only, with NO headphone output either
doesn't come back to your original sound (in manual mode)
after you turn it off and back on again
lfo speed for PWM is preset and can't be changed!
filter mod depth is dependent on cut-off switch (there is positive
and negative mod. in 12/db mode and only positive mod. in 24/db mode)

Other comments: i really hate it when people use the word "fat" when describing
an analog synth, but that's exactly how this synth sounds: FAT!!