Novation Bass Station Rack Owner's Manual

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Contents

14Oscillator 1 &2 Mod/Sync. SectionThis section allows you to setup modulations (automat-ic changes) to the pitch timbre of the oscillators whilstthey are playing back. This gives the sound more "life",by making it more interesting to the ear. Pitch changesinclude the amount of vibrato and auto bends or slides.Timbral changes are achieved by varying the pulsewidth and thereby the harmonic content. You can alsoset the oscillators to syncronise.Oscillator 1 2 - SwitchThis switch selects the oscillator whose modulation you are currently setting. Anychanges you make to the three knobs and the ‘PWM Source’ switch will be applied towhichever oscillator is currently selected. When you switch to the other oscillator, youwill need to alter the positions of the knobs and switches in this section to make theircurrent positions apply to the new oscillator, otherwise the previous settings will stillapply.Envelope - RotaryThis knob controls the amount of pitch modulation to the currently selected oscillator(see above) from envelope 2. In the centre position there is no effect on the oscilla-tor’s pitch, to the left the effect is negative (ie. the pitch drops and then rises) and tothe right positive (the pitch rises and then falls). The further you set the knob from thecentral position the further the pitch rises and falls. See the "Envelope Section" laterfor the exact programming of the rise and fall times.LFO -RotaryThis knob controls the amount of pitch modulation to the oscillator. ie. how muchabove and below the set pitch the oscillator regularly rises and falls. If the LEO is setto Triangle wave and it’s speed is above the centre of its range. then this will normallyproduce a vibrato effect, but other effects like a siren or seagull cries are possible withmore extreme settings. See the LEO section on page 12 for more details on adjustingthe LEO parameters to create these effects.Pulse Width - RotaryThis knob has a direct effect on the Pulse Width when the waveform of the selectedoscillator is set to Pulse (Square). When the Mod Source switch is set to Manual, theposition of this knob controls the actual width of the Pulse. At the far left, the Width is50% (ie. minimum and maximum values are of equal length) giving a special casewhich we refer to as a square wave, which contains all the odd-numbered harmonicsgiving a ‘hollow’ sound reminiscent of a clarinet. As you move the knob to the right thePulse Width gets narrower and more and more high harmonics are added at theexpense of the fundamental pitch giving the sound a thin, trebly quality. At the far rightthe fundamental has almost disappeared and the sound becomes very thin indeed.When the Mod Source switch is set to Env 2 or LEO, this knob governs the amount ofvariation in the pulse width in a negative or positive direction about a central ‘off posi-tion. As the knob is moved to the left, the variation in the Pulse Width will increaseprogressively in a negative manner whilst moving it to the right will vary the PulseWidth in a positive manner.PWM Source - SwitchThis switch selects how the Width of the Pulse Wave (if selected on either or bothoscillators) is controlled. In the MAN (manual) position, the width is directly controlledby the position of the Pulse Width knob above. In the ENV 2 position, the variation inthe Pulse Width is controlled by the second Envelope, starting and finishing at 50%with the amount of shift away from this setting being controlled by the Pulse Widthknob above. In the LFO position, the variation of the Pulse Width around the central50% is controlled by an additional fixed speed, internal LFO (not to be confused withthe main variable LFO on the front panel), with the amount of variation being con-trolled by the Pulse Width knob above. Variation in the harmonic content of an oscilla-tor (which is what changing the Pulse Width achieves) is very pleasing to the ear,especially at lower pitches where all the associated harmonics fall within the audiorange and can clearly be heard. When selected to Env 2, the effect is best appreciat-ed using fairly slow changes, so longer Envelope 2 Attack and Decay times are best.HOW THE CONTROLS WORK