Advice wanted before I decide on whether to buy Diva

[ghostwhistler]

Hi
It's a no brainer really because it's awesome and on sale (still a lot of money, so I want to be sure).
Very impressive. I know there's some deliberate crackle on the trial version. That's fine. However there are times when a couple of the presets seem to stutter a lot during playback and slow down a bit (the whole track, if involved, does as well). They seem to be sounds that have a long release. Is that a thing? My CPU temp doesn't increase, which I was monitoring as well. Is this just a thing Diva has with really complex sounds?
I have Repro as well, which is also awesome. Similar things can sometimes happen with Repro 5, so I turn the number of voices down which isn't an issue. These aren't major problems, but I want to be sure I'm not buying something I can't run. I meet the system requirements, even on this old thing: i5 2.50ghtz, Windows 10, 8gb RAM, using Reaper as DAW.
Also I was thinking of getting the Korg MS20. Can't get both and Diva does seem to be the better choice. Not really a fair comparison as they are different things. I also have Repro, as I said, so is it worth getting Diva as well or is that just massively self indulgent?

[pdxindy]

If you can run RePro, then you can also run Diva. If you want a sound with longer release times and some polyphony, you might have to freeze that track. Diva is a gorgeous sounding synth.

[zvenx]

Also, what accuracy are your running it at?
rsp

[EdSfer]

If you can run RePro, then you can also run Diva.

This.

Try activating multicore, be it in Diva or Repro, it makes a big difference for me CPU-wise.

And yes, Diva is an awesome synth, my favourite analog emulation so far. It compliments repro very well and it does emulate MS-20 as well. If you can run it, it's a no-brainer I think.

[ghostwhistler]

Also, what accuracy are your running it at?
rsp

Ive tried on divine great and fast. For the most part it's ok, just those sounds I mentioned. Reducing the voices can help, repro 5 can also be probolematic when everything is full8 voices.

For reference, I'm monitoring my cpu temperature while i'm using these programs. It's fine otherwise but i'm paranoid about meltdown

So for the most part it's fine. Reducing quality isn't a problem stylistically. It's just a couple of sounds, so far, that are an issue. The one preset that is the biggest problem (whose name escapes me) does depend on having 3 voices though so reducing that doesn't work, but a slight release reduction seems to solve it. Why does release cause this issue?

[ghostwhistler]

If you can run RePro, then you can also run Diva.

This.

Try activating multicore, be it in Diva or Repro, it makes a big difference for me CPU-wise.

And yes, Diva is an awesome synth, my favourite analog emulation so far. It compliments repro very well and it does emulate MS-20 as well. If you can run it, it's a no-brainer I think.

It is awesome. I'm just weirdly nervous about spending the money (i'll never get a better deal) and then having my cpu explode
But then given that I already have repro is there much crossover?

[carrieres]

So for the most part it's fine. Reducing quality isn't a problem stylistically. It's just a couple of sounds, so far, that are an issue. The one preset that is the biggest problem (whose name escapes me) does depend on having 3 voices though so reducing that doesn't work, but a slight release reduction seems to solve it. Why does release cause this issue?

a long release makes notes overlapping and the voices count increase

[EdSfer]

But then given that I already have repro is there much crossover?

I don't think I'm learning you anything but Repro emulates Pro-1/Prophet 5, while Diva emulates Minimoog/Juno/Jupiter etc (don't have the exact list in mind), and can be a mix of all those. So, there is some crossover in the sense that we're talking about classic analog synths that can do quite the same sort of sounds, but each one has his personnality. Personnally, I think Repro sounds more agressive in general (and can go in territories Diva can't, thanks to audio rate modulations) while Diva has a softer, may I say "warmer" sound.

[ghostwhistler]

a long release makes notes overlapping and the voices count increase
[/quote]
That makes sense

[zerocrossing]

But then given that I already have repro is there much crossover?

I don't think I'm learning you anything but Repro emulates Pro-1/Prophet 5, while Diva emulates Minimoog/Juno/Jupiter etc (don't have the exact list in mind), and can be a mix of all those. So, there is some crossover in the sense that we're talking about classic analog synths that can do quite the same sort of sounds, but each one has his personnality. Personnally, I think Repro sounds more agressive in general (and can go in territories Diva can't, thanks to audio rate modulations) while Diva has a softer, may I say "warmer" sound.

Diva makes some compromises to get 16 voices, but it generally sounds great with most analog style sounds. Repro can definitely get wilder and like you said, if you like audio rate modulation, it does a great job. The magic of Diva isn’t its accurate modeling, but the fact that you can experiment with putting things together that have never been made, like a Model D oscillator section with a Roland Jupiter 8 filter. That’s fun that you won’t get with Repro.

[ghostwhistler]

But then given that I already have repro is there much crossover?

I don't think I'm learning you anything but Repro emulates Pro-1/Prophet 5, while Diva emulates Minimoog/Juno/Jupiter etc (don't have the exact list in mind), and can be a mix of all those. So, there is some crossover in the sense that we're talking about classic analog synths that can do quite the same sort of sounds, but each one has his personnality. Personnally, I think Repro sounds more agressive in general (and can go in territories Diva can't, thanks to audio rate modulations) while Diva has a softer, may I say "warmer" sound.

So, I'm unclear. Is Diva meant to emulate specific synths, or is it just that it can do those sounds as part of its overall design? Either way it is impressive. Repro has different effects and the mod matrix allows a gret deal of manipulation. I don't know if Diva has the same capability, which would be cool but you can't have everything

[EdSfer]

From soundonsound review:

But what are these classic analogues from which Diva's inspiration is drawn? The manual doesn't say explicitly, but the hints are easy to follow, and if you need more clues, Diva's panel graphics and 'Init' patches should sort it. In no particular order, they are: Moog's Minimoog, Roland's Jupiter 6, Jupiter 8, Alpha Juno and Juno 60, and Korg's MS20. These fine instruments form the basis of Diva's oscillators, filters and envelopes, with a few judicious tweaks here and there. Although the elements can be swapped freely, Diva's purpose is not to impersonate any one synth specifically.

In other words, Diva might be less an exact emulation than other specialized synths (I would imagine that Korg MS-20 vst is a closer replica than Diva with MS-20 modules). Still, it has the oscillators, filter and envelope modules to emulate all those synths, and it just sounds great.

As for modulation, Diva gives you less targets than Repro, you can't modulate effects parameters for instance, but you still have some options that you can find under "modifications" tab.

[davidka]

You won't have a CPU meltdown, don't worry. Buy Diva while it's still on this price, and experiment with the voicing settings (particularly the voice steal).

For example I also have a weaker processor in my laptop, runs 2-3 Diva/Repro instances fine. I also try to resample what I can to save some cpu cycles.

[ghostwhistler]

You won't have a CPU meltdown, don't worry. Buy Diva while it's still on this price, and experiment with the voicing settings (particularly the voice steal).

For example I also have a weaker processor in my laptop, runs 2-3 Diva/Repro instances fine. I also try to resample what I can to save some cpu cycles.

do you mean bounce down/render/freeze tracks?

[davidka]

Yes indeed! In Live for ex. it is done by freeze and flatten combination.
Something people also do for analog synths which often go without preset sounds.

It only gets better. CPUs are getting stronger, but Diva will likely stay on the current requirements if not optimized even more.