Novation has released the latest firmware update for its Bass Station II mono synth.

The firmware v4.14 update includes AFX Mode, a radical notion dreamed up by electronic music legend Richard James (a.k.a. Aphex Twin) that assigns a discrete set of synthesis parameters to each note of the Bass Station II. The parameters could be variations of a “seed” patch, or disparate sounds designed to constitute a chimeric whole. Put simply, it lets users modify a Bass Station II patch on a key-by-key basis to introduce subtle changes to a sound as you play up and down the keyboard. Users can also divide the keyboard into multiple zones, each playing its own sound, or create entire drum kits in a single preset for triggering manually or via the arpeggiator.

Other updates include the addition of fixed duration envelopes, which allows the sustain segments of the envelopes to be set to a fixed length and moving on to the release stage regardless of when the key or trigger is released; extended sub-oscillator control, which gives the ability to set the sub oscillator to any non-octave tracking interval and knock it out of tune for creative effect; oscillator glide diverge, allowing users to slow down the glide time of Oscillator 2 relative to Oscillator 1 by a variable amount; and envelope retrigger count, which opens up the possibility to adjust the number of times the envelopes retrigger.

Novation’s firmware update v4.14 is available now.