u-he has announced a public beta version 1.1 of DIVA, the “Dinosaur Impersonating Virtual Analogue” synthesizer for Windows and Mac.
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. This comes at the cost of quite a high CPU-hit, but we think it was worth it: Diva is the first native software synth that applies methods from industrial circuit simulators (e.g. PSpice) in realtime. The behaviour of zero-delay-feedback filters when pushed to the limit clearly demonstrates the advantages of this groundbreaking approach.
Changes in DIVA v1.1 public beta
- Multicore Support – Finally play as many voices as you like on selected systems! Multicore system with on-cpu-memory-interface required (e.g. i5, i7, Nehalem).
- Up to 40% less CPU usage on expensive presets – Dramatically improved feedback prediction algorithim in the filters, highly resonant patches will now use up to 40% less cpu than older versions.
- Improved sound quality – You’ll notice that Diva now sounds like a freshly refurbished analogue synthesizer. Includes subtle changes to attack transients and VCO models.
- Revised User Guide – More info, more detail, more tutorials, more fun to read! (included in downloads).
The public beta is now available to download.
