Novation Peak Synthesizer In-Depth Demo

At Superbooth 17, Novation has introduced the Peak synthesizer – an 8-voice polyphonic synthesizer that combines some of the best aspects of traditional analog synth design with a new type of digital oscillator and digital effects.

We had a chance to take an early look at the Peak, and got an overview of the new synth from Novation’s Enrique Martinez. In the video above, Martinez introduces the Peak, gives an overview of its architecture and discusses the technology behind Peak’s New Oxford Oscillator design.

In part 2 of our in-depth overview, below, Martinez goes deeper into the features of the Peak, talks modulation options, effects and more:

In the final video, below, Martinez talks about the arpeggiator, swing, connectivity and more:

More technical details are available at the Novation site.

Pricing and Availability

The Novation Peak is priced at: US $1299.99 ex. tax; Germany = €1429.99 inc. 19% VAT; & UK = £1249.99 inc. 20% VAT. It will be available worldwide in May 2017.

A Peak Stand is will also be available in late 2017, priced at:  US = $99.99 ex. tax; Germany = €114.99 inc. 19% VAT: & UK = £99.99 inc. 20% VAT.

41 thoughts on “Novation Peak Synthesizer In-Depth Demo

  1. Liking the sounds out of this – seems like it can do smooth, warm sounds but also very aggressive and abrasive sounds, too.

    1. The Peak certainly is filled to the brim with knobs, but there are still tons of parameters hidden in menus…

      …hmmm…a peak of the ice berg….

  2. Thanks for sharing – this is a great intro to the Peak.

    Novation has a video on their Youtube channel that goes into a lot of detail on their new oscillator design, too, which makes me want to spend some time with this.

  3. $1299 seems a bit pricey. For $200 more you can buy a new DSI 8 eight voice REV2 complete with a five octave keyboard. I know they are different synths, but the point is you get a lot more synth real estate with the REV2 for not much more money.

    If this Peak has digital oscillators and is an expansion of Bass Station II technology, it should sell for much less than $1299. Heck, you can buy a used Bass Station II for under $300.

    1. can we all stop these comparison posts. the arguments never land anywhere. Its a never ending conversation between a bmw and a mercedes.

    2. Exactly!

      I think the Peak is heavily over hyped but it doesn’t take count of reality. We can get a Rev2 for very little more and it’s real analog. There’s even the DeepMind 6 now for $699 which is only 2 voices less but almost half the price and real analog too.

      And most of it, I’m not really impressed by anything I heard so far. I’m not falling for the hype, this is the kind of synth we will find used few months from now when the hype will pass and people will realized they did pay too much for what it is.

      Quite sad when the only thing Novation had to do to make most people happy was to bring a new SuperNova at a low price…

      But this Peak? No thank you!!

      1. What makes a “real analog” polysynth better? A VCO’s pitch is controlled by a DAC anyway, and VCOs have a relatively limited range of waveforms that have been used over and over and over.

    3. Is uses a Field Programmable Gate Array to ensure no aliasing. You should check out the Sonic State coverage. I think it’s pretty reasonable!

        1. Perhaps “no” aliasing is too far. My point is that this newer tech can justify the cost. As pointed out by R7 the FPGA is up in the MHz. A sine wave still looks like a sine wave at higher frequencies. I mean.. that’s cool!

    1. Lol The synth market as a whole is devastated by this omission but we found it too painful to say aloud. Thank you for your bravery.

  4. This price means only that this synth module will gain less buyers than cheaper concurrents, thats all. But it will be selling good anyway and get its adepts… the price is not so exaggerated as we have with, for example, Modal synths. Just a little bit more than the majority of us can pay. Me too, i choose DSI rev2 btw, but i want this.

  5. Very impressed by this thing, they really stepped up their game and made a modern hybrid poly synth with actual new technology under the hood, not just a rehash of the old analog poly stuff with modern components. Looking forward to hearing this in person.

  6. So you can only have one sound, mode out of 8 voices, but you can’t, like an Analog 4/K, have say 2 sounds made of 4 voices?

    I.e. Multi-Timbral

    That seems like an odd choice for this price point.

  7. FAIL! Doesn’t even have a quartz-glide field generator. What were they thinking? You can’t discuss online synths if you don’t have one of those. And does it even confabulate analog fistulas? I think not! Novation is clearly not into the critical analog 2.0 revolution. Why make music when you can talk about the tools. Spanners UNITE!!!!

  8. I’d love to see a drum machine from Novation based on the same technology. And maybe if the Peak is successful they can follow-up with some similar synthesizers with significant variations, such as different filter types (SSM!), TVA/TVF-style envelopes (great for pads/strings), different wavetables (maybe even for specialized interests, one for orchestral, one for rock, etc.)

  9. Regardless of the high quality of the components, it still sounds very dull, limited and uninspiring to my ears I’m afraid. With a second filter it might have been a lot more interesting. Given Chris Huggett’s amazing pedigree, this one is a real disappointment.

  10. I tested the Peak at the Superbooth in Berlin for more than one hour. My opinion: it is absolutely great sounding. It is awesome, I love it! The interface is straight forward. For me it was very inspiring, the highlight of the Superbooth this year!

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