Tiny turbo synth that punches way above its weight

When I first picked this thing up from a pawn shop, I was interested but skeptical, since I knew it was based on the Supernova, but knew little else about it. Once I got a chance to dive into it though, it's become one of my fave synths. I can make sounds that originally came from a Supernova on it pretty quickly, and it sits very nicely in modern mixes. The factory presets do not do this synth any justice. It's a powerhouse for Trance, Techno, House, Ambient, Dubstep, Hardstyle, and so much more. And it fits in a backpack, which is also super handy if you're a traveling musician

From Gear Setup

Great Little Synth still after many years off use

This synthesizer is a compact unit. It has mini velocity sensitive keys. Now I understand the mini keys can be a turn off for some, but as for me I use it as a desktop unit, and control with with either MIDI software, or the Novation Summit. So that is something you should consider if you plan on playing live or plan on playing it regularly instead of using MIDI controllers or software.

The MiniNova is more a remake of the amazing SuperNova that was released in 1998, and used by Trance producers around the world. I know that is an automatic selling point for some. This little power house is more then a secret weapon Trance producers kept tucked up their sleeve. Lets discuss some of its sound capabilities, and I will discuss my use of it in recording, and production.

Leads: When in the studio I have a few synthesizers that are my go to for lead sounds, and recordings. Which they are:

*Novation Summit

*ASM Hydrasynth

*Berhinger Pro -1

*Arturia MiniBrute II

*Novation MiniNova

*Waldorf Iridium

Lead: The MiniNova has some great lead tones, and capabilities. I used it for my main lead synth for awhile, and it is very capable of holding its own. Even if it is not upfront in the lead synth mix I almost always have it layered somewhere in the lead to add a different little texture to the overall sound. The great thing about this little synth is that it can hold its own, and can span genres from Heavy Metal to Hip Hop, Trance to Drum & Bass, and Liquid to Neurofunk. This little fella can fit right in.

Pads: I have a work flow that I follow with specific synths sitting in certain spots. Some synthesizers really seem to really fill a spot in a track. The MiniNova does great with pads. My typically pad section consists of ASM Hydrasynth, Novation Summit, and Novation MiniNova. These 3 synthesizers really fill out the pad section. The Hydrasynth really gets those glassy, intricate, and delicate sounds and tones. The Summit really brings home the huge sounding big pad sounds. The MiniNova brings that authentic traditional pad sound. The pads you used to hear on tracks like Shivers, and just about every track on any A State of Trance collection from the 90's on. As the MiniNova really should considering it is a basic remake of the Super Nova which was a staple for pads in the Trance world.

Bass: I am a one of those who believes the best earth shattering bass sounds are going to be from an analog monosynth. I used to not be that way, but over the years and many thousands of hours in a recording studio I have found the tonal qualities the best. Now the MiniNova is often used in the mid bass range to add texture to the sound. It can easily be used as a bass synth, but I prefer the analog mono synth sound.

When it comes to sounds, and sound design right out of the box the MiniNova has some great factory presets, and you can do some pretty cool stuff with those presets without ever having to do menu diving. Now there are two ways to really let the beast out of this mini synth. You can get used to the menu diving which isn't difficult, but can be annoying to those with little patience or new to sound design. Which they do make a VST that is for controlling the sound engine in real time. It is not a VST synth or anything, and it emits no sounds, it is an interface that looks like a VSTi but lets you control the brain of the MiniNova which lets you really do some cool stuff.

Another added benefit to this guy is the Vocodor it is not something you will probably use a lot, but it is a great tool to have on hand.

All in all my final thoughts are that this is a great little synth even with its flaws. It is plastic, and light which is great for being on the go, and the option of being able to control the sound engine with a VST works great in the studio because you can just sit it in a corner our of the way and run your USB, and MIDI cable to it, and be done. Which you don't know how helpful that can be. If my personal one that we use at the studio died I would gladly go buy another one the next day, and take it into the studio to use on a daily basis like I do now. It is a great little synth that you can get some great sounds out of, and as far as a young or new bedroom producer or someone wanting to go from VST to hardware it is a great little synth without an insane price tag.

From Gear Setup

KICKASS for guitar sounds!!!

A synth, yes, but lots of fun non-synth sounds aboard. Loaded in the new 2022 "ultimate patches" update and am floored at the U2 guitar, metallica bass and realistic acoustic guitar / 80s chorused guitar sounds. oh yeah and the floyd "breathe" guitar - killer.

Big Sound, Small Package

Classic lead synth, bass, pads, arpeggiators, all sorts of different keys, and some weird ambient things going on too. The filter is awesome and the pitch and mod wheel are always in use. I use this thing for groovy, fat bass lines like you'd find in P-Funk or for lush, electronic chords to set the mood. The leads can be so funky with the use of the mod wheel. Like all analog synths, many of the sounds are abrasive until you adjust your settings and dial in the preset to where it fits with your other sounds. The nice thing about the Mininova is how easy it is to manipulate your sounds. No confusing patching or esoteric synth stuff that only super nerds will ever understand. It's got very easy to understand controls and knobs that let you get where you want to be very quickly. The vocoder presets are just okay and I don't use it that often for vocoding.

From Gear Setup

Excellent!!

I use to have the big brother the Ultranova. It took up to much space so I sold it. Big mistake. I have missed it since I sold it. Finally decided to buy the MiniNova. It has the same synth engine as the Ultranova but the best way to do sound design is to use the software. Sounds great and fun to play.

Little Synth, Big Sound Engine

I was looking for a small synths to use at my gigs. So, I was also eyeing the MicroKorg for quite a while. But I ultimately went with the MiniNova, after reading some comparisons between these two synths in different forums. The bottom line was, that many loved the MicroKorg for it's warmer sound, but the MiniNova comes with a more capable synth engine. Eventually, I bought a mint MiniNova off Craigslist for a great price. All I can say is, that I am impressed with its capabilities. 3 Oscillators, effect chain with 5 slots, Vocoder and much more! The software editor unveils the whole potential, but you have to make sure to install the VST in the correct folder, otherwise your DAW won't ever find it. I noticed, that some keys are not releasing, when I use it with the VST. This issue does not occur, when the Synth not connected to the PC, however. I love, that it has a USB port. When I want to do some sound design, I just grab my laptop, The MiniNova and some headphones. No need for a MIDI interface dangling around. A drawback is the small keyboard, which will take me a while to get used to, I guess. Generally, I have to explore the synth further, to write a more accurate review. But for now i would give it a 4 star.

Novation Ultranova in a smaller box

Good, modern bread-and-butter subtractive modelling synth with loads of waveforms, filters and modulation possibilities. Lots of performance controls for live use. Novation also supply sounds for the synth on their website, so you can turn it into a Supernova if you wish. The arpeggiator really brings it to life when you're tweaking. It sounds deep and good for bass. It does organs and electric pianos passably well, but its strength lies in evolving pads, chunky bass, sequenced bleeps and distinctive leads. Not many onboard FX, but lots of routing options. Integrates with your DAW like a plug-in for fast editing too.

It's not bad: 3.5/5

At first I regretted buying this because I couldn't get the VST to work properly- no sound while editing the instrument. Then I found it was a local echo midi thing and all was fine. I still kind of think I shouldn't have bought it because it's essentially a wavetable vst except in a hardware form but without the full ability to edit the sound on the machine itself, and I have serum, massive and z3ta+2 for making sounds on the pc.

In the end though the factory patches are quite fun and it's a useful smallish keyboard to explore ideas with when inspiration strikes. In fact the best thing about the mininova is that it makes a handy compact midi controller for the pc. The novation launchkey 61 turned out to be a bit too big for my pc setup.

An incredible mini synth with versatile patches and easy live adjustments

An incredible mini synth. Apart from having just amazing default patches, it is just really easy to use and because of the way it is set up it means you can do a lot of changes while playing. Plus having that large cutoff knob is just a great feature

amazing nomad synth

this one for me is surpassing the MicroKorg (that I already have) with powerfull sounds, and very versatile and easy to use !!