Sonic LAB: Novation Peak Part 1 - Osc and Filter

The first part of our look at the new Novation Peak - hybrid 8 voice poly synth. We look at the New Oxford Oscillators and the analog filter.
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[@justinkinter8651]

Lmao. The auto subtitles kept saying "wow" when you were doing the filter sweeps

[@lasideasfugazes]

Well, synths can talk too. That's nothing new xD

[@skyshaver6622]

This is the first new synth that has impressed me in years. Good work Novation.

[@johnadams5489]

The combination of 3 fully capable Hybrid Oscillators. 24Mhz DAC's. and a great sounding analog filter that produces gorgeous harmonics, provides a robust sounding synth. With 60 wave table setups, now 4 LFO's in addition to other sound shaping features on the Peak make this synth a major league player at a really fair price, considering what you get for your money. We don't have to spend 3, 4 or 5 thousand on a synth with a KB anymore. Even for us old people that are not rolling in the money, this synth is not out of reach.

[@dankclegg]

15:27 Nick predicts the Summit! Well he said maybe a "Twin Peak" will come later, but he was on the right track.

[@slipknotboy555]

That ending patch was great as always. I was even more glad to see (the first part of) your review up than normal, because this synth is amazing. Novation has done an absolutely fantastic job

[@enlnh]

I love your videos and all your catchy descriptions of things! Singsong harmonics!

[@solaryzer]

Looks like a very capable synth and hours of fun !! Thanks for demo , look forward to part 2 .

[@ewanstefani]

really like multi part reviews.. allows more time to go into depth on these complex instruments

[@BTsMusicChannel]

It seems to me that this synth goes from zero to crazy very quickly. Thanks for zooming in on the menu while you tweak it!

[@seppoinnanen5929]

Excellent interview, thanks a lot! The maschine itself sounds deep and versatile

[@TehSpudz0r]

Love that ending tune/patch, very inspiring!

[@SonnyBrown1965]

Ooooh really liking how this sounds. It's got that something that sets it apart.

[@mrlargo7067]

I call mine "The Jack of all Trade" the most versetile poly synth ever made, very user friendly. easy to learn basic synth tweaking with loads underneath when it comes to modulation. One of those synths you keep because it's just so good at so many things

[@kgbinfo]

"The menu system, which does feel a bit menu-ey at times". XD still cracking up over that one.

[@SPAZZOID100]

Kenny Bressler menus suck.

[@blakecasimir]

Not when there's a dedicated button for each menu. Novation have done that on all of their Nova synths, the KS, and here. It makes it SO much easier to find deeper options that it barely feels like "menu diving".

[@TheJonHolstein]

It has pages in some cases. So there is menu diving in it. However, at least compared to the Deepmind patches can be built without ever entering a menu. But that would only offer a fraction of what the synth is capable of.

[@kgbinfo]

Thanks for the extremely literal replies. I just thought Nick's phrasing was great.

[@leNotstrom]

Awesome video from an awesome synth! Thank you!

[@ParalysedGekko]

"...but then...let's just bring up the other oscillators!"

[@ScottAdair]

Another lovely review, thanks Nick

[@MrLawrence0071]

Of all demo's I heard, being the Prophet A, B, C or Z, I love the Peak the most of all new beasts! Wonderful!

[@halcyondaystunes]

Great part 1 and would be good to see multiple videos on reviews like Mr Doty does...and congrats on the 100K subs Nick

[@RobertSaintJohn]

Thanks for demoing Diverge and Drift, just wonderful

[@Sensenwerk]

Gadan, the FM section + wavetable is what does it for me. Uff, very tempting... Great review, comme toujours, Nick!

[@DanielDavissynthman]

Really nice sounding. I dig it.

[@Angelstarscotland]

I really like the sound of what I'm hearing so far :)

[@elliotdavidson7137]

i want one.. think this has to be bought. It sounds like the most exciting synthesizer ( in my budget) since the older Waldorf Microwaves. Lovely reverb, distortion and a lush analog filter too. . Well done Nick. Thanks for the 1080p im keeping an eye on those hairs on your head :) :)

[@andreasheinakroon2617]

I must admit, it does sound good.

[@javiceres]

Competition keeps putting out synths but I feel this sounds as good as the best of them.

[@videosuperhighway7655]

Wow you can get some funky sounding bells and clangorous sounds out of this. Impressive. Sounds great on my Genelec 8341 monitors :)

[@Wagoo]

100K! Hurrah!

[@spooky_zoo]

Would still love to grab that closing patch. Gorgeous!

[@Psychlist1972]

Sounds fantastic

[@lukepalmer4200]

It sounds amazing! In particular that last sound you played. If I wasn't getting the DSI Rev2 I'd have been tempted!

[@detonation2000]

What makes you not tempted? Rev2 doesn't seem to be a better instrument. Just different. And from what I can tell, this one might be more versatile. I have both on order and will decide soon which one to cancel.

[@lukepalmer4200]

I really like how both the Rev 2 and peak sound but for me it's a no brainer only because I don't have a large midi keyboard and the rev 2 has a 5 octave keybed. I also like the fact I can always retrospectively upgrade to the 16 voice without the need to resell the current unit I have. Peak sounds great but I am looking for a more self contained instrument is all!

[@churchofaggressiveaudio6498]

Good review, as usual! 👍

[@MatthewMouras]

This synth reminds me heavily of their engine for the nova. Their new webservice for the Circuit that allows you to create patches online has a lot of similar waveshaping ability. Most of the same oscillator parameters: Vsync, Density, Detune, etc. Filter's sound alike with 12 and 24db slopes. Only two oscillators on the Circuit/Nova, so having that third is nice. I'd sure like to get my hands on one of these. Novation hardware and service is tough to beat.

[@MrSpasticdancer]

that filter is beautiful

[@ElectronicazMusic]

What a filter!

[@Michael_Smith-Red_No.5]

My first analog synth was a BassStation. I traded it for a sampler, 20 years ago. Four years ago, I bought a BassStation II, and last year another BassStation. I need this thing.

[@blakecasimir]

Get a SuperBassStation, too! I have and they sound great. Mix it with a BSII for extra beef! :D

[@Michael_Smith-Red_No.5]

I've been thinking about that, actually.

[@Jonathan01ukk]

Great review! Can't wait for part 2. Peak looks like a cheaper Prophet 12 but with knobs?

[@daftmoonz9395]

Korg are bringing out the Prologue it uses two VCOs ! No word on a module version though so Peak is still at the top of the list.

[@Mark_Ocain]

Nice pedigree...I'm totally ok with hybrids as long as there are heaps of knobs to twiddle :-) No point being an analogue or Digital snob when you are missing out on great sounds !

[@jeremymurray-wakefield8011]

"Chris Hugget is... a fairly smart bloke" LMAO :-)

[@steveironside390]

looks great...

[@e-conrecords4665]

Ever since I bought my Poly 800 back in the mid 80's, I've been dismayed at the lack of synthesisers that allow different VCA envelopes per oscillator. It's good to see more synths being made now that are incorporating this into the architecture as it adds an extra layer of complexity than can only be achieved otherwise with stacked / multi-mode sounds.

[@MaverickM1]

Novation is making progress, it is clear to see. Already Mini/Ultranova was great synth and Peak is a big step forward into the right direction. Then we have Summit which is more than 2 Peak built in a single unit. Damn Novation I have to win the lottery asap! :D

[@eluherlu]

That reverb is epic

[@alyeska4226]

Routable filters with fx modulations !

[@specialsnowfake6744]

sounds ace

[@BosseCory]

"Maybe a Twin Peak".

[@MrLawrence0071]

It's called the Summit ;-)

[@mikeexits]

@@MrLawrence0071 Twin Peaks is better :P

[@12hackermacker21]

very nice sound coming from digital oscillators!

[@TheOrganist007]

Good synth, sounds a little bit like the dw 8000, but more punchy and massive

[@Dangerousdaze]

A "Twin Peak", eh? Prophetic!

[@endermusica]

I'd like to add a question for the sensei Nick because I don't seem to find anything on it, will this have any kind of DAW integration? I think every company should do something similar to Elektron's Overbridge to stay in sync with modern times and ways of making music.

[@michaelbauers8800]

This appears to be an interesting and cheaper alternative to Prophet 12, which can pull off some similarly complex timbres. I think there's some advantages of the P12 over this, and they are hardly the same thing, but have some similarties.

[@thevanishingsaxon663]

Nick "Wobbly Knobs" Batt giving another amazing review.

[@narudh]

would like to hear the drift on saw and square for how it fares as analog emulation

[@rhampton1914]

I know you love PCM,,,,i love LFO especially Synced to Midi Clock..Does this have a Sync function in the LFO area? i didn't see that...That's a must for me..

[@shawnsaul7759]

I have a Ultranova... can anyone come in and compare it with the Peak? I've been thinking about selling it and my minibrute for Peak

[@javierzubizarreta2933]

Hey Nick, could you do me a favour? Can you play an init patch, just a sawtooth, from high notes to the lower ones? I suspect this synth suffers a common digital oscillator syndrome, that is that it sounds darker as you lower the notes... thnx! great review!

[@indiefilmcomposer]

5:30 lovely. worth the price of admission

[@rishabhrajan]

Actually the main sine is a wavetable too.

[@MrBothandNether]

17:00 "Lost in Synthesis" -by N. Batt

[@jonasleothunberg]

That patch at the end was wonderful, is it available somewhere?

[@fortheloveofnoise]

Quick question Nick, how do you get the waveform up on the screen?

[@ooktar]

"I'm not going to go through all the wavetables. I know you want me to." Well yeah seeing as that's the main reason a lot of us are interested in this.

[@Zinfidel1]

one of them sounds like this: BZZZTRRRZZ [repeat] Another one sounds like this: WOOOOHHAWOWO [repeat] And I'm guessing another one sounds "chime-y"

[@TheJonHolstein]

I think you have to do your best to convince Mark Doty to do a review if you want that. In my opinion this offers a lot more than just wavetables, and at this stage they seem to be very scaled down versions of wavetables. So it you are looking for a real wavetable synth, this is not the one. If you are looking for a good sounding hardware polyphonic subtractive synth, with a lot of hands on control, this might be the one.

[@ooktar]

+Jon Holstein, it's not that I'm looking for a wavetable synth. It's that the wavetable oscillators in a subtractive synth setting interest me more than the standard Sine\Pulse\Sawtooth analog affair. In that sense I would've liked to have heard all the wavetable sounds currently on offer.

[@phanuel_1986]

@@Zinfidel1 lmao

[@robertsyrett1992]

We are taking the AutomaticGainsay approach to this I can see :)

[@TheJonHolstein]

Not quite =( And I doubt he will touch it as it isn't an fully analog synth =(

[@markwilliamson6884]

Nick - I notice you've stopped using your CME of late. That nektar controller also looks nice. It would be really interesting to see a quick video on your direct experiences with midi controllers (not a review or anything - just the stuff you've used)

[@Heathcliff_hensel]

mark williamson alot of people were complaining about the noisy keys on the CME. I dont know if thats the reason but i kept reading that in the comments.

[@sonicstate]

yeah that was one of them, plus this is a poly, so better to have more keys, which the Nektar does.

[@hostnik777]

But no aftertouch? Or only channel aftertouch?

[@feelmytool]

jmacatx poly aftertouch.

[@AFinalForm]

I did the exact same bass face at 8:54 while watching

[@KirkMonteux]

Is there no osc panning alter by each note?

[@goaway2174]

On the final patch at 17:34 Nick says he has a separate VCA envelope for each of the three oscillators. Looking at the controls and modulation matrix as well as the Peak user guide, it isn't clear how he achieved that. The way it is described in the manual it appears that a common amplifier envelope is used post mixer for all of the oscillators. Is he just saying the gain value for each oscillator in the mixer is different and he effectively scaling the same envelope to perform differently on each oscillator? Thanks!

[@DTime]

Normal Env Depth on zero (=OSC1), both OSC2 and OSC3 level at 0 in the mixer. Mod matrix: ModENV1 > Osc2 LEV (63 for max. level) and ModENV2 > Osc3 LEV (63 for max. level). Now change the MOD ENVELOPES at your convenience :-) Took me some time, but I did like to know howto too.

[@lemonslice2233]

It really is the peak. The question is, what do we do now that we've reached the peak? Do we need someone to raise the bar, so there's a new peak to be reached?

[@RothmanHarv]

The dual modulation on the filter reminds me of the Wasp a bit.

[@franciscojaenvelazquez9582]

This Synth is a very good piece of hardware

[@tB3o3tR9o9]

built like an tank

[@MrKail]

Hey Nick, how would you compare the Peak to the Virus TI2? Can the Peak´s FM get as gritty and powerful as the one from the Virus? Otherwise they´re both quite similar in terms of modulation possibilities, format and price range as far as I can judge. I´d like to buy one of those 2 as soon as I have the money :D Cheers

[@serfasleep]

Kilian Kayser I love my Virus.

[@yavamaystudio8045]

Virus is out of that range, not comparable with anything else. Is Mercedes of all synth.

[@charlieaydin1377]

I'm gonna get one of these. Sounds too good and too versatile

[@johnadams5489]

I just checked Sweetwater.com website and they have the PEAK as a TOP SELLER. THAT is impressive. Sweetwater is NOT the low price company to deal with, but they DO have impressive Value Added benefits for what you pay. An additional 2 year warranty over and above the mfg warranty. They have knowledgeable sales people and their tech people are top notch. Sweetwater is a reliable company, they stand behind what they sell. The Peak does sound massive. My next synth will be the Peak. I like having 3 full feature Osc, instead of two, that can be wimpy.

[@angelesk9382]

how do you make the sound at the end? love that, sounds blade runner

[@bcm3643]

This synth does nothing for me to this point but the complaints about the price are laughable. It's a quality hardware synth. The Supernova II base model that I still have and love was $2995 (16 years ago - $4100 in today's money!), the JP-8080 I still have was $1295 (19 years ago! - $1930 today). These are all digital and surface mount technology. Just because some companies make disposable crap for $500 doesn't mean everything has to be $500 and trashed within 12 months.

[@WildernessMusic_GentleSerene]

I live in extreme poverty, a true starving artist, all my synths are under $500.00 including Casio, none are disposable, all dependable and very useful. Been using synths for 30 years, organ and piano for 50 years. All my synths are digital, hence maybe the dependability and longevity.

[@jan-martinulvag1953]

@@WildernessMusic_GentleSerene no content channel

[@WildernessMusic_GentleSerene]

@@jan-martinulvag1953 Jan: Don't know what you mean or asking???

[@johnadams5489]

Eric Archman Ha! The Prophet 5 retailed for $4595 in 1979 and would be $15000 in today's dollars. I bought a Prophet Rev 3.2 in 1981 and paid $3200 dollars plus 6 percent Sales Tax. I got a bank loan to buy it! Paid on it for years. The good new is I still have it, it still works fine and still sounds great. Its simple compared to the capabilities of today's synths, but what a sound!

[@elektrogeist]

Peel the sticker off that LED screen, you monster!

[@halcyondaystunes]

Would have liked to see it multi timbral....The original Supernovas were 8 part and they had more polyphony too, 20 expanded up to 32 if i remember correctly....for the Supernova 2. Sounds lush though.

[@kgbinfo]

Seems like the complexity of sound available in this machine makes using multiple sounds per patch redundant.

[@SPAZZOID100]

halcyondaystunes 48

[@paultorbert6929]

profile name is a killer song..... still.

[@Fluxwithit]

Sounds very nice , does the filter control have 14 bit or just the 127 steps?

[@beatnickPL]

127 steps? that would be ridiculous

[@daftmoonz9395]

Control for the filter is 8bit.

[@Tjoppy]

Interesting to see 'synthesiser' on the bottom right of the machine in stead of 'synthesizer'.

[@synct]

It's good to spell things correctly...

[@Mario-pq9bi]

8:46 classical dnb music face ! :D

[@ThomasMYoutube]

4:50 Interpretive poly-synth hand dance...

[@snurkergerm6168]

Does seem nice. What makes it different from the competition in this price bracket - the Wavetable oscillators?

[@sonicstate]

Three full function oscillators

[@snurkergerm6168]

Yep. Nice. Maybe you could even even load your own wavetables. No noise anywhere?

[@kiko1935]

So it's kind of like a way more advanced Korg DW8000?

[@FaidedBTB]

That’s what I was thinking

[@troypointerphotography]

Nice Video but what is the Name of the Keyboard ? Troy

[@sebastianreimann9914]

it reminds me a lot on my old Novation K-Station. Kind of like an updated version with more modern sounds and added wavetables, but very similar in architecture and circuit design.

[@Geardos1]

wow the waves and lack of aliasing is really impressive.

[@zugo360]

Hey sonicstate you said you can KeySync the oscillators (6:13). Can you also change the phase of the waveform? (startingpoint of the waveform) Great video! :)

[@sonicstate]

Not that I can see no

[@bigeasternsyndicate6933]

What I want to know is, when will it ship? Please, Sweetwater, charge my credit card already!

[@ZethKeeper]

Hey, Nick, how did you connected Impact to Peak? Does Peak have a USB MIDI input?

[@sonicstate]

No, just a MIDI cable. Impact LX88 has a MIDI out

[@kentxx12]

Wow that sound at:08:45 Diggit :)

[@BrunoWiebelt]

Thank you again. My question of today: Is it right to say that with this new oxford oscillators , one can emulate de Buchla sound in a polyphonic setup?

[@MattGreerMusic]

At 6:45 Excitebike engine rev sound.

[@josephfelice601]

Anybody notice the noise floor on their unit?

[@daftmoonz9395]

update it and back off on the VCA gain so the amps aren't hit too hard.

[@Wagoo]

0:45 is this confirmation that Roland ACB is FPGA based, then?

[@leNotstrom]

Roland ACB is DSP based.

[@myst6866]

Tween Peaks Synth coming soon..

[@AlainHubert]

The sawtooth is missing high end content. Needs more sizzle.

[@paulinho9396]

Once again, I thought the peak was a pretty boring synth, until i watch Nick's review!!

[@CaptJackAubreyOfTheRoyalNavy]

Ugh I wanna peel off that screen cover so bad!

[@jhdrummer4815]

The synth seem very promising to create sounds, but I would like to hear also a demo of the presets, because to me what does it counts is to have (and try to make) beautiful sounds. I'm not a wizard at programming sounds, so a decent presets bank is important to me.