Sold Sylenth1 after getting Zebra

[Urs]

Ok, try that then in *any* synth:

http://www.u-he.com/music/Beehive.wav

The patch is called "UH Alarm im elektrischen Beehive", so you can see how it's wired up. It's a very simple patch that should be easily possible in any standard 2 osc - 1 vcf synth.

[justin3am]

lets hear it bud!

http://www.sendspace.com/file/fmo1ch

14 minutes of filter fiddling using Strobe.

13 minutes of similar fiddling using ACE.

http://www.3amnoise.net/acearp.mp3

[Urs]

Arrrgh.

Could someone compile as best-of of both in a 2 minute-medley? My internet drops out after longer mp3s.

[djanthonyw]

KLAE uses wavetables (sampled from the original hardware) and isn't all that component modelled after all

I can't find this information anywhere, all that I can find on their website is:

The eternally popular Mono/Poly, Polysix, and MS-20 analog synthesizers have been reincarnated as software by Korg, the original manufacturer, using cutting-edge CMT component modeling technology.

http://www.korg.co.uk/products/software ... og2007.asp

[Urs]

KLAE uses wavetables (sampled from the original hardware) and isn't all that component modelled after all

I can't find this information anywhere

Interesting. I've been hanging out with their dev team a couple of times and learned this during a casual conversation. It didn't seem to be a secret.

See, "component modeling" is something else for everyone. Andy's approach in DCam is very faithful for what's possible today, and Korg's approach was certainly very faithful for what was possible then. No one however goes down to the level of the fluid that was used to solder the resistors onto the circuit board.

Urs

[Urs]

(I actually remember the situation... I told them that I used per-octave mip-mapped wavetables that I crossfaded over the range of an octave, and one of them replied they did the same thing, but with samples per each note. That was for Zebra 1.0 though)

[ariston]

As I am now a proud owner of ACE as well as Synthsquad, I can honestly say that one doesn't supplant the other. They each have a very unique character, and while it's interesting to hear some give and take ("can you do x with y?"), I wouldn't like to constrain myself in this manner. ACE has a very powerful, punchy sound that's also very clean (even the "waveshaping" sounds clean to my ears), whereas Synthsquad does gritty and imperfect perfectly (pardon the pun).
In working on some new projects, I almost intuitively turn to one or the other when I want to program a certain sound. Very glad I got both to choose from!

Add Zebra and Alchemy to that, and I feel like I'm in synth heaven.

[Vectorman]

I don't think anything in software can sound more vintage "analog" than Synth Squad.

When it comes to things like basic analog poly sounds/strings/etc., the multisampled Oberheim and Roland Jupiter stuff in Omnisphere makes my ears happier than anything I've thus far gotten out of DCAM. Granted, that's "cheating," since the sounds are sampled from the real deal and not modeled, but you did say "anything in software," LOL.

I do like the DCAM synths. They have a different sound. I used a few Cypher sounds on a recent track and ended up cutting around 3K on almost every Cypher channel, though, because it seems like it can often get a bit ear-fatiguing to me in the upper mids.

Zebra and ACE hit my ears in a smoother way. I don't find myself having to EQ them quite as much - most of the time, a bit of low end cut is sufficient. If I do have a sound that gets a bit harsh in part of its range, in Zebra I can just use a modmapper to create a parametric EQ dip that only becomes active through a specific key range. You can't do that with an external EQ plugin. Just one example of how a deeper voice architecture can make itself useful.

[penguinfromdeep]

I didn't like the sound of Zebra or other offerings from Urs that much (I guess this is the Urs -vibe Djanthonyw is refering to ) so I was a bit skeptical about Ace. Nevertheless I tried the demo and had to immediately buy it despite already owning Synth Squad. They complement each other very well, Synth Squad has more vintage tone while Ace has a precise modern sound. I say you have to buy them both!

[abstractcats]

A family member sent me a "group" request called "What if your favorite Little Debby Snack" and ofcourse I remembered my fav' is.....



They also go well with Mac..(donalds)

[snigelx]

ive been plowing snow all day just had a chance to sit down and download this dcam suite. Cypher is a fun synth for sure. i thoroughly enjoyed tinkering with it..although the interface is quite small. i've been messing around with Cypher for the better part of an hour i have a juno60 here behind me and this Cypher sounds nothing like analog gear as a matter of fact, neither does ACE for that matter (as Urs stated earlier..that is/was not the purpose with any U-he offering)...but what I like about both synths here is that they are both fun to use if you know what you are doing (even if you do not). there are major tonal differences between this and either of U-he's synths, so I cannot even begin to say who is "more" analog. Analog has much more facets than the filters, although it helps to have a nice moogy sound (depending on what you are after in your music offerings). it is my experience that U-he's synths fit very well in a variety of situations together with one another in the same mix. i've not tapped out anything with this Cypher yet but we'll see. If all goes well with my playing around durign this trial then I may have to pick this up in the Spring. it sure is ugly and small but i do like some of the parameter readout features, as far as what they display for information. and the scope is captivating with it's various curve displays. Fuser looks interesting as well, esp. this animator part..hmm.. in the end my final judgement up to this point is as others have recently stated,.. two different worlds of sound here but I absolutely love my U-he gear, impOSCar, albino3, reaktor..my Juno60 and ESQ-1 and this is looking pretty damn nice too so far. i've no regrets for what i have here. so you with ACE should pick up this SSquad and try it out and you with SSquad should do some programming in ACE. they are VERY different (neither is bad quality..or analog sounding)

[mcnoone]

The whole "it sounds analog" thing makes me weary.
People's opinions on such things vary to a lesser or greater degree.

Your fat is my muddy.

[snigelx]

i dunno how i feel about this "transmod" setup in synthsquad but i'm still playing with it. just went through the getting started portion of the handbook and i like that there are modifiers and lots of sources, but i'm not enjoying working with those mod squares at the top of the synths. this will take some getting used to if i eventually pick this up at some point. one can really trick some crazyness from cypher and strobe (haven't touched the other parts yet). this suite is just as inspiring as ACE or Zebra, but those two are around to stay for some time in my setup.

@mcnoone +1 (in the end, it is what works in the particular mix you have going on and what plays well with your existing arsenal and analog is only sought after because digital has been around for a while now. one day not so long ago people were looking for digital synths!! hard to keep up with the everlasting rotation of fads)

oh and analog is not sought after for itäs beautiful drifting dynamics, evolutions and harmonic content as much as it is for that "phat" bass or lead sound this kids like slammed and hard limited in their ears today. damned commercial radio

[Zergling]

14 minutes of filter fiddling using Strobe.

That's even longer than any YouTube Shred Video then.

haha i know, I used the Pink Floyd "on the run" pattern and starting twiddling knobs on strobe to see what i could get out of it. I went through all of its filters and played with the mixer and other things.

I'll admit ACE is far more complex sound design wise. Mostly because its modular in design.

Hey Urs can you run stuff through ACE like.. say a guitar?

I think i need to check it out more, I always like playing with the MS20

[xybre]

can you run stuff through ACE like.. say a guitar?

ACE has no audio inputs, but Urs has said that its big brother and the BM will.