Sounds and Presets: Hive 2 Presets from Expressive E and New Sounds for Atomika
Yet more sounds from GForce Software and a new Piano for Pianoverse
4,3 / 5,0 | 
Plenty of variety this week as we check out new MPE presets for u-He’s Hive 2 from Osmose manufacturer, Expressive E and a new Piano library for IK Multimedia’s Pianoverse.
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Hive 2 Expressive Suite from Expressive E
It has been very interesting to see Expressive E developing presets for 3rd party synths that take advantage of their impressive Osmose synthesizer and its incredible five-dimensional keybed. It’s a clever tactic in my very humble opinion.
If there is one criticism of the Osmose is that its deep and powerful modelling synth engine is somewhat impenetrable. Rumour has it that a new and improved update to the EaganMatrix will deliver an improved UI. So making patches for other synths is a great stop gap.
After doing such a thing for Phase Plant, they have done the same for u-He’s incredibly powerful Hive 2 plugin. Version 2.1.2 brought MPE support and Expressive E have used this to its advantage, allowing not just their Osmose to benefit from the MPE goodness but other MPE controllers too.
Right from the outset of the demo posted above, these patches sound amazing and I can’t wait to try them using my PolyBrute 12 and its incredible FullTouch MPE keybed!
‘The Broadcast’ for Cherry Audio’s Atomika by James Dyson
As part of Cherry Audio’s go-to team of sound designers, James Dyson has been building a reputation as a superb designer of tones and patches for most of their synths as well as many other hardware and software instruments, including Modal Electronics.
James was already part of the sound design team for Cherry Audio’s Atomika, their latest and fantastic recreation of the Polivoks synthesizer but as has become customary, he doesn’t stop with the included presets. ‘The Broadcast’ delivers another one hundred patches for this Soviet-inspired plugin.
James tells me that this pack covers light and dark tones, ranging from ambient to industrial and he’s not wrong. These patches make use of the Atomika’s inherent stark character and amazing and unique-sounding filter.
You can get ‘The Broadcast’ directly from James by sending him £10 to his PayPal account.
Classic Synth Pop for GForce Oberheim OB-X by K/V
Hot on the heels of last week’s episode, GForce Software have released another in their ever-expanding catalogue of 3rd party patches for their superb suite of synths. This time it’s their brilliant Oberheim OB-X plugin that gets some love from sound designer K/V.
K/V has delivered a set of sounds that make it abundantly clear why the original hardware was so popular during synth pop’s heyday in the 1980s. And it’s those bands that K/V pays homage to with this really lovely collection. Check out the audio demos below…
There are a gazillion reasons to buy GForce’s OB-X as it is one of the best Oberheim OB-X plugins available and it is the only one endorsed by Tom Oberheim himself. But this particular sound bank is a real deal-maker and takes me back to those heady days when Obie’s ruled the world!
GForce Classic Synth Pop Preset Pack for Overheim OB-X is available now for £14.99 ex.VAT.
Black Pearl B200 for IK Multimedia Pianoverse
We’ve never been short of sample-based piano libraries so when IK Multimedia announced Pianoverse, they needed to have something rather special up their sleeve to make it stand out in the crowd. First up, they delivered a set of pianos that were sampled within an inch of their lives.
But the real difference with Pianoverse is the way you can manipulate the pianos beyond a regular set of environments. Ever wanted to hear a piano played on an ice floe ? Or in the jungle? How about down in the tube station at midnight? All that and more is available.
The eight and latest addition to an already impressive selection of pianos is the Black Pearl B200. The Black Pearl is based on a 7′ Bösendorfer 214VC Vienna Concert grand piano. IK tell me that it is a smaller sibling of the B280 which they featured in a previous expansion pack.
The Black Pearl B200 delivers a universally warm and pleasing tone and is a real joy to play. Like all the other pianos in the collection, you can not only change the environment but also mic positioning, EQ and effects.
IK Multimedia’s Black Pearl B200 is available now for just €99.99 and comes with the Pianoverse plugin. It is also available as part of Pianovere MAX and the Pianoverse subscription plans.
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