Novation MiniNova Synthesizer Overview
Don’t let its size fool you; MiniNova has the most powerful sound engine and effects of any micro synth. More polyphony, more filters, more effects, more modulation.
Big Sound, small synth
Every sound has easy access to almost limitless variations, which you can subtly tweak or totally warp with the twist of a knob or the touch of a button. Create all the dirty-fat bass, soaring leads, lush pads and vintage sounds you could possibly want - but on a tough and compact 37 mini-key synth.
Find Your Sound Fast
MiniNova comes with 256 killer sounds, space to save another 128 of your own, and a Patch Librarian for loading and storing as many extra sounds on your computer as you’ll ever need.
That’s a lot of choice, but you can easily search through them by selecting your style or music, or the type of sound you’re after. Bass? Lead? Techno? Hip Hop? Whatever you’re looking for, you’ll find your sound fast. Don’t worry if you’re lacking inspiration: we’re always releasing new free soundpacks for MiniNova, which we create with renowned artists and sound designers.
Create Unique Vocals
MiniNova’s Vocoder comes with a secret weapon: VocalTune. Talk or sing into the mic, and your voice will automatically be tuned to the notes you play on the keyboard.
Or, to do something totally unique with your voice, run it through the effects engine. Add reverb, distortion, chorus/phaser, gator compression or EQ - whatever you need to create attention-grabbing vocals, or recreate iconic vocal lines.
Don’t limit yourself to vocals either: Plug in your instrument or any audio source to do really cool stuff with MiniNova’s VocalTune, vocoder, filters and effects.
Animate and Arpeggiate
Switch to ‘Animate’ mode and press one of the eight backlit buttons to trigger awesome performance functions.
Switch to ‘Arpeggiator’ mode to jam with arpeggiator rhythms in realtime, using the buttons to edit the arpeggiator step sequencer so you can switch steps in and out.
- Hugely powerful mini-synth with UltraNova's sound engine
- Brand new VocalTune and classic vocoder effects
- Tweak and warp your sounds in realtime
- 256 awesome onboard sounds - instantly searchable
- Layer up to 5 effects per voice
- Comes with editing software and a software patch librarian
- Run guitars and other instruments though the vocoder and effects
- 37 key controller keyboard with MIDI I/O
- News just in, did you miss the Morodernova? Have no fear!
- Anyone who registers a Mininova - old or new - will now find 30 of the Moroder's 50 MoroderNova patches on their account page when they log-in.
- MiniNova is a powerful mini-keys synth with incredible hands-on performance controls, VocalTune and vocoder effects.
- MiniNova is a compact, super-cool performance synth with the same sound engine as its big brother: the UltraNova. It comes with 256 incredible onboard sounds which you can tweak with 5 knobs, or totally warp with 8 'animate' buttons. MiniNova also has an onboard VocalTune effect as well as a classic vocoder so you can recreate iconic vocal sounds from Hip Hop, Urban and electronic music.
- What is MiniNova?
- MiniNova is a powerful mini-keys synth with incredible performance controls which enable you to tweak and warp the onboard sounds, and your own voice. It has the same synth-engine as its big brother - the UltraNova - and comes with 256 awesome sounds so you can get started straight away. If you want to dig deeper, it's got a fully editable Nova-class synth engine (derived from the legendary Supernova series in the 1990s).
- Is MiniNova for you?
- MiniNova's compact size, massive sound and performance/editing controls make it perfect for producers, gigging musicians and anyone creating music with computers - it can also be a 37 key controller keyboard with MIDI I/O. The VocalTune and vocoder enable you to recreate classic vocal effects, as well as brand new voice-bending possibilities!
- Choose your sound
- MiniNova has 256 onboard sounds and space to save another 128 of your own sounds. You can quickly search for sounds by selecting the type of music you're making, or the type of sound you're after whether it's bass, lead - hip hop or techno. MiniNova comes with a free software Patch Librarian so you can store as many sounds as you want on your computer. If 256 is not enough, there are numerous soundpacks for MiniNova assembled by renowned artists and sound designers. These can be downloaded free from: novationmusic.com/soundpacks
- Tweak, warp and arpeggiate your sound
- MiniNova can do things other synths can't. It has knobs which allow you to tweak and edit the sounds, but it can also 'animate' sound with 8 back-lit buttons. These trigger 'mods' in the synth engine that can warp sound in incredible ways as you play. There is also a large knob for filter cutoff so you can get instant control of the filter whatever else you are doing. MiniNova has an arpeggiator; you can use the 8 buttons to jam with arpeggios creating totally new sequences in realtime.
- Classic & brand-new vocal effects
- MiniNova takes vocal effects one step further. As well as a vocoder, it has VocalTune. This means you can talk into the mic and play the tune you want your voice to follow on the keyboard recreating those classic Hip Hop / Urban vocal effects. You can also run your voice through MiniNova's effects engine, adding reverb, distortion, chorus/phase, gator compression or EQ. This doesn't need to be limited to your voice; there is an input which you can plug a guitar or any other instrument and give it the same treatment; effects or vocoder.
- The synth engine & effects
- MiniNova has an enormously powerful synth engine, unheard of in such a compact synth. There are 14 conventional waveforms to choose from (square, sine, sawtooth, pulse, triangle and combinations), 36 wavetables and 20 digital waveforms. Each of the 3 oscillators (per voice) have density/detune for fattening up sounds, virtual sync and 'hardness' - which acts as an additional lowpass filter. There are 14 filter types (and you can run 2 simultaneously), 6 envelope generators, 3 LFOs and 20 modulation slots where you can link modules of the synth engine together to shape sound. MiniNova can add up to 5 effects to each voice including distortion, reverb, chorus/phase, delay, compressor, EQ and Novation's unique gator effect.
- Editing software included
- Editing sounds in such a powerful synth can be overwhelming, so we've created a software application gives you visual access to the synth engine. The MiniNova Editor works as a plug-in within your DAW or music software. You can fully edit MiniNova using the hardware, the software just makes it more simple to see what you are doing.
- 4GB of Loopmaster samples
- Free Melodics lesson
- Software AU and VST plugin editor
- Stand-alone patch librarian
- Novation MiniNova synthesiser
- Gooseneck microphone
- 1.5m USB cable
- 12V PSU
- Registration card
- User guide
- Getting started guide
- Software download card
- 16 character custom LCD
- 1x large detented patch select encoder
- 1x patch sort switch
- 1x volume dial
- 1x detented data encoder
- 5x navigation/utility buttons
- 2x patch navigation buttons
- Keyboard/performance controls:
- Pitch wheel (LED lit)
- Modulation wheel (LED lit)
- 37 note keyboard with velocity
- 4x smooth edit/performance pots
- 1x large smooth filter pot
- 1x six position parameter selector switch
- 6x parameter indicator LEDs
- 8x three-colour, back-lit animate/arpeggiator/favourite patch-select buttons
- 2x animate/arpeggiate LED indicators
- 1x back-lit 'hold' button
- 1x animate/arpeggiator/favourite patch toggle switch
- 1x 'favourite' patch select button
- 1x arpeggiator tempo control pot
- 1x arpeggiator tempo indicator LED
- 2x back-lit arpeggiator control encoders
- 2x back-lit octave select buttons
- Inputs, Outputs, rear panel XLR dynamic mic input 1x ¼” jack inputs 2x ¼” jack outputs 1x ¼” jack headphone output Sustain pedal on ¼” jack input MIDI in/out 12 volt power input USB/DC/off power switch USB port (MiniNova can be powered via USB) Kensington security slot
- Synth Engine: Up to 18 note polyphony (dynamic voicing), Mono-Timbral
- Per patch : 3x oscillators , 1x noise generator , 2x ring modulators
- Waveforms include: Square, sine, tri, sawtooth, pulse, 9x saw:pulse combinations, 20x digital waveforms, 36x wavetables
- Filter types : 2x filters per patch, low pass no resonance 6dB per octave, low pass 12dB, low pass 18dB, low pass 24dB, band pass 6:6, band pass 6:12, band pass 12:6, band pass 6:18, band pass 18:6, band pass 12:12, high pass no resonance 6dB per octave, high pass 12dB, high pass 18dB, high pass 24dB
- Modulation sources : 20 modulation slots per patch, 6x envelope generators, 3x LFOs, Aftertouch (Supported in the engine. Note, keyboard does not generate aftertouch), Velocity, Key scaling/track, Mod wheel, Expression pedal
- Total of 66 Destinations including, Oscillator pitch, pulse width, wavetable index, level and sync, Filter cutoff, resonance, envelope settings, Effects parameters and send levels, Recursive modulation (modulating modulation sources themselves)
- 5 effects slots per patch : Distortion – up to 2 instances, Compressor – up to 2 instances, Chorus/Phase – up to 4 instances, Delay – up to 2 instances, Reverb – up to 2 instances, Gator, EQ
- Misc : VocalTune, 12 band vocoder, Arpeggiator – 33 patterns, Realtime Arp rhythm editing function, Chord function – lock up to 10 notes, Patch storage - up to 384 on hardware (ships with 256 factory patches)
