Just for the fun of it, here’s a little arp demo on diva. FX are all diva internal fx: https://soundcloud.com/steeboo/arp/s-WeDU3
Diva is a good one, also the Arturia collection is pretty good - especially the Jupiter 8 and CS80 ones, also the Oberheim
but in general its not going to sound the “same” just similar, because really there is a different sound to analog gear when you push it, the output is nice and saturated and has a hot edge to it that you cannot replicate in software (yet at least), so the end result is usally a “wetter” type sound in general, even with no fx or anything
also the A4/AK is a self-contained unit with the sequencer, and has limitations and possibilities that drive the composition process in a specific way… and thats a real consideration, because especially in electronic music the tools themselves often dictate the structure of the sounds and melodies and so forth
there are plenty kinds of software emulating analog synths - but analog synths cant emulate software, and arent designed to… so its good to keep that in mind - the limitations of the synth are what make it that particular synth
I think Diva stands well above most other emulations. Gorgeous beautiful sound and almost hard to make it not sound good. Even when you push it you get lots of satisfying timbres.
i think software can sound as cool as analog
but it needs much more processing
so when I sit in front of my computer, I am busy with the power of the sound
and when I am standing in front of my electron machines, I am busy with making music.
The time to get good sounds is much shorter with my electron equipment, so I can sooner start to make music.
I own the A4 and i think the Synthmaster plugin is one the of the best out there. It’s super light in CPU and with loads of wav samples you can pretty much build any sound you want. The filters are amazing, so are the FX which is a big part in emulating A4 sounds as most people will use onboard FX…
Now, its a different workflow for sure and the limitation on the A4 makes it sound the way it sounds but you can do Unison stuff on the Synthmaster never heard of, it’s an incredible Synth !
Hive from uHe is not as heavy on cpu as Diva, easy to program and great sound. But as mentioned before we all like to have a more hands-on approach. Maybe look at the Roland system-1 with some nice plug-outs. It doesn’t cost a fortune, you get hands-on control and it can sound great. Maybe have a listen to a short Promars demo I did a couple of days ago. This is all clean recording from VST (turning knobs on the System-1). No processing or FX.
I don’t use software anymore ( until now ) but I like the UHE plugins - ass well for synth’s as for FX . ( great sound )
The best Soft-Synth for me is the Z+ ( not from EHU ).
There’s a BIG MOOG emulation I liked ( forgot the brand ) .
But I prefer Synths who don’t try to emulate but do there own thing ( and sound good). VANGUARD sound great and it’s for free.
Go for the Z+ if youneed good sound - easy programming - and originality.
For me -nothing beats hardware.
Thanks everyone, here’s an update:
I’ve just tried the demos of Diva and Ace, they sound pretty good. Better than I expected actually. Nice arps SB-Six.
I also tried Poly-Ana too, which I think sounds just as good if not better, lovely sound, loads of modulation possibilities and super slow (60sec!) Envelope amps to get some really nice slowly opening evolving sounds. Diva’s envelopes are fairly quick even on the slowest setting. Really liked that about Poly-Ana. It’s pretty cluttered to look at though.
Hadn’t even thought of System-1… Don’t really know anything about it. I’ll read up.
Is there anyone near me (Bournemouth or Bristol) with an A4/AK who would let me demo their machine???
Hey Baddcr, what sort of issues did you have with the Volca syncing up to the A4?
Anyone else have similar issues? Wonder how Dataline got round it in his videos?
seriously give a go to Synthmaster. it’s so great !
M
There is a ton of crossover in all subtractive analog synths, real or virtual, and you can probably get 90% to most A4 sounds, with most virtual analog synths plugins and probably even non-analog virtual synths (thinking Massive or Serum) using an analog waveform on its osc.
The A4 itself can get 90% to a Juno, or Moog, or whatever.
It’s always that last 10% that makes all the difference though isn’t it?
Thanks. I might take a look, but their in-your-face advertising on every site recently, along with their choice of name and the fact that Axwell is quoted on their website as saying “Love SynthMaster’s sounds and the fact that they are already treated and not dry” (probably says more about him than the synth!) has really put me off!
Not sure it’s aimed at me. Maybe I’m being stupid, but I feel like Ive been hit with anti-marketing to instantly dislike the product!
Looked up System-1, only 8 patches on the hardware, SOS says the sound isn’t great… think I’ll discount that idea.
To be honest I’m not a analogue snob in the least. I don’t think analogue is the B-all. I just keep coming back to those A4 sounds I hear on youtube, even in shitty mp3/youtube quality they sound great.
I’ve used loads of synths over the last 20 years. Started out with an Emu Proteus 2000 (remember those?), then added a Virus B rack. Neither were analogue and both were great synths for what they did - and what I did at the time.
Other synths that have been and gone over the years are a JP8000 which I wasn’t too keen on, a Juno 106 (loved that synth, especially the string and pads, one of the only synths I wish I’d never sold), Korg MS2000 (actually quite liked that too to mess around with and it was nowhere near analogue), Yamaha DX200 which I didn’t like too much, just sat on a shelf until I sold it, MFB Synthlite 2 (another one I loved, and it was dead cheap, shouldn’t have sold it), Alesis Micron (pretty cool, but nothing to write home about) and finally a Virus TI Polar which I wasn’t that fussed about, it was a bit clean and brash for me.
So out of all of those, only the Juno and MFB were analogue - although funnily they were my two favourites.
Also had loads of samplers - MPC I didn’t get on with, too difficult to program, Akai Z4 wasn’t too keen on, Emu 6400 Ultra which I loved the sound of (again shouldn’t have sold it), MV8800 which I loved (again shouldn’t have sold it), and finally an Octatrack.
This sounds a lot, but it has been over 20 years! Can you see any patterns, haha 
I’ve never been fussed about getting a Moog or anything like that, but I did always want an Oberheim.
I guess it’s what different people look for in a synth. Nowadays I’m definitely not after in-your-face resonant screaming supersaw sounds. I like deep mellow complex evolving sounds, from strings to shimmering pads and deep basses… but I do like resonant blippy sequences
For house and techno, what I produce and release normally, I’ll probably just stick to the computer (well I guess it depends on what I end with). But I’m getting a little bit bored of making just house and techno and I’m looking for something with character to try my hand at futuristic soundtrack type music - just for fun, to do something different than I normally do.
Thanks. I might take a look, but their in-your-face advertising on every site recently, along with their choice of name and the fact that Axwell is quoted on their website as saying “Love SynthMaster’s sounds and the fact that they are already treated and not dry” (probably says more about him than the synth!) has really put me off!
Not sure it’s aimed at me. Maybe I’m being stupid, but I feel like Ive been hit with anti-marketing to instantly dislike the product!
Looked up System-1, only 8 patches on the hardware, SOS says the sound isn’t great… think I’ll discount that idea.
Sure i feel that, i was thinking the advertising is because i have purchased the software and my web search remembers that (smart ad). It’s quite stupid and annoying marketing i agree.
Regarding sound i think its just great, but then again what’s the point on working with machines and software that don’t appeal.
Do you have an ipad? there is a new app called Audiomux which makes the ipad send receive midi and audio via its cable. Hooked to the computer and all the ipad synths become vsts… Plus you get that sort of Hardware feeling. Well touch feeling,
M
The most important feature of an analog gear probably would be the positive influence on the psychological of the musician. A positive influence on the psychological of the musician is one of the most important ingredients to trigger creativity and achieve fulfillness.
By the way +1 to Diva
That one I would use if my A4 suddenly explodes.
Thanks for the tip, hadn’t heard of that, it’s worth it just for Samplr integration alone!
Hi, this discussion is ages old, but still not solved 
I own an A4 mk2 and I really love the sound and the fun to dial in new sounds. As I do not have time and space to use my music hardware regularly, I try to find pugins that can a) replace my A4 and b) sound like a Novation Peak/Summit and can live on my notebook. It turns out that only a few software synths can match the features of both. Especially the lack of a good polyphonic overdrive/distortion in combination with a really good sounding, self oscillating filter is omnipresent. I just got Monark, Diva and Repro and will give them a try. They all sound great - but in a different way than A4/Peak. But tbh I did not yet take the time and dial in my own sounds to find out, whats possible.