u-he has released the long-awaited version 2.0 of Zebra, the wireless modular synthesizer that combines subtractive and additive synthesis with a powerful modulation engine and built-in effects section. Version 2.0 adds the sonic capabilities of FM, modeling of natural sounds and advanced wavetable synthesis.

Zebra 2 offers many different types of synthesis and sound manipulation options, and you can mix them up in any way you choose. For instance, you can easily combine additive synthesis with phase distortion and frequency modulation. Or you can recreate the structure of your favourite analogue synthesizer. All this is done in an intuitive drag-and-drop fashion, without cluttering the user interface with cables.

Zebra is meant to be the most flexible yet easy to use synthesizer one can think of. Zebra presents you with as much complexity as you need for a particular sound, but not more. It's layout is arranged so that nothing gets in your way, unless you explicitly want it.

Features:

• Modular architecture with up to: 4 oscillators, 4 dedicated FM oscillators, 4 filters (19 types), 4 VCA/pan, comb filters, wave-shapers, ring-modulators, noise-generators for each voice -- 24 audio modules, 28 modulation sources, thousands of parameters to tweak; accessible via an intuitive user interface.
• Drag and drop circuit building.
• 4 syncable Multi-Stage envelopes/step-sequencers.
• 4 ADSR envelopes, 4 LFOs per voice.
• Play-modes: polyphonic, single trigger, legato modes and arpeggiator/step sequencer.
• Spectral Editor: Unlimited number of Waveforms (including additive synthesis).
• Flexible Modulation Matrix.
• 16 on-board Effects: ModFX (Chorus, Flanger, Phaser), Delay, Reverb, Ring-modulator, Filters, Waveshapers, Mixers.
• 2 internal send busses and flexible effects routing.
• Many effect parameters can be modulated.
• 4 XY-controls, allowing for deep realtime sound morphs.
• MIDI Learn: All knobs remotely controllable by MIDI Control Changes, also with relative/incremental controllers.
• More than 1000 presets.

Zebra is available for Windows and Mac OS X in VST and AU formats (Universal Binary on OS X) and it costs $199. Demo versions are available.

Two bonus plug-ins - Zebralette, a "mini-Zebra", and ZRev, a reverb plug-in, are also included.