u-he news and updates

u-he news

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KVR Readers' Choice Awards 2019

December 19, 2019

What a way to end the year: u-he and Diva were voted winners in two categories of the KVR Readers' Choice Awards 2019!

Our company was voted Favorite Developer, probably the most important award of them all, and our virtual analog synth Diva was named the KVR users' overall Favorite Soft Synth. A big thank you from everyone at u-he to all you amazing people who gave their votes to u-he and our products!

Read the full KVR announcement Link to find out who and what else the forum crowd voted for.

As this will be the last news item before we pack up shop for a few weeks, we also want to take the opportunity to wish everyone out there Happy Holidays and a Merry Christmas. May you all transition into the New Year peacefully and in good health!

See you all in 2020 with some new and exciting announcements. :)


Zebra 2.9 released

November 28, 2019

We're very happy to announce the release of Zebra version 2.9!

Zebra 2.9 introduces full NKS support, macOS 10.15 Catalina compatibility, complete X/Y pad control assignments (for countless variations per preset) and a comprehensively tagged factory patch library. Read the full list of changes in the Release notes Link.

The update is free for Zebra2 owners. This release currently includes Windows and macOS versions only, the Linux version will be updated soon.

As a reminder: Zebra2 is available at a 30% discount for a limited time, so head over to the product page and purchase Zebra2 now!

Our Black Friday offer for existing customers is also still ongoing. If you had at least one commercial u-he product registered at the time the Black Friday offer started, you can get a personal 30% discount coupon for use in our online store. Read all about the offer here.


Zebra 2.9 beta testing and Black Friday sale

November 21, 2019

We're happy to announce that Zebra version 2.9 is coming soon! The official release is scheduled for the end of November, the update will be free for existing Zebra2 owners.

Zebra 2.9 introduces NKS support and macOS 10.15 Catalina compatibility. We also tagged the Zebra2 and Zebrify factory patch libraries, and we added X/Y pad control for countless variations per preset.

You can already download the Zebra 2.9 beta version and let us know how you like it! The beta thread can be found here in our support forum Link at KVR.

To celebrate the new version, Zebra2 will be available at a 30% discount for a limited time. Head over to the product page and purchase Zebra2 now!

And since the release coincides with Black Friday, we decided to also offer something to our existing customers who may already own Zebra2. If you have at least one commercial u-he product currently registered, request an email on the My Licenses Link page now, and you will receive a personal coupon code for a 30% discount in our online store.

Fine print
30% discount on Zebra2 for everyone • 30% discount coupons for existing u-he customers, usable on any other u-he product • To qualify for a coupon, you must have at least one commercial u-he product currently registered • Products registered after November 21st, 12 P.M. CET do not qualify for a discount coupon • Coupons cannot be combined with the Zebra2 discount, i.e. 60% off Zebra2 is not possible • Coupons cannot be applied to bundles, transfer tokens or merch • The value of the Zebra2 discount or coupon codes can not be paid out in cash or refunded • Coupons are limited to one code per customer • These offers expire December 4th, 12 P.M. (noon) CET, make sure you purchase in time! • These offers are only available in our online store at https://u-he.com/ Link


Renaissance for Repro

July 17, 2019

128 millennial sounds for Repro-1 by The Unfinished.

This soundset was partly inspired by a series of futuristic racing games (“Wipeout”) which were chock full of classic tracks by the likes of Orbital, The Chemical Brothers, Leftfield, Sasha, The Prodigy, Fluke, Photek and Future Sound of London.

Renaissance is a fond tribute to an era of dance music that was a formative part of the author’s musical heritage. Although unashamedly nostalgic for that late ’90s / early millennial vibe, to add further colour it also dips its toes into Berlin School and Synthwave.

Taking full advantage of Repro-1’s stellar analogue modelling, flexible sequencer and lush effects, Renaissance focuses on punchy low end, crunchy leads, hard-driven riffs and basslines.


Hive 2.0 released

May 28th, 2019

Hive 2.0 comes with a new interface, more modulation options, NKS support and much more.

Six months after adding wavetable support, we've completed the long awaited overhaul of Hive's user interface. 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. The upgrade from Hive 1.x costs 20€. There's a grace period which started January 21st, 2019. For further details please visit the Hive 2 upgrade page and follow the instructions there.

Check the release notes for more info.


Twangström: Spring Reverberator

January 21, 2019

Much more than a simple blast from the past for Dub Reggae fans, twangy guitar playing '60s surfers and '70s retro rockers, Twangström is an ultra flexible box of tricks…

We took the three most popular reverb tanks and added a multimode filter, a dynamic envelope follower, an LFO and tons of modulation options. Twangström 's deep physical modelling mimics every movement and transformation inside the tank, so it works like the real thing: The springs can interact with each other (and with the suspension system) in real time.

As a faithful emulation of a mechanical device, Twangström needs to be handled well. Many of the technical parameters are user-adjustable in real time, and these can be controlled via MIDI or using the internal LFO and envelope generator. With its multimode resonant filter, Twangström is a unique and powerful tool which can deliver highly unusual, evolving textures… especially when the signal is tossed around using the modulation matrix!

Twangström is stunningly realistic – twang it now.


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