Novation Mininova, Some Amazing Sounds and Features 

So many instrument demos are filled with some boring flake talking your ear off, when you just want to hear what the thing sounds like. I like the way you dive right in and hear this synths capabilities now, and not after a long speech. Thanks 'thesoundtestroom', for posting!!

This is so good it makes me cry. I am buying one now. Not kidding, checked it out starting yesterday evening, now the next morning I am buying one.

Man I just have to say I really love your style! Some good classic synth sounds but every once in a while I felt like I was listening to the soundtrack of a Sega Genesis game, something about your approach has a great feel to it in many spots in this video. Awesome stuff.

I'm loving this, thanks!

Thank you for the great demo, it sealed my purchase and I having a blast with it!

Thanks for this video Doug - been thinking of picking up a Mini for the last while and your vid pushed me over the edge - great stuff. Thank you!

brilliant review - great to see someone actualy use an instrument as is will be used in real life, rather than just prodding away at buttons like so many do!

I just got his yesterday and it’s blowing my Mind I like the feel and look of it

Great demo, this is the most analogue sounding demo I've heard of this machine...

Great demo vid this keyboard sounds great! I had a microkorg but honestly this sounds a lot richer and fuller to my ears.

I got my Mini Nova about 2 months ago. It is SUCH a cool synth. It goes along nicely with my other synths ( Behringer DeepMind 12, Model D, Vintage Ensoniq SQ1 plus)

This is a great synth, wow.

At last!! a really good demonstration of the Mininova. Good job :)

Great sounds and looks so fun and easy to use, Im getting one !!

this synth is amazing I love it :)

Great demo, thanks.

I've got to say that this synth when you hear it off of a good set of monitors/speakers is quite staggering large. Anyone who says it's cold clearly hasn't gone into depth with it. It is an absolute beast make no mistake. Also worth noting that this is probably the most ridiculous Acid bass synth ever, no contest

Best demo of this synth i have watch'ed. Stunning sound, In my honest opinion.

Thanks, I'm getting one now.

I'm gonna buy this synth, mostly because of this demo. Thank you.

Ordered one. Thank you very much for a great presentation :D

Great demo. Thanks

Love this!

fantastic!

My favourite synth , yeah it’s virtual analogue,but it sounds ace when you program your own sounds, future classic in my opinion

Just got a mininova and big sky reverb....great combo ;)

I've owned one for a few years. lots of fun and i've used it a lot. one thing I don't hear mentioned much is you can plug an electric guitar (or bass, whatever) straight into the back and run it thru the sounds. you can get some great sounds and it's pretty limitless...

Very nice demo

backordered purchased in 2019...receive 2020...yes!

That synth seems like it's a lot of fun.. incredible sounds for the price..

Nice demo I've had mine since for 7 months and I'm still obsessed. Maybe I'm dumb but a few weeks ago I went out and bought an Ultranova too. I just love these things. I figured, I've got two stratocasters and feel fine about it. Why not?

I use this synth a lot in my songs. I just love it!

sound great ,my moog subphatty told me that he is in love with the blue color and need a mininova for room mate.he did not like microbrute .......

♥.♥ Cool work.

Still one of the best digital synths out

Yes you’re right brother this thing is amazing I love it 💯💯💯😎✌️

Yep, bought mine off eBay yesterday. Should arrive in the morning. Looking forward to your vocoder demo.

Thanks for sharing about to order one now! Subscribed to your channel!!!

It's a shame this never got the same praise and notoriety as the Microkorg.

like the box says: "Compact synthesizer with a massive sound engine" i love my mininova

great job keep it up you are the best may god bless you

Yayayay! This synth can talk!

Love your review (as always). One small request: it would be great if you could upload a higher resolution video so that we can read the dials etc.

Besides my amazements of this machine and your handling of it. I laughed my a. off. How the mini can change from being one of the most sophisticated synths i heard since Deep purple live into something they use at LunaPark fairs. ..In a loop of laughter.. Thanks a lot for this video

....if you hear this synth live, in-person on speakers with a good low end capability, you will have a totally different perspective on how Mininovas actually sound- still cold, but miraculously fat and grand (the reverb is impressive, and makes whatever room you're in sound much better than its natural acoustics. That is its true magic- its ability to transform your room at high volume. In this video, and others, the true depth of the voices and poewr of the reverb simply cannot be detected- I was unimpressed with fatness of the voices, the first time I heard it in a RU-vid video.... but REALLY impressed by it when I finally got to hear it in-person! Also, the vocoder is simply unbeatable, if you care about vocoders, which I do.

One of the better vids about this synth on youtube .. too many of them are just someone talking too much and far too little playing and sounds (a common situation on many instrument vids)! So thanks for just playing and messing around with sounds (and recorded well ... not through some camera mic!) and talking some over that. I have been researching this synth and it and the Roland Gaia seem very interesting to me (within my price range .... although there is something about this MiniNova which seems so expressively immediate)... This MiniNova seems more favourable to me than their UltraNova since the MiniNova just seems so hands-on (while the UltraNova appears to rely on buttons and menu-selection more as opposed to just immediate knob twiddling!). I love the design and immediate access to control things in this synth .... I like the slider switch on the far right to go between parameter rows for the 4 knobs (better than a couple up/down buttons IMHO). My only suggestion for this synth (or rather, the MK II version) would be LED illuminated rings surrounding endless-rotary knobs (for the 4 parameter knobs) ... this way what level they are set at for any parameter would be visually shown (I'm using the Akai APC40 now for VST's and it has essentially 4 rows of 4 knobs each with 4 banks .... so basically 64 knobs and switching between banks shows the setting for any of the parameters the knobs are set for ... of course I have t remember what all those knobs are set for but I try to assign everything to make logical sense). I like how the filter knob is turnable whilst any animate button can be reached too. The layout of this synth seems very good to me.

Had on of these 4 Christmases ago from my wife. It's under the drawer collecting dust, got to dig it out. Fantastic demo

Frustrates me how little exposure or love this synth got from the online community. Blofeld is all over RU-vid but not Ultranova which is super powerful too.

Okay thanks for your explanation. With that in mind I just tried mixer to uca202 to iphone and it worked perfectly, therefore omitting the need for anything but iPhone, ipad, mixer and uca202. Your vid on getting guitar into ipad gave me the idea. Thanks.

agree. the best.

It's amazing how realistic these iPad apps are getting

SACRE BLEU!!!!! How did i miss this beastie!!! PHAAAAAAT BOTTOM BASS😳😮😜😜😜👾👾👾👾👾👾🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵

Great Demo, Great little Synth. Manual has a great intro to Synthesis section thats a good read. Many say the patches are cold and harsh. I think the reverb can be a little overbearing on some of the patches. Better than the MicroKorg in my opinion. Especially with the PC editor. I own the Korg Micro, Bass Station II, the X Station 61 the Mininova and the Juno. Juno is my favorite.

Still enjoy it. Get more use then the MicroKorg which I sold and got the Mininova I craved.

Im having an eye on this synth for quite a while now. Seems like a lot of fun and I really like the sound of it. I'd really love to know if it does send the arp patterns via midi too, so that I can use it as controller for my daw!

This synth has been on the market for a long while. It's a pain to program with because of all the submenus and lack of buttons/sliders...BUT the VST controller it pairs with makes it so much better. It's great for classic trance and modern EDM styles.

Great demo. I love this synth. Please , the name of the patch at 6:00 ? thank you so much

What recording software do you recommend for the mininova?

Hello, I hope you can help me I am looking for a synth that let me find the mellotron sound, like on the beatles' strawberry fields forever intro, can i find it with this synth? thanks already

Doug, can this be connected to a Korg mini KP2 to add additional effects, and if so, how would you connect them, thanks, and great video!!!

Does this come with a Daw or editor that shows it on a PC? Some one said it comes with its own software.

i have to get me one of these :-)

Can it do split sounds on the keyboard? Also can it store short sequences? The vocoder features look very good.

Hello, thanks for this great video! I'm new to the mininova and was wondering (but i guess not) if you can upload your own samples to the mininova (like with a nord). Thanks already!

Watching all of these demos on RU-vid of this particular synthesizer, it’s making me wonder why I haven’t already got one. That modulation matrix alone is worth the money. The keyboard itself is not aftertouch sensitive. Do you know whether the synthesizer engine receives external aftertouch commands? I could imagine getting one and triggering it from my S90XS, whose key touch and aftertouch feature are to die for. (I also would no longer feel the need to get an Oberheim Xpander module,)

Stuck on which too get. A mininova or a launchkey

Hi.... how can I sync that with a drum machine and use the drum machine as the master to sync it with

I never did this before, so can you tell me how to import patches into this? I use the Model 15 App on the iPad to create patches. Can those be exported and imported into the MiniNova? I want to know before buying :D

it would be great in "ANY" of the reviews on cheap synths if the reviewer could explain when they are using presets or when they are using something they created. For e.g. in this video approx 0:40 in. he brings up an Arp. Did he make that Arp or is there a whole heap of Arp presets? Sorry if you go on to explain this later. ive paused the videot to type this.

I want a keyboard which has lots of knobs, sliders and possibilities to change sound whilst playing. I like chill and ambient and this is in my price range. Do you think this is the right choice for my needs? Many thanks

Very nice vid. Am looking for keys to use in a home studio. I think ive found it.

if your interested in getting one Mr Hood i really reccomend going through pro audio star in brooklyn, give them a call and tell them you "saw one on ebay and your inquiring what it comes with", and ask what deal they can give you, I was in that predicament and ended up taking to i think his name was aaron, or kevin. and he sold me one brand new, free shipping and 2 year insurance for 345.00. highly reccomended :) i love it

Yeah will do. I spent a couple of hrs on one at the Manchester music show last year, wanted one ever since. I've been happy with apps but fancied dabbling with some hardware again. How do you get audio direct into your camera? I'll be using iphone as cam, is it as simple as routing the audio from ipad through uca202 to iphone? I would like to post a couple of performances. Keep up the good work.

I'd love to know of you can make the 1-8 buttons to do other note manipulations than they already are doing ....

You and that C minor blues scale. haha. No I really liked the demo alot. I'm just giving you hell. thanks.

also, would you be so kind and make a video on how to edit tweaks like creating free sync lfo? Ive been trying to get it worked out, but I havent found a solid way to do it! what I would like to do is have a patches lfo rate controlled freely, im assuming id have to map it to the tempo knob? how do I go about this?

WOWWWWW

from time ot time i wish i got the mininova instead of the ultranova

Just bought it. As to all those who worry about the coldness of the Mininova sound: Its what is popular right now in EDM. If you look at the busiest, newest sub-genres on Beatport and EDM labels, they all favor these high-presence, high clarity, somewhat metallically edged voices that appear in this synth (which you can make warmer by adjusting the sounds, anyhow!). The Microkorg voices are simply tuned more toward classic analog sounds, which AREN'T as popular in emerging EDM basses and leads, especially the "step" sub-genres. But those voices are a dime a dozen! In fact, its rather easy to find tons of warm synths on the market, but crisp, highly present, edgy synths (which still sound complex) are surprisingly rare in the affordable end of the spectrum. Microkorg voices may be gentler on the ear, but to today's club youth, that gentleness is perceived as relatively boring and flat. I also purchased the Arturia Minilab ($99) awhile back, which comes with the amazingly cost-effective Analog Lab software, which has THOUSANDS of warm, classic synths sounds with incredible modeling capability for the price. You literally cannot tell the Analog Lab voices apart from the classic voices they model- ther eis hardly anyhting the Microkorg does in terms of voice that it doesnt do; hoewver, I found that neither of those warm synths had the true ability to produce the bright punch of the voices in the Mininova! I use the Minilab for recording warm synths, and to drop in those warm backup voices in live performance; but the Mininova is obviously the live lead instrument that provides the punch needed in the midst of busy and high energy live music sets. The Arturia voices - over a dozen classic synths modeled at an incredible bargain- as such, I get the best of both worlds without having to bother with the Microkorg. If I were made of money, I'd also get the Microkorg and the Arturia Microbrute for the heck of it, and call it a day... but I'm not.

I use my Korg MS 20 and Model D for meat and potatoes. The mininova is dessert and secret sauce!

You can we finally get some modern sound demos..and can someone please demo the different genre modes..

Looking at one of these for $200 and stumbled onto your video.....nice demo but may just use my Akai Miniak more......Would like to have the features of this with Miniak synth engine though.....thanks man -

Can you get any e-piano or fender Rhodes - type sounds out of it?

Nice demo but I was hoping to hear more programs like pads. :)

Question - does it send midi event when you press one of animation buttons ? Will my DAW receive that ?

Absolutely stunning sounds but I’ve got fat fingers no space and very little money . So can I connect my other various midi keyboards and use the mininova this way ( I know there’s the ultranova but ?) .My top subscribed channel on RU-vid for all my iOS , synth and software needs , thank you very much 🤟

Just bought one. Is there a way to select different patterns on the arpeggiator?

It's 2020, and I've secured a mininova for $150 USD !

Is there rhodes sounds? For jazz sounds

Did you do anything about the software editor side of this little sminkee minkee??

Well, I think this is an underrated synth and surprises with its rich sound shaping abilities. Its an oddball synth and I find if you use the mininova editor VST (not standalone) via a DAW you can get deeper quicker and really understand its underlying architecture. Not a massive fan of some of the more obnoxious dubstep sounds but it has enough about it to keep fresh and interesting to make this synth a keeper for me. BTW Nice demo, certainly one of the best. Shame I found it so late !

6:48 The Doctor who's arived in his bigger in the inside then the outside police box. I'm hopefully getting this synth tomorrow.

on the mini nova somme of my key broke one by one ....it was a new from the shop ...

Can you use this also as a controller with an iPad Air or iPad Mini 2 and something like Alchemy Mobile or Sunrizer?

Good demo. I have no complaints or criticism for anything you've done, but I just don't like this synth. I try to like it,...every once in awhile I'll try to give it another shot. I'll check out demos & see if my taste has changed, or if I can find something about it that I like. Ultimately there is just something about the way it sounds, that strikes my ears in an unpleasing way. IMO, it just sounds small, thin, harsh, & cold, to me personally. But that's just a matter of personal preference, & I can see how many people would love the Mini/Ultranova. I opted for a Microkorg instead, which just sounds warmer & more pleasant, to me. I just wish the Microkorg had the Mininova's features & chassis. That would make for the ultimate "mini-synth". Anyway, again....great demo, even if it's of a synth I don't &/or can't like.

You said "We'll start with a sequence", but I don't think the Mininova has a sequencer does it?

I'm sold now. Buying for my girlfriend now. Thanksa

Is your output(speakers) plugs going straight to the speakers or amp THAN speakers?

Does this synth have Digital effects like Reverb and Delay?

My Ableton 10 live with the arpeggiator can reproduce any of these sounds so what's so special about this?