Ace vs Hive - differences, strengths and weaknesses?

[terminus_one]

I realise this is an "apples vs oranges" comparison, but it may be worth discussing. What if you had to choose just one? Or do they really complement each other so much it's truly worth getting both? Subjective opinions very welcome! We can't just make decisions on objective facts all the time

Also, I do realise this depends on genres / styles etc., but what if we ignored that for a minute and talked more generally? (Though genre specific opinions could still be useful). And yes, I have played with both - just looking for more info and personal / expert opinions from fellow enthusiasts

I'm particularly interested in the non-obvious differences, strengths and weaknesses between u-he's Ace and Hive.

To get the basics out of the way:
- Ace is modular, with some analog emulations; Hive is not modular, with more digital/supersaw sounds
- Ace is more CPU intensive
- Ace is 6+ years older (does this matter?)
- Ace is much cheaper

Thanks!

[pdxindy]

Hive is really fast to work with and create lots of basic sounds.
Hive has more FX and they can be modulated.

ACE has audio rate modulations and can do all sorts of modular wirings.
ACE is good for classic analog type sounds... like sync, cross mod, ring mod.

Mostly, they are different enough and distinct enough that they are pretty self explanatory as your own descriptions demonstrate. They are more complementary than overlapping so basically it is up to you to decide which you prefer. ACE is the more unique of the 2.

[terminus_one]

Nicely put, thanks pdxindy!

[bmrzycki]

Hive is u-he's response to the EDM market and means it's designed to create those sounds well. Traditionally those are sounds with relatively simple modulation and quite a bit of FX applied. That's not to say that Hive can't make other sounds -- it can do those sounds well too. Hive is also designed to be low on CPU so pads with tons of polyphony and 10 instances of it don't destroy your CPU when rendering during realtime playback. Where does it excel? It's great for EDM sounds, older computers, or for people who aren't synthesizer geeks but love synthesizer sounds.

ACE is...none of those things. It's more like discovering a quirky pawn-shop gem two blocks from BBC radio one. It has relatively few effects, has knobs to make it unstable and noisy, lets you connect components "wrong" and eats your CPU for lunch when using lots of sustained notes. Where does it excel? It's for those synth geeks that always wondered if audio-rate ramp generators combined with noisy ring modulation make for interesting phase modulators. Or for those sounds that are built around complex interaction between the modulation + audio path (and with feedback loops!). Can ACE make great bass and lead sounds? I think so but I don't think that's it's greatest strength. ACE encourages experimentation in a way Hive does not.

They're both great devices. Hive is wonderful for a low CPU modern sound with a 1 page workflow. ACE is perfect for your interpretation of Mort Garson's music after being forced to watch a sleep-deprived marathon of Keeping up with the Kardashians.

[Beamboom]

I think it's grossly unfair to label Hive the "EDM synth", like I see so many do. Sure, it does the banging in-your-face EDM slams well, but its capabilities goes way, way beyond that.

I may be slammed by saying so but so be it: I think Hive is the most versatile synth of all the U-He synths. It can be as clear as the finest crystal, as sublime as a gentle summer wind or dirty as f*ck. Or produce perc sounds in a drum container. It's the one synth that's always featured in my projects. Always. From Ambient to Techno, pop to new age, from weird experimental psychedelia to classic funky house: Hive is there somewhere.

Man, writing this makes me realize how much I love that thing.

[terminus_one]

They're both great devices. Hive is wonderful for a low CPU modern sound with a 1 page workflow. ACE is perfect for your interpretation of Mort Garson's music after being forced to watch a sleep-deprived marathon of Keeping up with the Kardashians.

Ha! Brilliant!

Thanks for the really useful and illuminating comparison bmrzycki – they sound like very complementary tools.

[Shiek927]

I think it's grossly unfair to label Hive the "EDM synth", like I see so many do. Sure, it does the banging in-your-face EDM slams well, but its capabilities goes way, way beyond that.

I may be slammed by saying so but so be it: I think Hive is the most versatile synth of all the U-He synths. It can be as clear as the finest crystal, as sublime as a gentle summer wind or dirty as f*ck. Or produce perc sounds in a drum container. It's the one synth that's always featured in my projects. Always. From Ambient to Techno, pop to new age, from weird experimental psychedelia to classic funky house: Hive is there somewhere.

Man, writing this makes me realize how much I love that thing.

I feel exactly the same <3 <3 <3.

It's the synth I've always wanted. A fat modern punchy synth that (almost) has Diva's sound, but with Sylenth simplicity. Even better, it's character is that of a 90's synth like a vintage Roland or Korg keyboard, which I adore. It can handle most EDM styles, and has beautiful sounds for ambient or whatever else you do :3.

I only wish u-he would put more into it, to compete with Spire and make it even more versatile. FM/Sync, more waveforms, limited wavetable capabilities, etc. That way, it can also pull off Dubstep, Complextro, and other digital styles that a subtractive synth, even one as good-sounding as this, can't pull off. I supposed that's why I have Serum, Razor, and other synths .

Even then, Hive is my favorite synth I've ever used and it's character makes me want to heavily use it all the time, just because I love it ^^.

[Beamboom]

Hive is my favorite synth I've ever used and it's character makes me want to heavily use it all the time, just because I love it ^^.

Yes it's the exact same with me - I just want to use it all the time. Other synths are just... Synths, with each their properties. But Hive? It's a friend!

[Shiek927]

Hive is my favorite synth I've ever used and it's character makes me want to heavily use it all the time, just because I love it ^^.

Yes it's the exact same with me - I just want to use it all the time. Other synths are just... Synths, with each their properties. But Hive? It's a friend!

Zebra3 is right around the corner, and I'm definitely going to nab it. Even then, I wouldn't be surprised if Hive continues to be my main synth, and I'll only turn to Z3 (which might end up replacing Serum and Razor, but we'll see!) when I need FM or something it doesn't have. It's that character and intuitiveness that I love! :3.

The same way Diva oozes 1980's classics like the Juno or JP8k, Hive stands right next to Roland JD/JV synths, Korg M1, Ensoniq, Nord Lead 2 (like Synth1), and all those wonderful 90's digital keyboards and rackmounts. I'd love for u-he to emulate a real JD-800, or one of those oldies, but Hive is a perfect modern fill-in .

Gotta love it!

[ATN69]

I wanted to buy Diva because I love the sound but even though and i7 CPU with 8Gb RAM it still kill my CPU. I do own Hive and I love it so much. Easy to work with and I can quickly make the sounds I need. It is also surprisingly versatile. Howard Scarr released a soundset for Hive showing it's Amazing potential as a Movie score synth. It's possible to make pretty nice pads and atmoshperic sounds with it as well. So for anyone thinking that HIVE is just Another EDM synth, think again. And of course I own Zebra 2.

So I am interested in ACE. I don't own it but U-He warn that ACE is also heay on the CPU. I plan to demo it, same as I did with Diva. U-He make Amazing stuff so I would be surprised if ACE is anything but good. I just can't make up my mind if Bazille or ACE is the better option for me and how it is placing itself between HIVE and ACE. As far as I can tell ACE sounds more old school than HIVE, and I guess that was also U-He purpose in the first Place.

[zerocrossing]

I think it's grossly unfair to label Hive the "EDM synth", like I see so many do. Sure, it does the banging in-your-face EDM slams well, but its capabilities goes way, way beyond that.

I may be slammed by saying so but so be it: I think Hive is the most versatile synth of all the U-He synths. It can be as clear as the finest crystal, as sublime as a gentle summer wind or dirty as f*ck. Or produce perc sounds in a drum container. It's the one synth that's always featured in my projects. Always. From Ambient to Techno, pop to new age, from weird experimental psychedelia to classic funky house: Hive is there somewhere.

Man, writing this makes me realize how much I love that thing.

This makes me think you've never used Zebra or Bazille.

[zerocrossing]

I wanted to buy Diva because I love the sound but even though and i7 CPU with 8Gb RAM it still kill my CPU. I do own Hive and I love it so much. Easy to work with and I can quickly make the sounds I need. It is also surprisingly versatile. Howard Scarr released a soundset for Hive showing it's Amazing potential as a Movie score synth. It's possible to make pretty nice pads and atmoshperic sounds with it as well. So for anyone thinking that HIVE is just Another EDM synth, think again. And of course I own Zebra 2.

So I am interested in ACE. I don't own it but U-He warn that ACE is also heay on the CPU. I plan to demo it, same as I did with Diva. U-He make Amazing stuff so I would be surprised if ACE is anything but good. I just can't make up my mind if Bazille or ACE is the better option for me and how it is placing itself between HIVE and ACE. As far as I can tell ACE sounds more old school than HIVE, and I guess that was also U-He purpose in the first Place.

I don't get this. For 90% of synth needs you don't need devine mode and it you use multi-core processing I find Diva to be fine on my i7 2.5 ghz.

[ATN69]

I wanted to buy Diva because I love the sound but even though and i7 CPU with 8Gb RAM it still kill my CPU. I do own Hive and I love it so much. Easy to work with and I can quickly make the sounds I need. It is also surprisingly versatile. Howard Scarr released a soundset for Hive showing it's Amazing potential as a Movie score synth. It's possible to make pretty nice pads and atmoshperic sounds with it as well. So for anyone thinking that HIVE is just Another EDM synth, think again. And of course I own Zebra 2.

So I am interested in ACE. I don't own it but U-He warn that ACE is also heay on the CPU. I plan to demo it, same as I did with Diva. U-He make Amazing stuff so I would be surprised if ACE is anything but good. I just can't make up my mind if Bazille or ACE is the better option for me and how it is placing itself between HIVE and ACE. As far as I can tell ACE sounds more old school than HIVE, and I guess that was also U-He purpose in the first Place.

I don't get this. For 90% of synth needs you don't need devine mode and it you use multi-core processing I find Diva to be fine on my i7 2.5 ghz.

I can't say I know Diva since I only demo it once. But I did try it out carefully and I did go thru all the typical settings in FL Studio, like allow multi threading and stuff like that. But still the CPU load was pretty high. I even made my own simple sounds while testing it and 2 instances of Diva was enough to create pops and cracks, and CPU was at >90%. I can't see what I could been doing differently to get the CPU load down but then again, I am no Diva expert.

[pdxindy]

So I am interested in ACE. I don't own it but U-He warn that ACE is also heay on the CPU. I plan to demo it, same as I did with Diva. U-He make Amazing stuff so I would be surprised if ACE is anything but good. I just can't make up my mind if Bazille or ACE is the better option for me and how it is placing itself between HIVE and ACE. As far as I can tell ACE sounds more old school than HIVE, and I guess that was also U-He purpose in the first Place.

ACE uses a chunk less CPU than Diva. Bazille is in-between.

Bazille is more versatile than ACE. Bazille has for more modulation capability. I like the overall sound of Bazille better myself but others prefer ACE. If you want more classic analogue sounds then ACE is the one to pick.

[core]

I think Ace is brilliant. Not sure what it is exactly but it just sounds great to my ears