Novation Bass Station Rack User Manual

19
Set Up For Roland TB303* Emulation
The Roland TB303
The Roland TB303 Bass Line has a very familiar and unique sound for an analogue
synthesiser. The BassStation Rack can emulate this sound and indeed create a much
wider range of sounds. The TB303 has a single oscillator and single envelope that
control both the level of the sound and the way in which the filter contours that sound.
The most frequently used controls on the TB303 are the CUT OFF FREQ, RESO-
NANCE, DECAY and ENV MOD and by tweaking’ these the well known "bleeps and
burps" are attainable.
The BassStation Rack
With its dual oscillators and two envelopes, the BassStation Rack has far greater
sound creating capability than the TB303, however to produce the sound of the TB303
it is important to use just a single oscillator and mimic the single envelope. The filter
section on the BassStation Rack has been designed such that when the CUT-OFF
switch is in the 12dB position the FREQUENCY, RESONANCE, MOD DEPTH and
ENVELOPE 2 DECAY
controls act in a similar fashion to the TB303.
Setting Up A TB303 Sound
Turn the PORTAMENTO control to 2. In the OSC I section, turn the MIX control to the
‘Osc 1’ position in order to only listen to oscillator 1. The WAVEFORM switch may be
set as desired since the TB303 also has this selection switch. For the moment set it to
Sawtooth.
In the OSC 1-2 MODULATION section set the OSCILLATOR 1 2 switch to position I
and make sure that the ENVELOPE and LFO controls are set to 0 (central position).
Set the OSC 1 2 SYNC switch to Off. The TB303 does not have these controls so we
want to make sure they have no effect.
In the filter section set the CUT - OFF switch to the 12dB position. Set the MOD
SOURCE switch to the LFO position and turn the MOD DEPTH control to its middle
position. Again, the TB303 does not have this control so any LFO modulation must be
removed. Now, set the MOD SOURCE switch back to the ENV 2 position. In the 12dB
position the MOD SOURCE control does not act as shown on the label i.e. there is
only positive MOD available between 0 (fully anti-clockwise) and 10 (fully clockwise)
as on the TB303.
Set the ENVELOPE switch to I so the envelope controls have an affect on envelope I.
Set the ATTACK to 0, DECAY to 4, SUSTAIN to 10 and RELEASE to 3. Move the
ENVELOPE switch to 2 and set the ATTACK to 0, SUSTAIN to 0 and RELEASE to 3.
The DECAY control can now be adjusted as on the TB303.
The VELOCITY can be adjusted as desired but for now, set it to 0 so that the volume
is always the same no matter how hard a note is played. To get the twangy" TB303
sound turn the RESONANCE control up. When the control is set to 8 the sound
should get more "Watery". To simulate the glide on the TB303, switch to AUTOGLIDE
in the ENVELOPE section. If you play a note and then, whilst holding it, play another
one, the new note will glide or slur’ up to the new pitch. If it goes instantly to the new
pitch adjust the Portamento control a little until the glide is noticeable.
Once you are happy with this new sound save it in a memory for future use.
* Copyright Roland Corporation, Japan
Troubleshooting Guide
If the BassStation Rack does not operate as expected, make reference to the trou-
bleshooting guide below. Remember in most cases, problems that appear to be
caused by equipment malfunction can often be traced to human error.
Problem Possible Causes
No power Power supply not connected correctly
Check polarity of 9v DC output plug (center pin +.)
No sound ‘Volume’ knob set at ‘0’
Program saved with ‘Mix’ knob set to ‘Ext.’ (no external
input signal)
MIDI volume set to zero
Filter, Resonance, Decay or Sustain knobs set to ‘0’
Single note trigger Poly Mode set to ‘ON’
APPENDIX

Novation Bass Station Rack Specifications

General

Brand	Novation
Model	Bass Station Rack
Category	Synthesizer
Language	English