Does anyone NOT like Diva?

[Aloysius]

[Teksonik]

Well it certainly doesn't describe me!!! I'm nothing like the 95%!!!

So you think you're....very special?

Diva:

Diva.png

[HOTF]

Brilliant semantic dispute about the word Diva . I'll try to bring this thread back on topic. Diva still sounds great. The core engine is top tier imo and the mix and match panel architechure is excellent. I'll agree with the general sentiment here and say the two areas that would benefit the most for future developpement is the modulation section and the effects.Personally, I think it would be acceptable if certain UI elements broke from the analog-modelled aesthetic outside the main synth panels, such as adding visual feedback for LFOs, in order to improve workflow and readability.

[Old Norse]

Well it certainly doesn't describe me!!! I'm nothing like the 95%!!!

So you think you're....very special?

That kind of was the joke, but I guess 95% of the audience didn't get it.

[Teksonik]

Well it certainly doesn't describe me!!! I'm nothing like the 95%!!!

So you think you're....very special?

That kind of was the joke, but I guess 95% of the audience didn't get it.

Since sarcasm and humor often don't get conveyed properly with the written word, the use of emojis is recommended to express the writer's intent.

But even though I did use a laughing emoji you missed my joke so there's that......

Anyway, god forbid an utterly pointless thread at KVR gets derailed so I'll add my opinion of DIVA the plugin:

Do I like DIVA? Yes. Enough to keep it in my collection? No. I sold it on years ago since it's too limited for my needs. Do I like it enough to buy it back again even at the annual holiday sales price? Also no. I thought about it last year and passed again. I have other synths that I prefer in both their sound and feature set. Nothing more than personal taste and yes I realize that fanboi heads are exploding right now and I can hear them furiously pounding away at their keyboards to rebuke my sacrilege. .....

Will I name those other synths? Absolutely not since I don't want to start yet another equally pointless "this versus that thread".

But I have resigned myself to the fact that the raison d'être of KVR these days is to feed some people's baffling obsession with what other people like or don't like. So by all means do carry on......

[GGaudio7]

I do not like Diva, I just love it !

( somone allready said/wrote this here, I suppose )

But that is
"my taste",
and
"you enjoy your taste".

So:
It is just
"Good to have multiple choices".

(ps: also trying out the MONA skin for Diva and having a look, what/if it changes my usage & outcome ...)

[HOTF]

Well it certainly doesn't describe me!!! I'm nothing like the 95%!!!

So you think you're....very special?

That kind of was the joke, but I guess 95% of the audience didn't get it.

Since sarcasm and humor often don't get conveyed properly with the written word, the use of emojis is recommended to express the writer's intent.

But even though I did use a laughing emoji you missed my joke so there's that......

Anyway, god forbid an utterly pointless thread at KVR gets derailed so I'll add my opinion of DIVA the plugin:

Do I like DIVA? Yes. Enough to keep it in my collection? No. I sold it on years ago since it's too limited for my needs. Do I like it enough to buy it back again even at the annual holiday sales price? Also no. I thought about it last year and passed again. I have other synths that I prefer in both their sound and feature set. Nothing more than personal taste and yes I realize that fanboi heads are exploding right now and I can hear them furiously pounding away at their keyboards to rebuke my sacrilege. .....

Will I name those other synths? Absolutely not since I don't want to start yet another equally pointless "this versus that thread".

But I have resigned myself to the fact that the raison d'être of KVR these days is to feed some people's baffling obsession with what other people like or don't like. So by all means do carry on......

nuh-uh! Everyone here kowns that the synths I like > the synths you like.

[aciddose]

I think it would be acceptable if certain UI elements broke from the analog-modelled aesthetic outside the main synth panels, such as adding visual feedback for LFOs, in order to improve workflow and readability.

That's not really so distant from a typical analog UI. It's that the amount of current associated with LEDs is fairly high when it comes to EMI and switching pulses. One solution I've seen used is pulsed current to smoothly fade LEDs on and off rather than abrupt sharp pulse edges. That helps to reduce EMI peaks, but in general the cost of LEDs, their driving circuits and the power cost of running them makes them less likely to be used.

The underlying math is very simple though. Much like a line using gamma correction you can use few LED "pixels" to represent a continuous waveform via non-linear transformation such as a simple sigmoid (d+1)*x/(|x|+d) or quadratic. Electronically a diode can be used. Blinkenlights is the usual term for this stuff. uberblinkenlichter!!!11111oneoneone

I suspect the main reason to avoid such things is to keep a UI simple and avoid extra animations that pollute the interface visually. It wouldn't be a stretch to say in general most musicians already suffer from epic ADHD. To intentionally worsen this by flashing distractions all over the UI could easily be a net negative.

[skarvika]

Workflow

Having to dance around the UI turning things off/on, locking, tuning etc before even thinking about the sound is a workflow killer. Then you have the Deliberately Inconvenient Visual Area that switches around depending on the preset. On top of that, it's downright BUSY. For example, in the single instance of Diva I've got pulled up right now, I count 64 knobs, 31 menus, 17 buttons and 11 switches for a total of 123 moving pieces just on the main screen. If one of my favorited patches isn't close enough to what I want, I won't spend time messing around with it.

[Urs]

Workflow

Having to dance around the UI turning things off/on, locking, tuning etc before even thinking about the sound is a workflow killer. Then you have the Deliberately Inconvenient Visual Area that switches around depending on the preset. On top of that, it's downright BUSY. For example, in the single instance of Diva I've got pulled up right now, I count 64 knobs, 31 menus, 17 buttons and 11 switches for a total of 123 moving pieces just on the main screen. If one of my favorited patches isn't close enough to what I want, I won't spend time messing around with it.

What do think about Sylenth1 then? Is that less busy? Or Massive X? Or, indeed, Serum?

You won't ever be messing with these then, because they not only present you with a similar amount of parameters, they also have a whole lot more tucked away that need to be discovered underneath the surface, like a magnitude more than what Diva hides in her two extra tabs.

[Examigan]

Diva is great, and I don’t think workflow is a big issue. Also, I don’t think Sylenth1 is complex or has a bunch of hidden features really.

If anyone thinks Diva is a bit complex with its workflow, etc., try Plugmon’s Mona.

[skarvika]

What do think about Sylenth1 then? Is that less busy? Or Massive X? Or, indeed, Serum?

You won't ever be messing with these then, because they not only present you with a similar amount of parameters, they also have a whole lot more tucked away that need to be discovered underneath the surface, like a magnitude more than what Diva hides in her two extra tabs.

It appears to be a not uncommon opinion that the UI is cumbersome. These observations have been made before this thread as well, and back then you didn't say "But these synths are a bigger PITA!" I'm not sure what changed since then but this thread largely is largely dedicated to expressing what they may not like about Diva. I'm not here to critique Sylenth, Massive or Serum, but I'll humor you.

Sylenth1 was the first softsynth I used heavily once I moved on from abysmally bad sample based music. It has a very coherent and standard interface for the time. Everything is easy to read. Massive X's UI, along with being resource heavy, played a crucial role in its failure. NI recently updated it to add a simplified 'player' interface, which is an admission of sorts. Serum's got a lot going on, but that's the point of Serum - it's a highly modifiable wavetable synth. The selling point is that you can make just about any sound you'd want from nothing. That being said, everything is laid out in horizontal rows so you don't need to go searching for things. And none of their UIs have controls that change position.

There are several users in this very thread who have spent extra money specifically to make Diva feel more intuitive to use, which speaks for itself imo

[Urs]

Well, my point is that it's totally fine to dislike Diva's interface. No problem. But please don't rationalise it with the amount of parameters, when synths are fine that have twice or thrice as much going on (but great portions hidden to trick you into thinking they're "easy to use").

We were able to display the complete synth on one page, less a few expert features, which people commonly barely need to touch. That is something. If Sylenth or Serum tried to achieve the same, they'd be a horrendous mess. They achieve "not being a mess" by hiding complexity away, one in layers the other in tabs and auxiliary pages.

[mellotronaut]

[skarvika]

Well, my point is that it's totally fine to dislike Diva's interface. No problem. But please don't rationalise it with the amount of parameters, when synths are fine that have twice or thrice as much going on (but great portions hidden to trick you into thinking they're "easy to use").

We were able to display the complete synth on one page, less a few expert features, which people commonly barely need to touch. That is something. If Sylenth or Serum tried to achieve the same, they'd be a horrendous mess. They achieve "not being a mess" by hiding complexity away, one in layers the other in tabs and auxiliary pages.

Well, in that case, MONA need not exist. I like Diva, for what it's worth.