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Gaia versus Mininova... which one to buy?


bluesmandan

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Quote Originally Posted by bluesmandan View Post
Yeah, it seems to be similar enough and have plenty of on the fly tweaking. But just to confirm... does the MININOVA have or not have AFTERTOUCH? The novation website says it does, but the reviews I find say it doesn't... so which is it?
Very unlikely. The synth engine inside will probably respond to aftertouch if you drive it from a separate aftertouch equipped keyboard through MIDI. That is probably what they mean. ;-)

Link where you saw that and we will confirm...
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Quote Originally Posted by bluesmandan View Post
http://uk.novationmusic.com/hardware...specifications

Under "Modulation Sources" it lists 'aftertouch'. But I see under keyboard/performance controls it only gives 'velocity'... ???

Yep, they are confirming the synth engine can respond to aftertouch. Since the small keyed keybed is also confirmed not to have aftertouch it will only be of use when controlled via midi such as an external sequencer or external keyboard that utilises aftertouch...
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Okay. So now what about the pads? With the Gaia's 64 note polyphony (and apparently that divides up over the 3 oscillators, equaling 21) compared to 18 on the Ultranova (dividing to 6?) is the Gaia more geared for spacious pads than the Ultranova?

All the vid's of the Gaia feature a lot of pads. Not so much with the UN. Are the pads better on the Gaia?

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The Ultranova is 18 voices with 3 oscillators per voice. I would think that with the wave tables, modulation matrix, loopable envelopes, and 20 slot modulation matrix you can get some very complex pads going on it.

I don't know if you have seen these:





. Sounds start at about 5:30. The guy demos some very cool sounds, including simulated B3 sounds. He also answers the question "can it do bagpipes?"

I am starting to sell myself on this thing... even though I have too many synths already biggrin.gif
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Quote Originally Posted by bluesmandan View Post
Okay. So now what about the pads? With the Gaia's 64 note polyphony (and apparently that divides up over the 3 oscillators, equaling 21) compared to 18 on the Ultranova (dividing to 6?) is the Gaia more geared for spacious pads than the Ultranova?

All the vid's of the Gaia feature a lot of pads. Not so much with the UN. Are the pads better on the Gaia?

I don't own either Nova so I will let others answer.

For the GAIA on some patches that need long sustain, the extra poly is fantastic, you do not here any drop out...

The fact also the GAIA has three synths stacked into effects rather than Oscillators stacked into a mixer does mean it is easy to create layered synth sounds with a start a middle and an end over any period you like using each stacked synth to play a part of the evolving sound. Although the Novas do have some tricks with the various extra synth engine parts they share that can allow complex patch creation and lots of fine control...

There is a very long GAIA thread here:

http://acapella.harmony-central.com/...9-Roland-Gaia&

full of GAIA demo's plus you can google for vids or do youtube searches for both synths. Just keep listening to demo and sounds using them until you find your favorite
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Okay so I just ordered an Ultranova. 534 with a gigbag shipped. From all the sound clips I listened to (and reviews I've read) the UN sounds a bit fatter than the Gaia, and doesn't appear to be too much more difficult to navigate. I'd really like to have both, as the Gaia seems to be a breeze for creating your own sounds, but we'll see how the UN works out...

Now I have to wait for it to be delivered!!!!
: )

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