Here it comes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The new skin for Diva, MONA is released. Massive yet Ordered, Novel yet Authentic.
See the product page for detailed info.
The Story
This spring I participated in u-he’s new official Diva sound set compilation project (which has not been released yet). I of-course used AIKO skin as GUI but when heavily getting into modulation/arpeggiator things, I had a bit of frustration on UX––I had to switch between tabs to complete sound making. I started to wonder how comfortable it would be if all parameters were in a single pane.
Also, AIKO is already seven-year-old product and for that 7 years my design skill has improved so much. I lately felt uneasy that my immature product still stays on the top of the product line. I wanted to create a whole new skin, pouring all the skills and passions I had.
Where I started from
The project started in January and finally it’s done!
The Concept
Unlike AIKO, MONA has a very authentic look. I carefully inspected model hardwares and even other synths from the model companies. While AIKO is a “kawaii” oriented skin, MONA is a straightforward old-school skeuomorphism design.
At the same time, however, I never sacrifice the strength of a software synth. Modulation system is incorporated in creative ways and model selection is very much improved with 1-click selectors.
I’m confident that MONA achieved a good marriage of flat software design and gorgeous hardware design😇
Crossgrade?
Some of the AIKO owners may wonder if they can get “crossgrade” discount. Unfortunately, this time no upgrade path is available.
MONA is a totally different product from AIKO. Different concept, different layout, different resources, every line of the code and all images are built from scratch… So it is not the “successor” of AIKO.
Just like preset library providers don’t set a discount just because you own a package of the same synth, owning a skin of the same synth does not necessarily lead you to an upgrade path.
Anyway, as always, intro sale is now being held. You can get MONA for almost 50% OFF. Now is the best time to get it!!
