Danny Stewart

Diva is a new soft synth from u-he, makers of my beloved Zebra. They emailed me about it in mid-December with a trial and an offer of a discount. I jumped on it immediately, but didn’t really have a chance to sit down with it until last night.

Here’s what they say about it:

The oscillators, filters and envelopes closely model components found in some of the great monophonic and polyphonic synthesizers of yesteryear. Modules can be mixed and matched so you can build hybrids, but what sets DIVA apart is the sheer authenticity of the analogue sound.

They’re not kidding. The sound of this synth is fantastic, and the interface is a joy to use. Zebra is a more complicated beast to tame, and its interface illustrates that pretty well. But what Diva lacks in complexity (not necessarily a bad thing, in my opinion) it more than makes up for with its sound and its wonderfully intuitive interface.

The flexibility of the modules you can “snap” together makes it hard to tear yourself away from it. When I realized what I could do last night, I started putting the pieces together to recreate my beloved Juno-6. It managed to feel like it even down to its look. (Some of the modules, like DCO for example, are specifically modeled after the Juno.)

The one regret I have about this synth is that there is no arpeggiator. That feels like quite an omission, and is one reason why it won’t be replacing my Juno any time soon. That said, though, for a lot of my projects, I may now have found something worthy of standing in for Zebra—and it seems only fitting that it’s from the same people.

Check out my Diva test to hear what Diva can do. There are no effects plugins anywhere but on the main melody. Listen to those atmospheric pads, strings, and bells behind it, and the tone of that bass. Seriously impressive.