KVR Audio

Soarer · Post by **Soarer** » Wed May 17, 2017 9:30 am

I own and use Omnisphere 2 and Diva so is there any reason for getting Hive? My question is mainly about sound and synth engine.

It seems from what I hear in audio demos that Hive still has a different sound than Omnisphere 2 and it's mainly these two synths I'm curious about. Hive sounds pretty powerful. Will try the demo at some time.

I make Electronica, IDM, Acid Tech, Ambient and sound design.

pdxindy · Post by **pdxindy** » Wed May 17, 2017 9:33 am

Hive is light on resources and so it makes a good compliment to more resource intensive synths. It is also fast and fun to program sounds.

wagtunes · Post by **wagtunes** » Wed May 17, 2017 10:14 am

Hive has a different sound that Omnisphere and Diva so if that's your criteria for getting another synth, you're good to go.

ZaBong69 · Post by **ZaBong69** » Wed May 17, 2017 10:24 am

Soarer wrote:I make Electronica, IDM, Acid Tech, Ambient and sound design.

Hive has a very fast workflow and can take over a lot of duties from Diva for bread and butter VA sounds to lighten the CPU load. It also has a good unison engine, again with low system requirements. The sequencer can be used as a modulator, there are good effects included. It can be used quite well in the styles you mention.

I would say it complements your current synths. If you need a second synth to look at for comparison, I think that Dune 2 would fit equally well, and it comes with a little bit more on everything, none the least FM oscillators, wavetables etc., while the workflow still is almost as fast as Hive.

K

Soarer · Post by **Soarer** » Wed May 17, 2017 11:17 am

Thanks for your feedback. I think I'll try to go a bit deeper with Omni 2 first. Being sloppy with my sound design should be no reason for getting a new synth! Probably Spectrasonics is cooking up some good updates for us in their lab. I would expect a version 2.5 before too long.

I do see the value in Hive being easier to program.

ZaBong69 · Post by **ZaBong69** » Wed May 17, 2017 11:49 am

Soarer wrote: Being sloppy with my sound design should be no reason for getting a new synth!

One does not need a reason for getting a new synth.

chk071 · Post by **chk071** » Wed May 17, 2017 12:07 pm

Soarer wrote:I own and use Omnisphere 2 and Diva so is there any reason for getting Hive? My question is mainly about sound and synth engine.

It seems from what I hear in audio demos that Hive still has a different sound than Omnisphere 2 and it's mainly these two synths I'm curious about. Hive sounds pretty powerful. Will try the demo at some time.

I make Electronica, IDM, Acid Tech, Ambient and sound design.

Sound and feature wise, i'd rather get Spire, but that's down to personal preference (at least the sound thing).

Dasheesh · Post by **Dasheesh** » Wed May 17, 2017 1:38 pm

You guys started this thread just to drag me into the dirt didn't you? I bought Hive basically the day it was released or soon there after because I was so hyped up about a U-he designed virus like modern software instrrument.... I'll give you my honest assessment as best I can with NO connection or responsibilities to U-he promotion.

I bought it... and was disappointed. It was so basic in design and so locked into forcing you to using it as a EDM powersynth... BOOOOORRRRRRIIIIIINNNNNNNG. It is also VERY high quality at the low registries especially, but there is a few specific areas of the frequency registry where it can sound a bit underwhelming and thin. So I got frustrated with it. bitched about it etc.... something happened though. I couldn't put it down! As much as I wanted to I couldn't put it down. So I smoked some weed, and took the time to get to know it better, and I learned something. Hive taught me a very important lesson. Stop trying to make software instruments into something they are not or something you THINK they should be. Start playing to their strengths! Hive is THE BEST at certain things, and though it may seem restrictive, it can do most of what you ask of it, and if it doesn't ... like filter FMing, or wave morphing.... there are OTHER options for that. When you come to the realization that it doesn't matter what it can't do if it can do what you want REALLY well. Here's the thing about Hive:

It's ROCK AND ROLL. It's probably the best rock out performance software synth on the market. It was supposed to be a pre programmed EDM synth I know, but what popped out was a PLAYERS instrument. It has heart and soul. It Begs and screams to be played! It's a LIVE performance instrument. That is it's strength. Not what U-he was aiming for, but something much more useful and fun in my opinion. It is a rock and roll soulful fun lusty lady that wants you to put your hands all over her.... and probably the most brassy, musical tone I've ever heard out of software. Extremely musical sounding. The sound QUALITY is not up to Bazille, or ace, or Diva, or that new prophet, but man is it expressive!

here's my big Bitch about Hive.... WHY THE FRIG IS IT SO TOUGH FOR PEOPLE TO SKIN PROPERLY!? to date the best skin IMO is the DandB skin.

aumordia · Post by **aumordia** » Wed May 17, 2017 1:59 pm

Even though I don't really like it personally, the truth is that you're pretty much set in terms of synth sounds with Omni. The fact that you have Diva also really rounds things out.

In terms of broadening the sonic horizon, I don't think Hive will do anything for you -- it will be much easier to program and lower on CPU though, so that's worth considering.

Serum or Zebra come to mind as synths which could perhaps open up more sounds for you -- Reaktor as well. And rest assured that none of this is fanboy advice -- I like precisely none of the preceding synths -- but one of them might be worth considering for the express purpose of broadening your sonic palette.

ATN69 · Post by **ATN69** » Wed May 17, 2017 2:24 pm

Hive is the synth I am running to when I want to make sounds easy and quick. Having said that, Hive is capable of quite amazing sounds. I saw you work with ambient and Hive is capable of very nice pads among other things. The thing with Hive is that modulation of various parameters is easy. For anyone who want to learn more about sound design in general I would also recommend Hive. Once you grasp the concept of Hive and know how to get around it will also be easier to tackle sound design in other synths. Principals for other synts are the same as Hive with the difference that Hive is easy to understand and basically self instructive.

rod_zero · Post by **rod_zero** » Wed May 17, 2017 2:44 pm

Just for having a Synth that is not a CPU hog I would pick it.

Soarer · Post by **Soarer** » Wed May 17, 2017 7:42 pm

CPU is not that much of a problem but it's great to be able to add more synths in a track if it doesn't use much more CPU.
I have lately used and programmed Diva almost exclusively. It is really great and I like U-he so that's why I thought about Hive. I do have a good number of other synths too like Nave, Largo and Reaktor synths. I see that Hive uses the same waveforms as Diva but seems to me to offer a wider range of timbres so how are these done when there's no FM or wavetables?

ZaBong69 wrote:
Soarer wrote: Being sloppy with my sound design should be no reason for getting a new synth!
One does not need a reason for getting a new synth.

Maybe

But I would need a reason for spending 149 € on another synth.

@Dasheesh I'm glad it grew on you

ZaBong69 · Post by **ZaBong69** » Wed May 17, 2017 7:47 pm

Soarer wrote: I see that Hive uses the same waveforms as Diva but seems to me to offer a wider range of timbres so how are these done when there's no FM or wavetables?

IMHO, Diva has a wider range of basic timbres, but Hive has the wider choice of FX and a more flexible modulation system, which has been put to good use in the presets.

bmrzycki · Post by **bmrzycki** » Wed May 17, 2017 7:54 pm

I find Hive a lot of fun to program. The filters and FX have lots of sweet spots. Omnisphere has a lot more control over your sound but it requires patience. There's lots of tab switching and [+] menus. I tend to program in Omni when I'm in the mood for pure sound design. Hive I find works better when I'm in the flow of making music. I can pop in, adjust an envelope and find the change I want within seconds. They're different approaches for different moods and I wouldn't want to let go of either of them.

keel · Post by **keel** » Wed May 17, 2017 8:05 pm

Hive sounds quite thin, get Sylenth rather. Much better sound.

Getting Hive?