Novation PEAK 🧻🧻🧻💩

Perhaps due to the exchange rate or the woody bits at the ends of the box the PEAK is more exxy than previous models. It’s taken a while for the second hand price to come down to my bite and so I’m well behind the first reviewers. But then I have a very different take on this machine. I’ve owned a whole lot of Novation keys and the Mininova was the thing that got me back into hardware. I want to know how this compares to the (now deprecated) Ultranova which is now trading at a quarter of the price. I want to know if I should write another gushing and annoying review. Fortunately not!

💀Let’s start by noting that my MiniNova fell to pieces and the knobs on my Bass Station 2 rotted off. The Supernova developed a fault in the amplifier section. This one looks like it was built properly and perhaps the price is proof of a better build. It *weighs* like a Virus but is it as woody?

The design is similar to previous Novation machines. Three digital oscillators are mixed and fed into a filter and amp. All oscillators are equally endowed, all are wavetables with a number of digital treatments such as synch available inside, and can be cross modulated. The filter is traditional analogue LP/BP/LP. There is an extensive patch bay tucked into the menu. The PEAK has one filter, and four LFO’s.

These ‘new’ Oxford oscillators are not conceptually different to those in the Ultranova but apparently more detailed or authentic. There’s the traditional waveforms and preset wavetables – which at least now have helpful names. You can add 60 of your own as you like. ‘Virtual’ synch is built into each oscillator as with the older machines. There’s more cross modulation on offer, but if you’ve used the Ultranova you’ll very quickly be up to speed and perhaps wondering if there’s more to it.

It’s then up to the filter which apparently is from the Bass Station 2 without the ‘acid’ version. It has drive and self oscillates and can be modulated at audio speed etc. so most of the grungy tricks on the Station apply here. As I work with the PEAK it feels like a ‘greatest hits’ of the Novation brand – take this bit from here and shove it into that bit there. Voila! This is not a bad thing – the Bass Station and Ultranova are two of my favourites and cross breeding them is a very worthy exercise. But you are not hearing anything new or exciting. More of a Roland evolution than a Korg explosion.

You might compare it to the Hydrasynth. That also has three wavetable oscillators, but with one as a sub. There’s also digital manipulations of the oscillators, which are fed into two more complex filters. The effects follow. On paper it sounds like the better machine but even with an excellent control system it has never really made me happy. I think it’s because it doesn’t feel quite as raw and pliable. It has no idea of MOOG style grunge.

So is this now the only Novation you’ll ever need? It’s easier to program with the dedicated knobs than with the Ultra’s nine assignable knobs. It has ten less voices – and only one filter – but perhaps the filter is better? USB connection is now standard and much less hair pulling trying to recognise the machine.

Update

But refreshing this review after some months I have to report the PEAK hasn’t set my world on fire. It does all you expect from a semi analogue keyboard, the meal is served, is filling, but not exceptional. I make a bass sound – there it is – gets used but doesn’t bring any special magic to the mix. Words like ‘competent’, ‘effective’, ‘useful’ come to mind. I haven’t felt the joy and excitement I might get from a less competent and useful device that does particularly silly things. If you had just this one analogue synthesiser you’d be happy, but if you have more you’ll probably duplicate the sound that comes from the PEAK.

It’s OK.