Diva vs Strobe (FXpansion)

[zerocrossing]

I really wanted to like Strobe, but after demoing it for a bit my impression was it sounds kind of cold.

I feel a little the same way.
- but i also find a real jupiter-6 cold-ish sounding IMHO (had one).
But for me its not a bad thing (sometimes its just what song need)

I'm not sure I thought it sounded "cold" but when I first got DCAM I did feel it could sound really "stiff" and compressed... that's when someone here pointed out that the signal going into the filter was super hot by default. While good for harsh agressive sounds (which seem to be the types the people at FXspansion love) it can lack the "phattness" of vintage synths. The good news is that all you need to do is back way down on the gain into the filter and they come alive nicely. Few if any of the presets show this aspect of it off, so you'll need to roll your own for that type of sound.

Diva's UI is far better, though that's probably because in all it's larger and doesn't try to put all the functions on one page. As a UI designer I'm always perplexed at the feeling that everything needs to always be on a single page as if this thing was hardware. Poly-ana is probably the guiltiest of that and it adds a horrible faux 3d thing and shadows to make the UI even more muddy.

I'm going to do another "shoot out" later today or tomorrow between Diva and some of the usual suspects. My first impression wasn't as glowing as everyone else's. Am I really missing something? After a few hours with all my VAs I ran crying back to my analog hardware.

[ariston]

I think Synth Squad is a bit a one trick pony. Strobe sounds good for bass sounds and with stacking+Unison it's also usable for pads. But it's IMO not the best synth for pads. Cypher is a bit under the radar and the same with Amber. I have not idea why but it seems people only using/preferring Strobe.

I really don't know what it is about Synth Squad, but a lot of the criticism voiced here at KVR and elsewhere always make me think people haven't actually spent a lot of time with it.
Calling Synth Squad a "one trick pony" is plain ridiculous. You probably meant to say "Strobe", however - and even then it's not true. Calling a synth with a typical monosynth structure "not the best for pads" is like saying that a monochord is really not the first choice for getting that Hollywood string sound. Of course it isn't - that's not its forte. Even so, you CAN get very complex pads out of Strobe. The mod system is probably one of the deepest available. If you can't do it, then it's your skills that are at fault, not the synth.

A lot of people tend to lean towards Strobe, but again, I don't get it. Cypher is obviously the strongest and most versatile synth of the three, so it's the one I usually go to first. I've made about 100 patches for Cypher so far, and maybe 30 for Strobe.

On topic, while it may be tempting to compare Strobe and Diva, for me it boils down to the usual: Diva is great at some things, Strobe at others. Both can do things the other can't do, and both are pushing VA to new heights. It's great to have both, but I would never trade in Strobe, not to mention the entire Synth Squad, for Diva.

[Crackbaby]

analog hardware doesn't require a mouse so that might be a reason why?

[4damind]

Calling a synth with a typical monosynth structure "not the best for pads" is like saying that a monochord is really not the first choice for getting that Hollywood string sound.

This is a bit different with Strobe because it's not only a simple monosynth.
Strobe _can_ create thick pads with help of Unison, oscillator stacking, detuning. Because Strobe can create such sounds it's also not wrong to compare the results with similar sounds from other synth.
But other synth are more flexible for such stuff and thats why I say "it's not the best for pads" which doesn't mean you cannot create pads.

[Nokenoku]

I'll do you one better and give you some start-up patches for keys/pads that you can play around with yourself. To fake the chorus, try increasing the "Stack" control a bit OR throw TAL's Chorus-60 behind it with a 50/50 mix and Type II engaged.

It's been quite a while since I played with a Juno 60, but I based most of these off the soundclips from synthmania.com/juno-60.htm Anyway, there's nine patches here to get you started.

http://www.kvraudio.com/banks.php?s=one&id=1623

Well thx, but I don't own Synth Squad and I haven't installed the demo atm.

I really don't know what it is about Synth Squad, but a lot of the criticism voiced here at KVR and elsewhere always make me think people haven't actually spent a lot of time with it.

Which is no wonder with those GUIs.
They're just too small.

[aMUSEd]

I think Synth Squad is a bit a one trick pony. Strobe sounds good for bass sounds and with stacking+Unison it's also usable for pads. But it's IMO not the best synth for pads. Cypher is a bit under the radar and the same with Amber. I have not idea why but it seems people only using/preferring Strobe.

I really don't know what it is about Synth Squad, but a lot of the criticism voiced here at KVR and elsewhere always make me think people haven't actually spent a lot of time with it.
Calling Synth Squad a "one trick pony" is plain ridiculous. You probably meant to say "Strobe", however - and even then it's not true. Calling a synth with a typical monosynth structure "not the best for pads" is like saying that a monochord is really not the first choice for getting that Hollywood string sound. Of course it isn't - that's not its forte. Even so, you CAN get very complex pads out of Strobe. The mod system is probably one of the deepest available. If you can't do it, then it's your skills that are at fault, not the synth.

A lot of people tend to lean towards Strobe, but again, I don't get it. Cypher is obviously the strongest and most versatile synth of the three, so it's the one I usually go to first. I've made about 100 patches for Cypher so far, and maybe 30 for Strobe.

Yeah me too - Cypher is amazing actually - I keep meaning to finish a bank I was making with it (I remember the main reason I lost motivation was the infuriating patch saving as I kept losing my patches - so at the moment most of my patches are saved as Kore sounds rather than Cypher presets). A better comparison for Cypher is probably with Bazille though rather than Diva.

[pdxindy]

speaking of Bazille...

http://draigathar.org/sounds/Bazille3.wav

[sfp]

DCam sound very very good but the GUI are " RIDICULOUS SMALL " .

developper need to improve de GUI ; compare to larges GUI's like DIVA or ZEBRA , DCAM are ridiculous .


but the sound are fantastic on bouth DIVA and DCAM


download and ear some examples of DCAM http://www.fxpansion.com/showplaylist.p ... 374126.xml

[Fritze]

speaking of Bazille...

http://draigathar.org/sounds/Bazille3.wav

Boah! Do you wanna keep the preset to yourself or would you please share it?
This is amazing to me. I'm a sucker for vocalish stuff. Likewise with drums. Actually everything organic sounding.

[Urs]

speaking of Bazille...

http://draigathar.org/sounds/Bazille3.wav

[FastTriggerFish]

speaking of Bazille...

http://draigathar.org/sounds/Bazille3.wav

Boah! Do you wanna keep the preset to yourself or would you please share it?
This is amazing to me. I'm a sucker for vocalish stuff. D

Same here!! would love seeing that preset if you didnt mind sharing it.

[Bronto Scorpio]

speaking of Bazille...

http://draigathar.org/sounds/Bazille3.wav

[pdxindy]

speaking of Bazille...

http://draigathar.org/sounds/Bazille3.wav

Boah! Do you wanna keep the preset to yourself or would you please share it?
This is amazing to me. I'm a sucker for vocalish stuff. Likewise with drums. Actually everything organic sounding.

Here is the preset... The audio example had some parameter twiddling and I did not save it exactly as I played it, but this will get you close enough

http://draigathar.org/sounds/yaiya.h2p.zip


Here is another Bazille example... Bazille might be my very favoritest synth. Its flexibility makes for such enjoyable experimentation. I can only imagine how superb it will be when it is fully fleshed out and polished up.

http://draigathar.org/sounds/Bazille4a.mp3

[xybre]

I'd say one advantage the SS stuff (which I don't own) has over Diva (which I do own), is the insert plugins. I'd love to have a stereo insert version of Diva's filters and FX section.

I need to demo them again, but even the sounds I've heard from SS adherents just don't vibe with me the same as when I hear what people have made with Diva, Bazille, or ACE. Maybe U-he crowd is just more.. experimental or something. It makes me experimental too though, I get inspired. Like the stuff I've done with Diva just tweaking knobs (posted in the Diva sounds thread). I don't know why, but I like it.

The opportunity for happy accidents seems greater than usual as well with some gear..

[pdxindy]

I'd say one advantage the SS stuff (which I don't own) has over Diva (which I do own), is the insert plugins. I'd love to have a stereo insert version of Diva's filters and FX section.

I need to demo them again, but even the sounds I've heard from SS adherents just don't vibe with me the same as when I hear what people have made with Diva, Bazille, or ACE. Maybe U-he crowd is just more.. experimental or something. It makes me experimental too though, I get inspired. Like the stuff I've done with Diva just tweaking knobs (posted in the Diva sounds thread). I don't know why, but I like it.

The opportunity for happy accidents seems greater than usual as well with some gear..

Cypher has that experimental side... It has a lot of possibilities... maybe not as much as Bazille. Bazille is like the ultimate experimental synth in an easy one window package. Everything is right there but the possibilities are so diverse...

The sound is just so enjoyably raw. First is a basic bass sound, then the same one with some FM and filter feedback. It has a satisfying vitality and coherence...

http://draigathar.org/sounds/Bazille9.wav

http://draigathar.org/sounds/Bazille9b.wav