#drumstation

Novation Drum Station - Audio Demos:

Refer to previous posts for photos and discussion :)…...

Just a few quick examples of the Novation Drumstation, and the types of sounds to expect… Strangely I got carried away, and pretty much didn’t put a “slammin’ 909 kick” in there, but it was fun and relatively quick to pop together :)… All sounds processed via recording to Cubase.

And next??… Well - Yes ---> It only seems fair to pop up a little mini sample pack for any producers out there who care to enjoy my love for gadgets, programming and sampling :)…

Novation Drum Station… 

Studio Status: Permanently Plugged In

This is by no means a review or a full discussion of the Drum Station.  Rather, it is intended as a quick ramble of my thoughts on this unit and may squeeze out enough information to explain why it sits permanently wired into my studio...  Over time I’ll include videos, pictures and audio from this great little piece of kit.....

--------> Novation Drum Station (V2)...

2 Classic Roland Drum Machines (the TR808 and TR909) mangled into a digital recreation within a single rack space.  Love it or hate it, this little box drew a huge card from the true dance market of the 90s and followed on from Novation’s hit the Bass Station.  It was one of the first companies to admit:  

“Roland – you got it right with those quirky fake drummers and bass players you so poorly imitated with your TR808; TR909; and TB303... and because you didn’t make enough of them, we’re gonna try and do it for the masses who need these in their studio line-up”.

Search for discussions on the Drum Station vs. the originals and you’ll see the obvious disputes... My opinion?  This is not and never will be a TR808 or TR909.  But, as an emulation... as a sound source for the classic drum hits of dance music... I’m sold.  With a bit of compression and EQ these are everything you’d need from a “classic kit”, and the many samples and loops I’ve created with this box are used all throughout my tracks time and time again for all the right reasons.  

Further, the roots taken by Novation are expanded on, with a range of very cool features that pushes the range of sounds well beyond the originals - all very simple stuff, but tuning options; velocity mapping and key mapping sounds to be played across a range of notes are great features... Sick of sampling and tuning that 808 kick drum; mapping it into a sampler; and using it to play a bass line?  Well ---> the drum station allows you to do this straight out of the box, which is just such a great feature for a “go-to-instant-boom” bass line...

So if you’re a purist, and the concept of a kick “that sounds like a 909 but isn’t a 909” upsets you, then this isn’t the box for you.  But if you’re not sure if you care, but you think you want to... then get over it; play around with this great and affordable drum source, and don’t look back.  After all - no one’s stopping you from buying an 808 and a 909 as well...........

LOVE:  

Instant access to classic drum sounds...

Easy setup and programming with patch memory for your kits;

Velocity programmable parameters... level... tune... etc;

MIDI CC control;

You can play sounds like a keyboard (I think it’s only one sound per patch, but who cares...  It’s awesome for 808 kicks, toms and congas; and it’s “useful” over most of the other sounds available too)

WON’T COMPLAIN.. BUT(s):

No Inbuilt Power Supply - Like so many agree, wall wart power supplies are just a freakin pain in the arse...

Novation Drum Station (808/909 Rack Emulator).  While of course I don't think this nails the sound (no digital does), it has a very interesting sheen it imparts on the generated drum tones that make it fit into a track in a very different way.  It doesn't cut through a mix like a real 909 nor does it have the airy funk of a real 808 but if you throw out those comparisons you have a very flexible and unique sounding drum rack synth.