U-He Releases Hive 2.0 Synth

US Update adds new interface, more modulation options, NKS support and more 30/05/19

Six months after adding wavetable support, U-He tells yes that, with Hive 2.0, they have completed the long awaited overhaul of Hive's user interface. Here’s the story in their own words…

While the basic layout remains the same, we managed to improve readability and contrast. Workflow has undergone significant improvement, including extended drag & drop support for modulation assignment, with on-target editing. An invaluable tool for sound designers, the new Scope module adds realtime visual feedback for the audio or up to 4 modulation sources, with freeze and zoom functions.

At the heart of the Hive 2.0 upgrade are the new modulators. A novel 8-segment Shape Sequencer adds 4 sources for evolving modulations, per-voice envelopes, rhythms and gates. The basic shapes and levels, curvature and "ratchet" amounts can be individually edited. Surrounding the Shape Sequencer are two westcoast-style Function Generators which are triggered by the keyboard gate, Shape Sequencer, LFO or any other modulation source. Although they are basically AD-envelopes, the function generators can also be used as extra LFOs or lag generators. The new modulators perfectly complement Hive's existing envelopes, LFOs and sequencer – they were designed to match Hive's core strength: Ease of use and fast workflow.

Updates to the Modulation Matrix include visual feedback on the recently introduced modifiers (e.g. Rectifier and Slew Limiter), chord- and scale-based quantization options and a new Sample & Hold. Building on these concepts, we added a global scale-based quantizer to Hive's keyboard control which can also be used to modulate oscillator pitch in the musical scale of your choice – a simple way into the world of algorithmic composition, chiptune arpeggios and automated chord progression.

To illustrate the new options, we asked some of our favourite sound designers to create over 350 new presets, which include mesmerizing evolving pads, surprisingly complex rhythms and even complete one-note demos. Those presets can easily be found by clicking on the special "saved search" in the preset browser.

For those of you who already own Hive 1.x: Hive 2.0 is fully backwards compatible and will replace Hive 1.x in your plug-in folder.

    Low CPU usage, 3 different synth engines

    2 oscillators with wavetable option, 16x unison and tunable sub-oscillators

    Drag & drop modulation assignment

    12x2 modulation matrix slots with modifiers for curvature, rectification, quantization, sample & hold, slew rate

    4 user-definable XY control pads

    Arpeggiator, step sequencer with realtime recording

    Unique 8-step shape sequencer with 4 independent outputs

    2 function generators can serve as extra envelopes, gate generators, LFOs, slew limiters

    7 rearrangeable effects: distortion, chorus, delay, phaser, EQ, reverb, compressor

    Panel presets for each oscillator, filter, matrix slot, etc., with copy, load and save options

    Solo buttons allow auditioning individual oscillator or filter signals

    Scope to view the audio output or any modulation signal, with freeze option and zoom controls

    Microtuning support (.tun files)

    2000+ NKS-ready factory presets by some of our favourite sound designers, many more available online

    Resizable UI from 70% to 200%

Hive 2.0 release notes are here.