Hi everybody ! I would like to buy my only synth, what do you think about Novation Summit ? sound, qualities...i've listened to the polybrute 12 but i find the sound not awesome for such a pricy synth. Somebody said that the The Novation Summit has less character...So, anyone have the Summit ? thank you for your advice.

 

Buy 5 Behringer instead and save some bucks

 

Last edited: Feb 10, 2025

Clear purchase recommendation:

The Novation Summit basically works on the basis of digital circuits, only its filters are analogue. Here is a brief summary of the sound generation: Each sound can be created from up to three oscillators. Each oscillator plays either one of four classic waveforms (sine, triangle, sawtooth or square) or one of 43 wavetables, which in turn consist of 5 waveforms each. Three oscillators can be wonderfully "nested" via the FM section to generate typical DX FM sounds and fed via the mixer into two analogue 12 dB filters, which can also be used together as a 24 dB filter or can be used in different ways such as bandpass or highpass etc. Two ADSR envelopes and 4 LFOs are available for modulation. Finally, the signal can be fed through up to four effects at the same time (distortion, chorus, delay and reverb).

CONCLUSION
The Novation Summit is the perfect evolution of the Novation Peak synthesizer. Double the number of voices, more controls, easier operation and a great sound that is at home in both worlds. The Novation Summit could become something like the "all in one" synthesizer for some.

It also serves as an external effects device to give external signals an analogue touch or to breathe new life into them with cleverly modulated effects. This makes the Novation Summit much more than just a keyboard; for me it is the perfect addition to a digital working environment - a real masterpiece.

Plus

• great sound - both analog and digital
• very well-structured user interface
• invites you to experiment (keyword FM, Karplus Strong and, with a wink, "additive")
• Stereo input for post-processing of external signals
• 43 wavetables

Novation Summit - All Playing, No Talking

 

It's a great synth. I'm an owner of a Novation Peak and have played with a Summit more than enough. Take my experience with a grain of salt, as I'm not someone that performs live with my synth- only in studio use, but 9 times out of 10, I'm more than happy with the sounds I'm getting out of VSTs these days and don't even bother routing or printing the sounds of my Peak. And resale value for these, and finding a buyer for these, is not great (perhaps better for a Summit than a Peak)- I've wanted to sell mine but not been able to find a buyer.

If you are looking for 1 workhorse synth to perform with etc or one that you will just learn very deeply and get all of your sounds out of I'd say go for it. It can cover all the bases. But it's not super unique in the sounds it makes either, I can usually get the sounds close enough out of software with more recallability for the project.

 

ok guys, thank you for all your feedback !

 

I was late coming to the Novation Summit party but when I did 3 years ago I was very glad I did, its an absolute awesome beast of a synth, it sounds beautiful, BUT... we are in 2025 now and the Summit is kind of old these days, still very capable for sure but for the money you have a few more options to look at before jumping in.

If you have plenty of cash then add one to your synth collection you will love it, but if you have saved hard and are looking for your next flagship synth then please do some research at some of the latest offerings as there are some beauties out there.

I recently got the Behringer Poly D on a whim and for the money this is a lovely sounding board and far cheaper than a summit although sure they are in different leagues but you could get 2 or 3 different synths for the same price as a summit.

I wish you all the best in this exciting journey

 

thank you for your reply ! hard to choose indeed...

 

this is exactly what i would do. You can get a much wider variety of sonics. From wavetable/digital to full analog. The downsides, storage / space, and perhaps not knowing a single synth as well.

 

Let me live vicariously through you and so please buy the epic recreation of the iconic CS-80, a DECKARD'S DREAM MK2.

 

Novation/Focusrite has excellent technical support, it can be important and helpful info—I dunno about Behringer.

 

I really loved your comment, so let's say you are in 2025, what actually answers the term of "unique" for Analog OR digital, feel free to choose one of them, I am super interested with your answer because I feel you are very professional and experienced

 

I think you should buy my Novation Peak

From what I'm gleaning from your posts it seems like perhaps you want to invest money into one synth, and this choice must be made very carefully because this will be your first major investment down this path and it needs to be the absolute right one, right? I was once here. In fact, that was my mentality when I bought the Peak. Well, I was very happy with my decision. If you're set on this path then I say go with the Summit. Despite my previous sentiment, it is unique, it has a tone, it has a character that can be a bit strident- it will step directly through any track, but can also be tamed and make beautiful pads, filter it and process it and make great bass lines, etc.

But my alternative advice is this (and I'm not sure if you've already been down this path or not), get a nice MIDI keyboard, play with the best free synth VSTs (Vital) and modular ones (Cardinal). Then maybe buy (or acquire) some paid ones (Serum, Diva, Repro, etc, etc, whatever ones seem the coolest to you). And really hone in and learn whichever ones you get access to for a few months or so. Try making every type of sound you can on those. And do this while reading about synths that seem interesting to you, but also read and learn about the synths throughout history and the lineage of all this.

And try Syntorial if you're thinking about buying a synth to learn on or get better, it will get you better fast.

After all of that, re-evaluate what synth you want to buy and how much you want to invest

(also just want to add, there is a bit of menu diving on Summit/Peak, watch a youtube video on that to see if that is a turn off for you, to me it never bothered me, but I also was determined to learn it inside and out)

 

Last edited: May 10, 2025

My advice would be - buy something with digital oscillators and patch memory. Analog can be a pita, warmup, tuning, no recall, I've got better things to do with my time. Modular stuff can be fun and good for sound design and sampling but you're inevitably ending up digital one way or another. There's a lot of choices out there, Novation Summit being one of them. Personally I wouldn't be buying five analog Behringers over one quality instrument.

If I were you I'd write down what you want to achieve with a hardware synth and make a decision on that basis. Maybe get back to us on here with more detail, then we can offer more appropriate advice.

 

The summit is almost $3,000:

This is certainly not what I would choose if I had that kind of money to spend on a hardware synth.

You are strongly advised to compare with the offering of:
Yamaha, Roland, Korg, Kurzweil and Waldorf, to name just a few.

I believe you will get more bang for your bucks from one of these especially at this price point.

 

For that $$$ I'd get a workstation first. Roland Fantom 06, 07, 08 and midi sync it with the DAW. Or a Kurzweil.

 

You may need a ~$2000+ computer to run it nicely, but the free (for their hw owners) plugin Yamaha released of their $5000 Montage is a good example of why I would pick a good analog over me buying any more new digital synths. Of course, I will not rule out some killer deal on a used digital synth. As others have mentioned, you have to consider what kind of workflow you like. If I was starting over completely from scratch, I would consider using only softsynths and a high quality analog summing mixer to bounce everything through. That is not a workflow for the impatient, but everything you print will sound as good as it is ever going to get. Buying stuff to complement your existing workflow is different than starting with a blank slate. I already have enough VA synths.

 

Whatever you choose, I suggest that you buy it used if you can, so if you decide to sell it for whatever reason you won't loose 30% or more out of the gate (as long as it's not been abused by you or the previous owner).

 

Hi, I know that this is something else but I'm looking for help of other Summit users. Does any one have this effect on his Summit? Is this correct normal behavior?
When I change patch, most of them causes sound distortion on first note like in attached example.

Sample contains playing two notes of:
1. Init Patch (!!!)
2. Guitar Patch
3. SingleWavez
4. Breathy Trunpet
5. 3 Osc BassSynth
6. 4>8>12 UnisonPWM
All of them are copied patches from banks A-C saved as patches in bank D.

You can hear first note is distorted after changing patch from to:
Init Patch -> Guitar Patch (!!! how it is possible if it is "clear" patch?)
SingleWavez -> Breathy Trumpet
3 Osc BassSynth -> 4>8>12 UnisonPWM

I have last avaiable firmware version and its brand new synth...

When I press something on panel (even disabled as button A) after patch change and before play note the distiortion does not occur. It mostly doesn't occure when before change patch I move time delay rotary down to zero.

Is this correct? Or is this something with firmware or hardware?

 

I asked the AI, maybe it can help you:

Spoiler: Source: Grok KI

Hi! It sounds like you're dealing with the Sequential Summit synthesizer (based on the patch names like "Init Patch," "SingleWavez," "Breathy Trumpet," "3 Osc BassSynth," and "4>8>12 UnisonPWM," which match its factory and user presets). That's a beast of a synth—congrats on the new one! I'll break this down based on what you've described, drawing from user reports, forums, and Sequential's known behaviors. Short answer: This isn't "normal" in the sense of expected clean performance, but it's a fairly common complaint tied to preset loading quirks, not a hardware defect. It's likely firmware-related (even on the latest version) and can often be worked around or mitigated.

Is This Normal Behavior?

• No, but it's reported often: The Summit (like its predecessors, the Prophet '08 and '12) has a known issue where preset changes can cause a brief "thump," glitch, or distortion on the first note (or first few notes) after loading. This happens because the synth unloads the old preset's voice allocations, envelopes, and modulation states while simultaneously loading the new one. If there's any overlap or incomplete reset (e.g., lingering envelope decay, filter resonance, or oscillator sync from the previous patch), the first note triggers an audio artifact—like the distortion you're hearing.
  • Why the "Init Patch" (a super-clean factory reset preset) causes it when switching to the Guitar Patch: The Init Patch has minimal processing (no heavy unison, FM, or distortion), but the switch to Guitar (which likely ramps up oscillator levels, adds drive, or engages unison detuning) can create a gain spike or parameter ramp-up glitch during load. It's not the patches themselves being "dirty"—it's the transition.
  • Similar for SingleWavez → Breathy Trumpet (wavetable to FM-heavy brass with breath noise) and 3 Osc BassSynth → 4>8>12 UnisonPWM (basic triple-osc bass to a detuned, PWM-heavy unison sound): These involve big shifts in oscillator count, unison voices, and modulation, which stress the voice-stealing/assignment during preset recall.
• Your workarounds match known fixes:
  • Pressing a panel button (e.g., even disabled Button A) after change: This forces a parameter update or mod matrix recalc, "waking up" the synth and clearing any residual state from the old patch. It's a common hack—essentially, it interrupts the load sequence and ensures full initialization.
  • Turning Delay Time to zero before switching: Delays (and reverbs) can "smear" the transition if their buffers aren't fully flushed. Zeroing it out bypasses any tail that's bleeding into the new patch, preventing the first note from picking up echo/distortion artifacts. (Pro tip: Do this for reverb size/mix too if it's enabled globally.)

This isn't universal—many users don't notice it in casual play or with simpler patches—but it's exacerbated on complex ones (high unison, heavy modulation) or during live sets. It's not hardware (your brand-new unit rules out wear), but a firmware limitation in how preset recall handles voice voicing and parameter slewing.

Is It Firmware or Hardware?

• Firmware, almost certainly: Sequential's latest firmware (as of Nov 2025, v2.2 or whatever the current drop is—double-check via their site or MIDI tool) improves stability, but preset-switch glitches persist for some. It's a holdover from the design prioritizing fast recall over zero-latency perfection (the Summit juggles 16 voices + dual layers, which is computationally heavy). No widespread hardware recalls or defects match this.
• To rule out hardware:
  • Run the built-in calibration (Settings > Calibrate Filters/VCAs—takes ~2-3 min). This resets analog sections (filters, distortion stages) and can clear minor offsets.
  • Test with a simple A/B: Load two basic sine-wave patches (no unison/FM/effects) and switch 50+ times. If distortion persists consistently, it's firmware/behavioral. If intermittent, could be a loose connection (unlikely on new unit).
  • Monitor CPU/load via the display—if it spikes during switches, that's the smoking gun.

Quick Fixes and Tips

1. Workflow Adjustments:
   • Always "prep" before switching: Mute output briefly (if live), zero delays/reverbs, or hit a dummy button as you do.
   • Use Scenes (if enabled in your patches) for on-the-fly tweaks instead of full preset changes—less loading overhead.
   • For live use: Chain patches in a setlist with similar voice counts (e.g., group bass/unison together) to minimize transitions.
2. Firmware Check/Update:
   • Download the latest from sequential.com/support (use their MIDI SysEx tool—easy, no USB needed).
   • Post-update, factory reset (hold Preset + power on) and reload your Bank D patches. Sometimes this clears cached glitches.
3. Patch Tweaks:
   • In your copied patches, lower initial oscillator levels or add a short "fade-in" envelope delay (0.01-0.05s) on amp/mod envs. This softens the first-note attack.
   • For unison-heavy ones (like 4>8>12), reduce voices per note or detune spread slightly—eases load time.
   • Global: In Settings > Voice, try "Poly Steal" modes (Soft vs. Strict) to prioritize clean voice assignment.
4. Community Consensus:
   • Sequential forums (forum.sequential.com) and Reddit (r/synthesizers, search "Summit preset change thump") have threads on this—users call it "annoying but livable." Some script MIDI delays via external controllers to "pause" notes post-switch.
   • If it's unbearable, email Sequential support ([email protected]) with your sample audio—they're responsive and might flag it for a future update.

If you share more (e.g., exact firmware version, MIDI setup, or if it's worse on certain outputs), I can dig deeper. Hang in there—once you groove around it, the Summit's tones are worth it. What's your setup like? Playing live or studio?

 

Yamaha MODX M7 ??