PRODUCER WEEK 2025: u-he is an award-winning plugin developer that has been designing synths and effects since 2001. "Our plug-ins are not only fun to use, but they have more than enough depth to satisfy the most discerning musicians, composers and producers."
Founded in 2001 by industrial designer and synthesizer fan Urs Heckmann as a one-man show, the Berlin-based audio software company u-he has since evolved into a tightly knit team of employees, active partners, and third-party contractors—with ambitious plans for the future.
Best known for their Diva and Zebra2 synthesizers, u-he has developed several other successful products over the years while also contributing freeware plug-ins to popular music tech magazines. Despite their often complex architecture, u-he plug-ins are widely praised for their ease of use, which can be attributed to Urs Heckmann’s background in industrial design. Heckmann sees his unconventional decision to start an audio software company as a direct result of his equal passion for good design and synthesizers.
The u-he team has always explored new technologies. Concepts for analogue synthesizers led to ACE, Bazille, Diva, and Repro. The effect plug-ins Presswerk, Colour Copy, and Satin represent u-he’s software take on world-class hardware compressors, analogue delays, and tape machines.
Hive marked u-he’s first foray into low-CPU, performance-oriented synthesis. With its rich reservoir of virtual analogue and wavetable oscillators, special filter models (introduced in version 2), X/Y control and powerful modulation matrix, Hive makes it remarkably easy to create strikingly dynamic, evolving sounds.
Somewhat under the radar, u-he has recently entered the burgeoning world of Eurorack modules. True to form, their first two products ‘CVilization’ and ‘Wiretap’ are both unconventional and highly versatile. Upcoming hardware devices include the scanning mixer ‘Cen2rion’ and an as-yet-unnamed cascade filter, with several other exciting concepts in the pipeline.
u-he regularly release additional sound libraries for their software synths. One recent example is KYHON’s Blue Flamingo for Repro-5: While drawing inspiration from the psychedelic ’60s and ’70s, this soundset also carries a strong ’90s IDM vibe.
Another is Automata, a diverse collection of over 300 presets for Diva that delve into a hitherto unexplored talent of this popular virtual analogue synth: motion!
Meanwhile, u-he is approaching the long-awaited release of Zebra 3. Based on the familiar patching grid, Zebra 3 is a revolutionary new take on synthesis, with spline-based waveform/envelope editing, unique spectral effects, and much more.
And if you happen to be visiting Berlin this May, swing by and meet u-he at Superbooth 25! Same spot as last year – stand Z100. They love to chat about synths and stuff...
Keep up to date with u-he's latest at u-he.com.
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- Read more synth stories and features: at Producer Week 2025 here!
