How do I upload sounds to the A-station?
To load sound bank into the A station, you'll first need the following software:
- If you are on a PC, you'll need MIDI-OX (http://www.midiox.com/)
- If you are on a Mac, you'll need SysEx Librarian (http://www.snoize.com/SysExLibrarian/)
Load the sound into the software, and send it to the A-station via a midi interface.
Once the sound bank is sent, it'll only be saved to the A-station's RAM, so to save it permanently, first, you need to check if memory protect is on or off. To do this, go to 'Utility' mode, and check if the LED on the left (labelled porta/data) is on. If it is off, press the 'Unprotect/+' button to unprotect it. Next, go to 'Save' mode, make sure the LED light is on (which indicate memory is off), then press 'Write/+' to save a sound.
The Vocoder section doesn't work on my A-Station
If the vocoder is being used with a microphone, double check that the input sensitivity has been switched from “Lo” (the factory default) to “Hi”. This is the correct sensitivity for a microphone or for a guitar. Next, adjust the audio input trim for the best signal level. Go to one of the vocoders presets - 259, 269 or 279 and play notes on the A-Station at the same time as talking or singing into the mic. The vocoder effect should be audible.
For more information on the input sensitivity and input trim, see pages 52 and 53 in the A-Station manual (54 & 55 in the A-Station v1.1 manual).
The Arpeggiator is not running on my A-Station
Check the midi clock source (4th page of the global menu). If this is set to “e” for external, ensure that the A-Station is receiving midi clock. Also, check that the arp condition is not off (first page of the arpeggio menu). See pages 36 and 51 in the user manual for full descriptions of these parameters (37 & 52 in the A-Station V1.1 manual).
A-Station isn't responding to front panel controls
The local control has been turned off and the A-Station is not being used in a complete midi-loop. Check the second page in the global menu. If this alternates between “Lo” and “of” use the data control to make this alternate between “Lo” and “on”.
How to check the current operating system on an A-Station
The latest OS version for the A-Station is OS2.1.02. To check to see which version of OS is installed in an A-Station, power the A-Station up while holding down the number 3 button. The screen will show 2.1 followed by 2 if OS2.1.02 is already installed.
If it is not, this OS can be downloaded and installed using the files from the A-Station downloads section of the Novation website.
Resetting an A-Station to the original factory settings
This is in three parts. Firstly the factory OS needs to be reloaded and then the sound banks & global data will have to be restored from ROM. Please note that it is unlikely that the factory OS should ever need to be restored. Any problems which require a “reset” can usually be overcome by restoring the global data and/or the sound banks 1&2.
A-Station Factory installed O/S Restore
Turn on with “demo” held down and keep demo pushed in. Screen should show “FA OS” for factory OS. Press select and now let go of both buttons. “Su rE” should be displayed. Pressing select again should restore the OS.
A-Station Bank Restore
Enter the Utility mode. Press the “+” button to unprotect the unit. When restoring banks of factory programs, the program entered before the utility menu was entered selects the bank the restore will go to - i.e. if program 152 was selected, B1 or B2 will be restored to Bank 1. For an A-Station to be completely reset, B1, B2 and globals need to be restored individually, there is no total data restore. The init banks 3&4 are not stored in the A-Station ROM.
A-Station Global restore
Press “9” to enter the restore menu. The options are “1P, B1, B2 and GL” on each successive press of “9”. If GL is selected, press “+” makes GL flash, press “+” once more performs the restore. The unit will automatically write protect itself, as this is one of the restored global settings.
The LCDs rapidly moving vertical bars on my A-Station
This is not a fault with the A-Station - it is a warning message. The screen is indicating that one of the shift switches has landed in an indeterminate position. Move all the switches on the front panel back and forth until the screen clears.
A-Station shows a packet error and fails to update
The A-Station is showing a Packet Error on the screen to indicate that it has received a packet error during the data transmission. If this happens, the OS will not be uploaded into the A Station flash memory. Switch off and try again. If this happens repeatedly, try using a SysEx utility to send the OS to the synth.
SysEx Librarian for Mac (www.snoize.com) and MIDI-OX for PC (www.midiox.com) are both free to download from the web and will reliably send data to the synth. The latest OS is available in SysEx format from the downloads section of our website. When using SysEx Librarian, ensure the synth is connected and ready to receive the OS before starting the program. In the program, select the relevant MIDI output from the drop-down 'destination' menu and then click on 'Add…' and select the OS file you wish to load into the synth. To send the data, click 'play'.
When using MIDI-OX, make sure the synth is connected and ready to receive the OS before starting the program. In MIDI-OX, select 'SysEx…' from the 'view' menu to open the SysEx scratch pad window. In the SysEx, scratch pad window, select 'load file…' from the 'command window' menu and select the OS file you wish to load into the synth. To send the data, select 'send SysEx file…' from the 'file' menu. In MIDI-OX, you can increase the SysEx buffer size by selecting 'configure buffers…' from the 'options' menu. If you continue to get packet errors when using MIDI-OX, then double the buffer size until the OS update completes successfully.