Peak is Novation's new polyphonic synthesiser. It's an eight-voice analogue-hybrid design with a total of 24 oscillators, a multi-mode filter, analogue distortion, and three discrete digital effects. But behind these headlines, Novation have gone to great lengths to innovate with both digital and analogue technologies. In this preview, we aim to reveal a little more about what's going on under the hood; what makes Peak do what it does, and how. We'll explore the new tech developed specifically for Peak, and highlight the point at which analogue and digital converge. Central to Peak is the use of a high-powered processor component called a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). In contrast to traditional DSP chips, which often need to run in pairs or quads, the FPGA is a single processor on which many functions can run - from oscillators to the modulation matrix. The key benefit to an FPGA is that it runs at a much higher rate than DSP-based technology, and this has a direct impact on the clarity of sound. Each of Peak's eight voices has an independent oversampling digital-to-analogue converter (DAC). These DAC's are oversampling at over 24MHz (24 million times per second), using a simple RC (resistor-capacitor) filter on their output in the analogue domain. In itself this is not new technology, but their integration inside the FPGA has enabled their design to be extended to enable optimum waveform synthesis. Because other virtual synths use discrete 'off the shelf' DAC chips, which are restricted to running at sample rates of either 48kHz or perhaps 96kHz, they often have aliasing issues, especially when synthesising higher frequencies. Peak's ability to generate waveforms at the oversampling frequency - up to 512 times the traditional rate - ensures that Peak's waveforms are pure at all frequencies, free from digital artifacts no matter how aggressively the pitch is modulated.

New firmware v2.0

Novation brings new firmware through which new features give you better control over controls, modulations or effects. Emphasis has been placed on better stereo sound, so the output signal will now be wider, larger and intricately textured areas more transparent. New parameters have been added to LFO filters and the Apeggiator Chance feature opens up more creative performance options. The effects unit has seen new effects, modes for Chorus, Flanger and new tonalities for Phlanger. Also new is Lo-Fi Delay for great VIntage sound. And last but not least, the bugs, the list of which can be found on the manufacturer's website, have been fixed.

Paraller Aggressor worth $ 49 completely free

When you buy this product from Novation, you now get the highly intuitive Paraller Aggressor plugin from Baby Audio worth $ 49 for free. The plugin allows you to duplicate individual tracks, giving you much more performance. The three parallel buses (Dry, Spank, Heat) collect your original signal individually, and you then mix it according to your needs and preferences without losing its dynamics, transparency or quality. The promotion is valid from January 20 to April 14, 2022.