Novation MiniNova Reviews

4.6/5.0 based on 7 customer reviews

Sweetwater Advice

Mitchell Alpaugh

Don't let the "mini" in the name fool you. Nothing about the sound of the Novation MiniNova sounds "mini." I think the sonic potential on this synth is far beyond anything else that dons mini keys. Every time I put my hands on the MiniNova, I can't stop smiling... it's just THAT fun! Its small form factor also makes it ideal if you want it for nothing more than a module. I guarantee if you play this at your next gig, audience members will think: "That sound can't POSSIBLY be coming from that!

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Customer Reviews

Andrew Goff
from Indianapolis, Indiana
December 21, 2012Music Background:
Video Producer, Pro Musician, Photographer, Compositor

Amazing Original Dirty Snyth

I've owned lot's of keyboards over the years, but this one stands out. This is not a mainstream keyboard but more of a professional niche keyboard.
What I like most about this keyboard is it's character. It's sounds are easily changeable and the sounds are dark and explosive.

I am a video producer who writes music for the commercials I produce. The music I created for my lasted commercials had everyone asking how did I create such awesome sounding music. I proudly pointed at the MiniNova.

Relic
from Ohio
October 22, 2012Music Background:
pro

sides are not plastic but not real wood!

took the side ends off with hex key and they look like a pressed wood like on a cheap computer stand. they have a lamenent over them to simulate a wood finish. not sure why they did not use the real thing? looks like more work to make them look wood..lol. but it is not plastic. it's a great synth anyways. I will make real wood sides for it though soon. microkorg wins on that note!

Relic
from Ohio
October 20, 2012Music Background:
pro

microkorg has some new competition!

I was using the microkorg for so many years and loved it. Then i saw that the new Mininova had a bit of the same layout / design but had a little extra punch as far as what it can do and the over all look and feel / performance ect. Some knob features are very microkorg-ish but that is a good thing since i am a huge fan of them. Microkorg is still a great synth for sure! Well, you can't blame novation for this move with Mininova. After all, the microkorg still is the most selling synth ever! It seems Korg will have a bit of competition now with the Mininova! I LOVE the MiniNova so far after just playing if for 10 min. I for one am a fan of mini keys so i had to have one. I love the layout and huge sound and smooth controls it has. When I have more time i will be at it for hours I'm sure, tweaking and programming! The only thing that seems cheesy is the fake wood ends. I think thay are plastic? This wont stop people from buying it I hope. If you have loved the microkorg you will really love Mininova. BUY ONE! The lighted wheels are bad-*** too! Very happy i made this move with Mininova. You will too! PS.. you can mess with the dubstep sounds to make them not dubstep! Thank God!

Frank
from Detroit, MI
April 28, 2013Music Background:
Hobbyist, Student, Producer

Better than my Micro Korg

this thing is great , i have a micro korg and this thing has a way faster workflow and more intuitive design, Also the screen is simple to go through i had this thing running on with my computer within seconds , the vocoder is also great it stays still and doesnt move around and lose its shape , and the fact that you can change the sounds on it with ones from the internet is great also

, the only cons i have is that the sounds are the presets are kinda thin sounding but other than that its a great unit

Ryan Reynolds
from Massena, Ny
December 21, 2012

This thing kicks....

If it had aftertouch, i would have given it a 5. The sounds are nice. The editor just came out. You can use the ultranova patches if you are running out of sounds also.

Dave
from Logan, UT
December 14, 2012Music Background:
Hobbyist

Better than MicroKorg XL except for...

As far as the synth goes, it sounds awesome, has up to date sounds out of the box, and the performance controls give this thing an edge over other synths i've seen for live performance. They are super fun to play with and give you instant gratification. The look of the thing is awesome all the way around. I like a majority of the sounds it comes with right out of the box.

And for the bad? As of Dec 14, 2012 there is no software editor for this synth despite what the product description states. This is a huge set back for me as I hate drilling through menus.

The editor is "in the works". Apparently you can use the UltraNova software editor. But it is not a stand alone program, but a VST to use with your daw. I'm not a technical guy when it comes to midi or music programming, I have Fruity Loops but have no experience using additional VST's So it's confusing attempting to get that to work. In addition I haven't found much help online so I've resorted to contacting Novation Technical Support.

However, in my search for a user "patch" community I found out that there really is no section for "mini nova" patches online. However, there is for UltraNova patches and those seem to be compatible with the MiniNova.

All in all a great purchase, but dealing with the software is going to be a pain for some.

Trevor Bajus
from San Francisco, United States
April 16, 2013

A giant improvement on the MicroKorg

I found the MicroKorg, while being an excellent sounding synth, to be very frustrating to program. While the MiniNova will still require you actually learn what you are doing, creating your own sounds is far, far easier.

A great little keyboard.

inSync Review

Mitch Gallagher
2-23-2013

The Novation UltraNova has been hailed as an outstanding modeled analog synthesizer, delivering both authentic vintage sounds and cutting-edge tones. Plus, it has vocoder functions, can serve as a USB controller, and can even work as an audio interface for your system.

But this article isn't about the UltraNova's amazing power. It's about the equally powerful MiniNova, which includes the same high-powered synth engine as the UltraNova, as well as the same vocoder capability and USB controller functions. The big difference? (Maybe I should say the small difference.) The MiniNova is designed to be a more compact, lightweight synth, with 37 mini keys and a downsized chassis. But don't let that small size fool you. The mini keys are extremely playable, and you get plenty of hands-on knobs, switches, buttons, and controllers for anything you want to do. A software editor and a patch librarian are also included.

Want more features? You get a 33-pattern arpeggiator, 256 classic and modern patches, eight Animate knobs for warping sounds, three oscillators and five effects per voice, and a 20-slot modulation matrix. And best of all, you get big brother UltraNova's engine and features for about 2/3 of the price -- nice!

For me, the MiniNova makes a great mobile synth solution, with full-sized sounds coming out of a compact and lightweight unit. In the studio, it connects up and serves as a powerful MIDI sound module with the rest of my keyboards and my computer. From big, fat basses to screaming leads to pads to arpeggiated tones, the MiniNova can cover a wide range of applications -- and sound great doing all of them!