Only three months have passed since Focusrite’s acquisition of Novation, yet so many improvements to Novation have already been made; Fantastic news for the thousands of Novation customers, present and future, worldwide. Not only have unit prices been reduced across the board, including the latest addition to the family, the fabulous X-Station, but the now expanded Research and Development team are also busy working on updates, software giveaways and new product development.
Operating systems for the ReMOTE, X-Station and KS-range have all been revamped, in response to customer suggestions, with extremely pleasing results. Templates for both MIDI controllers now include the option of up to 4 keyboard zones, fixed note velocity and ‘step-wise’ button action. Additionally, the X-Station’s onboard synthesizer can now be transposed and synchronised to MIDI clock. The KS-range synthesizers have been so dramatically transformed by the new OS that they are barely recognisable and perform to a truly magnificent sonic standard.
Meanwhile, the ‘coding collective’ at Fort Focusrite are slaving away constructing free software to compliment the ReMOTE and X-Station series, in the form of the eagerly awaited ‘Template Editor’. This sleek and sexy looking software is another masterpiece from the team that gave you LiquidControl and The Forte Suite. Available before the end of the year, the Template Editors will allow Novation controllers to be easily moulded to suit the user’s specific requirements.
Next on the list for a makeover are both the V-Station and Bass-Station, which will also be accompanied by the TC Powercore version of the former of the two. Plus, throughout November and December, the big brothers of the ReMOTE and X-Station series will appear in 49-key (4-octave) and 61-key (5-octave) formats. Watch this space!
Last but definitely not least, work has recently begun on the designing of an entirely new website. This will boast a comprehensive user section for increased interactivity with, and feedback from the end user, and allow an intuitive and stylish platform for accessing product information and support.
With all of these developments scheduled for completion in time for the new year, it can definitely be said that Novation are picking up speed once again. We look forward to the forthcoming months and, starting as we mean to go on, to expect even bigger things from a company already critically acclaimed by the international digital audio community.