Zebra PC blog

[puffer]

Mr .f, You do realize that a year ago URS could have released Z2 as the release version? Then spent all this time releasing incremental updates, so now we would have been on Zebra ver. 2.5.1 or whatever. Seems to be how most companies/devs operate. Pick a fixed release date (usually based on some quarterly financial obligation) and then call their product finished and put it out there and let the users find the bugs while they scramble to fix them. If you've ever worked on a beta team for a major release you realize this. There is a priority to the bugs/missing features and if they're not squashed or implemented by the release date, they get pushed to the point updates.

Basically, it's all semantics. Urs simply has a transparent coding/release schedule. He doesn't traffic in marketing bullshit or obfuscation.

And what is exactly you're looking to do with the current version of Z2 that you can't at this point? What bugs are keeping you from using it?

You can say that it's not usable because it's still in development and use this as an excuse for not exploring what it has to offer. Or you can put it through it's paces and help Urs really build a great product.

As far as I'm concerned, Z2 is pretty f*ckin' amazing as is. I love dealing with Urs, and from his previous releases it's obvious that he doesn't deal with vaporware.

[Cinema Perdu]

well,

i think what about release dates he (emil.f) has a point.

the waiting... knowing that its gonne be a great synth...was/is not that easy

the fact that he is a person who share's his ideas, communicates more or less openly and and makes great products makes it all ok. i like dealing with a human

keep up the good work

[jens]

Jul 21 2006 10:24AM: "..I'm confident that the PC version will be posted here in a couple of hours.. "
Jul 21 2006 01:25PM: "Well boys, I just arrived back home and booted Win.."

You write that you'll release a win version in about two hours and after that you leave your workplace for 3 hours??

waitwaitwat - afaik 'a couple of hours' means something along the lines of 'some hours' / 'a few hours'...

'a Couple of hours' (yes, that's right - with a capital C) would mean 'two hours' but that doesn't make any sense and you would never say it like this as hours do not use to come in pairs.


Where are you from b.t.w.?

[Urs]

Okay, a couple of hours, two subway rides, numerous curses on empty iPod batteries, a barbeque, a bottle of red wine, 6 hours of sleep and two more hours of work later (interrupted by making a coffee):

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=143861

This one should be as stable as it always used to be! Please lemme know...

Cheers,

Urs

[kangul]

Thanks, Urs, you're great!

[beej]

It depends on how you look at it. On the one hand there's the Apple or Spectrasonics approach - "we don't tell anybody anything about anything we're doing until we release it".

For those, you usually get a pretty solid product, but you really have no idea what to expect or when. Companies do this so unrealistic expectation isn't built up followed by dissapointment if it's not what you thought it was. (And for commercial reasons too).

On the other hand, you get the small developers, who are open about what they are doing, discuss the reality of the situation, and share the frustration when things happen to cause unexpected delays. We know what they are doing, and are to some extent involved in the process - there are an awful lot of suggestions and refinements that have come from users (and not just the beat test team) that Urs has implemented - those things are only there because of the open approach.

It might have been better for people like yourself who aren't really interested in being involved and helping shape a product you will be using to wait until the "Here it is, you can buy it now, it's the full release" announcement.

Delays are annoying for everybody, but the product is *way way* better that the Z2 of Dec 05 - and a lot of us have been using it since then already, what with the preview versions and so on, if you chose to do so 9and with the gotcha's that that involves.

What's Spectrasonic's new product going to be? Haven't clue, I'm sure it will be great but I can't buy it and will have to wait until it's ready (this year? Next year? Who knows...).

What's U-he's next product going to be? It's on my computer already, I've helped shape it's development in ways that are important to me, and short of a few things left to do, many of which aren't things that directly affect the end user as such. I know it works on my system, and I know it's very good, and I can play with it now, before I've paid the upgrade fee.

That suits me just fine

[drez]

Urs, personally I think you have the most unique dev style to output ratio in the known world. It might rub some folks the wrong way, but those that believe in you and your passion love to hear about what's going on. I've been waiting quite a while for a Reason update, but don't get any knowledge on what's going on and it starts to get annoying. If it takes you over a year longer to reach your goal, fine. I know the reasons why because you are open with your community. Plus the fact that most of these guys have really been pushing you and making sure the product is where YOU want it to be. Allowing the community to give you direct feedback is awesome and to get that same thing in return about aspects of your life is,...well...cool actually.

Thanks for your dedication and good for you having a life and telling work to take a back seat sometimes! Life is more important than your Dev work...period. If you ever have a layover in Dallas or come in for something, let me know and I'll take you out to deener!

[Jeremy_NSL]

I don't see whats to complain about. The preview version of Z2 has been available for quite awhile. Overall its been remarkably stable, and of course full-featured. It could have easily been called final.

Instead, Urs continues development, continues offering a pre-release sale - just to give us a better synth!

Perhaps it could have been developed faster. But how can anyone complain after they've used Z2 - obviously the best synth out there, even just the pre-release ??

I hope for Urs Z2 final is released this summer. But if its not, everyone still benefits.

And the personal stuff, thats just nasty to talk (and complain) about. I thought we were all adults here?

[pdxindy]

I guess some people will be upset by this but I'm starting to get annoyed with the company u-he's unprofessional behavior.

Well, if Urs is unprofessional, I want more companies to be unprofessional. He is like a breath of fresh air in a PR driven world. Not only that, but he responds to support questions fast. I mean real fast! Zebra2 is innovative, intelligently organized, has the best GUI of any synth I have tried and it sounds fantastic and it is at a fair price. Add in that he actually listens to what users have to say, and you have a fairly unique situation. Whatever he is doing, it is working out well!

Your mistake is to think of the preview version as that. The Zebra2 preview does not crash and is as stable and solid as any other synth I have. It has been a productive part of my studio for months now and has already paid for itself. What we are now calling Zebra2 final could more accurately be looked at like Zebra2.5 cause it has significant new features.

[Urs]

Okay, here's the latest:

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=143861

Briefly tested them, but as there's no change in the VST/AU/Mac/Win Layers - just fixes in modules - there should not be any new weirdness. I hope.

Cheers,

Urs

[spritex]

I couldn't wait and installed energyXT + the new build here on my parents' computer

Never seen Zrev before and it's a very nice surprise, thanks!

[gbles]

emil.f with 2 posts? It has to be a joke.
Pretty sure Urs knows we're all very happy with what he is doing.

[Urs]

emil.f with 2 posts? It has to be a joke.
Pretty sure Urs knows we're all very happy with what he is doing.

Well, I have thought about that and I got an email with another perspective yesterday. People who are not regulars on KVR havn't heard from me like in 5 months. Some have sent emails and I told them that I was pretty close (which I *had* been in like April, because I hadn't foreseen the problems with file handling for module presets, new file format and basic scripting).

So yeah, people on KVR have been quite up to date about what's going on and I'm grateful for their patience and understanding. Others might indeed have reasons to be annoyed, because I simply had to avoid mail traffic and thus havn't communicated the situation in an appropriate manner.

So now, gotta fix the remaining bugs quickly and allow for August being a month that's 90% email traffic, when sending out the final notifications. (If all bugs go away within a week or two from now on... well, looks good as of now)

Cheers,

Urs

[srcodling]

Urs,

I am very impressed with Zebra2 since I played with it last night quite a bit... But I agree sort of with your last post that you have to be a "kvr insider" to really know what's going on...

I stumbled on reference to Zebra about a month ago, went to the website, and the first thing I saw by Zebra2 was "December 2005"... So I assumed it was some sort of vapor-ware, or well-intentioned small developer that couldn't get it done...

It was only in the last week of going throught the 70+ pages of this thread here on Kvr that I realized it was going to be a bone fide product well worth the wait...

So yeah, I think you will do way better with this once the communication gets improved for the non-kvr people...

Cheers,

steve codling

[Urs]

Zebralette Factory Presets:

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... 96#2016896

For Zebralette and for Zebra2

Check out what a single Z2 osc can do!

Enjoy,

Urs