How would you rate Hive for leads?

VST, AU, AAX, CLAP, etc. Plugin Virtual Instruments Discussion
RELATED
PRODUCTS

Post

twal wrote: Thu Jun 17, 2021 3:47 amWhat kind of music do you like that is modern (that's using the synths you believe are newer sounding and more advanced) that I can listen to to get a feeling of what you are meaning by modern sounding better?
Well, the thing is that when I'm making a song, I'd never use a synth that emulates a synth from the 80's. The results will always sound better to me using a modern synth.

But here is an example of a lead that I quite like.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2i2khp_npdE
(the lead appears at 1'12, I love this song)

Another example, this song is harder, I really LOVE this lead :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTDJJBH8aFI
(the lead starts at 1'07)
twal wrote: Thu Jun 17, 2021 3:47 amI think that most of the EDM, Trance, House or whatever that is being made or what uses wobble and Serum hard bass/synth would be hard to make an actual hit with not that there aren't hits but I mean legendary songs or what not.
Wobble stuff is not my thing also.
twal wrote: Thu Jun 17, 2021 3:47 am (...)but what I am looking for melody that is catchy and poppy. (...) it just leaves out singing, and singing to me is important.
EXACTLY what I'm looking for also.
Please don’t read the above post. It’s a stupid one. Simply pass.

Post

DJErmac wrote: Thu Jun 17, 2021 3:05 amDon't make me say what I never said
and yet you keep repeating it...

Post

pdxindy wrote: Thu Jun 17, 2021 5:09 am
DJErmac wrote: Thu Jun 17, 2021 3:05 amDon't make me say what I never said
and yet you keep repeating it...
Well... forum... talking... :scared:
Please don’t read the above post. It’s a stupid one. Simply pass.

Post

These are just a few posts you know, they won't change the world forever.
Please don’t read the above post. It’s a stupid one. Simply pass.

Post

DJErmac wrote: Wed Jun 16, 2021 10:55 pm To me analog is a synonym of retro sound, boomer generation sound design capabilities and most of all a sound that seems to come from your uncle's radio.
A lot of techno artists these days use analog synths or emulations like Diva. So, in some sense a Bodzin-esque moogish lead may actually sound more modern than all these bombastic hypersaws and crazy wub-wubs.

As for Hive, I rate it very highly for psytrarnce and goa leads, it's now up there with Massive X and Serum as my to-go lead synth. I like how it responds to modulations, you can make all sorts of randomized and heavily LFO-ed stuff but the sound will not fall apart or become unmixable. Also I like the general character, it has a kind of "mid-00 trance" vibe all over it, a bit like mix between Virus C and old Novation synths.

It probably wouldn't be my first choise for the leads like in these tracks posted by DJErmac though - but I know very little how this music is produced, I actually suspect you can make any synth to sound like that if you scoop all the lower midrange and process it with Saturn and OTT with extreme settings.
You may think you can fly ... but you better not try

Post

Never found any use for OTT as far as I’m concerned. It juste squashes everything. EQing very, very deeply is the key.
Please don’t read the above post. It’s a stupid one. Simply pass.

Post

rubez wrote: Wed Jun 16, 2021 4:13 pmGuess no one has an opinion.
I don't think Hive is very good for anything. It sounds great on it's own but it always lets me down when I put it in a mix. It's probably 18 months since I last bothered to load it into a project. I don't like the GUI, either. It's way too cluttered. It used to be OK to work with but since they have tried to make it a jack of all trades, it has got a bit out of control. I'd sell you my license but my bandmate still uses it so I need it around for compatibility (even though it's the first thing I replace when he sends me something).
rubez wrote: Wed Jun 16, 2021 6:03 pmThe Roland sound imo is very musical and "coloured", more so than any other hardware synth manufacturer by far.
"Coloured", as opposed to what? Caucasian? I think Roland's sound is the most generic of all hardware brands, by far.
DJErmac wrote: Wed Jun 16, 2021 10:55 pmTo me analog is a synonym of retro sound, boomer generation sound design capabilities and most of all a sound that seems to come from your uncle's radio.
If you believe that I can only assume you don't know what you're doing. Interestingly, I know at least as many Gen Z/Millennial people who are into 70s and 80s music as people who actually lived through it.
DJErmac wrote: Wed Jun 16, 2021 11:21 pmFor example, when I hear the leads from the 80's on records, I'm having a good laugh. There are tons of examples, "The Final Countdown", "Jump"...
OK, then, so it's a matter of ignorance on your part. Because when you say "80s", those are not the songs or artists I think of at all. I think of Skinny Puppy or Nitzer Ebb or, further back, Talk Talk, Simple Minds and Yello. Artists who pushed boundaries with what they had available to them.
DJErmac wrote: Wed Jun 16, 2021 11:34 pmHive is THE supersaw synth.
Hardly. I can think of half-a-dozen synths that do it better - Union, Thorn, ArcSyn, DUNE, ANA and TRK-01, just off the top of my head.
NOVAkILL : Asus RoG Flow Z13, Core i9, 16GB RAM, Win11 | EVO 16 | Studio One | bx_oberhausen, GR-8, JP6K, Union, Hexeract, Olga, TRK-01, SEM, BA-1, Thorn, Prestige, Spire, Legend-HZ, ANA-2, VG Iron 2 | Uno Pro, Rocket.

Post

pdxindy wrote: Thu Jun 17, 2021 2:48 amNobody ever made a quality lead on an analog synth...
Except maybe the solo synth in this song. (Yes, I know you were being sarcastic, but any excuse will do.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIdbeJzjKSs
The solo is at 1:30.
NOVAkILL : Asus RoG Flow Z13, Core i9, 16GB RAM, Win11 | EVO 16 | Studio One | bx_oberhausen, GR-8, JP6K, Union, Hexeract, Olga, TRK-01, SEM, BA-1, Thorn, Prestige, Spire, Legend-HZ, ANA-2, VG Iron 2 | Uno Pro, Rocket.

Post

BONES wrote: Thu Jun 17, 2021 8:01 am
DJErmac wrote: Wed Jun 16, 2021 10:55 pmTo me analog is a synonym of retro sound, boomer generation sound design capabilities and most of all a sound that seems to come from your uncle's radio.
If you believe that I can only assume you don't know what you're doing. Interestingly, I know at least as many Gen Z/Millennial people who are into 70s and 80s music as people who actually lived through it.
Cool. I don’t know what I’m doing then. Totally clueless about it.
BONES wrote: Thu Jun 17, 2021 8:01 am
DJErmac wrote: Wed Jun 16, 2021 11:21 pmFor example, when I hear the leads from the 80's on records, I'm having a good laugh. There are tons of examples, "The Final Countdown", "Jump"...
OK, then, so it's a matter of ignorance on your part. Because when you say "80s", those are not the songs or artists I think of at all. I think of Skinny Puppy or Nitzer Ebb or, further back, Talk Talk, Simple Minds and Yello. Artists who pushed boundaries with what they had available to them.
No, you didn’t understand. The idea was not to list the incredible synth leads from the 80’s, only the ones I find funny and that everyone knows. These leads can be found as remakes in almost every analog synth, so it seems a lot of people find them lovely. I don’t.
BONES wrote: Thu Jun 17, 2021 8:01 am
DJErmac wrote: Wed Jun 16, 2021 11:34 pmHive is THE supersaw synth.
Hardly. I can think of half-a-dozen synths that do it better - Union, Thorn, ArcSyn, DUNE, ANA and TRK-01, just off the top of my head.
OK, I meant : Hive is THE supersaw synth from U-He.
The best supersaw synth is clearly not Hive for me. :wink:
Please don’t read the above post. It’s a stupid one. Simply pass.

Post

DJErmac wrote: Thu Jun 17, 2021 3:35 amAs far as I'm concerned I think they sound somewhat childish sometimes, kinda naive.
Right, and Justin Bieber always sounds so soulful and amazing. Your problem is you only know about what has survived for 40 years, which is always going to be the most crass and commercial side of it. But that's just a tiny fraction of what was done back then and largely not in any way representative. e.g .Listen to the intro to this song, from The Call's 1982 debut album -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8DD1r2 ... VxXTHtbhiY
Or this, from Killing Joke's 1980 debut album. You'll hear it's not about how it sounds, it's about what you do with the sound, simple or otherwise. This is just an old OB-X -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhIl8uzJt0U
Same here, from Skinny Puppy in 1985. The sounds may be simple but the overall effect is incredible -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5ulj3tut3o
This is from 1982 and it's awesome -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ij5DGxYi2k
NOVAkILL : Asus RoG Flow Z13, Core i9, 16GB RAM, Win11 | EVO 16 | Studio One | bx_oberhausen, GR-8, JP6K, Union, Hexeract, Olga, TRK-01, SEM, BA-1, Thorn, Prestige, Spire, Legend-HZ, ANA-2, VG Iron 2 | Uno Pro, Rocket.

Post

Bones, with all respect, you’re not the one who decides what sounds awesome and what does not.

In my opinion, every single example you’ve posted sounds cheap as hell (the Skinny Puppy link is not the right one). The solo lead you find incredible sounds very old fashionned to me. The intro from The Calls is something I’d never want to hear again.

Please understand we simply are not searching for the same things in music. I’ve expressed my opinion, you’ve told me I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m OK with this.

And I absolutely don’t give a f♡ck about Justin Bieber.

EDIT : OK, the Skinny Puppy link has been corrected. Heard nothing interesting to me, very sorry. :shrug:
Last edited by DJErmac on Thu Jun 17, 2021 9:04 am, edited 1 time in total.
Please don’t read the above post. It’s a stupid one. Simply pass.

Post

I don't rate Hive very high, both from the sound and the GUI which I find a bit cluttered. As a lead synth I would prefer other synths anytime (Dune, Serum, Spire, Synthmaster... just to name a few).
If I had to rate it, I would give Hive 2 out of 5 points.

Post

How would you rate Hive for leads?
1.5734/5. I just calculated it.

Post

chk071 wrote: Thu Jun 17, 2021 9:18 am
How would you rate Hive for leads?
1.5734/5. I just calculated it.
:D :D :D
Please don’t read the above post. It’s a stupid one. Simply pass.

Post

You can demo u-he products forever, they just emit a bit of inoffensive, low level noise eery 60 seconds, try Hive and find out for yourself.

Personally, it's one of my go-tos for leads because I like how it sounds and it has good features/workflow for the particular way way I like to program my leads. I can use the Shape Sequencer to gate the vibrato and have this scaled by velocity. That might be completely pointless for you, plus you might not like Hive's character, in which case, Hive will not be a very good synth to make your leads with. YMMV, which is why should demo, especially as there is a demo, with very generous conditions, including being able to save your patches!
Always Read the Manual!

Post Reply

Return to “Instruments”