By lightninrick
On 13th July 2008
Version: 1.5.3
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lightninrick
2 of 3 people found
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This instrument shows exactly why--with all the terrific freeware instruments available--there are commercial synths out there that are worth the money.
I own plenty of freeware and shareware synths, and I use them all on my productions. But Z3TA+ is going to push a lot of that stuff out of the way in the very near future. The sounds this synth produces are deep and engaging--they immediately produce an emotional response in the listener. I have done side-by-side comparisons on works in progress using both z3ta+ and other synths to play pads and leads, and z3ta+ simply makes the music sound a lot more emotionally profound from the first note. Even with only two or three oscillators engaged, z3ta+'s sounds are complex and evolving from the moment the key is pressed.
Ear-catching sounds are a characteristic of this developer from the earliest freeware offerings (Triangle 1 and 2), to Pentagon, to this synth. Rene just seems to know what's going to make the ear vibrate in a way that makes the listener pay attention. The sound quality is brilliant and highly varied.
The synth ships with a massive number of differentiated presets whose emotional contexts are immediately apparent. I have no doubt that many users making electronic music will find everything they need for a typical production--short of highly realistic acoustic instrument emulations--in this batch of presets. The instrument is highly programmable, and those who need more can create it.
In short, this synth offers tremendous value for money straight out of the box. Highly recommended. |
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By Spyro
On 5th June 2005
Version: 1.4
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5 of 6 people found
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If you want a top sounding analog style synth, z3ta+ is the weapon.
It has a very good GUI, nice looking and easy to learn. You can turn off almost everything allowing the user to administrate the CPU usage directly. Is also very customizable from inside and out.
z3ta can do everything you want, additive, substractive and FM synthesis, also you can use a wide variety of arpeggios and on top of that, you can load tuning scales if you want to do more esoteric sounds.
It comes with lots of effects too, to add the final flavor to your patches, it can be used as FX processor too.
It has so many patches that I rarely do one from scratch, the palette is very complete so you'll surely get lots of patches that really fit on your mix.
It has a nice control matrix, with value limits and lots of different curves. X-Y controller with randomizing capabilities.
As I see, z3ta+ is not only one of the best sounding synths out there, is extremely complete, covering all your needs.
It's price is very fair, for the ammount of features it offers. |
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By tommy2000
On 13th December 2004
Version: 1.4
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2 of 2 people found
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This has morphed into my main instrument of choice these days. The sound for me is superb...for the longest time, my keyboard/synth of choice was a Roland XP-80. Now that's become more the controller than sound generator.
The palatte of sounds to choose from is large, and it's fairly intuitive when it comes to tweaking the sounds. I tend to be one of the lazy ones that hunts for presets that I like and stick with them, with minimal tweaking. However, the ability to experiment with favorite presets has meant spending more time in the "deep end of the pool".
That it has a standalone mode is great too, I just use it to noodle around quite a bit. It's got some nice electric piano sounds that I'll use just for keyboard practice as well.
A nice instrument, low CPU usage, and RGC does a great job with support. Love it!
User Interface: Straightforward slider and dropdown design. Mostly intuitive for me. Fairly easy to save/rearrange patches, but does require move/cut/paste to do so. Something a little easier would be nice.
Sound: The words "sharp", "clean", and "present" come to mind. It's got a nice "in your face" sort of sound by default. Bass sounds are excellent, lots of character. Leads are great, they can cut through a mix if need be. Pads are very nice as well. While I don't think of this as a pad synth first, I find that a few of my overall favorite pads end up coming from z3ta.
Features: Beyond the excellence in synth sounds, the effects set is nice by my ears (distortion/reverb, compressor, modulation, EQ, delay). Also, has a usable spectral analyzer as well. I was also excited that it supports Scala microtuning. Really though, get the demo and read through the manual, this synth goes pretty deep.
Documentation: Well written pdf.
Presets: I was auditioning them for days. :-) I believe it ships with 1024 presets. I've got about 40 or so that I use faithfully, and that's a good number for me. I believe that there's something for everyone in the stock preset lib, and there are also some 3'rd party banks (free) that you can download.
Customer Support: Haven't had to use it directly, I've always found my answers on the tech support forum at K-V-R. However, judging by the timeliness and professionalism of the responses there, I'll happily make this a 10.
Value for Money: This is one of the few soft synths or effects that I've auditioned the demo and thought I "had" to have. Mind you, I first heard this through headphones on my laptop when I downloaded it on a business trip. Once I put it on my studio system, it was all over. Consider this a real value for the $.
Stability: Rock solid, never had a problem with either the DXi or VST version (or the standalone). Used mostly with Sonar 3.1 and Live 4. Check out the tech forum on K-V-R, you don't see many problems pop up. |
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Last edited by tommy2000 on 13th December 2004
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By sdv
On 2nd November 2004
Version: 1.4
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1 of 2 people found
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I was originally hesitant about this synth as I thought it would be too complex to use but the abundance of fanstatic presets have shown me just how much I can do with just minor mods. There are so many presets that if you hear a sound that's 'kinda' what you're looking for just a few tweaks in the waveshaper will probably give you what you crave.
Multi-point envelopes are all the sexy rage these days [see Absynth, Sytrus, Rhino, Tera] but they aren't everything. They can literally be a `drag` to work with in trying to set 25 precise break-points to make a simple arppegio in a patch. I like z3ta+'s use of arp patterns... select between 200 groove patterns to hear rythmic variations on your sound, no envelopes to tweak. It's nice to get an actual piece of `music` from a single note with these arps. It's especially nice playing live if I trigger a MIDI note for the z3ta+ to play a melody. If I hook up my host to Arkaos I can triger different melodies in z3ta+ to match the shifting videos in Arkaos this way.
The mod-matrix is dead-simple to use (of course you have to know how synths work) and allows for the most wild hookups possible (you can even modulte the effects).
So z3ta+ certainly doesn't need any exotic new features (as evidenced by it's already fantastic sound, the synthesis engine is stellar). And the sound is really where it's at... it's very distincitive, not overly bright, it's organic-ish and yet `spacey`. Perhaps this is what synths sound like on zeta-reticuli?? It pulls you in to listen to it, and that's unique as some synths produce a sound so bold they put you off. The sound from z3ta+ is always `there` for me. It has an out-there spacial sound quality that really won me over from the other soft-synths in it's range. Hat's off to a great synth and effects system.
I use FLStudio as my host and z3ta+ automates perfectly in it... that means I can sweep effects, filters, envelopes, etc... outside of the mod matrix for even more incredible pads. I can also record the playing of z3ta+s `ribbon bar` essential for those smooth glissandos.
Another class-act synth and support as Rene is always here at the Forum.
p.s. I need to mention that you can use the FX as a VSTi. The FX section alone is better than what comes with most of the hosts I've used. All options are there in one screen for easy tweaking. The FX plugin doesn't take as much CPU as the synth and is quite reasonable if you compared it to loading 6 other seperate FX plugins to do the same thing. |
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Last edited by sdv on 11th February 2006
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By Bunnyboy
On 9th October 2004
Version: 1.4
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5 of 5 people found
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Since this is my first review, I decided upon starting with this beast.
The "Zeta" is an astonishing, feature-rich, ultra-modern sounding monster of a synth.
It has six - SIX! - ocillators, two filters, six LFOs, a multi-mode arp, a huge mod matrix and a comprehensive effects section spread accross two main pages. all oscs, lfos, and filters have individual tabbed pages.
All features have multiple routing options, so you can have additive, subtractive, and FM in one patch, with two filters in parallel. Then you can get started with the mod matrix and the effects - wow!!
(I'm going use the sections to structure this review)
GUI: Great graphics and intelligent design means that little screen real estate is taken up, but everything is easily accessable, unclutterd and easy to understand. The only criticism I have (and this is a really personal one) is that the logical signal routing is not apparent from the layout. However, quick play with the parameters and all becomes clear.
Sound: Stunning. You can do hard edged leads, twisty basses, evolving pads, complex (VERY complex) arps and crisp drum sounds. The effects section is top notch, and FX versions are also supplied with the program. User waveforms can be imported, and the whole app can be modded with a bit of dexterity (check Franesco's Virus mod) to expand the sounds palette. You can do pretty much any sound with a bit of thought and a good deal of programming - retro sounds come as easy as cutting-edge shards of noise. And of course, if you want to strike out on your own, crack open the wave shaper, and create your own wave shapes for even more sounds!!!
Features: What can I say? Check the list at the top of this page - its comprehensive and fully formed. Crucially, it is not overwhelming at all. It never feels like there are too many parameters to control. Of great note are the wave shaper, effects section, X-Y pad and arp.
The wave shaper allows you to create your own wave forms using lots of options. The effects section is first class - check out Rene's free effects and see just a small taste of what these are like. The X-Y pad allows you to control linked parameters using a mouse of joystick - great for live messing. The arp have all the usual features, but also complex midi generated patters and a utility to create user patterns as well.
The spectral analyser looks nice and does stuff, but is not really needed, IMHO.
Documentation: Great .pdf manual that explains all the features and how they interact. Tutorials are available on the net and are well worth reading if you can find them.
Presets: This is a sound-designers synth and the presets reflect this. A huge range of sounds are provided in over 500 presets arranged into banks. Top notch banks are freely available on the net. You could use the synth as a ROMpler-style device. They are that good. The included ones are designed to show off the synth's abilities, but even though, they are very usable and will probably find a way into one or two of your tracks.
Customer Support: The forum on KVR is an invaluable place for help discussion and general chat. Rene is in there nearly every day will never let you down. If your problem is of a more "personal" variety, you can also email as well.
VFM: Well, I got this is in the recent Group Buy, so for me the VFM is waaaay off the scale. Yes, it is a pro synth and is at a pro price - but that price is at the very bottom of the scale. For what it can do the price is stupidly small. Compare it to synths in the same price bracket and then compare features - scary, eh?
Stability: It has never crashed. Ever.
However, due to the nature of the beast, it is a CPU guzzler, so be prepared to use freeze.
Overall, this is one of the most cutting-edge synths around. It is part of an elite group of megasynths that provide ineffable sound quality with stunning, intuitive features that just make you glad to be in this game.
Genius |
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