Hive preview (April 1 update)

[hakey]

Possible bug/weird behaviour:

1. assign modenv1 to something, eg, cutoff

2. set modenv1 sustain level to 100

3. in the mod matrix assign modwheel to modenv1 sustain with positive magnitude

4. moving the modwheel, rather than increasing modenv1 sustain beyond 100 reverts it to zero, and shortens the decay time.

[GeorgeZ]

How about leaving the GUI as it is with the 3 engines, but hiding the changes in right click drop down menu items of the things that can be adjusted...

Personally I can't stand drop down menus for more complex stuff. I'd prefer a second page with all the engine params in one place. Kinda like a deep editing page? I know the whole idea is a one page beast, but i can't see a drop down menu giving the necessary access when engine params have to be tweaked

[Tricky-Loops]

I'd prefer a second page with all the engine params in one place. Kinda like a deep editing page?

That's what I've already suggested several times - an "easy view" and an "expert view" with more parameters...

But then always someone from the ultraconservative party rushed in and said, please leave it as it is, we don't need no more parameters...

[D Midas]

How about we just take it for what is intended. A simple straight forward synth with great sound and low CPU . Not every synth needs everything. Plenty of other "expert" options out there with all the useless editing your heart could ever desire.

[Tricky-Loops]

Didn't I say it? After every suggestion someone chimes in to tell that they don't need no more parameters!

Maybe I should opt out before I get a persecution complex...

[3phase]

Last night I thought about adding a BYO engine. That's for Build Your Own. I'll keep it in the back of my mind and see what others think.

3 seems like enough... Sylenth has 1 and it is very successful...

If it somehow feels like something is lacking, then those 3 need to be tweaked, not add a 4th

too much preset bozos and generic sounding music on this planet already, and that ruins the electronic music market. Therefore any option that allows to individualize sound is beneficial for mankind and therefor a BYO engine would be a good thing.

It however dont need to be more than 3 options.. i wouldnt mind if a BYO would replace the clean and/or dirty option.

[Frantz]

Last night I thought about adding a BYO engine. That's for Build Your Own. I'll keep it in the back of my mind and see what others think.

Given the remit of Hive, a simple synth with optimized workflow and a reduced number of parameters, I think 3 engines is already a cop out i.e. Urs can't make up his mind how this thing should sound. A BYO engine would be straying even further from the original concept.

u-he already has enough synth geek instruments with endless flexibility. Simplicity can be a feature and is part of the appeal of Sylenth, Monark, TAL-U-NO-LX, etc.

[3phase]

How about we just take it for what is intended. A simple straight forward synth with great sound and low CPU . Not every synth needs everything. Plenty of other "expert" options out there with all the useless editing your heart could ever desire.

simple straight forward synths are build into your daw already. new synth plugs need to offer something. Simple structure is ok when you have enough mod options to achieve unique sounds and character. Therefore a certain depth is essential. Hive is nice because it has that simple easy to grasp layout and in depth mod options..but it could offer a little more.. I would wish a little more animation possibilities around the sub oscillators since i like them most. The main oscs sound a bit too crunchy/cheapish in my book, nothing you want to hear really without filter...could be a little sweeter and posh in the highend ..transparent but without being metallic or harsh on the ear.. direction oberheim ob-8... but.. its a plug in synth and that the area where they all cant really compete with analog oscilators anyway. At least not with low cpu drain..
But even digitally i prefer my nord modular on unison clusters... Is that the 96khz internal samplerate of the nord? If so a higher cpu drain high quality mode might be a possibility.
It´s nice that Hive is not cpu heavy.. but the new mac book air is faster than my 3 years old 15inch mac book pro.. Cpu still get faster any year and for my main hook sequenz i am willing to spend some cpu.. as log its an option it wouldnt hurt.

[martingifford]

If Urs does simple additions that don't delay the completion date too much, then he could win synth of the decade. If it's too generic or limited or inflexible, it will just be a synth that's 10% better than the competition at that level, i.e. good but not great.

Also, additions that don't complicate things is the way to go. Rather than adding too many knobs, just add to the list of things the knob can already do.

Regarding colouring, I like the gold lights for the effects on the skin someone showed. I also reckon the different sections of the synth could have slightly different colours to distinguish them. As it is, Hive looks a bit too homogenous and kind of blurry.

Lastly, I keep getting the feeling that u-he synths have a slightly distant quality to the sounds. It's hard to explain, but when I switch between presets in Sylenth, especially when a song is playing, the sounds are forward and present. But when I do the same with Hive, the sounds feel slightly distant. If they were chicks, I'd say Sylenth is an extrovert and Hive is a little more introverted. Sylenth is brassy and Hive is demure, or relatively demure. I've found all u-he synths to be slightly like that, especially Bazille. Maybe Sylenth adds an eq boost in the midrange or something? I remember a friend showed me an eq setting for bass guitar that made it really cut through. On a Peavey 400 amp, I think he switched the bass and treble up, and then set the parametric eq to 1500 and boosted it. Sounded surprisingly good, but a bit heavy-metalish.

[tedlogan]

Last night I thought about adding a BYO engine. That's for Build Your Own. I'll keep it in the back of my mind and see what others think.

3 seems like enough... Sylenth has 1 and it is very successful...

If it somehow feels like something is lacking, then those 3 need to be tweaked, not add a 4th

too much preset bozos and generic sounding music on this planet already, and that ruins the electronic music market. Therefore any option that allows to individualize sound is beneficial for mankind and therefor a BYO engine would be a good thing.

It however dont need to be more than 3 options.. i wouldnt mind if a BYO would replace the clean and/or dirty option.

I'm sorry, but if you truly believe such a macro customisation option is one of the keys to alleviating the plague of genericness (which has been there since the dawn of radio btw), then you are barking up the wrong tree completely.

[3phase]

Last night I thought about adding a BYO engine. That's for Build Your Own. I'll keep it in the back of my mind and see what others think.

Given the remit of Hive, a simple synth with optimized workflow and a reduced number of parameters, I think 3 engines is already a cop out i.e. Urs can't make up his mind how this thing should sound. A BYO engine would be straying even further from the original concept.

u-he already has enough synth geek instruments with endless flexibility. Simplicity can be a feature and is part of the appeal of Sylenth, Monark, TAL-U-NO-LX, etc.

Hive is simple enough.. Simplicity shouldnt stay in your way to achieve your sound goals and the higher resonance and snappier envelopes of clean mode are essential for certain sounds.. could be even screamier and snappier.. But if i only had to choose one engine i would choose normal..that sounds the best.. more distortion like in dirty i can get elsewhere..and clean sounds a little cheap in relation to the depth normal provides..

I actually would prefer just normal but tweak options for filter behavior and envelope ballistics..

Thats probably something like a BYO engine light..

[3phase]

I'm sorry, but if you truly believe such a macro customisation option is one of the keys to alleviating the plague of genericness (which has been there since the dawn of radio btw), then you are barking up the wrong tree completely.

bullshit..with that attitude techno wouldnt have been invented. It was invented because the ability of the instruments to be tweaked outside theire intended ranges..

Actually a factor that sets a real juno with just one oscillator still above the best plug in synths .. it will go deeper down and travel to higher screamier regions than even diva can achieve, that has probably the best analog emulatin engine of the market.. but cant travel into that extremes that actually inspired modern electronic music so much. It however easily competes on the factory sounds.. but thats not the sounds that created the new genres back than in the 80´s…

you most certainly cant "alleviating" the preset plaque with customisation options.. But you can make a plug in more interesting for your own music by allowing you to get closer to your goals/imagination. Limits of a synth are ok thou..we can use more than one.. But this thread discusses options that might bring improvements to the product. Leaving it like it is is an option.. but adding a liittle here and there wouldnt hurt the user experiance.. it would´nt turn into an overcrowded reaktor ensemble anyway..

[tedlogan]

I fully agree with individualising sound as you said. I do not agree that the subtle changes in engines would massively impact anything at all. EVER. It's how you combine sounds combined with your music. The synth is secondary. The synth engine on top of that? fine.

[3phase]

I fully agree with individualising sound as you said. I do not agree that the subtle changes in engines would massively impact anything at all. EVER. It's how you combine sounds combined with your music. The synth is secondary. The synth engine on top of that? fine.

maybe so.. subtile changes are subtile.. but as said before..i wouldnt mind the ability to have a more resonant filter behavior or faster envelopes without changing the character so much as the engine changes do change it.

I personally dig the normal mode most.. Thats the one thats soundwise most refined imo and has the most posh feeling to it.. and i donnt use synths that have no posh feeling to their sound.. live is too short for patching cheap sound synths

So the normal engine is good.. i agree that it dont needs 3 engines really.. but i am a friend of user customisation.. most of my hardware synths are modded...

[tedlogan]

I fully agree with individualising sound as you said. I do not agree that the subtle changes in engines would massively impact anything at all. EVER. It's how you combine sounds combined with your music. The synth is secondary. The synth engine on top of that? fine.

maybe so.. subtile changes are subtile.. but as said before..i wouldnt mind the ability to have a more resonant filter behavior or faster envelopes without changing the character so much as the engine changes do change it.

I personally dig the normal mode most.. Thats the one thats soundwise most refined imo and has the most posh feeling to it.. and i donnt use synths that have no posh feeling to their sound.. live is too short for patching cheap sound synths

So the normal engine is good.. i agree that it dont needs 3 engines really.. but i am a friend of user customisation.. most of my hardware synths are modded...

I hear ya. I love the three engines in Hive, and I tend to use Dirty most, but often it's not suitable at all for certain sounds I'm trying to make. Someone on these forums likened them to changing amps, which I thought was a great analogy. A flat patch can sometimes suddenly pop to life by changing "amps". Their uniqueness is something i find very exciting in Hive.

EDIT: I agree also with "friend of user customisation" completely.