KVR Audio

Uncle E · Post by **Uncle E** » Fri Jul 25, 2014 3:26 pm

alligatorlizard wrote:However I still say there's something I'm hearing in Diva that I'm not getting from Trilian in certain situations.

Yes, there certainly is. This is provable. It seems to me that you may be responding to the sample-based nature of Trilian, particularly when you reference Human League, as they have always been known for their amazing analog sounds. DIVA's MS-20 bits will probably get you closer to Human League's Korg 700 sounds than any other softsynth will. If you're ever looking at hardware, you may want to try the Korg Volca Bass, which has the 700 filter.

I know this sounds vague, and if no-one knows what I mean, then maybe it is just my ears!

It's not just you. I don't know why there's this backlash against DIVA lately. For anyone who's a fan of great analog synth sounds, there are only a handful of softsynths that do it convincingly and DIVA is one of them.

I'm going to keep demoing it for a while though and keep doing my best to get the sounds I want out of Trilian and Zebra first - if I still keep coming back to the Diva demo, then I guess I will have to buy it.

My understanding is that any sound available in DIVA is or will be available in Zebra. However, according to Urs in regard to Zebra having the same filters as DIVA:

"Zebra's filters etc. are designed to withstand a broad range of input signals. Diva otoh is highly specialised. This specialisation can be somewhat recreated in Zebra, but it's not always quick and intuitive."

Personally, I had both at one point and eventually sold Zebra. I do believe that the sounds I get out of DIVA can be coaxed out of Zebra but I didn't find their CPU usage to be dramatically different and that's the only reason I'd want an alternative. I would literally have DIVA be my only synth if not for the CPU usage.

Thing is, while I do know how to program a synth fairly competently (especially Zebra where I've spent a lot of time working thru tutorial vids), I'm far from being an expert in this, so am not confident I'm going to program a better bass patch than someone who knows synths inside out.

I've been programming synths for almost 30 years but I don't know them literally inside out, at least not the way Urs does. I think you'd have to be on his level to be facile at getting DIVA sounds out of Zebra. When you see some of his explanations of how to do it, I think you'll know what I mean.

pdxindy · Post by **pdxindy** » Fri Jul 25, 2014 5:12 pm

alligatorlizard wrote:I have been surprised too that Trilian doesn't seem to cover it 100% of the time - until now haven't even considered getting any other synths for bass because it is so good, and has such variety. However I still say there's something I'm hearing in Diva that I'm not getting from Trilian in certain situations. I know this sounds vague, and if no-one knows what I mean, then maybe it is just my ears! However, Diva does seem to have a reputation for basses, and I guess this comes from somewhere.

I'm going to keep demoing it for a while though and keep doing my best to get the sounds I want out of Trilian and Zebra first - if I still keep coming back to the Diva demo, then I guess I will have to buy it. I'd certainly rather not have to spend money un-necessarily!!

Diva sounds full and round and effortlessly gorgeous... and not just for basses... pads, leads, ambient textures, and more... you almost cannot make a bad preset!

Zebra is not going to sound like Diva and Trillian is not close either. Even ZebraHZ which has the Diva filters (minus the FilterFM) does not sound the same. Diva is more than the great filters. There is a synergy with all the components that just hit it right. Of course if you want FM basses, Zebra can do that and Diva cannot. Zebra is not an analogue emulation and its strength is in its array of tools, semi-modular structure and vast sonic landscape.

If the sound of Diva has grabbed you, you may as well just surrender now!

fluffy_little_something · Fri Jul 25, 2014 5:21 pm

First and foremost you need a cool bass line

ghettosynth · Post by **ghettosynth** » Fri Jul 25, 2014 5:55 pm

Uncle E wrote:
alligatorlizard wrote:However I still say there's something I'm hearing in Diva that I'm not getting from Trilian in certain situations.
Yes, there certainly is. This is provable. It seems to me that you may be responding to the sample-based nature of Trilian, particularly when you reference Human League, as they have always been known for their amazing analog sounds. DIVA's MS-20 bits will probably get you closer to Human League's Korg 700 sounds than any other softsynth will. If you're ever looking at hardware, you may want to try the Korg Volca Bass, which has the 700 filter.

I know this sounds vague, and if no-one knows what I mean, then maybe it is just my ears!
It's not just you. I don't know why there's this backlash against DIVA lately. For anyone who's a fan of great analog synth sounds, there are only a handful of softsynths that do it convincingly and DIVA is one of them.

Exactly. There really is a difference in quality, particularly of the filter emulations, and this really matters, IMNSHO, for bass sounds.

BTW: I'm not at all into "modern" bass sounds either. I don't use Massive at all for bass and I don't do any kind of wobblestep. I'm right there with you on the Human League or any other of the really great New Wave acts and I think that Diva can nail those sounds. I only recommend Bazille because the phase distortion oscillator gives adds a lot of very interesting character to many of those types of sounds. I don't use Bazille to create wobblestep any more than I use massive. I also like FM8 but I think that for immediacy and filter quality, Bazille covers a lot of the same ground as FM8 when it comes to bass sounds. F

At any rate, if your computer is powerful enough and you are prepared to accept the polyphony limitations, I don't believe that anyone who really likes analog sounds will be disappointed with Diva.

zlatan · Post by **zlatan** » Fri Jul 25, 2014 6:32 pm

IMHO Monark is the absolute best soft synth for basses and after that perhaps Strobe.
I always look for plug ins that can replace my analogs for when I'm not in the studio and Monark and Strobe can definitely do that
for the Bassline category (Minimoog and Roland SH5 are my go to bass synths in the analog world).

I also think for modern bass sounds Dune 2 is excellent.

Uncle E · Post by **Uncle E** » Fri Jul 25, 2014 6:38 pm

zlatan wrote:IMHO Monark is the absolute best soft synth for basses and after that perhaps Strobe.

Sure, I'd put those up there with DIVA. Strobe is more modern sounding but very good nonetheless. I still prefer DIVA but that's just personal preference once you get to this level.

zlatan · Post by **zlatan** » Fri Jul 25, 2014 6:46 pm

Uncle E wrote: Sure, I'd put those up there with DIVA. Strobe is more modern sounding but very good nonetheless. I still prefer DIVA but that's just personal preference once you get to this level.

I agree

fluffy_little_something · Fri Jul 25, 2014 6:48 pm

There is even a SE synth which does some rather cool bass and lead sounds, the Anti-Transpirant by TubeOhm. But it sounds best with 4 or 8x oversampling, which unfortunately uses a whole lot of CPU, too much for my computer. I can forget about playing a chord on it.

pdxindy · Post by **pdxindy** » Fri Jul 25, 2014 7:09 pm

ghettosynth wrote:I only recommend Bazille because the phase distortion oscillator gives adds a lot of very interesting character to many of those types of sounds. I don't use Bazille to create wobblestep any more than I use massive. I also like FM8 but I think that for immediacy and filter quality, Bazille covers a lot of the same ground as FM8 when it comes to bass sounds.

Bazille is just a different beast altogether! It has this intensity, snap and snarl like a wild animal and still with a low end that can feel like a freakin earthquake. (FM8 is flabby by comparison)... but then my tastes are eclectic and Bazille aint normal! The Bazille filter is my favorite software filter ever!

blackflag · Post by **blackflag** » Fri Jul 25, 2014 7:40 pm

Bazille is indeed very cool, but also uses about 10x the CPU that FM8 does making it unusable for me.

Raddler1 · Post by **Raddler1** » Fri Jul 25, 2014 9:31 pm

What about ACE guys? Do you think it's comparable to Diva for basses??

Trancit · Post by **Trancit** » Fri Jul 25, 2014 11:19 pm

To be honest... this thread seems again to me as a lot of fanboyism...

To be honest again, I demoed Diva and I didn´t hear those highly praised übersounds from this synth, which is from what I´ve read here, ages ahead of all others on the market...

I really like to hear some of these sounds, which cannot be done with any other piece of software out there...
Please show me those supadupa sounds, which blow my mind away... I am really curious!

Robmobius · Post by **Robmobius** » Fri Jul 25, 2014 11:25 pm

Trancit wrote:which cannot be done with any other piece of software out there...

Eh 'up... Just curious, who said it 'cant' be done with other software?

Gribs · Post by **Gribs** » Fri Jul 25, 2014 11:56 pm

Everyone has their own personal preference.

I like the bass sounds that I can get from many different softies. I would just try a few demos and see which one grabs you. One that hasn't been mentioned that I like is Arturia SEM-V. I just like its sound. I have messed with a friend's original vintage SEM module and own a Studio Electronics Boomstar SEM that makes some bubbly, chewy bass sounds, and the Arturia SEM-V synth does a decent facsimile ITB.

Trancit · Post by **Trancit** » Sat Jul 26, 2014 12:06 am

Robmobius wrote: Eh 'up... Just curious, who said it 'cant' be done with other software?

I did not write, it was said... but by reading those Diva threads:
1. I get easily this feeling
2. the topic of this thread implies the suggestion... and to be honest again... anybody, who´s not able to get out of Trilian a wished analog synth bass sound has other problems than the need to switch to a different synth...
I am far away of being a fan of Spectrasonic products but for basses, Trilian is a monster, which is capable of doing any kind of satisfying analog synth bass soundwise...

For anybody thinking different, I would really like to hear any proof... till now, there was nothing than hot air

Unsatisfied with Trilian for synth basses - is Diva the best?