u-He Diva vs Native Instruments - Analog Dreams: Which should I buy?

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chk071 wrote: Tue Dec 10, 2019 5:23 pm If you have the money, I'd definitely consider Komplete 12. Not only has Monark, which is one of the best, if not the best Minimoog emu, but, it also comes with Massive X, which has the Monark filter, and much more, and sounds pretty analog to me.

But, as has been pointed out, it really depends what you want to do.

Don't damn KVR, you asked. :D
If he has no money i doubt he will be able to afford 600 eu komplete (vs 49 eu analog dreams)

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Yeah. Although i see no mention of a budget.

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A really cheap alternative is Air's Hybrid 3, it sounds surprisingly good for a plugin that is often given away almost for free.
The user interface is small and a bit clumsy (a lot of clicking), though.
But it is very complete including very decent effects.

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You can't compare Hybrid (or Korg M1) with synths like Diva! Hybrid is like a rompler with nice digital (90's style) sounds. Diva is analogue emualtion of several synths.

Personally, I have and love those analogue synths: Diva, RePro, The Legend, Monark, Reaktor Blocks and Super 8 (I forgot Korg ARP Odyssey! A great analogue synth I always forget :smack: ). It is very easy to have this analogue 70's or 80's synth sound from them :love:

You can have such analogue sounds from other synths Like Dune 3 or Massive (X) ... etc but they need more work.
Last edited by EnGee on Tue Dec 10, 2019 11:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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I think you might be confusing Hybrid with Xpand, which is indeed a sort of rompler with synth features.

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Oops! Sorry! :oops: yes! I have confused them! Anyway, even Hybrid is not on par with Dune 3 or Massive X, but yes I agree for the price it is a great value.
There is also Vacuum Pro for analogish sound. It is really good and often is on heavy discount.

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Hybrid sounds fine to me. If it had a classic, hardware-like GUI people would take that synth much more seriously :wink:
The Vacuum thingy has such a weird user interface that kind of repels me.

Another option might be Retrologue.
Last edited by e-crooner on Tue Dec 10, 2019 11:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Maybe at first, but when using it there is nothing weird (might the names of parameters are different). There are oscillators, filters and modulators. Just the normal staff in most subtractive synths. Anyway, I remember that some switches are very smooth, so when they turn from value to value, they produce a very unique sounds (don't remember exactly which ones). I had it (with other Air synths) before, but it needs iLok software protection that I abandoned for some time now.

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OP, as others have said. Diva and Analog Dreams are not same type of product. FWIW, I use Analog Dreams. Its a good product. I think a better question is really what is it that you want to do? Do you want to go down the VST analog synth route and learn and tinker with oscilators and cuts offs or do you want a software product you can just load up and get descent usable results really really fast out of, cause that's what Analog Dreams and some of other NI play series are as a product in that product space. An easy to use, very limited, front end for a much more complex backend of sounds. I think they have a place and role for certain types of music makers.

https://www.native-instruments.com/en/c ... ay-series/

Note: i am not saying Diva is complex and you can only use it by spending lost of time learning how synths work. There are presets and there are other it can do that can make it fast.
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Gear & Setup: Windows 10, Dual Xeon, 32GB RAM, Cubase 10.5/9.5, NI Komplete Audio 6, NI Maschine, NI Jam, NI Kontakt

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Diva is incredible. I would recommend that one. It’s the most flexible analogue synth emulation I’ve ever used. You can really use it to replicate the sounds of 5 different classic analogue synths. Also There’s Repro, it’s cheaper, only emulates a single famous synth (the prophet) and is less powerful per say (only one LFO. Only 3 Waveforms). but it is in my honest opinion, not only the best Prophet Emu, but the most authentic sounding analogue virtual synth of any kind I’ve ever used. It sounds absolutely fantastic. The Effects are super flexible and it’s just really really cool.
Both programs to me are the pinnacle of Analogue Synth Emulation And I personally see them (with respect to hive and zebra) as the masterpieces of the U-he collection.
I would recommend them over any other Analogue synth VST with my personal experience.

This being said, I hear the Legend by Synapse is also really really Reaaaaaly good. I don’t own it so I can’t confirm but I’ve seen videos comparing programs side by side where the legend is the closest program in existence to the original Moog. Beating Diva and NI Monark.

Also for some reallly budget options check out the Vacuum II by AIR. it’s...surprisingly good. I was kinda taken back at how good it sounds.
Kinda confusing at first with the UI but it’s currently being sold for 20$...Nuff said.

However it’s AIR and as a result, while you can expect them to run currently pretty stably, they don’t really update their programs that much anymore. Oh and the interfaces MIGHT be tiny, depending on what system you use and it’s NOT resizable.
I wouldn’t call them abandonware...yet. but don’t expect any super cool updates.

Also TAL makes a well loved emulation of the UNO and the SH-101 at 60$ apiece but I also don’t own them so I can’t rave about them, only going on the fact that others love it.

Give all of them a try.
Diva and Repro I know firsthand can beat the CRAP out of your computer (especially repro) so make sure it runs well enough to be able to enjoy the synths full power.
No idea on the Legend but I’ve heard CPU optimization is Unexpectedly good.
The post above this is likely bait, viewer discretion is advised.

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Check out the Luftrum 19 patch bank for u-he Repro 5. https://www.luftrum.com/luftrum19/

https://soundcloud.com/luftrum-1/sets/luftrum-19
Windows 10 and too many plugins

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Keep in mind that some of the synths mentioned are monophonic, meaning that they play only one voice at a time. No chords. You can sort of fake chords, by tuning oscillators differently. Or you can use multiple instances of the synth. Monark and Repro-1 are both monophonic. I have Diva, Monark, Repro 1 and 5, Reaktor, and Analog Dreams, as well as some other things not trying to emulate analog, like Serum and Harmor. When I don't need a polyphonic synth, I find myself reaching for Repro 1 a lot. There is something special about it. But it isn't as powerful and flexible as most other synths. Monark is good too, for the Moog stuff. It has a nice nastiness to it that I like. I never use Analog Dreams. It just came with some other stuff I got with Komplete. I tried it once, I think, and it didn't seem too interesting. To me, it seems like filler to help sell bundles. I'll use sample libraries for things like pianos, orchestral instruments, and whatnot, but never for a synth. You want to be able to modulate everything fully. And good filters, especially resonant low-pass filters, are super-important, which sampled synths tend not to pull off well.

If you are just learning synthesis though, I found Serum, though not virtual analog, to be the fastest and best way to learn how subtractive synthesis works (and even additive and FM to a small extent). Everything is so visual and easy to use! Diva makes some great sounds, but it took me a bit to figure out how to use it well. Serum pretty much teaches you basic synthesis. And you can get some analog-ish sounds out of it by detuning oscillators very slightly, modulating the tuning a bit, adding a little saturation, avoiding certain kinds of harsh, modern wavetables, and so on. For a first synth, Serum is fantastic! I now have Massive X as well, and it is far, far less intuitive. Some people are using Phase Plant now. I haven't tried it. By far my most used synth for general purposes is Serum. But I fear it is not so current anymore.

I've also tried The Legend, but don't own it, though I'd like to have it. I just can't justify it, given all the money I've already spent on this stuff! For Moog emulations, it seemed to me to be the best of them all. It has a great low-pass filter with character that I had a hard time duplicating in other synths. Very fat and snappy! There is nothing like a simple low saw and sweeping that low-pass!

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e-crooner wrote: Tue Dec 10, 2019 11:20 pm Hybrid sounds fine to me. If it had a classic, hardware-like GUI people would take that synth much more seriously :wink:
Hybrid has good rudiments, but, there's definitely some things which are a let down on it. First of all, when you turn on global unison, the synth goes monophonic. Secondly, unison on oscillator level is mono. And then, the wavetable sound quality is very lo-fi. You also notice that there aren't many partials on the wavetables, as the sound gets pretty muffled and dull, when you play some lower notes. And, the second decay parameter makes it difficult to dial in the envelopes.

What i like is the sound of the "normal" analog waveforms, the sound of the filters (great! That's how digital filters should sound like), and the low CPU footprint. I really wished AIR would develop Hybrid 4, and "fix" those things. It has some nice potential.

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chk071 wrote: Wed Dec 11, 2019 7:18 am
e-crooner wrote: Tue Dec 10, 2019 11:20 pm Hybrid sounds fine to me. If it had a classic, hardware-like GUI people would take that synth much more seriously :wink:
Hybrid has good rudiments, but, there's definitely some things which are a let down on it. First of all, when you turn on global unison, the synth goes monophonic. Secondly, unison on oscillator level is mono. And then, the wavetable sound quality is very lo-fi. You also notice that there aren't many partials on the wavetables, as the sound gets pretty muffled and dull, when you play some lower notes. And, the second decay parameter makes it difficult to dial in the envelopes.

What i like is the sound of the "normal" analog waveforms, the sound of the filters (great! That's how digital filters should sound like), and the low CPU footprint. I really wished AIR would develop Hybrid 4, and "fix" those things. It has some nice potential.
To me, analog doesn't depend on unison, let alone wavetables, which are more like a gimmick on Hybrid. Wasn't unison monophonic with most hardware synths as well?
What do you mean by 'mono' regarding the oscillators? Mono as in not stereo?
In case you have Diva, can you tell me a preset you think sounds very analog?

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e-crooner wrote: Wed Dec 11, 2019 2:50 pm
What do you mean by 'mono' regarding the oscillators? Mono as in not stereo?
My take: Mono as in "monophonic vs. polyphonic" as used in this context. I wouldn't expect this to be an issue with a synth like Hybrid if you are using unison. I assume most oscillators are mono. If you are using one voice at a time is all that is required in most lead synth lines. Easy to remember: Monophonic = no chords; Polyphonic = chords.

The other mono context would be referring to actual audio output as in "monophonic vs. stereophonic".

Stereophonic output from a synth would not really be necessary, unless you were using on-board stereo FX units in the synth, or you were generating a stereo mix in the synth. Some recording engineers might prefer a monophonic source from an instrument in order to control the stereo image in a mixing console of multiple channels. Also, for example, guitars are typically mono, but some guitar amp sims are stereo.
Last edited by zzz00m on Wed Dec 11, 2019 3:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Windows 10 and too many plugins

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