User Reviews by KVR Members for Zebra
OS: Version: 1.0.5. Last edited by timaeus222 on 13th December 2012.
Zebra... This is an extremely unique product that far surpasses any other u-he product, as well as most other synthesizer plugins. Its versatility and usability are impeccable.
I never find myself truly lost in what I do in Zebra, and I've been able to create some creative and amazing sounds! There's such a wide amount of sounds anyone can create with Zebra. Synth Leads, FM Basses, Resonant sweeps, and even some organic stuff, like Brass, Strings, Weather effects, Keys (Rhodes, EPs, etc.), Organs, etc. Your limitation is your experience.
Let me analyze this plugin in more detail.
QUALITY:
The sound is pristine quality. I've managed to find and create sounds that need 224kbps and above to sound like it should. ;)
GRAPHICS:
Customizable skin. It comes with the default and Unempty Dark Horse. Dark Horse is a neat skin, and if I had used that more, I would keep using it. The reason I emphasized that is because the two skins have different colors AND structure. Alas, I got used to the default skin, so I'm more comfortable making patches on that. My advice is to pick one you like best first, and then use that from that point on. ;) And of course, people make skins for that, so check that out at: http://www.u-he.com/PatchLib/skins.html
SOUNDS:
The default patches that come with Zebra are enough to write a few full songs with literally all Zebra instances. But what if you want more? Over 45 FREE soundbanks have already been published to KVRAudio's Zebra Patch Bank page, and 125 FREE soundbanks at the Zebra patch library page! Want to know how inspiring Zebra is? There's your evidence.
SYNTHESIS/SOUND DESIGN:
From what I've managed to do in Zebra, it's capable of FM, RM, Modular, Additive, and Subtractive Synthesis; PWM, Sync Mod, and Waveshaping; and many others. There's nothing more I'd want from Zebra than what it already has.
MEMORY:
It's about 11 MB on the physical memory on the initialized patch, and it can get higher depending on what patch you use or make. AFAIK, most patches usually reach about 11~30 MB physical memory, which really isn't that much at all.
EASE-OF-USE:
What I love most about it is that it only shows what you are using, nothing more and nothing less. That way even the least advanced person can know that what he's looking at is what he needs to edit to have a noticeable change. I seriously believe the GUI is unmatched. It's probably because Zebra gets so much respect. ;)
POSSIBILITIES:
It initializes with a raw, monophonic saw wave as one oscillator and one envelope. From there, you can do many things:
- Modify the oscillator with Detune, Sync, Pulse Width Modulation, Envelope Restart, Effects (16, I think. Might be more.), or Modulation using Envelopes/LFOs/MSEGs/Velocity/etc.
- Add an FM oscillator module and feed the VCO through the FMO to get a classic FM sound. Maybe you can add an envelope with no attack, little decay, no sustain, and default (15%) release (that gives you a rhodes-like keypressing sound). Maybe you can raise the pitch and modify Envelope 1 to have no attack, little decay, no sustain, and a long release (that gives a plucked sine wave).
- Add a Comb Filter module and feed the VCO through the Comb. From here you can mess with the Feedback, Distortion, Tone, Flavour, etc. I've witnessed woodwind, orchestral strings, brass, and picked string instruments (i.e. guitar, banjo, etc.) trying out the Comb filter.
- Delete oscillator 1 and start with FMO, Noise, or something else instead, and challenge yourself!
- And plenty more.
Many people have made patches for this product, with a bunch of free ones on http://u-he.com/PatchLib/zebra.html. Check it out on that page, and you'll find some amazing stuff!
I highly recommend this to anyone with the money on hand. Eventually, it'll be your favorite plugin of all time!
- Timaeus
Discussion
FarleyCZ Yep. Agreed! :) When you got Zebra and you can't imagine any new sound to make, something's wrong with your imagination. (Perhaps tired...)
Love this one too!... so much! Got it around second year now and I can promise you this fascination with OSC's, OSCFX, MSEGs etc etc doesn't end.... AMAZING synth.
proletkult Glad you agree Farley. Should have added that there is a very clever promotion going on... after taking a photograph of what ever analogue synth you are retiring because of Zebra and sending it in - you get a $50 discount!! Good for your pocket and their ego!!
proletkult You're welcomed, Urs and congratulations on a stunning product.
Howard "So inspiring is the whole experience of discovering Zebra2 that the manual (which has been critised by some) works, quite rightly, more as a great reference point as you venture through this sonic jungle".
Ha! I reviewed Zebra in 2007 and criticised the documentation as well as the presets. Since then the manual has been completely rewritten, and the presets have been retired/replaced... ;-)
proletkult I'll be honest with you, Howard. I'd tried Zebra 1 and found it fun but no replacement for other synths I had. The development since then has been on a scale you'd expect from a big set up like Spectrasonics. Fantastic acheivement.
liquidsound There are two synth I can't live without, Zebra and Surge.
if I had to choose, I'll keep Zebra.
babyblue hi,.
i just bought zebra today, because i like some of its sounds, but i agree, many sounds are over-effected. When turning the wet knob down, the sound is not really good anymore. In my opinion, the reason is first of all the looppoint of the waveforms. Especially with Pad Sounds, you can hear the loop of the used sample, the higher note is looping faster than the lower, resulting in an unsteady, not smooth sound. But this i heard nearly with every Softsynth. But i heard a few sounds, where this is not so obvious. So i hope, it is possible, to create really smooth pad sounds.
Is there a tutorial online "How to make Sounds with Zebra"? The userguide is not sufficient for me: The interface is really overwhelming.
Howard @Babyblue: There are no samples in Zebra2, and therefore no looping or loop points.
BTW Zebra2 Tutorials are here: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8B3F7A60F7C76BA
... but I would recommend that you study the manual in more depth first - start at the beginning, read very carefully, understand.
ontrackp I agree with Howard completely. Read the manual carefully, tweak the various parameters to understand what they do, and turn modules off and on to hear the results. You might also want to research some basics of different types of synthesis so you can really understand. I also recommend that as you go thru the presets you focus on the simpler structures so it is easier to understand what is going on.
And watch every single one of the tutorials! More than once....
You may have to dig around a little to find the waves that "speak" to you -- and remember, each wave has 16 possible iterations, some of which are completely different as you cycle through them.
Zebra is a beast for sound design, it's worth the time to learn how to use it.
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babyblue thanks Howard and ontrackp for your constructive words! I will do my best and dive into the secrets of zebra. When you say there are no samples used as groundstructeres for tweaking them with the different oscs, LFOs, envs etc., i must believe you. I came to that conviction, when i played a (one) note, i heard a repeating cycle, playing this note lets say 3 notes lower, i hear this repeating cycle too, but this cycle lasts a bit longer, resulting in an unsteady, not smooth sound, when playing both notes together.
But as i said, i try my best, to achieve what i am looking for. Thanks again for your advice and the link.
uups! just tried the Link, doesn't work....
Howard True Babyblue, the direct link to the YT playlist doesn't work (strange!), so here's the channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/uheplugins.
ontrackp The cycle speed of a LFO or MSEG can be modulated by key follow (or by specific notes for that matter) so the speed can change as you go up or down the keyboard. My advice is to deconstruct the patches. Go thru module by module and double click on modulation controls, zero out modulation amounts in the matrix and you'll start seeing how the modulators can affect cycling of filter cutoff, pitch, etc....
Just search on youtube for the tutorials, they come up all over the place.
Phader @ontrackp.
you say you want warmer filters in the next version,,,.
Have you thought about getting the dark zebra upgrade?
it has a few additions, DIVA filters being one of them.
hollo Hehe, this was my fav because it's so presonal to me :).
"For me, the biggest downside of this synth is that it's easy to get so involved in the fun of experimenting with sound that you lose time getting work done.".
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