ACE (Any Cable Everywhere) aims to deliver top quality sound at a competitive price. The selection of modules and clear layout make ACE the ideal instrument for newcomers delving into the fascinating world of modular synthesis. The number of ways to connect modules together is practically infinite, and you will soon discover how much more fun it is to make your own sounds in ACE than in a non-modular synthesizer, according to u-he.
ACE may seem underspec’ed judging from its raw feature list, but bear in mind that virtually everything can be plugged into everything else. You can plug an LFO into a Filter and from there use it as a source for FM.
Features:
- 2 x LFO (1 sine, 1 sine/tri/saw/sqr) 0Hz – 20kHz.
- 2 x ADSR (same as Bazille).
- 2 x VCO (saw/PWM) 0Hz – 20kHz, VCO1 with SubOsc.
- 2 x VCF (two variable outlets each: LP1/LP2/LP3/LP4, HP/BP/BR).
- 2 x VCA/Pan.
- 2 x Multiples (as in Bazille).
- 1 x Mixer (Osc balance, Sub, Noise, Aux).
- 1 x Ramp Generator (up->hold->down->rest, loops if rest < 100).
- 1 x Mapping Generator (creates variable values for each note or key, can be used as custom waveform for LFO2).
- 1 x noise (white, pink).
- 1 x the common extras, such as Glide/Glide2.
- 1 x stereo chorus (global).
- 1 x ping pong delay (global).
- 1 x Bass/Treble booster (global).
25 signal sources, 30+ signal targets, some paths wired internally so that it makes noise even without a single cable attached (think ARP 2600). 100% free of Supersaw. Instead it has:
- Exceptional sync /w FM (VCO1->VCO2, think Cross-modulation).
- LFOs that can be used as additional VCOs and vice versa.
- Exceptional filter sound including convincing self oscillation.
- Multichannel MIDI support.
- Support for .tun files.
- 800+ presets, including banks by Howard Scarr and Skippy Lehmkuhl.
- User interface zooms in 10% steps (70-200%).
- Configuration menu to set preferences and assign MIDI controls.
Diva’s oscillators, filters and envelopes (which can be mixed and matched) closely model components also found in some of the great monophonic and polyphonic synthesizers of yesteryear. “But,” says Urs, “what truly sets DIVA apart is the sheer authenticity of the circuit emulations – at the cost of a relatively high CPU-hit, DIVA is the first native software synth that applies methods from industrial circuit emulators (search for “PSpice”) in realtime. Especially the authentic behaviour of DIVA’s zero-delay-feedback filters, when pushed to the limits, demonstrates the advantages of this groundbreaking approach.”
u-he describes the available filters as “famous transistor ladder”, “screaming Sallen-Key”, “classic OTA ladder” and “OTA state-variable” (and similar for the oscillators), and owners of classic analogue synths will already know how best to apply these models – they are easily differentiated in the gorgeous user interface.
