NOVATION NOVA OS V4

In these days of flash-upgradeable operating systems, it's easy to forget that a free OS tweak can give your synth completely new features. Paul Nagle investigates Novation's newly enhanced Nova module...

It's not often that a review starts with a thud, but then it's not often that a courier delivers at 6:45 on a Saturday morning either. The thud turned out to be the sound that a boxed Novation Nova makes as it is dropped over a six-foot gate and onto my garden path. Fortunately, the Nova's sturdy construction and first-class packaging saved the day -- no thanks to the couriers...

As the Nova was reviewed comprehensively in SOS September 1999 (see www.soundonsound.com/sos/sep99/articles/novation.htm), I've focused my attention in this review on the features added in the new operating system update, which takes it to version 4.0. This update is free, it's installed via a standard MIDI file and any existing Nova owners who haven't heard about it should grab it from Novation's web site right away.

The Novation Nova was initially regarded as a slimmed-down version of the virtual analogue Superno

NOVATION NOVA OS V4 pros It's free! Polyphony up from 12 to 16 notes. Doublesaw waveform for even more fatness. Unison mode. Knob pickup mode. cons Non-intuitive menu navigation. summary This new operating system breathes extra life into an already impressive module. It will be invaluable for existing Nova owners and an extra sweetener for those as yet undecided.

I found plenty of other surprises in store, too. Remember those 'Special' buttons that seemed less than thrilling in the past? They now allow access to several important new features -- the most significant of which are a new 'Doublesaw' waveform and nine extra filter types.

The Doublesaw waveform cleverly simulates two detunable sawtooth waves, and if you set all three oscillators to use it, the super-thick result does indeed sound like six. You'll probably never need to reach for the new Unison settings (where between two and eight voices can be assigned to each note)

Having a new sound source is great, but to further enrich your sound palette, no less than nine new filter types have crept under that Special button in the filter section: resonant low-pass, resonant high-pass, resonant band-pass, notch, low-pass plus low-pass, band-pass plus band-pass, high-pass plus high-pass, low-pass plus low-pass, and band-pass plus high-pass. While these don't include every combination you might think of (I'd have liked a low- plus high-pass pairing), they provide enough scope. The first three in the list, the so-called 'Hyper-resonant' filters, work as two filters in series with a separate Width parameter, so that each filter block can be set to different frequencies. They sound very similar to the original filters, until you play with the Width or crank up the resonance (at which point there's an increased 'fizz' -- welcome but not too radical).

The notch filter behaves as you'd expect, and the remaining dual filters work in parallel, the Width parameter again providing an offset of cutoff frequencies. Carefully adjusting the Cutoff and Width knobs can create vocal-like formant textures or an impressive array of sharp, nasal sweeps. The Width parame

One of the cons from the original SOS review was that there was no 'knob pickup' mode (no giggling, please). This is a feature present in an increasing number of modern synths with patch memories as well as physical control knobs. Basically, when you recall a stored patch, and the physical positions of the top-panel controls no longer match the stored parameters, the Nova will make no change to a parameter until you move its control past the stored value in the new patch. This prevents sudden glitches when you select a patch and start tweaking.

I could go on about OS v4's other improvements, such as the new delay ratios, or VCO/DCO mode, which introduces random, analogue-style variations in pitch, but in all, they're pretty straightforward. You'll find concise notes on them in the box below.

This review is not a reappraisal of the Nova itself. Instead, it concentrates on the extra features which Novation have coaxed from the existing DSP. Therefore my pros and cons are based on this, rather than on the instrument as a whole. However you wouldn't expect me to leave without of

OS v4 Enhancements In Brief     Polyphony boost from 12 to 16 voices. New 'Doublesaw' waveform -- essentially two detunable sawtooth waves for each of the three oscillators. 'Knob pickup' mode. New filter types -- nine of them including notch, 'hyper-resonant' filters and various parallel combinations. Velocity-sensing mode (hard or soft -- for different controller responses). Improved MIDI transmission (controllers and Bank/Program changes). Improved arpeggio user pattern editing . New Unison mode -- two to eight voices per note. DCO/VCO mode -- simulates perfect and imperfect oscillator tuning. More aggressive distortion. New delay ratios plus stereo-width control for delay. Pannable effects -- useful for placing stereo effects with your main signal, or perhaps taking the entire sound to one of the six single outputs. Extended sustain pedal options, now including arpeggio latch, arpeggio mute, Part mute, Program number up or down, arpeggio pattern number up or down. And, in OS v4.1, a 'vocoder freeze' function (see separate box). An updated manual for the extra OS4 features is available from Novation's web site.

Although sometimes I wished for just a few more knobs and more choice in terms of modulation options, generally I found this synth a doddle to use; its menu system is straightforward, with only a few idiosyncrasies that I soon adapted to.

Soundwise, I found the Nova to have a rather 'all-purpose' character. Other virtual analogues, such as the Waldorf Q, Clavia Nord Lead and Access Virus, have their own very distinctive timbres, but I feel that Novation have produced something far more generic, applicable to almost any situation where you would want analogue-style sounds. Time and again I hear words such as 'smooth', 'warm' and 'rounded' used to describe Novation's sounds, and I can't really disagree with any of these. However, perhaps that's also why I personally haven't found that special something that grabs me and makes me reach for my credit card. However, having had the Nova here for a while, I can attest that it sounds as full and rich as the best of the virtuals, especially with the Doublesaw waveform. And it can also cut it with some powerful leads -- its Oscillator Sync is especially impressive. In fact, all the new features plus existing gems such as the arpeggiator and carefully-considered multitimbral design makes the Nova one of the most flexible virtual analogues. If you don't yet own a Nova but were considering one, the new additions might just tip the balance.