Novation Drum Station

[FX23]

Its knackered

[Marc Pastco]

Thanks for your answer FX23, That means there is no solution?

[trope]

I had the same problem with a Drum Station someone gave me.

The problem seemed to resolve itself when I replaced the power supply - it's best to use the proper Novation adapter.

I'll look at the one I have and see if I can remember anything else that I might have done to make it work properly...

[Marc Pastco]

I replaced the power supply with a new one. Nothing has changed, the knobs do not work. Any ideas?

Thanks to help

[Momentum]

I recently bought one myself, had the same issue, at first glance it does not appear to work.
I tryed other sounds and then it did work.
Haven't used it much, so I can't say what the solution is, but with mine it apears as if some sounds can't be edited.
it's not all analogue.
Some sounds are sample's, if I'm not mistaken.

[Marc Pastco]

I tried all the sounds of all programs, no result. No work with any of them.

Thnaks to help

[The Elf]

Originally Posted by Momentum

it's not all analogue.

It's not analogue at all. It's a combination of samples and modelling.

I like my Drumstation. It's very useful for those old sounds - I actually replaced my real 808/909 with it and it does a good enough job. Some people get sniffy about it, but it doesn't bother me - I just make records with mine and nobody knows the difference.

The output level is pitifully low though.

[Marc Pastco]

As you can see in the manual is a combination of analog an samples:

Drums
808/909 Bass Drum analog
808/909 Snare Drum analog
808/909 Rim Shot Sample
808/909 HandClap Sample
808/909 Closed Hat analog/Sample
808/909 Open Hat analog/Sample
909 Ride Cymbal Sample
808/909 Crash Cymbal analog/Sample
808/909 Low Tom analog
808/909 Mid Tom analog
808/909 Hi Tom analog
808 Cowbell Sample
808 Low Conga analog
808 Mid Conga analog
808 Hi Conga analog
808 Maracas Sample
808 Claves Sample

[The Elf]

The 'analogue' sounds are digitally modelled using 'ASM': 'Analogue Sound Modelling'. The Drumstation is not an analogue device.

[ZenMaster]

[Marc Pastco]

Even if there is a digital machine, any ideas to make it work well?

Thanks to help

[The Elf]

Plug the Drumstation's MIDI output into a MIDI input to your DAW. Turn a few knobs and look for MIDI activity at your DAW's MIDI input. Not all knobs will produce MIDI data - the level knobs do not.

Can you see MIDI activity when you do this?

[Marc Pastco]

I did. It was one of the first things I did, but it does not work. No midi send.

Thanks to help

[The Elf]

Assuming there's no filtering going on, and the same cable/chain works with other MIDI instruments, then it would appear that your Drumstation is probably broken. Time to look for a technician.

The first place I would go is to Novation's support page and see if they can help you.

[Marc Pastco]

You're right, that is.

I sent an email to Novation support a week ago, but I have not received answer, only questionnaire about my home studio

Thanks to help.

[NuG3nda]

are you sure you not just in the wrong mode... you need to be in editing mode/program mode (can´t remember what its called at the moment.. but there´s a switch on the face of the unit that you need to flip in order to activate the editing of the front panel ..

[robot gigante]

Originally Posted by Marc Pastco

You're right, that is.

I sent an email to Novation support a week ago, but I have not received answer, only questionnaire about my home studio

Thanks to help.

Hmmm... I am right there with you in that my Drumstation is also busted.

But Novation tech support were really quick about getting back to me with the address for their repair center in town, and even sent a follow-up email to see how the repairs went, which was kind of embarrassing since I haven't had time to take it in yet.

Maybe try them again, I dunno?

[BenW Focusrite]

Hi Marc Pastco,

Sorry for the delay in answering your question. We are a man down at the moment.
I have responded to your email now.

Best Regards

[Marc Pastco]

Originally Posted by NuG3nda

are you sure you not just in the wrong mode... you need to be in editing mode/program mode (can´t remember what its called at the moment.. but there´s a switch on the face of the unit that you need to flip in order to activate the editing of the front panel ..

Yes I´m sure. I think you're talking about portect button on the front panel. I put it in "enable" mode, but does not work. No Knob seems to work, even the master volume.

Thaks to help.

[Marc Pastco]

Originally Posted by BenW Focusrite

Hi Marc Pastco,

Sorry for the delay in answering your question. We are a man down at the moment.
I have responded to your email now.

Best Regards

Thaks to your mail. I have responded to your email.

[laitos]

After lurking these forums for months, I spotted this thread and realized that maybe I should actually register.

I bought a cheap DS with non-functional knobs and took a look inside. The issue in my case was related to the a oxidized contact in one of the leads which connect to the front panel PWB.

Quick instructions for those who are interested:

Tools needed: Phillips head screwdriver and diagonal pliers
Time: 5-20 minutes

1) Disassemble your drumstation by removing all screws which are visible and expose the PWBs
2) Locate a single wire which leads to the main PWB and is connected under a screw (single green wire in my case) and unscrew the screw.
- This is the connection which was not working, due to which all knobs (Except the volume pot) were non-functional. The reason is that the volume knob + the keypad are connected via different route to the main PWB.
- this wire is connected close to the cymbals / congas knobs on the PWB so it's easy to find. Rest of the Knob PWB to Main PWB cables are on the other end of the knob panel.

In my case the fix was that I removed the connector from the lead by cutting the lead (didn't have anything to clear it with or a replacement connector) and then removed some of the insulation to expose the wire. After this was done, I just curled the exposed wire around the screw and screwed it back into it's place.

At this point you might want to test the connection and see if the knobs start working, just don't touch the PWB or the components when the power adapter is connected.

Sorry, no pictures are available. If anyone tries this procedure, please take a photo of the insides of your drumstation? I didn't realize that I might be writing this kind of instructions and I don't want to remove my DS from the rack and disassemble it once again.

[monofonen]

Great tip laitos!

I had the same problem with my Drumstation (only knob that worked was the master volume one) and I tried your solution. And it worked! I took a picture of the contact and put it up on my blog along with the full story.

Thanks again for sharing! Have been looking for ideas on how to fix this for years.

[BM0]

My Drum Station is messed up. A couple knobs were on the fritz. Turning it would not adjust the volume on one, and tune on another, in a linear fashion. I messed around with it and now the volume is just opened the entire way which is fine, but the rimshot tune knob is just whacked out. Other than that, it works fine. Is there a source for the pots? I would like to fix it one day.