Do You like ACE? - have some questions for you

[3ee]

Hi

So, I've been really getting into ACE for the past two days (had a demo for ages but now "I get it" ) + took advantage of a sweet Bitwig + u-he real deal to buy it, btw many thanks!

Questions for those how got/like ACE:

1) why did you get it? (what were the main attraction(s) and expectations from it to you? )

2) what patches, sound characters are you calling on ACE more easily than other synths like Diva, Bazille or Zebra for example? Do you have some habits of loading it for a certain sound/idea/capability?

3) anything else? please share freely!

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To try to answer my questions, here I go:

1) I got it because it always seemed interesting, great sounding and fairly flexible (the reason why I probably didn't get it before is because I love great flexibility like with Zebra and I thought that I didn't really "need" it) With a limited flexibility as I discovered from Diva, there is certainly a greater degree of FUN... with ACE, man, I didn't had this fun for some time with a synth!
There are more reasons why I decided to get it before but these are probably the main ones for now.

2) Tricky question. ACE seems "all over the place" , I probably use it for experimental stuff especially when I want a GREAT "digital" yet warm/analogue kind of sound. I also imagine making some great chip-sounds with a "hi-fi lo-fi" sound if that makes any sense... transforming an LFO with the tap-map into an OSC really cool here.


3) I love the filter drive+resonance character, right from the beginning!
I also love how clean the modules (especially which suppose to be modulators) sound, I really like the look and feel of it.... the workflow is inviting for fun and exploration in a flexible yet wisely-limited environment. ("limited" flexibility like when comparing with Zebra for example, yet ACE can be very flexible where Zebra doesn't reach)

I love modulating at audio rates! I also enjoy playing with Bazille (another beast that knows to do other stuff) but maybe my subjective opinion on sound, points more to ACE right now...

here's a picture for reference, isn't it a beauty?

[V0RT3X]

Hi

So, I've been really getting into ACE for the past two days (had a demo for ages but now "I get it" ) + took advantage of a sweet Bitwig + u-he real deal to buy it, btw many thanks!

Questions for those how got/like ACE:

1) why did you get it? (what were the main attraction(s) and expectations from it to you? )

I got it because I found i could do things in it quicker with the cables than through the use of a mod matrix. I love using cables! It sounds actually pretty darn good, but I would like to see some different filter models put in it. I usually load up A.c.e because i know exactly how to program the sound using the cables. It's also super fun to experiment with!

2) what patches, sound characters are you calling on ACE more easily than other synths like Diva, Bazille or Zebra for example? Do you have some habits of loading it for a certain sound/idea/capability?

I actually find myself reaching for A.c.e first then Bazille and then finally Diva. Diva is great but I don't really find myself using it that much. A.c.e is just fun and inspiring to work with.


I also love the analog style sounds i can coax out of A.c.e. It also seems to make some great cross modulated distortion sounds that I can't really get out of my other synthesizers.

If you abuse the unison you can get some really trippy and huge sounds out of it. As for favourite patches, I like the "init" patch because i like to make my own stuff

3) anything else? please share freely! ?

It's pretty to look at too, and usually when I have it on my screen people passing by will stare at it and ask me what it is. IF i had to choose only 2 U-he synthesizers it would be Bazille and A.c.e hands down.

[pdxindy]

ACE is particularly excellent because of the soft sync and cross mod.

The GUI is so easy on the eyes even with hours of use... I agree with Vortex. I like cabling more than a mod matrix.

No question I like Bazille better because it has much much more modulation possibilities and the Osc's are quite flexible. The Bazille envelopes are distinctly more capable. Also with the gearporn skin everything is on one window. Plus overall, I like the Bazille filters better when you torture them

ACE has more versatility than it first seems though and it is quite fun to experiment with and has its own unique qualities. It is an under-rated synth.

[moscom_electronics]

In my case, ACE is great because there are things such as pulse width that you can mod at audiorate and get new timbres from. As far as I know, this is quite a unique feature. Couple this with the soft-sync/crossmod/ringmod trio, filter drive, th ramps, and multis, and bong, this is quite a nice synth!

[3ee]

Hey, many thanks for the replies guys, enjoying reading them especially cause I find them also true!

Keep 'em coming!

I'm also thinking to post some patches I recently made and sound examples later in here so... C ya soon

[chilly7]

I like Ace but i would like to see big improvements to it.

Here is a thread for improvements. But you can ignore some's useless trolling there.
http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... 1&t=457678

[pdxindy]

In my case, ACE is great because there are things such as pulse width that you can mod at audiorate and get new timbres from. As far as I know, this is quite a unique feature. Couple this with the soft-sync/crossmod/ringmod trio, filter drive, th ramps, and multis, and bong, this is quite a nice synth!

Besides the pulse width, you can also audio rate mod the pitch... add a little cross mod and sync and you get some wonderfully snapping crackling sounds... like arcs of electricity.

[3ee]

^^
chilly7
I know how is was for me too so I sympathize when looking at your feature requests there...

You simply wish to much of a synth... maybe because you like it so much and wish for it to be more flexible and "better"

If you ask me, you went a bit overboard with feature requests but that's OK we all like to dream... I remember I was kinda the same with Zebra some years back.

Just take the synth as it is and figure out it's strengths and work from there. There's a reason why it is limited in flexibility.

from your list I would like to see ACE with one or two mult-mixer added (i.e. your put cables into many holes request)

I also see the need of an extra ramp generator since it can be turned as an simple LFO or envelope, what would be very useful IMO.

As for ACE XL... we should wait and see, I'm sure it'll be interesting in it's own way.

[RedChameau]

1) why did you get it? (what were the main attraction(s) and expectations from it to you? )

First of all I got it because I was (and still am) attracted to the modular/cable-patching way of thinking, which seemed more obvious for the synthesis absolute neophyte I was. And yet, It didn't seem overly and vainly complicated. As for the sound, I just loved what I could hear with the presets and demos even if then, I couldn't formalise it in terms of "Analog modeling inspired by this or that piece of hardware blabla".
I've learned a lot with this synth and had a chance since then to play on fine hardware synth, including modular. Also had a chance to test dozens of soft synths.
And I still think ACE is one of the most beautiful synths ever created.

2) what patches, sound characters are you calling on ACE more easily than other synths like Diva, Bazille or Zebra for example? Do you have some habits of loading it for a certain sound/idea/capability?

As time goes by, I find it to be very versatile. It only misses three or four modules to be a real workhorse (another map generator, an extra EG/MSEG/Ramp, extra LFO, extra mod mixer, extra clever module nobody but Urs have thought about).
But anyway, it always excels when you have to think BIG. Warm and Generous Pads, strings, brass and so on are a piece of cake in ACE.
If ACE was a woman, she would be a magnificent curvaceous woman admiring her figure in a mirror.

3) anything else? please share freely!

Just Buy the damn synth twice, or as many copies as your budget allows you to, ANYTHING that will trigger Urs into thinking "Wow, I'm finishing ACE XL / 2 tomorrow".

[chilly7]

"Wow, I'm finishing ACE XL / 2 tomorrow".

+1 .

[Sendy]

I bought ACE because of the price, the sound, the workflow, the organic nature of it, and the whole package basically. That price really made it stand out, though

Here's why I still like it:

https://soundcloud.com/sendy/ace-softsync-pad

I made that sound in about 10 minutes with no real goal in mind. It wasn't a pad when I started it. ACE has this zone you can get into where two things happen: you can really get under the skin of ACE and explore it organically thanks to the patch cables, and you can also come across happy accidents and insane modulations just by taking a leap of faith and trying something daring.

I use ACE for all sorts of sounds: chiptune sounds, organic pads, sync leads, weird FX. Generally not for bread+butter sounds, though it does those well, too. I really like the filters, too.

If your computer can run it comfortably and you're a synthesist, you just need it. It has huge educational value and I believe it made me a better synthesist. Nay - a better person.

[chk071]

Hi

So, I've been really getting into ACE for the past two days (had a demo for ages but now "I get it" ) + took advantage of a sweet Bitwig + u-he real deal to buy it, btw many thanks!

Does that mean that voucher is valid for ANY of the u-he plugins?? Wow, might get ACE for that price too then.

[Chapelle]

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[chk071]

Thanks. I just got it. What a sick deal. I thought i read the voucher is just valid for some selected u-he synths like Bazilla, Hive and such. Nice that it's valid for all, and that i just read this thread in time.

[ere2learn]

Does that mean that voucher is valid for ANY of the u-he plugins?? Wow, might get ACE for that price too then.

Hopefully your not too late,its the 4th it expires I think