Alternative to Hive

[ATN69]

@ greedy.mf

I didn't bother to read thru every post on every page so I don't know what has been mentioned so far, but here are a few that I own myself,

ANA from Sonic Academy. I would say this is the best when reading what you are looking for. ANA will soon be updated with more functions and features. I never really saw the new version. The existing 1.5 that I have is subtractive, one page, a bunch of oscillators, filters, etc. Good thing is that it's fairly cheap to.

Dune 2. Quite different from Hive but it's one amazing sound machine. You can create a whole range of sound types with this one. A bit pricy but worth it for sure.

Strobe 2. I have it and I used presets mostly. It sounds nice but I don't really like the workflow, but it doesn't mean that you will not like the workflow.

NI Massive. This is an oldie but still good. Took a little while to wrap my head around it's workflow but from a subtractive synth point of view it sounds good, even compared to more modern stuff.

Spire. One page subtractive synth will amazing sound. Not a cheap synth but well worth the money.

I also own a few others like Z3TA+2 and Carbon Electra. Those are nice to but they don't come close to the capabilities of Hive. Everything I said here is of course based on my own preferences and experiences and you might agree or not. I just wanted to open your eyes to some other nice synths in case you overlooked any of them. I actually use all my synths fairly equal and each one have it's own good and bad sides.

Yeah, let's have a fresh start in recommending each ones favourite synthie...

Spire is not a one page synth. Any synth that has tabbing in the oscillator and LFO section is a workflow killer.

Feel free not to buy it then

[sinemotor]

Always mind-blowed to see people here write essays about synths. You should write music instead.

[wagtunes]

Always mind-blowed to see people here write essays about synths. You should write music instead.

I do. Tons of it. Over 600 tracks on Soundcloud and that's just a fraction of all the music I've written in 40 years.

You CAN do both. They are NOT mutually exclusive.

[Yorrrrrr]

To me, Hive sounds thin and lifeless. And the FX are, IMO, abysmal. They are, without a doubt, the cheapest sounding worst FX I have heard on a synth since FM8. And even its FX sound better. You have to literally take almost every effect in Hive and plaster it onto a patch to make it sound good. Programming Hive, for me, was total misery.

I can't believe what I am reading. I find the effects top quality. Programming is a breeze in HIVE (one page, minimal to no tabbing, drag and drop, lots of easy modulation and routing possibilities, great arp and sequencer with record, all useful things are just..right there). Actually I think it's maybe the reason why this thread exists, I mean, the OP wants something like HIVE but with a different sound. Well...opinions

I got in love with HIVE not only when designing patches in the context of production, as its workflow is so fast, easy and efficient, but also when listening at sound libraries such as Howard Scarr/Kevin Schroeder's Science (1 and 2). I mean, what's not to like about this?:


Pretty good job if the FX are bad, if you ask me

[wagtunes]

To me, Hive sounds thin and lifeless. And the FX are, IMO, abysmal. They are, without a doubt, the cheapest sounding worst FX I have heard on a synth since FM8. And even its FX sound better. You have to literally take almost every effect in Hive and plaster it onto a patch to make it sound good. Programming Hive, for me, was total misery.

I can't believe what I am reading. I find the effects top quality. Programming is a breeze in HIVE (one page, no tabbing, drag and drop, lots of easy modulation and routing possibilities, all useful things are just..right there). Actually I think it's maybe the reason why this thread exists, I mean, the OP wants something like HIVE but with a different sound

Go listen to Valhalla's reverb and then listen to Hive's and tell me it's as good.

[ariston]

So I guess the OP should buy Valhalla's reverb (which one anyway?) as an alternative to Hive. EOT.

Doh.

[Yorrrrrr]

Go listen to Valhalla's reverb and then listen to Hive's and tell me it's as good.

Of course Einstein. ValhallaDSP are better than any algo reverb ever put on any soft synth. You should listen to Sylenth1's shit-algo reverb...

So I guess the OP should buy Valhalla's reverb (which one anyway?) as an alternative to Hive. EOT.

Doh.

Hahaha. Yes, this is just stupid now. LOL

[wagtunes]

Go listen to Valhalla's reverb and then listen to Hive's and tell me it's as good.

Of course Einstein. ValhallaDSP are infinitely better than any algo reverb ever put on any soft synth. You should listen to Sylenth1's shit-algo reverb.

So I guess the OP should buy Valhalla's reverb (which one anyway?) as an alternative to Hive. EOT.

Doh.

Hahaha. Yes, this is just stupid now. LOL

The point is, when I listen to the cheap FX that are put into synths (thank God some are better than others) it makes me cringe. So when people say things like "Synth X's FX are amazing" outside of the top shelf synths like Omnisphere and Falcon, I really have to wonder what the hell people are hearing. Or are they just making allowances?

[Urs]

must. try. to. resist. temptation.

[Yorrrrrr]

must. try. to. resist. temptation.

Don't hold it anymore Urs. Release whatever you've got inside.

[Urs]

must. try. to. resist. temptation.

Don't hold it anymore Urs. Release whatever you've got inside.

Sorry, no popcorn today

[wagtunes]

must. try. to. resist. temptation.

Hey Urs, if you want to have at me, that's fine. I've purchased every one of your synths. I love your company. But Hive didn't work for me. Something about the whole thing just fell flat. I'm not a technician so I can't "physically" describe in analysis what I'm hearing. All I know is when I listen to Zebra 2, Bazille, Ace, Diva and Repro-1 and then listen to Hive, I can't believe the synth was made by the same company. Maybe that was your intention. Maybe you wanted to make something that would compete with Sylenth1. I don't know. I don't own Sylenth1 because I think it sounds like crap. So maybe I just don't like what it was you were aiming for with Hive.

All I know is, I can't WAIT for Zebra 3 to come out. I'd be willing to bet it will be my favorite synth just like Zebra 2 is one of my favorite synths.

But by all means, if you want to rip me a new one, as much as I love and support your company, go for it.

But I'm not going to lie about how I feel about a synth just because I'm a fanboi of a company.

[EvilDragon]

You don't have to lie. But you also don't have to be right in what you're saying


That said, FX in Hive are pretty great. And it definitely doesn't sound lifeless, and Howie's presets totally prove that

[wagtunes]

You don't have to lie. But you also don't have to be right in what you're saying


That said, FX in Hive are pretty great. And it definitely doesn't sound lifeless, and Howie's presets totally prove that

Well, then it's my ears or my taste or both. All I know is I like the sound of every other U-he synth, which I all own, better than Hive's. Again, maybe it's the target audience they were going for with it.

It's obviously not me.

[Frantz]

More Wagodrama designed to generate heated responses and have lots of eyeballs. Of course, he will mention his soundware every now and then so there is an infomercial embedded in the flamebait.