u-he news
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Hive 1.2: The Wavetable Update
December 11, 2018
We just updated Hive to version 1.2! While this update is focused on the introduction of wavetable scanning, it also includes other new features, bugfixes, and almost 500 new factory presets.
Wavetables in Hive are easily selectable as oscillator waveforms and controlled in the Hive hexagon. There are many features available to shape the waveform any way you wish: from manual scanning to modulatable controls. As a plus: a proprietary wavetable scripting language!
The update is free for users of Hive 1.x. You can download the new version from the product page and install it. It includes wavetable scanning, our new preset browser with tagging support, a new XY section for more performance control with intelligent auto-assignment, new modulation matrix modifiers, VST3 support, and many more improvements.
About the discount:
To celebrate the release of version 1.2, Hive will be available through our webstore for 119 € until the 20th of January 2019. During the course of 2019, we will release Hive 2.0. All Hive v1 owners will be eligible to upgrade their licenses to v2 for 20 €.
Important info about the 1.2 update installation:
Due to the new preset browser, it is important to install the update into the same location as the previous version, and to make sure to select all previously installed plugin formats during installation. Alternatively, you can remove the old installation, and start over with a fresh installation. But it is crucial to not mix old and new plugin versions, since the old versions can not cope with the new preset browser, and will crash (or otherwise misbehave) if you try to load them.
For "The Dark Zebra" owners: ZebraHZ update
October 30, 2018
Apart from a sleek new look and the new searchable preset browser, ZebraHZ version 2.8 has more synthesis "grunt" than the previous version: First, we doubled the number of modulation matrix slots (now 24) and MSEGs (now 8) so you are unlikely to run out of those in a hurry!
ZebraHZ also inherits the wave folder modules and the plate reverb (NuRev) from the regular Zebra 2.8. With two fundamentally different reverb units you can not only set up more interesting spaces, but dedicate one of them to e.g. emulating the body of an acoustic guitar.
Finally, the most recent special request from Hans: the 8 X/Y sources now appear in the list of modulators so you can use them as direct performance controls.
If you already own The Dark Zebra, you can request a download link for the updated 2.8 installer by submitting your registered email address to the form on our My Licenses page.
Funkstation - classic Funk sounds for Repro
October 30, 2018
Funkstation is a collection of old school Funk sounds by Howard Scarr, inspired by Parliament-Funkadelic, The Gap Band, Midnight Star, and the many artists who embraced synthesizers in the Funk music scene of the '70s and '80s.
This set includes many a nod to keyboard greats such as Bernie Worrell, Stevie Wonder, George Duke, and others who were responsible for discovering and refining the funky side of synthesis.
Funkstation includes all the right ingredients: juicy leads, meaty basses, filtery polyphonic stabs and analogue pads… in fact everything you need to create some SERIOUS synth-funk.
For macOS users: New APFS hotfix
October 30, 2018
We have released a hotfix to solve the file sorting issues introduced with the new Apple File System in High Sierra.
The new sorting algorithm allows the preset browser to show presets in the correct, alphabetical order.
The update will only work on 64-bit, AU and VST2 versions. Repro, Diva, Colour Copy, Presswerk, Satin, Zebra2, and ZebraHZ already include our new preset browser. With time, we will continue to update our other existing plug-ins with our new preset browser for all formats.
Download the hotfix for: ACE, Bazille, Filterscape, MFM2, and Uhbik. This will help all users using macOS High Sierra or Mojave.
IMSTA FESTA, New York: a celebration of technology
September 12, 2018
u-he is once again taking part in the IMSTA FESTA in New York this year (September 22nd).
The good people at IMSTA will be setting up a workstation there so you can check out our latest products, including the new Zebra versions and Colour Copy, our bucket brigade delay. Smooth with a capital SMOO…
Admission is free with Registration.
Colour Copy: the smoothest analog delay
August 14, 2018
Colour Copy was inspired by classic bucket-brigade delays (BBD), then extended with modern features such as the unique colour morphing, adjustable stereo taps, dynamic ducking of the feedback signal, freeze and MIDI note tracking.
It delivers the kinds of colouration people love in classic BBD units, but with a much wider range of characteristics. Delay times range from 0.25ms to 4 seconds.
Colour Copy started life as the little delay unit called "Lyrebird" built into Repro-1, but the sound was too good not to be developed into an FX plug-in!
Key features:
- BBD-style analogue delay emulation delivers the smoothest possible pitch effects.
- Colour morphing, with saturation for non-linear effects such as distortion / resonance.
- 1ms to 1s or host-synched time base, each scalable from 25% to 400%.
- Dynamic ducking, with an option to preserve the initial delay.
- LFO with dynamic frequency and depth can modulate rate, tap position or amplitude.
- MIDI note tracking and Freeze (infinite loop) for experimental effects.
- Powerful preset browser with tag and/or text search functions.
- Independent routing options allow all possible stereo or mono combinations
- 100 factory presets, NKS-compatible
- GUI instantly resizable from 70% to 200%
Presswerk gets NKS-support and our new browser
August 14, 2018
We have finally equipped our multi-talented dynamics processor Presswerk with the new preset browser, which features tagging and powerful search functions.
Apart from several bug fixes and usability improvements, version 1.1.2 also supports Native Instruments' NKS format for compatibility with their Maschine / Komplete Kontrol hardware.
As always for u-he, this is a free update for all Presswerk owners!
New features and improvements:
- New preset browser
- Native Instruments NKS compatible
- Fully macOS High Sierra compatible
- Mouseover now displays parameter values
- Improved handling of 14-bit MIDI CC assignment
- Improved GUI performance (Windows)
- Windows installer is now certified
Zebratron, the psychedelic soundset for Zebra2
August 14, 2018
Created by our very own Howard Scarr, Zebratron was heavily inspired by tape-based keyboards and other innovative instruments of the ‘60s and ‘70s. Several of the presets are remarkably similar to signature sounds of that era, while others reinterpret their "flawed" aesthetic.
ZEBRATRON is heavily inspired by tape-based keyboards and other groundbreaking instruments of the late ‘60s and ‘70s. Indeed, several of the presets are remarkably similar to the psychedelic sounds of that era, while others reinterpret their flawed aesthetic…
Zebratron author Howard Scarr: "I wanted to simulate what were considered flaws at the time, but are highly prized today: tape and BBD colouration, odd vibrato, various pitch anomalies, recorded room ambience etc.. Zebra's new reverb model came in very handy as a resonator, and the two delay modules make great classic phasers!"
All presets were programmed to be performed using the left hand controls and Zebra's two user definable controls.
Change of currency in our shop
June 18, 2018
On July 2nd 2018 we will be switching the reference currency in our online shop from USD to EUR* and all prices will appear tax-inclusive. For instance, what is currently "129$ + applicable taxes" will simply appear as "129€". This is the total price for everyone, whether tax is included or not.
The vast majority of our customers needs to pay VAT or GST anyway. For most of you around the world, our stuff will get slightly cheaper (we reckon 5% on average). For others it will become slightly more expensive (5-15%, depending on how much or how little VAT you paid before). Check out our Newsletter Special to help with the transition.
(* When Urs started the shop back in 2002, the Euro was so new that he decided to quote prices in USD. Today it makes more sense for a European company to choose the Euro, including VAT, as new legislation urges us to do that. We could have devised a technical solution, but that wouldn't have been easy. Besides, we would rather spend the time developing plug-ins!)
Satin goes NKS FX
June 1, 2018
Along with numerous minor bugfixes and improvements, Satin now comes with NKS compatibility and our new preset browser, which includes preset tagging and powerful search functions. We've also worked hard on the UHX compander subsystem so that the original behaviour is more faithfully reproduced. Alas, this meant adding a legacy button for the sake of backwards compatibility, but we're sure it was worth it.
This is a free update for existing users of Satin - simply download and install!
Hotfixes for Diva and Zebra2 now available
June 1, 2018
Typical! After releasing the new versions we immediately found some minor annoyances that needed to be fixed pronto…
For the Mac version of Diva 1.4.3 as well as Zebra 2.8 (rev 7422) we fixed the cause of a crash due to missing write permissions as well as another that happened if a symbolic link pointed to an external drive. This hotfix also solves a few preset browser problems (in all platforms) that arise while creating or duplicating folders.
This free update is recommended for all users of Diva and Zebra2 - simply download and install!
New Bazille soundset Vectors by Aiyn Zahev
June 1, 2018
We proudly present 60 new action-packed presets that transcend EDM: Pulsing arpeggios, glassy cityscapes, yearning synth leads and dark, grimy basses - all driven via modulation wheel, aftertouch and breath (MIDI CC 2). Vectors will have you racing along gleaming futuristic highways, accompanied by breathtaking vistas of high-tech cyberpunk cities that hide their dark side behind a veneer of neon lights…
Our New Newsletter
May, 2018
Like so many companies, we took part in the grand GDPR clean-up and asked our newsletter subscribers to re-subscribe to our newsletter, this time not only asking for double opt-in but also explaining purpose and storage - all wrapped nicely into a slightly more complicated-but-compliant signup form.
About a quarter of our subscribers came back so far. So if you missed it and you're among those 75% we have lost and you wonder why you don't get any newsletter from us anymore, this is it - and it's easily fixed!
That said, we'll continue with our newsletter just like we did, which we think is a good balance between nice information and marketing.
Superbooth18 and customer support
May 2, 2018
Starting today, we will be at Superbooth18—set up is today and the real fun begins tomorrow. If you cannot make it to Superbooth yourself, you can follow along via our Instagram and Facebook accounts. Hope to see you there, find us at Booth 240.
During the event our support will be extremely limited, and replies will take longer than usual. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
May Day holiday
May 1, 2018
Due to the May Day holiday in Germany, the u-he offices will be closed May 1st. Customer support will not be available.
New website
April 25, 2018
We are excited to roll out a new version of u-he.com. A new look, new sections, and much easier to update. The site is more flexible so we can bring you new tutorials, features, videos and more—check out the community section to see some of the new stuff. Plus, everything is now phone / tablet friendly.
The site is fresh “out of the oven”, so there may be a few hiccups here and there. If you find something broken, please let us know.
Superbooth18
April 15, 2018
It is spring in Berlin, and that can only mean it is time for Superbooth once again. The last two events were tonnes of fun and, of course, some work—full of synths, people and music.
We look forward to heading out to the FEZ building to see everyone and show off our new secret projects. (Yes, that was a shameless tease).
Superbooth18 runs May 3rd-5th in Berlin.