The "Zebra2 plays Virus" challenge

[zvenx]

I agree, it is a good attempt....but for me it is still too clean and doesn't have the for me, magic of the virus filters.... But you Howard you know both of them inside outside and I guess that goes again to prove that one man's meat is another man's poison.....and unless the engine or filters were completely changed it will never for my use sound like a virus.....many others disagree ..... to each his own, sound is such a subjective topic.
rsp

[Tronam]

Yeah, it is definitely one of the things that I remember most about the Virus B I used to own. Surprisingly strong low and midrange bass presence for a digital VA making for an unusually "round" tone without any onboard EQ. It had a darker, "mushiness" about it (but in a mostly good way) that was kind of unique. Most VAs tend to have a cleaner, brighter, less bassy quality to them, save for rare birds like impOSCar. But, aren't we also forgetting that Zebra can do tons of things the Virus couldn't even hope to achieve? It has been a long time now and after all of these years, no one has really nailed any kind of Virus emu, at least not to my ears. Wouldn't it be more inspiring to move forward instead, into new territory, instead of dragging this same subject on and on ad infinitum?

[pdxindy]

I really must be missing something.
rsp

you are...

seriously and joking aside, I listened to the Virus demo stuff and in general it sounds a bit dull and muddy to me, while the Zebra stuff sounds cleaner and clearer.

Different people like different parts of the audible spectrum emphasized and what some people call cold or digital, others might call clear or brilliant. (btw, every virus example sounds so obviously digital to me that I am not sure how this can be used as a descriptive word to set two digital synths apart)

I don't hear any quality in the Virus that is above the quality of Zebra or other top softsynths. What I hear are differences in aesthetic and then often so minor that if there were not a comparison where people are ready to dissect and find flaws real or perceived, nobody would notice or be concerned as they enjoyed dancing or listening to the music.

I've played a Virus too, and it is a good synth, but personally I find the current top vst synths more interesting in their sonic potential.

Certain Virus sounds have been refined over time to hit that synth's sweet spots. If you take some such sounds from another synth and try to match them with the Virus you cannot. If you must have those exact sounds of a Virus, get a Virus. As I said, for me, all the Virus audio demos sound kinda muddy. Didn't hear much there that appealed or impressed.

Having worked with Zebra2 for a good while now, I do not think there is a filter in there that has matching characteristics to the Virus filter(s). They respond somewhat differently so I doubt an (nearly) exact duplication is possible. I do not think there is a qualitative difference, just difference and if you take a great Zebra preset the Virus would also not be able to match it.

Some of the stuff mkastrup has been doing for Zebra is as good as anything for any synth. Some of it I personally like better than anything I've heard from a Virus. Maybe I just like the sound of Zebra, but I would take it straight up over a Virus any day.

[shogger]

While I generally agree with Tronam that moving on is a good thing I still think it's -sometimes- good to check out certain abilitites of a synth. One ability is if it can emulate -something-. If it's a Virus or a Boesendorfer doesn't matter to my in general. It depends. This time for me it's, well ... a Virus.

Nevertheless, here's my try to get that ticking sound of the Virus which sounds so nice with trance arpeggios. I don't say it's really Virus-like but my wife likes it and me too.

http://www.mediafire.com/?7ocxqmgmny7

Shogger

[Howard]

Oh... what the heck! I've just spent half an hour making this: http://www.box.net/shared/ttnd2ldxk5
It's just a quick teaser for you non-believing Tarnce fans out there.
Hmmm. Starts a bit too softly, kicks in later. Enjoy

So now that we've collected a few opinions, may I suggest we all read the above again. Did I mention anywhere that I had made that little demo on Zebra2? Now guess what synth it really was... Har-har-har!!!

[jupiter8]

Oh... what the heck! I've just spent half an hour making this: http://www.box.net/shared/ttnd2ldxk5
It's just a quick teaser for you non-believing Tarnce fans out there.
Hmmm. Starts a bit too softly, kicks in later. Enjoy

So now that we've collected a few opinions, may I suggest we all read the above again. Did I mention anywhere that I had made that little demo on Zebra2? Now guess what synth it really was... Har-har-har!!!

You da man.
So fuckin ace.

[Vectorman]

But, aren't we also forgetting that Zebra can do tons of things the Virus couldn't even hope to achieve? It has been a long time now and after all of these years, no one has really nailed any kind of Virus emu, at least not to my ears. Wouldn't it be more inspiring to move forward instead, into new territory, instead of dragging this same subject on and on ad infinitum?

Couldn't agree more. I didn't buy a Prophet VS and a Korg Wavestation in the hopes of getting banks of presets that turned them into Oberheims, and I didn't get Zebra hoping that someone would turn it into an imitation of a Virus. Frankly, I'm more intrigued by the talk in the u-he forum of getting PPG/Microwave and Prophet VS waves imported into Z2...using that kind of sonic material as a starting point promises to create more interesting sounds that will actually stand out from the crowd in an era where everybody seems to want those same VA trance sounds that are being flogged to death and rapidly becoming cliche.

[Vectorman]

So now that we've collected a few opinions, may I suggest we all read the above again. Did I mention anywhere that I had made that little demo on Zebra2? Now guess what synth it really was... Har-har-har!!!

Now this is classic...now it really was worth skimming through this whole thread for the punchline.

[aquar]

Did I mention anywhere that I had made that little demo on Zebra2? Now guess what synth it really was... Har-har-har!!!

hehe if its a virus then it certainly aint as good as the original virus example I downloaded that was posted way back
Come on tell us what it is? lol

[Howard]

hehe if its a virus then it certainly aint as good as the original virus example I downloaded that was posted way back Come on tell us what it is? lol

It only took half an hour to do, and 20 minutes of that time was spent copying the original MIDI note for note. Making the sound took about 10 minutes (go on, guess - place your bets!)

I'm out for the evening - back around 11 GMT.

[advaya]

edit:

[kuniklo]

If you look at the raw saw oscs from Zebra and some other synths it's pretty clear that they're different. For example, some oscillator spectra with the filter bypassed.

z2 saw


fabfilter twin saw


massive saw


imposcar saw


Subjectively, Massive sounds very bright & buzzy. Twin is dark, impOSCar and z2 are somewhere in the middle with impOSCar striking the best balance and sounding very bright without the buzziness I hear in Massive and, to a lesser extent, z2.

When I still had my Virus TI, I found I could match sounds pretty well with Massive, but I had to very carefully and specifically program out the characteristic buzziness with filtering, eq, and feedback. It was certainly more work to get sounds I liked out of it. I'm finding this to be true of Zebra as well.

[aquar]

It only took half an hour to do, and 20 minutes of that time was spent copying the original MIDI note for note. Making the sound took about 10 minutes (go on, guess - place your bets!)

I'm out for the evening - back around 11 GMT.

Its a shame no one around here has reposted the original virus midi file ...that would have saved 20 mins of your time str8 away
I still very much doubt its a virus though.

[kuniklo]

Also, I think it's useful to distinguish what a synth *can* do from what it *tends* to do. For example, I can get some very "analog" sounding tones out of Absynth and FM8, with a lot of fine tuning and tweaking and post processing. Or, I can dial those kinds of sounds up in a snap with other plugins. I think it makes a lot of sense to choose synths that have a natural tendency towards sounds you like.

This is why more and more I prefer the simpler synths that wear their personalities on their sleeves than I do the big, jack-of-all trades synths that *can* sound like just about anything but take more work to get there.

[ObsoleteAcc99]

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