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Novation Drum Station - Image 1

Novation Drum Station

DesktopDigitalPolyphonic

Back in 1996, this rackmount gem brought the raw, unbeatable punch of Roland's TR-808 and TR-909 drum machines into a compact digital format using Novation's clever Analogue Sound Modelling tech, capturing that vintage analogue warmth without the hassle of hunting down originals.

It's a 1U unit weighing just 2kg, with a hands-on front panel packed with 22 knobs for tweaking tune, level, decay, tone, snappy noise on snares, attack on 909 kicks, and more—plus dedicated switches for shared controls on toms, congas, hats, and cymbals. Fire it up via MIDI for 5-voice polyphony across 8 tracks, audition sounds in real time, and shape them further with per-drum distortion for hardcore 909 vibes or the Front Cut edit to shave attack for thudding bass drums. You've got stereo main outs, 6 assignable individual outs for separate processing, a DIN sync jack to lock in with classics like the TB-303, and 20 factory plus 15 user kits stored internally.

Over the years, folks have loved its authentic 808/909 tones that hold up in modern mixes, the tweakable parameters that go beyond samples, and that DIN sync magic for acid setups—though some note the shared switches can slow down fine-tuning similar sounds like toms. A true vintage workhorse if you snag one in good shape.

Released

1996

Status

Discontinued

Synthesizer
Format
Desktop, Rackmount, Drum Machine
Type
Digital, Analog Modeling, Sample-based
Internal Battery
No
Voice
A/D
Digital
Polyphony
Polyphonic
Oscillators
-
Oscillator Type
Digital
Voices
5
Tracks
8
Filter
Yes
Envelopes
-
LFO
-
Effects
Distortion, Front Cut
Expression
Aftertouch
No
Velocity
Yes
MPE
No
Additional
-
Software
-
I/O
Audio In
-
Audio Out
Stereo L/R, 6 Individual Mono
Headphone
1x 1/4"
MIDI
In, Out, Thru
MIDI Type
DIN (5-pin)
Ports
-
Wi-Fi
No
Workflow
Arpeggiator
-
Sequencer
-
Mod Matrix
-
Memory
20 Factory And 15 User Program
Measurements
Dimensions
-
Weight
2 kg
Last updated Mar 17, 2026