Novation Supernova II Pro X

im using version 2.0. I love this synth because its so easy to use, and edit patches.

the synth has 48 voices which is more than i'll proably ever use. its has the same effects for each part which is amazing.the thing is at the time it was released no other synth had that. the effects help make it sound old school so i find them useful. the mod matrix is simple, which makes it quick to program.

as far as synth goes its damn good. it reminds me of my matrix1000 which i love.i think everyone has there own opinion of what we like for me it has that sound i couldnt get from other synths. the control over the waves sound make it seem like you have more than the three waves u choose from. I think it works well for any kind of music, but it'll depend on if u as a individual like it or not. in my opinion it takes me back to the 80's and i LOVE the sound.

havent had a problem yet, and i dont gig much. so im not scoring it but it works everytime i turn it on.

overall i LOVE this synth i went through a few looking for that sound that suites me, and soon as i heard it i was in LOVE.it can be smooth as a babys ass r agressive as mike tyson! this will be n my studio until im unable to play. If any1 stole it i would hunt them down and do evil things, like cut their eyelids off and feed them nothing but sleeping pills. If i lost it i wouldnt go home till i found it. its always finding its way into my production. definitely my desert island synth.

I am still using 1.5, but I feel no need to upgrade at this time. There is an old saying "If it is not broken, don't fix it" So if it works fine the way it is, why run the risk of screwing things up? I guess I won't upgrade until I actually hear something that I really like in 2.0 that just leads me to the 'need' to upgrade.

The presets are very good and cover a wide range of parameters; basses, leads, drums, pads, and any thing else you can think of. With the following presets; 512 program, 256 performance and 384 drum, there are a lot of presets that you can draw from here. And editing is so simple. Just go to a preset that is close to what you are looking for and start playing with all those knobs and buttons and you may find yourself very quickly coming up with exactly what you were looking for or with a great sound that you weren't even going for. It is that simple to get side tracked with this unit. Once you find a sound that you like, it is also very simple to save and there is plenty of memory on this board too. What you have in presets you also have in available memory so you have space to save 512 programs & 256 performances of your own making. (I have 262 program and 156 performances saved on mine)

For total overall ease of use, What could be easier then a synth with ton of things to tweak, turn, slide and push? The Supernova II has a total of 42 knobs, 135 buttons and 8 sliders which can effect every aspect and all the parameters of the sound of the unit. This unit is so much fun to play with. You can change the sound so many different ways it is unbelievable. I feel that the layout of the board is very intuitive and easy to deal with. Maybe some are overwhelmed by so many knobs and buttons to play with but for me, it seems to make perfect sense. Some other boards have knobs and buttons that perform multiple functions so as not to overwhelm the keyboardist. To me, this is more confusing, this saving of space with multi-functions. It often saves space but doesn't save something of more importance; time. It is harder to remember where to go and what to turn on board with multifunction controls. It is harder to actually gain control of the sound. It is much easier to remember things if there is a button for everything you need to do.

I feel that the manual is very good. It gives a good overview of music synthesis and the various kinds of synthesizers. The manual breaks the board down into is various sections and describes the function of each and how to control the parameters. It could be better, but then again, almost all manufacturers manuals could be better (maybe so they can sell you the tutorial video later on). But as manufacturers manuals go, it is very good.

I can't think of a synthesizer on the market with more polyphony; 48 voice!!!! This is a very powerful board and all of those voices really come in handy when you start building performances.

I love the action on this thing. Novation gets their keyboards from Fatar, one of the best. I have heard others say that the Supernova's keys are spongy and don't feel right. I find them to be more 'sticky' then spongy, and I mean that in a good way. The black keys have a sort of gritting feel about them that allow the fingers to slide when they want to, but stick to the keys when needed. I find it to be a very nice feel. The actual keys are rounded off more than a standard piano black keys. This leads to quicker fingering but with the stickiness, no problem occurs with accidental sliding off of the keys. I find this to be a very fast action keyboard. I can play things on the Supernova keys faster than I can on many other keyboards that I have used.

Novation says that the board has 56 different effect. There certainly are alot ot them. The distortion is nice, since it, as well as all of the other effect categories, has a knob with stop parameters of 0 to 127. This means that you can exert some serious control over the parameters you am playing with. There are 16 reverb types, 6 chorus types and a large delay section, all of with have that same 0 to 127 tick level stop control inside. One of the items that I have found to be very useful is the Bass and Treble equalizer. Maybe you have noticed this too, that you may have a synth program that is killer down low in the bass but when it moves up the scale, it has a tendency to lose power and become more wimpy and weak as it asends. This is where I find the Bass/Treble equalizer to come in very handy. You can tone down the strong section, increase the power to the weaker section and once it is balanced, then boost the power to both with the Program Level control.

The board has a 42 voice vocoder that is very easy to use. I personally haven't used it much. However, it says alot about a board that when you go back to a parameter that you haven't used much, when you do, you don't have to run to the manual to figure out what you are doing. The Supernova's Vocoder is like that, easy to figure out for the first time and easy to remember again after not using it for a while.

The Supernova also has a great Appiagator with 128 mono and 128 poly presets and room for a whooping 384 users assignable programs. The Appiagator is like the rest of the board, very versitile with a ton of parameters that can be played with in which you can set pattern length, velocity, gate time, glide step and even octave offsets.

All of the Supernova effects are Midi transferable as are most of the functions of any good modern keyboard. The keyboard is touch sensitive with after touch. Maybe this would have been a big deal 10 years ago, but almost all decent modern keyboards can boast the same functions here. Hey, in the present world where software synths are being produced at a rate of 5 to 1 to hardware synths, if a hardware synth can't transmit it's midi parameters to a external device, then it all ready has one stike against it, (other than it's cost in comparison to a software synth)

I look at some of the questions I am suppose to answer for this category: Are some instruments very realistic? Bad? Easy to use? What Type of music does it work well for? Rock? Classical? Dance? The Supernova is a virtual Analog/Digital/FM synthesizer. It makes it's own sounds and is limited only by the users imagination. I have programed organ sounds that have the same warmth and vibration that a keyboard billed as an organ does. You might listen to it and say "Yeah, but it isn't a Hammond sound." No, but when Hammond came out people said, "Nice, but it doesn't have that big classical church organ sound". No the Hammond didn't but it had it's own warm sound that when Herbie, and Keith and the keyboardists of the late 60s and early 70s got a hold of it, they made it fit their music and it became the perfect sound for what those musicians did with it. If you want a synthesizer that replicates certain sounds of certain instruments, buy a Triton or any of the other excellent workstations that have a score of people who do nothing but spend time trying to copy a sound in perfection. This is a synth made for making your own sounds.

The onboard effects are extremely good. They can do anything you can possibly think of for them to do. You can vary things in so many different ways. Produce warm pads, airy strings, super basses, sharp spitting leads, great funky beats, anything you want to. The keyboard isn't limited to one theme or another and could be used for Jazz, Rock, Classical, Dance anything that your imagination can come up with. I got this board for the ridiculously low price of $850. Why? Because the guy I bought it from had joined a band that was doing dance music. He was in the band for only a week, (long enough to buy the board) but decided he couldn't hack the music and quit. That had been two years ago and the board had been sitting in his basement, unopened and brand new. He had never taken it out of the box or plugged it in. He wasn't doing dance music so he had no need for it. I wasn't going to argue with such stupidity, I simply smiled, handed him the cash and promptly left, hoping that he wouldn't realize at the last minute how stupid he had been. Who used synthesizers first? Progressive rock bands that were looking for new and completely unique sounds. Now, all of a sudden, to some, it is for Dance, Hip Hop and Techno and nothing else. There is no limit to what type of music you can product with this board, only to your imagination and what you can think of a use for it.

The board reacts to my playing and is not static. In fact, the sounds that the board can produce leads to music writing itself. The sounds produced, actually leads me to write music based on and that revolve around those sounds. This is very different then the traditional way in which I have a tune in my head and then I go searching for the right sound that fits what I have in my head.

I have had the Supernova for a year now. I have never had any problems with it at all. It has never locked up, froze, upended, crashed or any of the other computer terms that can be applied to a product that breaks, often momentarily, for no apparent reason. It functions as it is suppose to when it is suppose to and every time that it is suppose to. Would I use this on a gig without a backup? I have a question about this question; does every keyboardist who gigs run around with a backup model of every keyboard that they use on stage just so that they have a spare? If so, they are far better off then I am and have much more money to waste too. I feel that there would be no reason to have a backup Supernova unless you are at the level where you are making tons of money and are a true professional act where you can afford to have a backup just incase. Remember the days of Keith Emerson and ELP, where Keith threw knives into his Mini Moog & Hammond Organ during the show? Yes, he would need a backup Supernova, but not me. You know, when you think about it, Keith was pretty good at throwing knives too. I never saw one not stick.

I haven't had any dealings with Novation directly, so I can only go by what I have seen on their Website. Their upgrades are simple to download and easy to find. They have a relatively large section of new sounds available for download as well as some helpful hints. It isn't the best that I have found, not like Korg's Karma site or Clavia's site, both of which I think are the top of the pile. But they sure beat out Alesis, who has had their "new" keyboard, ION, in production for over a year and they still have no mention what so ever of it on their site. Novation's site isn't top of the pile, but they are very close to it. Novation is good at putting information out and when new items and software are released, it is always easily to get to and to download. When a new product is coming out, it is on their Website months before it hits the market with information, specifications, pictures and sometimes even some mp3's available to sample the new sounds. This tell me that Novation is also a smart company and knows how to market their product. What better way to get people interested in your product then to wet their whistle with sound samples, specifications, pictures and a ton of information. Why haven't I bought an ION from Alesis? Hell I don't even know what it looks like let alone what it is suppose to be able to do. But if ION were made by Novation, I would have all that information and then some. Overall, Novation is a very customer oriented and good company to deal with and I am proud to own one of their products. Which generally would lead me to own more. (I am waiting for their V Station to ship. A software version of the A/K stations)

I have 6 keyboards (and a ton of software synths). But in hardware I have; a Korg DP 72 (yes, it is old), Nord Lead 2, Korg Karma, Alesis QS 6.1, Access Virus Kb and the Supernova II. The Supernova II Pro X is my favorite board. Each of my other boards I love too but this board is special. It really is unlimited and so easy to use and can produce any sound that you can think of. Like the others, it has it strong points and it's weak points.

One thing that I haven't really mentioned is the performances that you can write with the Supernova. One can stack up to 8 different programs to create one performance. Many other keyboards can do multi's or performances too but NOT at the same level that the Supernova can. The programs can be individually controlled within the performance. Effects can be individually assigned to the program and not effect other programs also in the performance. It is truly as if you stacked 8 individual keyboards together. It may not do some things better than the Karma or the Kb, but for me, it is certainly the most fun to play with. It has a ton of presets that you can use as they are or that you can easily modify. Compared to some of the other keyboards that I have, it is much easier to use.

For those that are interested, I did research different boards before buying the Supernova. I could tell you why I decided on the Supernova (other than the obvious good deal that I got for it) but instead, I will compare it to some of the boards that I have and know well. Lets leave out the DP 72, since it is senile and can't compare to the new young stud boards that are out there. The QS 6.1 is an excellent board if you just want a ton of presets but I will exclude it too since it really isn't a board that is meant to be tweaked and that you can easily produce your own sounds.

The Karma produces almost it's own music. When using Karma mode, it truly writes it's own stuff based on your parameters. That is nice and I use it a lot but try editing something that is close to what you want but not quite. You will be at it all day long. the Supernova's performances are very much like what Karma does, but with the Supernova you have to build what you want. Yes, it is time consuming to do so but you have total control over what you are doing. Random is nice and takes no time at all, as with the Karma, but sometimes what you have isn't exactly what you want and that leads to editing. It is much easier to edit something that you built as opposed to something that was randomly produced. With the Supernova I can start building. I can set up an Appiagator on one program and start a rhythm going within the sound that continues along and will set the background for the overall song. This is a parameter that I can control and edit very easily. I can them add bass, pads, strings and a sharp lead and can break all of this down by 8 different overlapping or individual sections of my keyboard. I have all of this within the performance and I can control every aspect of what is there. It isn't the same as what Karma does, but it is close and much more under my control. Yes, I use Karma and love what it can do but it is frustrating as hell too when you want to tweak it.

The Virus Kb can also do multi's which are like performances in the Supernova. But the effects can not be controlled like they can in the Supernova and the Kb can not stack as many programs to one of it's multis. Another difference between the two is the Virus Kb's lack of knobs and buttons. Access says that you can control a total of 86 different effects on a Kb. That is 30 more than what the Supernova can do. Ok, sounds great, but lets see you get to them all. The Supernova has a knob or button that controls most of the boards effects. There is a global button where you can change and fine tune even more but the problem that I have with the Virus Kb and not with the Supernova is, on the Virus Kb, I often can't find what the hell I

The Supernova II Pro X is the first synthesizer i bought, and i think it's quite worth the money. I now use OS 2.0, which brings up quite a few useful changes. Editing patches is in my opinion not very hard. The manual is unfortunately not so good; i think some functions are described too short to really understand what it does with the sound, etc.

The 48 voices of the Pro X - Version are more than enough for me, and the effects are very good. The things i like most are the vocoder and the possibility to route an external audio-signal into the effects-processor.

The sounds are quite good, although i lack some of the classic sound-types like pianos, etc., but i think you can't expect this kind of sounds on an virtual-analouge synthesizer.

I used it once in a studio and very often carry it around with me, and it always worked fine.

Upgrades are available on the website, with new soundsets too.

I think this is the best keyboard i ever bought (i didn't buy much before this one), and even now after a few months of using it i still have not explored all sounds and functions which still lay hidden in this synthi.

Hello everyone! I am CB. I posted the first post here about the Supernova 2 Pro X. I also told everyone who wanted to know where I got my SN2 PRO X so cheap to email me. Well I have got hundreds of emails asking me where I got it so cheap. Unfortunately the sales manager that sold it to me so cheap has moved to another store that is not so nice about their prices. SO please don't email me anymore!!!!!!!!!!! I just got lucky to get it at that price. The guy is no longer there at the store I bought it from and the new sales manager isn't as cool as the guy I bought mine from and wont give it to you that cheap. Sorry guys! Can't help you anymore!

Using OS v1.3. I am not an expert in programming synthesizers by a long shot, but I was able to hear a sound in my head and create it on the Supernova II. The layout is very logical, starting from the oscillator settings at the left, through the filters and envelopes in the middle, to the effects panel on the right. The well-written manual takes even a novice through how oscillator-based sounds are created and molded.

The envelope parameters are set using sliders, and other synth makers should do this, too. I kind of wish that there was a way to view what the current setting on a knob is before I turn it. The two data knobs to the right of the display could also use a rubber grip, since you tend to spin those around frequently.

The presets are well done, and show off the range of the instrument. This is an analog modelling synth, so realistic woodwinds and such aren't here but reproductions of TB-303 and Juno sounds are. The basses are everything from deep and smooth to raw and punchy. The pads are nice and warm, and the leads sear right through the mix. What really shows off the capabilities of the virtual synthesis engine are the sound effects: everything from B-movie Sci-Fi noises to "voices" saying decent equivalents of "Ah-Yeah" and "In Your Ear" (not that those are particuarly useful -- they just demonstrate the power behind the modulation matrix).

The feel of the keys is excellent. Very playable. The effects sound great, and most can be sync'ed to a clock (very nice), although the reverb has a little too much "shimmer" sometimes (at least for me). Apart from that, the fact that every single sound that's playing can go through its own set of effects is awesome. A common use for this would be a combination sound of a sharp pluck and a smooth pad, with the pluck component having a delay effect on it and the pad having an ensemble chorus effect on it. Very nice.

There is a 64-note arpeggiator on board, and up to eight arpeggio sequences can be running at once. I wish that the sequences could be longer, and that the Gate Time setting had a finer grain. On the other hand, it's got a lot of features (glide, mono vs. poly arps, etc.) and is much more than a simple note databank.

With 1024 slots for programs, 512 slots for Performances (groups of 8 programs), and 384 arpeggio slots, it'll be a long time before you'll need to overwrite an existing piece of work. Added to that are 128 slots for your Favorites, and a nice feature that allows you to search for a particular type of sound in the library of 1024 programs.

Everything from the keys to the wheels and the programming knobs sends MIDI messages.

This synth is meant to be PLAYED. On most synths, the range of expression in their preset patches is from soft to loud and from pure to vibrato, and that's it. Many of the Supernova II's presets change tone, attack, and other effects based on velocity, aftertouch, and the modulation wheel. With those, plus the easy availability of dozen of parameter knobs for live tweaking, the Supernova II lets you sing, not just with the notes you play, but HOW you play them.

I bought the Supernova II for Trance music, and there are several presets specifically designed for that genre. I also wanted to be able to model the mid-70s analog synths used in progressive rock and jazz fusion. Drum'N'Bass is also a possibility, as well as Techno and House, of course.

There have been occasional hangs on startup, but nothing that a simple power cycle didn't fix. The fact that I'm not on the latest OS revision may have something to do with this.

Never had to use customer support.

I would definitely replace it if it were stolen. It's more expensive than other virtual analog modelling synths, but you're getting almost all of their capabilities together in one package, and plenty of room to store your work in as well.

I have been playing keyboards since the '70s, and also own an Alesis Quadrasynth, and Roland digital piano. When shopping for an analog modelling synth, I also looked at the Korg MS-2000, Nord Lead, Access Virus kb, and Waldorf Q. I wanted something that had lots of keys (four octaves is too constraining for me), lots of polyphony, on-board effects, lots of ways to shape the sounds, and an easy user interface. I found the Supernova II to be the best all-around of the bunch considering the wide range of features I was looking for, and it's definitely the easiest to program.

I just got new os 1.5 - a few usefull midi TX / RX features. Damn ,this machine rox. The preset sounds are one of the best in virtual synthesis i've heard. Juicy and deep. Posiibilities in sound creation are total. Konbs, buttons, asssignable controllers, great vocoder section.

Editing is easy, but you have to know what you wanna do with sound you're creating. It eay to lost your way thru all this oscillators, filters, and stuff. FM synthesis is onboard too. Sequencer is not present, but. There is arpegiattor section, witch gives you thousands of possibilities. Multitimbral is 8, not 6 !!! Machine itself is fully midi controlable. Well, its a virtual analog, not a workstation. If you can afford to buy Supernova, you MUST have a computer ith sequencer software. I use Cubase Audio VST, previois version, and Cakewalk Pro 9. Both programs work reliable, and whole system is quite stable.

Manual is written very good. But sometimes you have to think hard what you have to do, especially at the same start, cause someone who created manuals intended to make you read it from the same start, to the last page.

Polyphony is maximum 48 voices, 56 effects stereo in 8 multitimbral mode, 3 oscilators, 4 fm oscilators. each oscilator has virtual modulator, which means that oscilator can sync itself without old master osc / slave osc method. Verry impressing. Keyboard is kinda soft, and velocity range is not so audible, as it could be. But after a few moments with Supernova you can feel the keyboar easily. Besides you can set hardness of velocity, and aftertouch, wich solves the problem. Kbd is 5 oct with full transposition options.

There is no reason to expand this synth. It defends itself at all time. Optionally you can put digital coax / ADAT outputs / inputs.

Every parameter if fully midi controlable. APR section also.

Computers and software are ment to be sequencer. Its not Korg 01w/FD.
Arp section works as a sequencer. Up to 8 arp patterns can be run simultaneously.

Like i said Supernova sounds great. Tb 303 on overdrive is my fave.

Dance / Techno / Drum'n'bass productions - thats why Novation created Supernova.

Efect section sounds cool, excluding reverb, witch is too metal to me.
filter section / 3 ENVs/ 2 lfos / 8 effects can make miracles.

This is the mos powerfull tool to create muic. When you feel the machine it becomes like a part of you. It helps a lot. Interface is very intuitive. When you read the manual frst, hehe.

Velo and aftertouch are just like they have to be. Id jest like a little bit more sensiive kbd.

You can depend on it.

but ackup is a must. its very easy to write somthing in memory. Machine doesn ask, would you like to replace your earlier patches.

It upgrades verry easy. i didnt have to call the company yet.

I love this machine. I also own virus, Nord Lead 2, Ensoniq KT-88, Ensoniq ASR 10 sampler, and vintage tb 303. Its the best, and most versalite of my all buys. I truly reccomend it to all musictinas and DJ's.

I use it with Cubase and Digidesign software. No probs so far. There are no words to express the awesome presets. editing no probs! Manual is a little tuff but this synth does alot of stuff man! ALot of stuff equals alot of reading and teaching.

Mine is the 48 voice pro X. This keyboard is a dream man! I will never buy another synth this baby is all I need! Go to the website and read what this thing can do! Hell there are to many things to list here. I can run my guitar through the effects board on it!!!!! COOL!!!!! I can run my vocals through the vocoder on it!!!!!!

I like Euro trance. I bought this for Euro dance trance style stuff. DOes the job better than anything out there! When God retires for the evening and goes home to relax and play some music I promise you he has a Supernova 2 PROX to play with. There are no words in any language that can properly give enough praise to how great this synth sounds.

To early for this rating. I try back in a year or so!

Well I haven't needed them yet but they at least answer the phone when you call. I called a couple of times to see if they shipped my KB to the store I bought it from and they answered every time.

Most awesome keyboard made right now! Email me if you want to know where I got the PROX 48 voice so cheap new at.