Hive redesign?

[Grizzellda]

So, I haven't really kept up with all the latest gossip about Hive, or the whole hexagon thread and all that stuff...but in a recent thread Urs made a passing comment about a "Hive redesign".

I hadn't heard about this before...and since Hive has been on my "to get" list, (which seems to keep getting shuffled around ), I would like to know more.

Anybody got trustworthy info here?

[Urs]

Working on it. Some preliminary drafts were leaked as screenshots (Hexagon thread?). More is happening.

As with Zebra2 and Repro recently, a lot of focus is on optimising the new preset browser. We're eager to get out beta versions ("Latest Builds") of everything out with the new preset browser, but not necessarily with new designs / features.

Our always very optimistic release schedule says Q1 2018 for a Hive 1.2 update.

[zvenx]

Here you go:

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... 2#p6927172

rsp

[Grizzellda]

Thanks zvenx, yeah I recently saw some of those screen shots, and they are sharp, but I have to say that without that hexagon, well...dunno

Maybe there will be optional GUI's?

[Teksonik]

Our always very optimistic release schedule says Q1 2018 for a Hive 1.2 update.

That's really good news and gives me a reason to live at least until the end of April.........

[Grizzellda]

Our always very optimistic release schedule says Q1 2018 for a Hive 1.2 update.

Nice to hear from you Urs,

Oh, so version 1.2 is what this is...see when I read the word **redesign** I wondered if it was gonna be Hive 2, basically a new version, (like say, Dune 2), but it looks more like GUI stuff and a bunch of user requested tweaks. But the hexagon is really a considerable part of Hive's uniqueness, don'tcha think?

Also, in the hexagon thread was talk of new synthesis options.

I agree with keeping it a relatively straightforward synth, didn't you make it to be a dance machine? But sure, more waves would be cool. Drawing new waves, like in Bazille, would probably be even cooler.

[Urs]

We also have a new UI with Hexagon in the works which looks very yummy.

[Grizzellda]

Cool, and any comment about Bazille style harmonic waveform drawing?

Or is that getting out of Hive's straightforward zone?

[Urs]

Cool, and any comment about Bazille style harmonic waveform drawing?

Or is that getting out of Hive's straightforward zone?

No decision has been made. We try to focus on each product one by one, but there's a good chance any of the Z3 development can have a spin-off in form of a Hive addition.

[Grizzellda]

No decision has been made. We try to focus on each product one by one, but there's a good chance any of the Z3 development can have a spin-off in form of a Hive addition.

Well this all sounds interesting...I have an early demo of Hive and it only came with 6 presets! Quite an early release I reckon. I really don't play it because of the demo noise, but I like to just open it up and study the interface once in awhile...one of my favorites.

So yeah, like I said, it has been on my "to buy" list...thanks for all your work on these instruments man! Very much appreciated.

[mrj1nx]

I haven't been paying attention to the Hive redesign since all of the other fuzz that's been going on, but super nice to hear that there's new stuff coming to Hive!

I'm really glad to hear that the hexagon still being kept alive in concepts. I thought the concepts without the hexagon made it loose it's visual identity completely. No matter what you decide I have no doubt it will be kick ass in the end

I do agree a bit on the wavetable thing, also Zebra already got that part covered. Besides, Serum is available for those who want to go deep with Wavetables. One path forward could be a bit like how Spire does it, with different OSC modes. Then there would be room for a couple of obvious ones like FM. On the other hand, that has been done already in Dune 2, Spire and probably many more.

The funny thing is, as soon as one starts to think about it, it becomes the usual suspects (FM, wavetable, samples, vowel?) that's been done already and it starts moving towards becoming another swiss army knife kind of synth. What makes it interesting is probably the rubiks cube aspect, where its about the structure of it and the limitations, and the uniqueness of the choices of filters and everything. For some reason when I think of Hive, I think about more of a smooth sound rather than harsh, and that's partly why I like it alot.

I do think that Spire has something unique to its sound that I cant find anywhere else, and I belive it's in the filters. Maybe it would be an idea to try to invent/come up with something new that has to do with filters, maybe just like interesting flavours of the usual suspects. I don't know what it would be but it feels like the filter is usually the key to the sound in subtractive synths.

What if there would be a couple of new knobs to customise the filters flavour and morph it between different curves, besides the usual cutoff/res. I don't know, maybe it's been tried and it just doesn't sound good.

[Grizzellda]

For some reason when I think of Hive, I think about more of a smooth sound rather than harsh, and that's partly why I like it alot.

Certainly agree here, a smooth hi fidelity "quality" type sound is my generalization of it, but as a modern digital synth it can sound like alot of stuff. Surely pleasant lead sounds are available from it that would be smooth for Jazz. Or maybe like "Smoooooove, baby, just dig it Daddy-O"

And regarding the limitations...that is just what I was saying to Urs about going outside of Hive's "straightforward zone" because it was originally designed for a kind of simplicity, pretty sure. How about a "market zone" too?

"That dance synth without to much extra stuff".

What if there would be a couple of new knobs to customise the filters flavour and morph it between different curves, besides the usual cutoff/res.

Sounds like maybe old E-mu z-plane filters? Cool idea. Maybe drawable waves and velvety morphing filters is all it really needs. And even so, already that is alot!

[Sam-U]

Here you go:

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... 2#p6927172

rsp

OMG this is off-putting me... I like Hive very much because it was the first u-He synth that didn't look frumpy or had this pseudo realistic rack graphics. It looks modern and gives the me feeling of looking into the future and not into the past again and again. I hope the old skin will still work with new updates.

[Urs]

I hope the old skin will still work with new updates.

Yep!

[recursive one]

FM, wavetable, samples, vowel?

As I said in another thread, FM, wavetable and vowel would sell Hive to me (don't care about the samples).

I know that Urs decided to move away from positioning Hive as an "EDM synth" (and given the current state of EDM/trance this is a welcome move ) but still the comparisons to Spire or Virus TI/C are inevitable, and here I think Hive is way too limited in terms of synthesis methods and sonic range. I gather that Hive's concept is kind of "limited sweet spot synth", as opposed to Zebra, but more of these sweet spots wouldn't hurt. I think both FM and wavetable oscillators could be quite basic, there is definitely no need to make these as deep as FM8 or Serum, just something that sounds good and characterful with few basic controls. When I think about currently popular wavetable synths, I imagine either quite harsh sound (Massive) or something way too sterile/clinical (Serum, Dune2). I think that something warmer sounding, like Waldorf Microwave or Virus TI wavetable section, is still missing in sofwtare.

On topic, this UI is absolutely gorgeous but for the Italic font