Your opinion about Zebra 2

[wagtunes]

The problem with Zebra 2 (and I am one of the Zebra 2 lovers) is that its basic sound is neutral. So you have to work at it to make it sound interesting. Kind of like with synths like HALion 6 and Falcon. They have what I call neutral coloring whereas synths like Tone 2 are colorful right out of the box, whether or not you like Tone 2 coloring is another matter.

Then there's the architecture itself. Not the most intuitive in the world.

Zebra 2 is not an instant gratification synth. It took me a long time to really learn to program it well.

In short, it isn't for everybody. Now you can buy preset packs by some really talented guys out there that sound great, but if you're looking to roll your own, good luck being impressed right away.

Synths like Diva and Bazille are much easier to warm up to because they have more color than Zebra 2. Bazille especially. Oddly, however, I use Zebra 2 more than I use Diva and Bazille combined.

And in the grand scheme of things, after your done with EQ, Compression, Reverb, Delay and whatever else you slap on your track, you're hard pressed to tell one synth from another. If I posted any track of any song I've ever done, nobody would be able to tell, with any certainty, what synths I used.

For most people it comes down to workflow and how much or little the synth inspires you. Some synths bore me to tears even though they don't sound all that bad.

[toonertik]

Bland and flat... seriously, sterile sound.. omg

Interesting sounds, sincerely! But i think you misunderstand a little - i know very well what it is capable of, i have used it for years and explored countless third party sounds by designers much better than myself. And way too often, though not always, it appears bland to me. All synths have sweet spots, even ones i don't generally enjoy, but with instruments i do like, i don't have to fight against its basic character. With zebra i am constantly having to make it sound unzebra-like to be appealing to my ears. Your ears might hear something else and thats great, either way it doesn't make any of our opinions untrue (and i am not saying that just to be diplomatic - i can honestly see how some people enjoy its sound, i just don't).

[Lowas]

I have tons of synths but Zebra 2 is currently my goto synth for house music, I'm more into D.Ramirish house music than modern EDM though.
Definitely a gem if you like to make your own presets.
I had the most fun when I got Bazille and started tweaking it but I like the end result in Zebra 2 a little bit better.

[snigelx]

marveling how this thread ran off the rails. FWIW I am part of a fb community with beatport charting edm-ers and i def know two of them use u-he instruments/fx incl Z2, making modern house/techno. we discuss design from time to time and the topic comes up. It's VERY often not what tool you use, but how much time you devote to using the things you have in order to make a sound in your head (or from a ref track). but MANY edmers seem use powerful sample packs for the bulk of the elements i a track. they also share successful samples/patches b/t one another. great community. i demo'd Dune3 the other day and it blew my head off with it' hot levels. it's all in the patch design. I am certain Z3 will be having it's obviously modern patches as well. The new Hive update def has some fantastic in-your-face edm-y design going on. Often seems to be COPIOUS amounts of fx to squeeze every harmonic until its eyes bulge. Inotice one pop technique is having a sound kind of sidechained to internal fx so that verb and delay appear on the snappy ends of leads and basses. Comp is almost always on the end squeezing all elements together into a sharp ear-spanking result. Did OP ever mention what type of music(s) he/she was interested to make? or maybe it was just a general question? I suppose my best suggestion to OP is to demo WHILE checking the excellent manual himself. I do this with every demo and find I am usually rewarded by obvious turn-offs or hidden gold, in order to make a purchase decision super easy. When you do demo it make sure to set up some context elements to play along with (or try it in existing projects)

[Amram]

There is sound set for Zebra 2 , for people says Zebra is thin for edm or trance , think again
p.s: i am not the sound designer for this sound set.
https://youtu.be/NKHBQy_hAHA

[Amram]

i bump this thread again , because at first i wrote thick and not thin.
Zebra 2 is Beautiful Beast.

[PatchAdamz]

Zebra 2 stands up after all these years.
It is capable of a very broad range of sounds and styles.

I was going threw some sounds recently and inadvertently click on one of my sound files.
It started to play and I was thinking "what synth is that"...
I looked, and it was good ol Zebra 2 and thought, it can surprise you how broad the type of sounds it is capable of making.
It still stands up in a world of synths.

The click on sound:

https://soundcloud.com/vintage-synth-pa ... ient-zebra

[Butwug]

Zebra2 is amazing. It’s so strightforward and intuitive to me. Ive demoed other new synths and recently bought Hive. Zebra2 is still the easiest for me to build sounds quickly. Sound is great too.

It’s all up to how you like the interface and workflow I guess. Only workflow/UI that I like as much as Zebra2 is Bitwigs native poly synth.

[Ah_Dziz]

It’s my go to synth. Well worth the price.

JJ

[Sparky77]

The problem with Zebra 2 (and I am one of the Zebra 2 lovers) is that its basic sound is neutral.

Some synths bore me to tears even though they don't sound all that bad.

Wow, neutral is not the word I would use to describe Zebra.
There are some great sounds out there for Zebra, you might check them out.

[pdxindy]

Zebra is unmatched when it comes to the combination of flexible synthesis power and ease of use.

I also very much appreciate that Urs doesn't just add a ton of everything which ends up making a synth unwieldy. Zebra is intelligently and lovingly crafted.

[wagtunes]

The problem with Zebra 2 (and I am one of the Zebra 2 lovers) is that its basic sound is neutral.

Some synths bore me to tears even though they don't sound all that bad.

Wow, neutral is not the word I would use to describe Zebra.
There are some great sounds out there for Zebra, you might check them out.

I said the BASIC sound is neutral. Not after you've...never mind.

[PatchAdamz]

One of the things about Zebra is that speaks volumes is it can be used for a very broad range of musical styles.

I have heard it do EDM, Ambient, Pop, Film, etc. and it works well for all these styles.

Definitely not a one trick pony (Zebra).

[wagtunes]

One of the things about Zebra is that speaks volumes is it can be used for a very broad range of musical styles.

I have heard it do EDM, Ambient, Pop, Film, etc. and it works well for all these styles.

Definitely not a one trick pony (Zebra).

Yes, and to be able to do that, you need a neutral sound to begin with. One that isn't colored like Tone 2 synths, which makes it hard to use them for all genres.

[Elektronisch]

The problem with Zebra 2 (and I am one of the Zebra 2 lovers) is that its basic sound is neutral.

Some synths bore me to tears even though they don't sound all that bad.

Wow, neutral is not the word I would use to describe Zebra.
There are some great sounds out there for Zebra, you might check them out.

Agree, zebra 2 is far from neutral. Actually one of very few vst instruments that has a character sound.

No offence but with age ears do wear off so it might he reason it doesnt characterfull. The high frequencies in zebra 2 are quite harsh, agressive (unclean) comparing to many other synths