I know this topic has come about many of times here, and that ends up a festive banter of conversation. Im at the point now where I would like to try something different yet very useful for production and sound design. One thing I have realized over the years of music creation, is that I find my self going back to the tools that do a task and do it well. Ive never been drawn toward the multi tools. My opinion is that if it does a lot each facite can only do a little, or at least has been my experiance. I've been looking at some of the forum favorites and I just want to be sure I'm not missing out on some of the options. One would be zebra. I'm a pretty big U-He fan, and have both Ace and Diva. Two would be Alchemy. This one intrigues me a lot. For one it fills a very empty void in my box of tricks, and is the kind of uniqueness I'm looking for.

Fire away!

Oh and just to be clear I'm very happy with the plugins I have. It's just time for something else.
Last edited by pinnowj on Mon Apr 02, 2012 6:49 pm; edited 1 time in total

Well I find myself in a similar situation. I like specific tools for specific jobs... the multi-tools and overly complex things just overwhelm me.

I actually really like LinPlug's Alpha synth. It is simple and pretty darn flexible.

Zebra is a multitool, it does a lot of things -but- it does all of them well IMO, and it has some unique things that set it apart as well but it's not what you would call a niche synth. The only place where I'd say more specific tools outdo it significantly would be the FM, something like FM8 or Sytrus will give you a lot more options, though there are things you can do with FM in Zebra that you can't do in normal FM synths like that either so it kind of goes both ways.

That's really it though, the oscillators and filters are very powerful, one oscillator even is very versatile(see Zebralette, the one osc freeware version of Zebra)

Razor and Harmor/Harmless might also be something to look at, some unique features in those synths because they implement subtractive features with an additive engine

Sounds like you have answered your own question... Alchemy maybe although i don't use it.it gets a good wrap around here. Maybe Reaktor?

I sound a bit hypocrite with the whole "multi tool" comment considering the options listed, but as one said they do a lot well. I do a lot in ableton with resampling and processing, and have a nack for sound design. So yes Alchemy has been one of my biggest candidates considering what I like to do. I just want to make sure I'm not going to short change myself. I have used the zebra demo a lot and am very impressed with what can be achieved with this bad boy, and I've already bought in to the U-He family and have been happy so far. I'm not sure if I want more traditional synthase right now, but I do like the idea of molecular sample manipulation. I find that part of the fun in ableton with warping and resampling. So having a tool to make that easier would be nice like Alchemy, but there is so much to be done with Zebra. So torn

Can someone speak on their experience with Alchemy? I've heard alot on Zebra. I would like to know someones own experience using it in the day to day.

We have a spring sale where you can buy any of our products at a very discounted price.

And if you are interested in Alchemy, I'd recommend to check Vertigo too.

http://www.discodsp.com/

I sell Waldorf PPG 3.V
€ 110

Alchemy very flexible a great allrounder and Camel are great to deal with.

or Fabfilter Twin2 often overlooked, but very flexible and nice too use.
Fabfilter also are great to deal with.

This is quite tempting! How does vertigo compare to alchemy? I'm not sure that I'll have my money before your sale is over

Vertigo is a pretty good additive synth with flexible re-synthesis. I have to admit Alchemy has more features but higher pricing. My best advice is getting the demo to test it.

Z3TA,both versions 1 and 2 could be considered 'multi' tools!

You definitely won't be disappointed with either Zerba (first synth I bought) or Alchemy (second one I bought). Both go way beyond standard subtractive synthesis.

The biggest bonus with Alchemy is the ability to import your sample, whether you use sample packs or make sounds and bounce them you can ahave a lot of fun with them. But it has great abilities apart from that too. And its recent update to the filters have made it a lot better. Both are absolutely great companies to deal with too.

Zebra will be getting some technology from Diva at some stage so that should improve it vastly so might be worth considering.

+1

You can't go wrong with either Zebra or Alchemy, IMO. They could hardly be more different, so you'd be well served to acquire both. Also, Zebra has very good documentation, and the documentation for Alchemy is the gold standard in my book.

Another absolutely wonderful instrument is Harmor. It's makes sounds that are a bit unlike anything else. Cons are sketchy documentation and lack of third party sounds, at least for the moment.