KVR Audio

husker37 · Post by **husker37** » Tue Jan 23, 2018 2:21 pm

Greetings,

I've become obsessed with the U-He synths! Great products. I'm currently working my way through Zebra. What is the general consensus on the Dark Zebra? Worth the cost?

Two questions:
1. The DZ seems to be a different version - does this replace Zebra, or is a separate VST?
2. I thought I read somewhere that Zebra 3 would be a free upgrade for those that have the DZ, but I cannot seem to find that again, and I couldn't find anything on the U-he site. Can someone provide some clarification?

Thank you.

Stefken · Post by **Stefken** » Tue Jan 23, 2018 2:33 pm

I have an added question: is there a package deal for Zebra 2 + Dark Zebra?

(I've heard that Zebra 3 would be a 30$ upgrade for Zebra owners ; and free for owners of Zebra 2 + Dark Zebra. )

EvilDragon · Post by **EvilDragon** » Tue Jan 23, 2018 2:35 pm

1. Separate VST.
2. Yes, that is true.

egbert101 · Post by **egbert101** » Tue Jan 23, 2018 3:05 pm

husker37 · Post by **husker37** » Tue Jan 23, 2018 4:02 pm

egbert101 wrote:Worth is subjective on KVR instruments.

Point conceded.

bmrzycki · Post by **bmrzycki** » Tue Jan 23, 2018 4:14 pm

It's worth every penny for me. These sounds are unique in their intent and construction. If you consider what it would cost to have a masterclass with Howard and Hans on synth sound design this is an absolute bargain. If you spend the time to deconstruct how the sounds were made you'll discover all sorts of interesting sound design techniques.

However, if you're just buying the sounds to use just as presets it's still worth it for the simple reason that the upgrade from Z2 to Z3 is estimated to cost $129. You save $30 buying TDZ and you get extra sounds + diva filters + strip compressors + fx resonator to hold you over until Z3 is released...

bmrzycki · Post by **bmrzycki** » Tue Jan 23, 2018 4:15 pm

Accidental double post.

Kinh · Post by **Kinh** » Tue Jan 23, 2018 4:23 pm

when the eff is zebra 3 coming out?

Funkybot's Evil Twin · Tue Jan 23, 2018 4:38 pm

Kinh wrote:when the eff is zebra 3 coming out?

I believe the plan is to have an Alpha to show off at Superbooth in April. If they do that, I'd guess a release in late Q2 would be the optimistic estimate, Q3 more likely, and Q4 not out of the question based on how unexpected things can come up in software development.

Stefken · Post by **Stefken** » Tue Jan 23, 2018 4:55 pm

bmrzycki wrote:the upgrade from Z2 to Z3 is estimated to cost $129. .

I read 30$.
With the dinosaur coupon, Z2 now costs 150$ so a upgrade price of 130 seems pretty odd.

#rob · Post by **#rob** » Tue Jan 23, 2018 5:08 pm

1. ZebraHZ is an enhanced version of Zebra2. It can do everything Zebra2 can do, plus a few things more, which things exactly is mentioned on the product page of our web site.

So ZebraHZ is fully compatible with Zebra2 patches, everything designed in Zebra2 will sound the same when loaded into ZebraHZ (if the versions match, e.g. Zebra2 2.7 + ZebraHZ 2.7). It's not the same the other way round, though. If a patch was designed in ZebraHZ but uses none of the extras of ZebraHZ, then it should sound the way it was designed when loaded in Zebra2. But if a patch was designed in ZebraHZ and *does* use any of the extra features of ZebraHZ, then there's no guarantee it will do anything when loaded into Zebra2.

Zebra3 will not be compatible with Zebra2 or ZebraHZ patches, but we're not killing Zebra2 off when Zebra3 is released, we'll keep it alive and supported for (hopefully) many, many years.

2. If at the time Zebra3 is released you own neither Zebra2 nor The Dark Zebra, it will be a full price purchase, whatever the full price will be.

If at the time Zebra3 is released you own just Zebra2, then the crossgrade price from Zebra2 to Zebra3 will be $30 (excl. VAT).

If at the time Zebra3 is released you own Zebra2 as well as The Dark Zebra, then the crossgrade from Zebra2 to Zebra3 will be totally free. No charge.

That is the current offer Urs stands by. We're not planning any changes to that offer, but should we ever decide that we have to change anything about it, then everyone who purchased Zebra2 or The Dark Zebra before we decided to change the offer will still get the original $30/free deal.

There is no time frame yet when Zebra3 will be ready to go beta. We're planning to have "something" ready for Superbooth 2018, but we don't know if that will actually happen and, if so, what it will be.

egbert101 · Post by **egbert101** » Tue Jan 23, 2018 5:16 pm

husker37 · Post by **husker37** » Tue Jan 23, 2018 5:44 pm

#rob wrote:1. ZebraHZ is an enhanced version of Zebra2.....

Thank you for the detailed information Rob. That helps greatly.

bmrzycki · Post by **bmrzycki** » Tue Jan 23, 2018 7:09 pm

Stefken wrote:
bmrzycki wrote:the upgrade from Z2 to Z3 is estimated to cost $129. .
I read 30$.
With the dinosaur coupon, Z2 now costs 150$ so a upgrade price of 130 seems pretty odd.

My apologies. I don't know why I said $129 or where that came from. Thanks to rob for setting the price ($30) correctly.

fisherKing · Post by **fisherKing** » Wed Jan 24, 2018 2:03 am

i never upgraded to dark zebra, figured i'd wait for zebra 3; that was years ago...!