KVR :: u-he » Does Zebra ever go on sale? [View Original Topic]
There are 43 posts in this topic.
osiris - Sun Nov 27, 2011 4:21 am
Maybe a stupid question, but was just wondering. Or an upgrade from Zebralette. Probably even stupider considering it's free. I never play with Zebra because I know I'll want it, but right now it's costs about my car payment amount.
metal - Sun Nov 27, 2011 5:15 am
There's always the very generous http://www.u-he.com/cms/zebra2-dinosaur-crossgrade which has been available since day one practially. Saving you $50 on the price!
Urs - Sun Nov 27, 2011 6:07 am
SOrry, no, we don't do Group Buys or anything.
Every super special sale IMHO is a slap in the face of those who paid the full price a few days before. I prefer to favour early adopters and existing customers over new ones. That's why I keep the cost of ownership low, do special introduction offers and keep a constant price for as long as it gets.
It's the opposite of companies who trick you into buying with a low price and then milk you dry over the years.
In a nutshell.
Urs hersoot - Sun Nov 27, 2011 6:27 am
That was Urs' attitude when I bought Zebra a few years ago. It just goes to show that no change can be good.
alexfalcao - Sun Nov 27, 2011 6:40 am
Spectrasonics uses a similar approach, but when they release a new product they are more than fair with their users, in case of Omnisphere release, they came up with 2 different upgrade offers, one for users that owned all their products (In this case Omnisphere was $150.00), and another for users that had just Atmosphere.
Gonga - Sun Nov 27, 2011 7:21 am
True, but Spectrosonics products cost 2-3 times as much as U-He products. And U-He synths are better than Spectro's VA tech!
I love both companies, and I feel that both are more than worth the cost. I think it's reasonable to say that both companies keep their customers at the cutting edge of synth tech once you buy in. If you owned Zebra, frankly you prolly could sell most of your other VAs and never regret it.
djsubject - Sun Nov 27, 2011 8:24 am
Urs looks after his customers really well!
i bought Zebra in the pre release stage & saved some cash many years ago
those that got Zebra1 only paid $20 to upgrade to Zebra2
with MFM it was a free update!
& to top it all off, they are amazingly good products!
Urs could make a big bit of cash from a Group Buy! his reasons for not making this quick easy cash are insanely noble!
& the best bit is, when he dose need some cash he makes a new 'state of the art' plugin!
Subz
FarleyCZ - Sun Nov 27, 2011 9:11 am
djsubject wrote:
& the best bit is, when he dose need some cash he makes a new 'state of the art' plugin!
True. alexfalcao - Sun Nov 27, 2011 9:13 am
Gonga wrote:
If you owned Zebra, frankly you prolly could sell most of your other VAs and never regret it.
How do you know I don't own Zebra or any of u-he products?
Urs - Sun Nov 27, 2011 12:42 pm
djsubject wrote:
AFAIK those that got Zebra1 did not have to pay for Zebra2
it was 20$ for the upgrade, until we did the new website that was launched in June. The website doesn't distinguish between Z1 and Z2, so we called the upgrade off. Anyone with Z1 can retrieve his codes on the support page which will then be Z2 codes.
(we still maintain Mac UB versions of Z1, Zoyd and MFM1... on request...)
Gonga - Sun Nov 27, 2011 3:44 pm
alexfalcao wrote:
Gonga wrote:
If you owned Zebra, frankly you prolly could sell most of your other VAs and never regret it.
How do you know I don't own Zebra or any of u-he products?
Didn't mean to imply that I did.
dalor - Sun Nov 27, 2011 4:04 pm
Again Urs is spot on.
There have been several times I felt like I have been ripped off when some poroduct special got slashed half price, when I paid the full price!
I think it degrades a product in long run, too.
A once-in-a-lifetime special (advertised for 6-12 months in advance) would be different though (wink wink). Still, a slap in the face for existing customers (unless existing customers would get the benefit of soundbanks or other goodies for a special deal)!
chk071 - Sun Nov 27, 2011 4:19 pm
dalor wrote:
I think it degrades a product in long run, too.
That works the other way around as well though. If you take a look at z3ta+ which was 1st lowered in price and now it's even magware coming with the CM magazine DVD. Reason is that it was discontinued, meaning one day the "technology" will be old leading the developpers to decide to offer a good deal for it. There's nothing wrong with that imo, you can't expect a year old plugin to still be worth the price it was when it was released. If you bought it at the wrong moment in time, bad luck. All of this doesn't apply to Zebra though as it still is being developped.
dreamkeeper - Sun Nov 27, 2011 4:35 pm
How a special sale could be a "slap in the face" of existing customers, I've never understood and probably never will.
Whenever I'm buying something, my decision is based on the value for money, my needs and the status of my bank account at that single moment. I really couldn't care less what anyone else will pay later - be it the next day or years after. If anything, I'd just be happy for those who can enjoy the product now too. People, I guess, who often couldn't afford it at full price.
Apropos "early adopters": how's that UHBIK X coming along?
CPCompany - Sun Nov 27, 2011 4:51 pm
dreamkeeper wrote:
How a special sale could be a "slap in the face" of existing customers, I've never understood and probably never will.
Whenever I'm buying something, my decision is based on the value for money, my needs and the status of my bank account at that single moment. I really couldn't care less what anyone else will pay later - be it the next day or years after. If anything, I'd just be happy for those who can enjoy the product now too. People, I guess, who often couldn't afford it at full price.
Apropos "early adopters": how's that UHBIK X coming along?
Whenever I'm buying something, my decision is based on the value for money, my needs and the status of my bank account at that single moment. I really couldn't care less what anyone else will pay later - be it the next day or years after. If anything, I'd just be happy for those who can enjoy the product now too. People, I guess, who often couldn't afford it at full price.
Apropos "early adopters": how's that UHBIK X coming along?
They could always buy it used. Alchemy and Zebra are constantly on sale on this forum even when they are as good as it gets soft synth wise. I bought my versions from here and made a significant saving.
pdxindy - Sun Nov 27, 2011 5:56 pm
osiris wrote:
Maybe a stupid question, but was just wondering. Or an upgrade from Zebralette. Probably even stupider considering it's free. I never play with Zebra because I know I'll want it, but right now it's costs about my car payment amount.
you have the dinosaur cross-grade... an ongoing discount... and every time there is a new update, you get a discount. I purchased Zebra when v2 was in beta. Since then there have been the equivalent of 2-3 full paid upgrades worth of improvements that many companies would charge for but with Zebra without any additional cost.
That Zebra keeps being developed in significant new ways is also a discount cause you do not need to buy something else to keep having access to new tech.
With all that additional value, I would not do group buys or offer specials either. Zebra is the best synth investment I have made.
dalor - Sun Nov 27, 2011 6:11 pm
dreamkeeper wrote:
How a special sale could be a "slap in the face" of existing customers, I've never understood and probably never will.
So your jaw wouldn't drop if you bought Waves Mercury for $4999 when you could have got it for $2999 (even though its 24 months later after you bought it)? bk - Sun Nov 27, 2011 7:59 pm
pdxindy wrote:
Zebra is the best synth investment I have made.
+1!!
Don't change a thing Urs. I too, purchased Z2 in the beta stage. It's proved to be an incredible value.
kcisANDderit - Sun Nov 27, 2011 8:31 pm
zebra goes on sale on rare occasions in the marketplace
xh3rv - Mon Nov 28, 2011 12:49 am
dreamkeeper wrote:
Apropos "early adopters": how's that UHBIK X coming along?
If we include stuff that X doesn't do but the DAW does just fine, it's almost complete (and this way I can throw in a 3rd party plug anywhere)
. And Uhbik-G and Zebrify were free ...
All snark aside, so many companies charge for bug fixes, tweaks to something done poorly, or new functionality done poorly that needs tweaks (or to be destroyed...) - this is what slaps my face. Never got that from u-he, however that relates to the no-sales policy.
dreamkeeper - Mon Nov 28, 2011 3:01 am
dalor wrote:
dreamkeeper wrote:
How a special sale could be a "slap in the face" of existing customers, I've never understood and probably never will.
So your jaw wouldn't drop if you bought Waves Mercury for $4999 when you could have got it for $2999 (even though its 24 months later after you bought it)?The answer should be in the 2nd paragraph of my post, no?
But to help you out: IF I had ever the funds to pay such a ridiculous price, I certainly wouldn't have to worry about what happens later. Software prices are kinda artificial anyway... there's (next to) no per-piece cost, and once the development costs are recouped, I expect prices dropping considerably.
That's just common business practise - and I'm not really a friend of capitalism or completely free markets (which won't work anyway...).
dreamkeeper - Mon Nov 28, 2011 3:05 am
xh3rv wrote:
dreamkeeper wrote:
Apropos "early adopters": how's that UHBIK X coming along?
If we include stuff that X doesn't do but the DAW does just fine, it's almost complete (and this way I can throw in a 3rd party plug anywhere)
. And Uhbik-G and Zebrify were free ...Well, that doesn't change the fact that X was promised, AND it played a big role in my decision to buy Uhbik.
pdxindy - Mon Nov 28, 2011 3:19 am
dreamkeeper wrote:
xh3rv wrote:
dreamkeeper wrote:
Apropos "early adopters": how's that UHBIK X coming along?
If we include stuff that X doesn't do but the DAW does just fine, it's almost complete (and this way I can throw in a 3rd party plug anywhere)
. And Uhbik-G and Zebrify were free ...Well, that doesn't change the fact that X was promised, AND it played a big role in my decision to buy Uhbik.
Then sell Uhbik if you are unhappy... Probably better if Urs never publicly talked about his roadmap, but then it is really nice to have some idea of what to expect so I would rather hear about what is coming with the understanding that some things might not happen. And in this case some technical hurdles showed up that were not expected. It was not like it was blown off for no reason. Shit happens sometimes so quit whining and get over it already. Urs has been quite productive over the past few years... Uhbik, ACE, Bazille Alpha (which is quite useable), Tyrell for free, significant Zebra updates and now Diva.
Urs - Mon Nov 28, 2011 3:51 am
dreamkeeper wrote:
xh3rv wrote:
dreamkeeper wrote:
Apropos "early adopters": how's that UHBIK X coming along?
If we include stuff that X doesn't do but the DAW does just fine, it's almost complete (and this way I can throw in a 3rd party plug anywhere)
. And Uhbik-G and Zebrify were free ...Well, that doesn't change the fact that X was promised, AND it played a big role in my decision to buy Uhbik.
Diva's fx section is another milestone towards it, as the effects share the same resources.
We have plans for a resource saving gui extension next year which then might make Uhbik-X possible.
But as I stated somewhere else, as it stands now, Uhbik-X would not be fun to use - it would literally open 36 plugins per instance, and even more so with the future plugins we might add. Many people won't be able to open more than a single instance on their computers, if any at all.
It was dumb of me to make any promises (despite saying "if I'll ever get there"), I couldn't keep them, I regret that and I sincerely apologise.
dreamkeeper - Mon Nov 28, 2011 4:08 am
pdxindy wrote:
Shit happens sometimes so quit whining and get over it already.
Wow! Dunno how you come to conclusion that I was whining... that's not my style, ya know? Just going to show that things are not as black&white as some make it out to be.
dreamkeeper - Mon Nov 28, 2011 4:12 am
Urs wrote:
dreamkeeper wrote:
xh3rv wrote:
dreamkeeper wrote:
Apropos "early adopters": how's that UHBIK X coming along?
If we include stuff that X doesn't do but the DAW does just fine, it's almost complete (and this way I can throw in a 3rd party plug anywhere)
. And Uhbik-G and Zebrify were free ...Well, that doesn't change the fact that X was promised, AND it played a big role in my decision to buy Uhbik.
Diva's fx section is another milestone towards it, as the effects share the same resources.
We have plans for a resource saving gui extension next year which then might make Uhbik-X possible.
But as I stated somewhere else, as it stands now, Uhbik-X would not be fun to use - it would literally open 36 plugins per instance, and even more so with the future plugins we might add. Many people won't be able to open more than a single instance on their computers, if any at all.
It was dumb of me to make any promises (despite saying "if I'll ever get there"), I couldn't keep them, I regret that and I sincerely apologise.
Accepted and thanks for the info.
...and now get busy with that Berlin Monst... err Modular.
D N A - Mon Nov 28, 2011 6:52 am
osiris wrote:
Maybe a stupid question, but was just wondering. Or an upgrade from Zebralette. Probably even stupider considering it's free. I never play with Zebra because I know I'll want it, but right now it's costs about my car payment amount.
hehe, yes I hoped that there will be Zebra sale during Black Friday too
Why ? because it's the only U-He product which my computer can handle (im not happy when one channel takes around 30 % of my cpu)
By the way, I was always wondering why there can't be some kind of "draft / render" mode (for example in latest DIVA) just like in Z3ta for example. So I could for example:
- create preset with satisfying sound (full quality)
- set draft mode (so it'll be played with lower quality but also much less cpu consumption)
- render track (full "render" quality)
I know that there is a freeze option in DAW but due to all kind of routings, most of time I just can't freeze channel. Actually, all you need is just sidechain compressor and you can't freeze.
about sale. looks like there will be always one side not fully satisfied
It works just both ways. Zebra was my first choice but I couldnt afford it so I decided to improve my "digital area" arsenal and picked bright sounding NI Massive. its just ... life pdxindy - Mon Nov 28, 2011 7:01 am
D N A wrote:
By the way, I was always wondering why there can't be some kind of "draft / render" mode (for example in latest DIVA) just like in Z3ta for example. So I could for example:
- create preset with satisfying sound (full quality)
- set draft mode (so it'll be played with lower quality but also much less cpu consumption)
- render track (full "render" quality)
I'd like to see that in Zebra... also, would like to see a 'divine' option too...
toitoi - Mon Nov 28, 2011 10:51 am
Urs, could it be possible for DIVA to use GPU for calculating?
Urs - Mon Nov 28, 2011 11:09 am
toitoi wrote:
Urs, could it be possible for DIVA to use GPU for calculating?
Maybe, but we would need to introduce severe latency.
We've planned to check this out.
Gonga - Mon Nov 28, 2011 8:08 pm
D N A wrote:
Zebra was my first choice but I couldnt afford it so I decided to improve my "digital area" arsenal and picked bright sounding NI Massive. its just ... life
Massive is a really good synth, on many levels, including sound quality.
mcnoone - Mon Nov 28, 2011 8:36 pm
D N A wrote:
hehe, yes I hoped that there will be Zebra sale during Black Friday too
Why ? because it's the only U-He product which my computer can handle (im not happy when one channel takes around 30 % of my cpu) This only happens in poly mode with long release times.
Anything using mono or legato modes use very little cpu no matter how long the release or even on the highest quality settings. True for both ACE and Diva.
This only makes pads something difficult to do with them.
I don't really like analog type pads anyway (except for the hold for a long time kind) so anything in poly mode with short release times is fine on memory.
D N A wrote:
about sale. looks like there will be always one side not fully satisfied
It works just both ways. Zebra was my first choice but I couldnt afford it so I decided to improve my "digital area" arsenal and picked bright sounding NI Massive. its just ... life Well Zebra has a Dinocrossgrade thing to cut $50 bucks off the price, not to mention all the patch competitions to win an nfr for free.
The regular price of Massive is the same cost as Zebra.
I know the sale on Massive, but Zebra has always had that special $50 off thing for ever.
Isn't $50 savings enough?
dayjob - Tue Nov 29, 2011 12:06 am
but w/massive you get one synth.. w/zebra you get zebra, zebralette, zebrify.. well worth the asking price imho.. especially considering the dino $50 discount.
re8 - Tue Nov 29, 2011 12:16 am
dayjob wrote:
but w/massive you get one synth.. w/zebra you get zebra, zebralette, zebrify.. well worth the asking price imho.. especially considering the dino $50 discount.
Yes, a good deal. I'm sure this guy was happy to upgrade!
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5028/5812599064_bd9ec6eabc_b.jpg
Stevee00 - Wed Feb 22, 2012 6:54 am
Where is the marketplace? I've searched U-He and KVR forums and can't find it.
I have a copy of ACE I want to sell. Why? Because I'm deep into Zebra and Diva.
I'm asking US$60 (which I think is about 45 euro).
EDIT: I just sold it for $60. 2/23/12
Steve
bmrzycki - Wed Feb 22, 2012 7:42 am
Stevee00 wrote:
Where is the marketplace? I've searched U-He and KVR forums and can't find it.
I have a copy of ACE I want to sell. Why? Because I'm deep into Zebra and Diva.
I'm asking $50 USD (which I think is about 37 euro).
Steve
I have a copy of ACE I want to sell. Why? Because I'm deep into Zebra and Diva.
I'm asking $50 USD (which I think is about 37 euro).
Steve
It's here: http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=43
TwoToneshuzz - Wed Feb 22, 2012 12:03 pm
Before you sell ACE be aware that when Bazille comes up there is an upgrade path for owners of ACE to Bazille.
Besides I think that ACE as it stands now has a lot to offer, as well as tons of great patches already programmed. Not to mention Howards Tutorials.
Common sense and right mindedness Behoves us to not let the DIVAS of the world dominate the ACES or surely we are lost all lost!
Regards
Wade
Stevee00 - Wed Feb 22, 2012 12:19 pm
TwoTone, I appreciate your concern. However I have made the highly personal decision to not work at the sound design level, but rather the music composition level. Diva and Zebra offer plenty of wonderful sounds for me to make music with. Think about all the music composed over the years for a poly keyboard with ONLY ONE VOICE: The piano. So the hundred or so voices I've selected from Diva and Zebra to construct my musical palette is already an abundance of riches.
I do admit, the Berlin Moduler does look good.
I'm happy to give somebody else a deal on ACE so they can dive into modular synthesis. It's just sitting on my shelf collecting virtual dust.
Steve
Nielzie - Wed Feb 22, 2012 12:46 pm
ACE is a wonderful synth. The more I use it the more I love it. At first it takes some time to know what is going on when starting to tweak it seriously, but once you start to understand.. So much fun to use and experiment!
TwoToneshuzz - Wed Feb 22, 2012 3:46 pm
Stevee00 wrote:
TwoTone, I appreciate your concern. However I have made the highly personal decision to not work at the sound design level, but rather the music composition level. Diva and Zebra offer plenty of wonderful sounds for me to make music with. Think about all the music composed over the years for a poly keyboard with ONLY ONE VOICE: The piano. So the hundred or so voices I've selected from Diva and Zebra to construct my musical palette is already an abundance of riches.
I do admit, the Berlin Moduler does look good.
I'm happy to give somebody else a deal on ACE so they can dive into modular synthesis. It's just sitting on my shelf collecting virtual dust.
Steve
I do admit, the Berlin Moduler does look good.
I'm happy to give somebody else a deal on ACE so they can dive into modular synthesis. It's just sitting on my shelf collecting virtual dust.
Steve
I'm okay with that!! I'm a pianist myself and have only just returned to electronic computer based production in the last two years. I must admit I'm no synthesist either. But the Bazille and ACE seems to me to be a really great interface to learn some of the basics, the underlying technology of the sounds paletes richness. Understanding the how is in my opinion a fruitful activty and spawns new ideas. Insight = inspiration.
Good luck to you with your tools of choice. The Zebra seems frigteningly open ended powerful, and very modular like, just without the cables...
Regards
Wade
Stevee00 - Wed Feb 22, 2012 4:38 pm
Wade,
Diva has an even warmer sound than Zebra in terms of sound, and I like it better because it's simpler. Possibly in between Zebra and ACE in terms of the interface. Diva emulates the early analog synths, the first generation without patchcords. I didn't like working with patchcords when I programmed the Buchla in the '70s, and I don't like them now (though at least with the ACE you never run out of patchcords, which used to be a real problem).
Steve
Aiynzahev - Wed Feb 22, 2012 4:42 pm
Stevee00 wrote:
TwoTone, I appreciate your concern. However I have made the highly personal decision to not work at the sound design level, but rather the music composition level. Diva and Zebra offer plenty of wonderful sounds for me to make music with. Think about all the music composed over the years for a poly keyboard with ONLY ONE VOICE: The piano. So the hundred or so voices I've selected from Diva and Zebra to construct my musical palette is already an abundance of riches.
I do admit, the Berlin Moduler does look good.
I'm happy to give somebody else a deal on ACE so they can dive into modular synthesis. It's just sitting on my shelf collecting virtual dust.
Steve
I do admit, the Berlin Moduler does look good.
I'm happy to give somebody else a deal on ACE so they can dive into modular synthesis. It's just sitting on my shelf collecting virtual dust.
Steve
And what a good deal too! Check you emails I'm dying here!
Seriously though, ACE does look really good. I was also put off by all the patch cords etc when I first demoed it a while back, but these days I am really loving sound-design, it just takes a lot of time and for me a lot of thinking more than anything else. But you know I completely understand your comment about the piano, The creative approach of different people varies as much as different people vary from each other.
TwoToneshuzz - Thu Feb 23, 2012 2:09 am
Stevee00 wrote:
Wade,
Diva has an even warmer sound than Zebra in terms of sound, and I like it better because it's simpler. Possibly in between Zebra and ACE in terms of the interface. Diva emulates the early analog synths, the first generation without patchcords. I didn't like working with patchcords when I programmed the Buchla in the '70s, and I don't like them now (though at least with the ACE you never run out of patchcords, which used to be a real problem).
Steve
Diva has an even warmer sound than Zebra in terms of sound, and I like it better because it's simpler. Possibly in between Zebra and ACE in terms of the interface. Diva emulates the early analog synths, the first generation without patchcords. I didn't like working with patchcords when I programmed the Buchla in the '70s, and I don't like them now (though at least with the ACE you never run out of patchcords, which used to be a real problem).
Steve
I patch cords are not the most fun thing to run out of.
I actually bought Diva recently, and I'm now upgrading my Computer so I can play it!! Actually I'm having a lot of fun even though I can only use 1 or 2 voices, in "great" modus. I supplement then with a voice or two from my external gear.
So you've been at it since th seventies.. That was the beginnings of it all. Must of been thrilling for you back then!
What I like the most about ACE is what it inspires the sound designers to come up with. It's the modus for working the modular way that brings new sound resources that spring to life these "old" techniques bring new resources to the sound palette.
Regards
Wade
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