The Hive Hexagon Thread

[spunkmuffin]

Keep the hexagon. But make it bigger.

How?

Make it into a window looking out into black space (maybe some little stars/galaxies). Do away with that thick border, make it thin.

Project information onto the window - like its a seethrough LCD screen.

You know like a jumbo jet cockpit looks like when flying at night? Like that but a future spaceship.

Stay with the spaceship theme. Keep it fun. A bit like a video game.

[Dasheesh]

I really like having the super virus like interface. All I wanted was the ability to change the color scheme and brightness.

[knowix]

Initially I was against losing the hexagon (I'm a Hive owner fwiw) but then I was looking at the GUI and thought, actually yeah, the hexagon shape limits the layouts of the settings within. The arp/seq would work better as a full straight line of steps, in a tab at the bottom. The hexagon shape makes the effects tab look kind of disordered, but I would keep the top to bottom display of the effects order somewhere on the GUI.

I think also a general approach to Hive, that might improve it in the long run, is to wonder what would Roland between 1980-2000 do? Roland weren't setting out to decide the sonics of dance music, but somehow they accidentally did, over and over again. If anyone could figure that out and bottle it, that would be quite an achievement.
Maybe it's because they were aiming to make mass-market products, but kept sneaking in odd unique features that captured people's ears. In that respect, I wonder if there are some fascinating sonic qualities that could be derived from Hives approach to unison, phase and detuning, and what would it make it easier to access those. I use Sylenth for bog standard presets, but I use Hive when I want to be disruptive.

[lectrixboogaloo]

OH! it should be a osc designer in the style of the mappers in ace and bazille. nothing else, just for osc shapes. 2 of them. that's it! maybe an interpolate and don't option. all done! oh, no, maybe choose between shape and additive. then all done.

i say this because i think it is a good idea but also because i think hive does truely suffer some/sorely from the limited source material (not much osc choices, ik super this and that was the main idea but with extended osc material it could cover much more ground and still be on topic?). period question mark parenthesis. pizza. pineapple or no? i dunno,

[pdxindy]

Initially I was against losing the hexagon (I'm a Hive owner fwiw) but then I was looking at the GUI and thought, actually yeah, the hexagon shape limits the layouts of the settings within. The arp/seq would work better as a full straight line of steps, in a tab at the bottom. The hexagon shape makes the effects tab look kind of disordered, but I would keep the top to bottom display of the effects order somewhere on the GUI.

I think also a general approach to Hive, that might improve it in the long run, is to wonder what would Roland between 1980-2000 do? Roland weren't setting out to decide the sonics of dance music, but somehow they accidentally did, over and over again. If anyone could figure that out and bottle it, that would be quite an achievement.
Maybe it's because they were aiming to make mass-market products, but kept sneaking in odd unique features that captured people's ears. In that respect, I wonder if there are some fascinating sonic qualities that could be derived from Hives approach to unison, phase and detuning, and what would it make it easier to access those. I use Sylenth for bog standard presets, but I use Hive when I want to be disruptive.

I like that nothing is tabbed with the mod matrix (besides the keyboard)... then the drag-n-drop works for all modulatable parameters.

[spunkmuffin]

The arp/seq would work better as a full straight line of steps, in a tab at the bottom.

Hmm I think 16 steps in a row can get confusing. If you do this please leave a gap after 8 steps.

I would keep the top to bottom display of the effects order somewhere on the GUI.

Yes I think everyone loves the top to bottom FX stack. Please keep it in the centre of the GUI as it is now.

[spunkmuffin]

Thinking about the hexagon...it is unique. I don't know of any other synth that has a hexagonal shape at its centre.

When you see a screenshot of Hive you know it is Hive. It's a point of difference. Just from a marketing perspective you would be crazy to dump it.

Now that everyone knows the hexagon I think you can make it more subtle. Keep it but make it kind of disappear. Make it subliminal.

[spunkmuffin]

I was looking at the Hive honeycomb skin.
Does anybody else notice the resemblance or is it just me?

[Klinke1]

Initially I was against losing the hexagon (I'm a Hive owner fwiw) but then I was looking at the GUI and thought, actually yeah, the hexagon shape limits the layouts of the settings within. The arp/seq would work better as a full straight line of steps, in a tab at the bottom. The hexagon shape makes the effects tab look kind of disordered, but I would keep the top to bottom display of the effects order somewhere on the GUI.

I think also a general approach to Hive, that might improve it in the long run, is to wonder what would Roland between 1980-2000 do? Roland weren't setting out to decide the sonics of dance music, but somehow they accidentally did, over and over again. If anyone could figure that out and bottle it, that would be quite an achievement.
Maybe it's because they were aiming to make mass-market products, but kept sneaking in odd unique features that captured people's ears. In that respect, I wonder if there are some fascinating sonic qualities that could be derived from Hives approach to unison, phase and detuning, and what would it make it easier to access those. I use Sylenth for bog standard presets, but I use Hive when I want to be disruptive.

What they do.. is bringing out soft-synths recently: No polyphony, not velocity sensitive, great sound, easy on CPU.
And they make good money with it.
They have the Aira system with System-1 and soon System-8...
System-1 softsynth alone has some very nice features. (things that should have been in Hive imho)
System-8 softsynth will probably be an "executioner" for alot of other soft-synths. (*cough)
And then you can control it with hardware... and with that other synths.

The next synth i will buy is Roland SH-101:
1 Amp - 1 Filter - 1 LFO - 1 Envelope - No modmatrix - Arp with "scatter".
(okok, Roland did put in a 2nd envelope and i do not know how my 3 braincells will comprehend with such complexity.)

I am "afraid" of a Sequential-Circuits clone which (proably) eats my CPU for breakfast like crunchy-nuts .. because it's so cool.
(+ Also i have the feeling atm.. U-HE wants to be like Roland)

Roland does what they think is important, they don't need polls on KVR.
Look at their software: It seems limited and "bold". Then you use it and after that you want to buy it.
It is so much fun..and sounds great.

1st U-HE has complicated synths and fx. Then the even more weird modular synths. ( "Berlin-modular"... and Bazille is just the beginning..!?)
Just to turn around and make a synth with only basic-features, presets for every part and drag'n drop mod.
...then the next step ... a "simple" mono synth.

What the people/i propably want to say is: Zebra-tits or GTFO.
And/Or: Limitation makes free.

What strikes me odd is: U-HE synth often need new skins and skins are even sold by the makers.
(It puts the lotion on the.. --)

I am serious.

Last: You opened the hexagon-formed box.. you have got to close it. Nobody can do that for you.

[Urs]

What they do.. is bringing out soft-synths recently: No polyphony, not velocity sensitive, great sound, easy on CPU.

Easy on CPU? Have you tried the SH-2 or the System-100 clone?

[Klinke1]

What they do.. is bringing out soft-synths recently: No polyphony, not velocity sensitive, great sound, easy on CPU.

Easy on CPU? Have you tried the SH-2 or the System-100 clone?

SH2, i tried.

System 100... i didn't want to drag cables... but then i saw that there is a mouse-hover-mod-matrix which places the cables for you, great idea.

[Urs]

Thing is, System 100 takes more than 50% CPU on a current XEON core... I don't think one calls that "easy on CPU". The SH-2 is better, but not all that much.

[EvilDragon]

In comparison, Repro-1 takes about 6-8% of CPU at full resonance on my 5 year old i5-2380P quadcore (3.2 GHz). Now that is easy on CPU, considering how great it sounds. Roland's plugins are horribly CPU inefficient, and they don't justify that in sounding THAT much better (they are at least on par with Diva, but Diva has better effects).

[Sleepwalker]

OH! it should be a osc designer in the style of the mappers in ace and bazille. nothing else, just for osc shapes. 2 of them. that's it! maybe an interpolate and don't option. all done! oh, no, maybe choose between shape and additive. then all done.

i say this because i think it is a good idea but also because i think hive does truely suffer some/sorely from the limited source material (not much osc choices, ik super this and that was the main idea but with extended osc material it could cover much more ground and still be on topic?)

Sort of agree. More osc variations are my nr.1 wish.. A nice big view of morphable wavetable stuff like Virus or Serum etc would be great.

[Shiek927]

OH! it should be a osc designer in the style of the mappers in ace and bazille. nothing else, just for osc shapes. 2 of them. that's it! maybe an interpolate and don't option. all done! oh, no, maybe choose between shape and additive. then all done.

i say this because i think it is a good idea but also because i think hive does truely suffer some/sorely from the limited source material (not much osc choices, ik super this and that was the main idea but with extended osc material it could cover much more ground and still be on topic?)

Sort of agree. More osc variations are my nr.1 wish.. A nice big view of morphable wavetable stuff like Virus or Serum etc would be great.

I made similar requests before earlier this thread. Limited wavetable-esque abilities like Reveal Sound Spire's "morph" parameter. It wouldn't be 'true" wavetable, but a simple parameter that would let you bend and morph waveforms would open up lots of new tonal possibilities . Another example could be Omnisphere and the "syne/saw" waveform and more.

An X/Y parameter like Omnisphere also has is a recurring and good choice .

It would also help with digital styles like Dubstep, which Hive is still pretty unfit for. Taking cues from other contemporary synths would make for good inspiration .