ACE vs Bazille/Zebra3 and Hive2 vs Zebra3 questions

[audiojunkie]

I use Linux, and I'm researching my next U-he purchase. I know that Urs has stated that each synth has a unique purpose in his synth line. I am trying to avoid overlap as much as possible. Of the U-he synths, I already have Diva, Repro, and Hive 2. With both Bazille and Zebra 3 being modular & semi-modular, is there any sound that ACE can make that either Bazille or Zebra 3 can't make? It seems to be that if I wanted a modular, Bazille would be a more powerful modular than ACE (even though the oscillators are different). And with all that Zebra 3 can do, is there anything that ACE can do that Zebra 3 can't?

In other words, if someone purchases Bazille or Zebra 3, is there any need at all for ACE?

Likewise, if someone is wanting a U-he Wavetable synth, would anyone need Hive 2 if they have Zebra 3? Which has better Wavetable capabilities?

Thank you in advance!!

[dune_rave]

Imho you only can skip ace if you get bazille, but the others are quite different....

[tumface]

Likewise, if someone is wanting a U-he Wavetable synth, would anyone need Hive 2 if they have Zebra 3? Which has better Wavetable capabilities?

AFAIK, Zebra 3 has its spline oscillators, which can be rendered using either wavetable or additive synthesis, but does not have direct wavetable oscillators like Hive 2. So, they aren't really equivalent. In other words, Hive 2 is a better wavetable synth if you want to load wavetables (or generate them with .uhm) and not draw them with splines.

[Fannon]

I could be very happy with Repro, Diva + upcoming Zebra 3 I think
The first two are character synths, simple to use with opinionated sound - Zebra 3 will be the flexible powerhouse.

[audiojunkie]

With all that Zebra can do, ie spline oscillators with wavetable or additive capabilities, deep modularity, and such, how is it with FM support? Can Zebra 3 do what Bazille can do as well? Is there a point or a need for Bazille if I have Zebra?

[tumface]

Zebra 2 (and 3, I believe) has some FM capabilities with dedicated FM oscillators, but does not have the "any cable everywhere" audio-rate modulation and routing spiderweb capability of Bazille. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

Bazille has a different workflow from Zebra. With Zebra, I'm often building things while thinking in terms of components and layers and "this, and then this, and then this, with some modulation from this other thing." With Bazille, it feels more like building sounds from the inside-out. It's is powerful in terms of audio-rate modulation and FM etc. style synthesis, while also combining it with filter banks and other tools. "The Bazille Cookbook" is both a great learning experience for synthesis techniques and also just an enjoyable experience in general.

[pdxindy]

In other words, if someone purchases Bazille or Zebra 3, is there any need at all for ACE?

ACE has a lovely sound character all its own. It also has its own set of functions that differ from Bazille or Zebra 3.

[pdxindy]

Is there a point or a need for Bazille if I have Zebra?

Yes

[lunardigs]

ACE definitely has it's own character. It's a little hard to sum up.
I think it does percussion really well. That's why I got it, but then I find a patch like "MidY 1", push the mod wheel up and it screams like a human voice saying "wow, wow, wow".
It's an interesting synth.

[pdxindy]

ACE definitely has it's own character. It's a little hard to sum up.

Yeah... ACE is more versatile than it seems at first glance. I just made this quickly...

https://dandelionaudio.com/sound/ACE-01.mp3

[lunardigs]

ACE definitely has it's own character. It's a little hard to sum up.

Yeah... ACE is more versatile than it seems at first glance. I just made this quickly...

https://dandelionaudio.com/sound/ACE-01.mp3

Interesting stuff ... Not an obvious sound either if just heard the first few presets.

Another thing with ACE is even with "harsh" sounds, so to speak, it still sounds comfortable. If that makes sense. Almost like a limiter of some kind is built in. Tight low end too.

[pdxindy]

ACE definitely has it's own character. It's a little hard to sum up.

Yeah... ACE is more versatile than it seems at first glance. I just made this quickly...

https://dandelionaudio.com/sound/ACE-01.mp3

Interesting stuff ... Not an obvious sound either if just heard the first few presets.

Another thing with ACE is even with "harsh" sounds, so to speak, it still sounds comfortable. If that makes sense. Almost like a limiter of some kind is built in. Tight low end too.

Yeah... good description. ACE has a wider palette than people would expect just from looking at the UI.

ACE is especially lovely in the way it can be noisy... another quick example

https://dandelionaudio.com/sound/ACE-02.mp3

[Maykie]

If capabilities are all you look for in a synth, then wait for Zebra 3 and forget about the others.
For me personally, workflow is more important than capabilities themselves.

Here’s my perception of u-he synths:
Diva – Emulation of analog classics.
Bazille – Oscillators with a set of shaping effects waiting to be modulated—not just with LFOs but with other oscillators as well. Lots of elements from the modular world; rich, but with a rather digital sound.
ACE – Simpler than Bazille, good for classic VA sounds.
Hive – The first version was supposed to be a Sylenth1 replacement: a synth with a super-fast workflow. Since the 2.0 release, I'm not sure where this synth fits anymore. It’s not as fast and simple as it used to be, and it’s not a workhorse synth like Serum or Vital. Adding function generators is another design decision I don’t quite understand.

[replicant X]

Hive 2 is my favorite Wavetable / VA synth. Most of the parameters are packed into a single screen, which makes it hard to understand at first, but once you get the hang of it, it's extremely fast to operate. It has a wide sonic range and sounds fantastic. However, I don't like the light blue color, so I'm hoping that Zebra 3 will eventually encompass everything Hive 2 can do—but its GUI probably won't be easier to use than Hive 2's.

[Urs]

I don't like the light blue color

There are some nice custom skins for many of our plug-ins, including some for Hive 2, maybe there's one you like more:

https://u-he.com/PatchLib/skins.html