Novation Summit or Rev2

[Amorr]

For my first synth I am between a Summit for 1200 or a Rev2 16 voice for 1400, not sure which to get. I make mainly synthwave. In some videos I prefer the summit's sound, others the rev2. I also absolutely adore the keybed on the rev2. Any suggestions?

[cryophonik]

Wow, these are both great choices for a first synth and my first reaction is that if you can buy those synths for those prices, buy both of them ASAP!

I have the desktop modules of both of these synths (well, technically the Peak is a little different than the Summit and has half the voice count, but close enough), and I’d honestly have a difficult time choosing between them. The Novation is obviously a hybrid, but those Oxford oscillators and all those different waveforms sound excellent and give you a very wide range of sound design options. The Novation also has a better spec’ed arp (useful for synthwave) and better effects IMO, particularly the reverb, which sounds amazing on the Novation and not so great on the Rev2 IMO. The Summit also has the additional filter options, which my Peak doesn’t have.

The Rev2 is obviously an analog synth and it sounds great. I wouldn’t say that it’s the most vintage sounding synth on the market, but it does nail those vintage 80s synth sounds pretty well. It also has two layers that can be routed to individual outputs, so you can also think of it as having two 8-voice analog synths. Then, there’s the step sequencers, which are great for sequencing parameters. One thing I’m hoping Sequential will do soon is release an OS update for the Rev2 that includes the “Vintage Mode” option for the Slop control. They gave my Prophet 6 this option in the last update and it’s a big improvement over the Slop control.

As for the keybeds, I’ve played the keyboard version of the Rev2 and it’s an excellent Fatar keybed. I haven’t played a Summit, but it seems that I hear nothing but great things about its keybed as well.

Bottom line: very tough decision here but the great news is that you can’t go wrong with either one (especially at those prices!). I think that, if I were you and I wanted it mostly for synthwave, I’d lean slightly toward the Rev2.

[simmo75]

For my first synth I am between a Summit for 1200 or a Rev2 16 voice for 1400, not sure which to get. I make mainly synthwave. In some videos I prefer the summit's sound, others the rev2. I also absolutely adore the keybed on the rev2. Any suggestions?

Where are you getting those prices?

[Amorr]

For my first synth I am between a Summit for 1200 or a Rev2 16 voice for 1400, not sure which to get. I make mainly synthwave. In some videos I prefer the summit's sound, others the rev2. I also absolutely adore the keybed on the rev2. Any suggestions?

Where are you getting those prices?

Buying Second hand

[simmo75]

For my first synth I am between a Summit for 1200 or a Rev2 16 voice for 1400, not sure which to get. I make mainly synthwave. In some videos I prefer the summit's sound, others the rev2. I also absolutely adore the keybed on the rev2. Any suggestions?

Where are you getting those prices?

Buying Second hand

Great prices mate, you should definitely get the rev2, and if you can get both… lol!

[Amorr]

For my first synth I am between a Summit for 1200 or a Rev2 16 voice for 1400, not sure which to get. I make mainly synthwave. In some videos I prefer the summit's sound, others the rev2. I also absolutely adore the keybed on the rev2. Any suggestions?

Where are you getting those prices?

Buying Second hand

Great prices mate, you should definitely get the rev2, and if you can get both… lol!

Thanks for the reply! Yeah I'm leaning towards the rev2 I think, I just LOVE some of the fm sounds from the Summit, but I feel I could get that from a dx7 emulation.

[Amorr]

Wow, these are both great choices for a first synth and my first reaction is that if you can buy those synths for those prices, buy both of them ASAP!

I have the desktop modules of both of these synths (well, technically the Peak is a little different than the Summit and has half the voice count, but close enough), and I’d honestly have a difficult time choosing between them. The Novation is obviously a hybrid, but those Oxford oscillators and all those different waveforms sound excellent and give you a very wide range of sound design options. The Novation also has a better spec’ed arp (useful for synthwave) and better effects IMO, particularly the reverb, which sounds amazing on the Novation and not so great on the Rev2 IMO. The Summit also has the additional filter options, which my Peak doesn’t have.

The Rev2 is obviously an analog synth and it sounds great. I wouldn’t say that it’s the most vintage sounding synth on the market, but it does nail those vintage 80s synth sounds pretty well. It also has two layers that can be routed to individual outputs, so you can also think of it as having two 8-voice analog synths. Then, there’s the step sequencers, which are great for sequencing parameters. One thing I’m hoping Sequential will do soon is release an OS update for the Rev2 that includes the “Vintage Mode” option for the Slop control. They gave my Prophet 6 this option in the last update and it’s a big improvement over the Slop control.

As for the keybeds, I’ve played the keyboard version of the Rev2 and it’s an excellent Fatar keybed. I haven’t played a Summit, but it seems that I hear nothing but great things about its keybed as well.

Bottom line: very tough decision here but the great news is that you can’t go wrong with either one (especially at those prices!). I think that, if I were you and I wanted it mostly for synthwave, I’d lean slightly toward the Rev2.

Wow, thanks for the in depth reply! Basically sums up my feelings lol.

[Azbest]

I'd get REV2.

[Amorr]

Thanks for the replies, decided to go for rev2.

[cryophonik]

Nice! I think you made a solid choice

[simmo75]

Thanks for the replies, decided to go for rev2.

Good choice! It’s a beautiful synth.

[_leras]

Does Rev2 have dual filters where one can do high pass and the other low pass?

Does the Rev2 have a limited number of oscillator shapes compared to the summit?

[cryophonik]

Does Rev2 have dual filters where one can do high pass and the other low pass?

The main filter is a switchable 2-pole/4-pole low pass analog filter, but there is a digital high pass filter in the effects section. Still not as versatile as the Summit, but with that modulation capabilities it has a lot of flexibility.

Does the Rev2 have a limited number of oscillator shapes compared to the summit?

Yes, very much so. The Summit/Peak has dozens of wavetables that the Rev2 doesn't offer and it has 3 oscillators compared the the Rev2's two oscillators.

I think I see what you're getting at and, yes, there are some areas where the Summit's specs beat the Rev2, and vice versa, but specs on paper aren't everything.

[zerocrossing]

For my first synth I am between a Summit for 1200 or a Rev2 16 voice for 1400, not sure which to get. I make mainly synthwave. In some videos I prefer the summit's sound, others the rev2. I also absolutely adore the keybed on the rev2. Any suggestions?

For synthwave, definitely the REV2. I've got a REV2 16 voice module and had a Peak, and the Peak's sound is good, but not what I'd call very "analog" sounding, especially something reminiscent of the 80s or 90s. It's a very modern sounding instrument. There's this Tom Shoebridge video where he talks about it replacing some Moog... maybe a Sub Phatty? Anyway, he then goes on to show me how very far off from that sort of sound it is. To someone who doesn't care that much, sure, it's fine and you can get in the ball park, but if you want something a lot closer, it's the REV2 all day long. Listen to any of Luke Neptune's retro sound packs and you'll hear what I'm saying.

Now, for range of different sound types, the Summit is going to overtake the REV2. Just the ability to use wave shapes beyond the usual analog shapes is going to open things up a lot, plus the FM abilities, per filter distortion, etc. The REV2's effects are decent, but the Summit's are better.

The real answer, of course, is "both," but I'm sure that's not helpful. Good luck.

[Uncle E]

Thanks for the reply! Yeah I'm leaning towards the rev2 I think, I just LOVE some of the fm sounds from the Summit, but I feel I could get that from a dx7 emulation.

Definitely not worth getting a Summit for FM sounds, despite the great price you found. Try to find an old Yamaha TX7 module, it nails the vintage sounds better than plugins and even most other Yamaha's.