KVR Audio

ksandvik · Post by **ksandvik** » Sat Dec 07, 2013 4:12 am

Don't know yet, as NI takes 4-8 weeks to ship the boxed version just now.... Sigh.

bailees7irish · Post by **bailees7irish** » Sat Dec 07, 2013 4:15 am

bill45 wrote:Diva has that killer organ patch

Wow...that is an expensive synth for one patch.

zerocrossing · Post by **zerocrossing** » Sat Dec 07, 2013 4:53 am

As a Komplete 8 owner it's only a matter of time before I get it via an upgrade... I just wish Komplete 9 was a bit more... exciting.

JoeCat · Post by **JoeCat** » Sat Dec 07, 2013 4:57 am

Almost missed this sale - kept seeing Razor (which I already have) half price...

I actually like the fact that the feature set is paired down (and, once the filter work, etc. was done, it would have been cake to add a bunch of distracting features given the Reaktor development environment). I loved Logic's ES M. Feels more like an instrument that way.

I go play now and pretend I just spent a lot of money on hardware...

JoeCat · Post by **JoeCat** » Sat Dec 07, 2013 5:15 am

...and that interface is awesome - very, very clean and perfect contrast (all the Reaktor stuff - Prism, Razor, etc. has been like that lately).

Plus, those of us who like to carry our LPK25's in a backpack always appreciate the PB and mod wheels

pdxindy · Post by **pdxindy** » Sat Dec 07, 2013 6:15 am

ksandvik wrote:Don't know yet, as NI takes 4-8 weeks to ship the boxed version just now.... Sigh.

Boxed version of what?

electro · Post by **electro** » Sat Dec 07, 2013 10:41 am

bailees7irish wrote:
bill45 wrote:Diva has that killer organ patch

Wow...that is an expensive synth for one patch.

Why would you want a synth for organ patches rather than dedicated organ emulator? That's what I don't understand. Several 80s synths such as DX7 have presets like "Juno strings", but don't those patches become redundant when you have an actual Juno synthesizer or VSTI?

The Roland Juno will have patches called "Moog Bass", but isn't it better to use Monark or a real Model D for all your Moog Bass needs?

patcub · Post by **patcub** » Sat Dec 07, 2013 1:23 pm

PAK wrote:
patcub wrote:How does Monark compare to Diva?
Diva's current Moog model struggles to reproduce the same amount of bass at certain settings. When that's not the case they can closely match each other on many levels. The other main difference is there's a more direct "in your face" punchy quality Monark's envelopes impart which, IMO, shares more in common with analogue hardware, and Diva would sometimes require compression / transient shaping to better match that.

The flip side is that's partly what makes Monark sound slightly "aggressive" at times, and it might struggle a bit more than it should to flip between a more "rounded" sound and the edgey sound it has. So perhaps not perfection yet. But it's getting closer

Monark also drifts a lot more at default settings. That's why (EG) some will have noticed you're playing a bass sound and then the timbre changes and it starts to lose the bass, particularly when all 3 oscillators are engaged and using similar wave shapes. Diva chooses a more controlled and consistent approach by default, which means it avoids those sorts of annoyances. The disadvantage is it means less movement in the voice, where Monark might come closer to some peoples idea of VCO hardware. You can go into the trimmers and adjust things in Diva (voice drift and variance options), but it creates the overall impression of things being slightly more "locked down" in Diva otherwise.

I also think Monark does a better job in the feedback/distortion department (plus it offers the 2 types), and it'd be nice to see some more options in Diva (other than the Rotary FX drive ).

Other than that, Diva has a lot more stuff, and some of the above differences might be said to work in favour of being polyphonic, depending on what you wanted..

Thanks PAK for such detailed answer. I already have DiVA and komplete 8, so I think I'm going to wait a bit and get Monark when upgrading to komplete 9 or 10, for now DIVA sounds good enough for me, but for some reason its minimoog is not my favorite, I love the rolands better.

Steve550 · Post by **Steve550** » Sat Dec 07, 2013 3:16 pm

A Yamaha CS80 emulation in quality like Monark would be awesome!

pdxindy · Post by **pdxindy** » Sat Dec 07, 2013 4:42 pm

patcub wrote:for now DIVA sounds good enough for me, but for some reason its minimoog is not my favorite, I love the rolands better.

Lots of people feel that way about the originals too...

beely · Post by **beely** » Sat Dec 07, 2013 4:49 pm

electro wrote:The Roland Juno will have patches called "Moog Bass", but isn't it better to use Monark or a real Model D for all your Moog Bass needs?

Forget what the name says - if that patch is the one you like, who cares what synth it comes from or what it's called? It may be that it's the slightly Roland-ey flavour you like, which you wouldn't get with another instrument...

electro · Post by **electro** » Sat Dec 07, 2013 6:01 pm

Point is its an attempt to synthesize a sound from one synth on another.

I am not going to go to a sampler for a DX7 piano when I have an actual DX7 unless its broken, locked up in storage or something else inconvenient. Likewise, I'm not going to a sample library and MIDI keyboard for Fender Stratocaster if I have one and really know how to play. For an amateur player, the synth emulation route might have its merits.

electro · Post by **electro** » Sat Dec 07, 2013 6:07 pm

Another point is spreading sound types over various synths is a good idea. I can use Monark for deep monosynth bass with DIVA adding a nice pad. Not every sound in a track has to come from one softsynth. Using different synths for different things can also help speed up sound creation / selection because you're using them in a more restricted way. I find too many options can slow down the creative process.

pdxindy · Post by **pdxindy** » Sat Dec 07, 2013 6:28 pm

electro wrote:Point is its an attempt to synthesize a sound from one synth on another.

Just cause something is named Moog Bass, does not mean that is so... That can be a simple way to give the idea of the kind of sound it is but it may still have its own unique character that a Moog could not emulate...

Sendy · Post by **Sendy** » Sat Dec 07, 2013 6:39 pm

electro wrote:Point is its an attempt to synthesize a sound from one synth on another.

I am not going to go to a sampler for a DX7 piano when I have an actual DX7 unless its broken, locked up in storage or something else inconvenient. Likewise, I'm not going to a sample library and MIDI keyboard for Fender Stratocaster if I have one and really know how to play. For an amateur player, the synth emulation route might have its merits.

Too rigid thinking. A good example: synth brass. It's an instrument unto it's self.

If you want a guitar sound you could play a guitar, cut up a guitar loop, synthesize a guitar-like sound, or use a sample library. All different flavours of a general sound/idea/set of expectations.

Likewise the "moog bass" patch on the Roland - "moog" is just code for "dark and punchy and funky".

Monark is seriously impressive.