Diva Vs. Real Analog

[zlatan]

Yes, MiniMoogs are like guitars. Pick up one Strat and compare it to another one. Both are unmistakably Strats but different.
All MiniMoogs I played myself sounded unmistakingly like Minis. Same for all Minis I saw other people play or the ones that I heard on certain recordings.
And the opposite happened with that Synthex emu. It simply didn't give me that WOW factor the Synthex I played and the other ones I heard people play. The real one is a monster while what I heard from the emu is rather tame.

I completely agree !
There's always little differences in revisions etc... but all Minimoogs sound like a Minimoog.

Diva does a good job emulating that Minimoog vibe ... there are certain minimoog sounds that I tried to recreate on every softsynth possible and so far Diva is the one that comes closest.

Synthix doesn't have that ELka Synthex vibe at all ....I like the GUI , but I was very disappointed by the way it sounds.

[dsynth27]

My question is can Diva be praised without having to compare it to hardware in order to validate the great sound it has? I think it sounds terrific but the need to compare it to hardware.... Cool

If hardware does not sound better why is it always the benchmark that we use to measure software synths?

It isn't.

ok - "why is it the benchmark the majority of the time?"... not to mention the original question is Diva vs. Real Analog. I like how you elaborate

I think it 'becomes' a benchmark when someone wants to compare the sound of a VA with the analogue synth. There can be some hint of nostalgia for the real analogue synth compared to what is perceived as an authentic VA-or not. Just depends.

I'm more eclectic in that it matters not whether it comes out of my Minimoog or a VA of it...they are sounds that I can mange using onboard..or-off board effects....

What kind of synth does he use? How to get this sound?

I have Zebra, Massive, all Native Instruments(!), Nexus, Dune, Omnisphere.

Do I need an real analog...

I agree and that is what I have said on "the majority" of my posts on this topic.

@hakey
Just teasing and thanks for your feedback!

later....had fun with this. Off to make some music by using what sounds best.

[goldenanalog]

If I may add this to the 2011 release list:

http://madronalabs.com/aalto

As mentioned: This is a great soft for doing a lot of 'everything else' modular-synthesis-wise; it's one example of a dev focusing on specific hardware, and then further narrowing scope to just select aspects. IMO, To judge a soft synth purely on: 'software versus hardware' risks throwing the baby out with the bathwater...every audio soft that I have/use Rocks but has limits; that's why I have so many of them.

XILS recently spent hundred's of man-hours focused on emulating the CEM3320 chip in a synth environment; that's the 'core' of the Synthix sound.

Further: To compare Omnisphere to DIVA is like comparing a guy who manages ENRON to a Wall-Street Occupier...they are both Human Beings; but their roles in society are very different (that's the absolute WORST analogy that I could think of)

[dsynth27]

If I may add this to the 2011 release list:

http://madronalabs.com/aalto

As mentioned: This is a great soft for doing a lot of 'everything else' modular-synthesis-wise; it's one example of a dev focusing on specific hardware, and then further narrowing scope to just select aspects. IMO, To judge a soft synth purely on: 'software versus hardware' risks throwing the baby out with the bathwater...every audio soft that I have/use Rocks but has limits; that's why I have so many of them.

XILS recently spent hundred's of man-hours focused on emulating the CEM3320 chip in a synth environment; that's the 'core' of the Synthix sound.

Further: To compare Omnisphere to DIVA is like comparing a guy who manages ENRON to a Wall-Street Occupier...they are both Human Beings; but their roles in society are very different (that's the absolute WORST analogy that I could think of)

I like the analogy! point taken...

[pdxindy]

If hardware does not sound better why is it always the benchmark that we use to measure software synths?

It isn't the benchmark for everyone. Plenty of people are into totally digital synthesis and are not trying to emulate analog

Hardware should be clarified as analog hardware cause IMO digital hardware has been equaled by soft synths a while back. IMO analog hardware is the benchmark for software that is emulating it... but not for all software synthesis.

[pdxindy]

I haven't tried Synthix because it is dongled,

The demo is dongle free.

The thing I learned from the gearslutz discussion about Diva is there is variation from Minimoog to Minimoog. Urs modeled a specific Minimoog and so there are characteristics in Diva from that specific one and someone might have their own Minimoog and say that Diva does not get the sound exactly the same as theirs.

Yes, MiniMoogs are like guitars. Pick up one Strat and compare it to another one. Both are unmistakably Strats but different.
All MiniMoogs I played myself sounded unmistakingly like Minis. Same for all Minis I saw other people play or the ones that I heard on certain recordings.
And the opposite happened with that Synthex emu. It simply didn't give me that WOW factor the Synthex I played and the other ones I heard people play. The real one is a monster while what I heard from the emu is rather tame.

I figured there is not much point to try the demo if I'm not gonna buy the thing... I liked the synthix audio demos, but they did not grab me like Diva did. Diva just sounds alive and full of vitality in an impressive sort of way.

[pdxindy]

If I may add this to the 2011 release list:

http://madronalabs.com/aalto

As mentioned: This is a great soft for doing a lot of 'everything else' modular-synthesis-wise; it's one example of a dev focusing on specific hardware, and then further narrowing scope to just select aspects.

I wish there were some audio demos... plus a solid bunch of presets

[Lotuzia]

I haven't tried Synthix because it is dongled,

The demo is dongle free.

The thing I learned from the gearslutz discussion about Diva is there is variation from Minimoog to Minimoog. Urs modeled a specific Minimoog and so there are characteristics in Diva from that specific one and someone might have their own Minimoog and say that Diva does not get the sound exactly the same as theirs.

Yes, MiniMoogs are like guitars. Pick up one Strat and compare it to another one. Both are unmistakably Strats but different.
All MiniMoogs I played myself sounded unmistakingly like Minis. Same for all Minis I saw other people play or the ones that I heard on certain recordings.
And the opposite happened with that Synthex emu. It simply didn't give me that WOW factor the Synthex I played and the other ones I heard people play. The real one is a monster while what I heard from the emu is rather tame.

I figured there is not much point to try the demo if I'm not gonna buy the thing... I liked the synthix audio demos, but they did not grab me like Diva did. Diva just sounds alive and full of vitality in an impressive sort of way.

Its ok. Several thousands of Synthix users had a different POV. ( and amongst them a lot of real Synthex owners as well as the original programmer of most of the factory presets of the Synthex himself, whocould compare them side to side )

Tnahks for your appreciations of the audio demos of the Synthix. Well, Synthix just sounds like in those demos.

And yes the demo is Dongle Less.

[Aroused by JarJar]

I fully sympathize with the idea of the immediacy of analog, but for me this does not include MIDI, patch storage, and software editors; it's about CV, and my Moog Etherwave for the most direct musical connection with electricity.

So machines like the Mopho and the Phatties, which I think are lovely, nevertheless fall into the same purchasing/comparison category as software, for me.

Judging by the numerous sound demos, the Phatties do not interest me at all. The Mopho should be selling by the truckload, it is a no-brainer for anyone wanting an analog monosynth. And the sound colors might work for me, so, without giving a hoot whether it is analog or a bunch of trained crickets in a shoebox, it is a machine that has my interest.

Now as far as Diva, my computers do not meet the official minimum requirements. But, I have downloaded the demo and can use it without problems, which I probably should not admit as it clearly dates me "pre-computer-recording- experienced". :rolleyes:

My first impressions:

Front and center, the microtuning box. So, it is already on the list of software synthesizers to seriously consider. One of the motivations for creating synthesizers in the first place was to play outside of 12-tET: the Telharmonium was made to play Just Intonation, the Theremin and Trautonium were made to play pitch freely. .Tun files are actually part of the grand tradition of electronic instruments.

The sound is superb. If this exact same sound, bit-identical, came out of a hardware box it would be used as an example of how software does not sound as good as hardware

Now, I spent a long time with the Zebra demo, but decided not to get it, and the reason was because the sound colors, according to my subjective sensation, and mix with the combinations of instruments I use, just didn't work for me. This will be the deciding factor with Diva as well. I can already tell that if I record acoustic stuff with my 421 and the Diva presets the sound is going to have bushy sideburns and bell-bottomed pants, we'll see if I can get the copper codpiece thing going or not.

[dsynth27]

If hardware does not sound better why is it always the benchmark that we use to measure software synths?

It isn't the benchmark for everyone. Plenty of people are into totally digital synthesis and are not trying to emulate analog

Hardware should be clarified as analog hardware cause IMO digital hardware has been equaled by soft synths a while back. IMO analog hardware is the benchmark for software that is emulating it... but not for all software synthesis.

True that it is a good idea to clarify between digital and analog hardware synths. I was under the assumption that since the topic is Diva vs Real Analog that this was already clear.

I do agree that digital hardware synths (ex. DX7) have been equaled by synths like FM8 as one example.

My comparisons and comments were directed towards the topic - software synths that try to emulate real hardware analog synths.

[pdxindy]

The sound is superb. If this exact same sound, bit-identical, came out of a hardware box it would be used as an example of how software does not sound as good as hardware

Urs should put that quote on the Diva page!

[Fritze]

I figured there is not much point to try the demo if I'm not gonna buy the thing... I liked the synthix audio demos, but they did not grab me like Diva did. Diva just sounds alive and full of vitality in an impressive sort of way.

Yeah, I understand. Sometimes a demo is interesting to know what people are talking about. I didn't plan to buy it either but sometimes stuff just blows me away and then I hopefully have the funds for it. That happened to me with VRoom.

[Lotuzia]

I haven't tried Synthix because it is dongled

It doesn't require a physical dongle - it's elicenser or something.

That said, as a generic emulation of the analogue sound, Diva absolutely kills it.

Fact.

Self proclaimed facts wont harm anybody, I suppose.

Just like when you were claiming that Xils-Lab had no zero-feedback filter, without the first beginning of a proof ( for good reasons )....

Just make Diva sounds like Synthix, if you want to prove something once in your life ...

I dont say that the SYnthix kills Diva for myself, but I have a quite good understanding about why they are sounding different.

[goldenanalog]

The sound is superb. If this exact same sound, bit-identical, came out of a hardware box it would be used as an example of how software does not sound as good as hardware

Agreed. A good argument for not looking at things to closely. Another point: The Hammond Organ, Piano, and Minimoog have been sampled and emulated for ages; we would expect that after many thousands of man-hours of intense scrutiny, the models would sound fairly precise.

[Fritze]

I haven't tried Synthix because it is dongled

It doesn't require a physical dongle - it's elicenser or something.

That said, as a generic emulation of the analogue sound, Diva absolutely kills it.

Fact.

Self proclaimed facts wont harm anybody, I suppose.

Just like when you were claiming that Xils-Lab had no zero-feedback filter, without the first beginning of a proof ( for good reasons )....

Just make Diva sounds like Synthix, if you want to prove something once in your life ...

I dont say that the SYnthix kills Diva for myself, but I have a quite good understanding about why they are sounding different.

Diva does not remotely try to emulate a Synthex. So why should Diva try to sound like an emu of a Synthex?
There are guys who love Strats and there are people who swear for their 335 etc etc. Just taste, man. Like the taste of your thousands of customers. Relax. All is good.