Bass Station 2 Firmware Update 4.14

[SHall1000]

Saw an article yesterday on Sonic State re new update to BS2 but didn't read it - it has since disappeared - was it posted too early? Anyone know anything?

[Distorted Horizon]

You mean that "aphex twin update"? The link can still be found

[dark water]

^^ Distorted Horizon, do you know where we can find the link please?
(I've checked a few websites but no luck so far - although it's more than possible that I've missed the most obvious one ).
Cheers.

[chk071]

Aphex Twin update?

[ere2learn]

Best info I could find.....

AFX Mode
Fixed duration envelopes
Extended sub-oscillator control
Oscillator glide diverge
Envelope retrigger count

[Sequent]

There was a 2.5 firmware update available via the Novation/Focusrite site.

Highlights are:
Adjustable filter tracking
Paraphonic Mode
Micro-Tuning with 8 tuning tables
Envelope Retriggering
Customizable greeting message during startup
Oscillator error function with random de-tune on each note-on event

All these new features can be controlled via MIDI using NRPNs

Or... was this a newer one?

[SHall1000]

This Reddit post talks about v 4.14 which is a bit of a jump from 2.5.

https://www.reddit.com/r/synthesizers/c ... f=readnext

[Distorted Horizon]

This Reddit post talks about v 4.14 which is a bit of a jump from 2.5.

https://www.reddit.com/r/synthesizers/c ... f=readnext

In short:

Bass Station II Gets Aphex Twin Update
Latest firmware update adds five powerful and innovative new features
12/04/19

Novation tells us that the latest firmware update for Bass Station II adds five powerful and innovative new features to the monosynth, all of them developed in response to user feedback and requests, one of those users being particularly noteworthy. Here's the details in their own words...

AFX Mode
Electronic music legend Richard James, aka Aphex Twin, has already played an instrumental part in the Bass Station II story, having provided guidance for the implementation of the micro-tuning added with Firmware v2.5. His conceptual contribution to v4.14 is even more profound.

Letting his imagination run riot, James envisioned the decidedly radical notion of having a discrete set of synthesis parameters assigned to each note of Bass Station II, either variations on a ‘seed’ patch, or disparate sounds designed to constitute a chimeric whole. Although this sort of thing could already be kludged using very fast program change messages, having multiple sounds active at the same time would clearly be a far more creative and efficient system.

AFX Mode is the realisation of James’ out-there concept. Put simply, it lets you modify your Bass Station II patch on a key-by-key basis. Use it to introduce subtle changes to a sound as you play up and down the keyboard; divide the keyboard into multiple zones (one per key if you like!), each playing its own sound; or create entire drum kits in a single preset for triggering manually or via the Arpeggiator. It’s a truly inspiring feature that really does open up a whole new world of sound design and performance possibilities.

Fixed duration envelopes
Aiding in the programming of drum sounds and plucks especially, the sustain segments of Bass Station II’s envelopes can now be set to a fixed length, moving on to the release stage regardless of when the key or trigger is actually released after playing a note. When fixed duration envelopes are enabled, the decay stage is taken out of play, and the Decay slider instead sets the duration of the Sustain stage.

Extended sub-oscillator control
With Firmware v4.14, Bass Station II’s sub-oscillator, slaved to the pitch of Oscillator 1, can be detuned using the Coarse and Fine controls. Now you can set the sub to any non-octave tracking interval you like, and knock it out of tune – subtly or dramatically – for creative effect.

Oscillator glide diverge
Prior to Firmware v4.14, both of Bass Station II’s oscillators could only be set to the same Glide time, but now you can slow down the Glide time of Oscillator 2 relative to Oscillator 1 by a variable amount, causing the two to diverge for interesting portamento effects. Just the thing for adding thickness and character to basslines, pads and leads, and certainly not a function you’ll find on many other hardware or software synths.

Envelope retrigger count
The Firmware v2.5 update added envelope retriggering, and now, to help with drum synthesis, the number of times the envelopes retrigger can be adjusted.

Pricing and Availability:
Firmware v4.14 is a free update for all Bass Station II users, available via the Components content manager for Mac and PC

[Sequent]

Just read that. Would be ultra cool if true and I was surprised by the appearance of 2.5 when it came out. We'll see what happens!

Too bad UltraNova never got multi timbral (or at least bi timbral) support.

[SHall1000]

Official Novation video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XP3t857OI7o

Was considering selling my BS2 but it's getting lots of love lately. I hope the circuit Mono Station gets more updates.

[Distorted Horizon]

Great update

[Sequent]

Has anyone else updated yet? I did this evening.

[Distorted Horizon]

Yeah, I said 4 days ago that great update

Ofc I had to turn my bs as a drum machine, worked great

And tuning sub osc separately is a very welcome feature

[perfumer]

AFX Mode is the realisation of James’ out-there concept.

He saw what his sampler could do and said "why not same thing in a synth?" I was thinking the same 10+ years ago, but I'm not RDJ, and I don't know anybody.

Even tried to make racks in Reason with lots of Maelstroms, each assigned to a single key, but it's a hassle, and a nightmare to work with in subsequent sessions.