Improvements!

[CinningBao]

Hold on one cotton-pickin minute - did you just say ANOTHER OSCILLATOR?

With a sucky kind of vibe?...

[symplectiq]

Don't kick me in the face but yesterday I ran out of breakpoints of MSEG

[Howard]

Don't kick me in the face but yesterday I ran out of breakpoints of MSEG

Workaround - use a very slow square LFO (or another MSEG) to "switch" between two MSEGs.

[Howard]

One thing I've noticed using Z2 is that the oscs tend to have less high end content then other synths I have used. Is there some sort of LP being applied automatically?

This is what others point out to be realistic analogue emulation...

I wasn't one of those others (as far as I remember), but I agree wholeheartedly with Urs about that! It's one of the many details that add up to make Zebra2 so much better than the competition. I don't know of any other (non component-modelling) digital synth that can really "do analogue".

[rockin1]

One thing I've noticed using Z2 is that the oscs tend to have less high end content then other synths I have used. Is there some sort of LP being applied automatically? For example, a plain saw with no filter of any kind sounds noticeably duller than an unfiltered saw in Pro-53, Synth1, 3xOsc, Wusikstation, etc. The "Brilliance" osc effect definitely increases high end content.. but not VERY high end content. It sounds brittle, rather than sharp and clear. This isn't just a psychoacoustic effect, either; running it through a spectrum analyzer, the very high end freqs are simply not as powerful as those in other synths. Same waveform otherwise.

Now, this isn't necessarily a BAD thing.. but there are times I want a really bright sound out of Zebra (think the 'Vanguard' sound) and the only way I can do it is to manually EQ the low frequencies out, leave only the highs, then turn up the volume. Which is a pretty roundabout solution.

I have to ask why and when you're looking for the 'Vanguard' sound. Vanguard has some great preset programming, but the sound of Vanguard itself is quite brittle, harsh, and leaves a lot to be desired IMHO. That same programming would definitely sound much better on Z2 than on Vanguard without a need for lots of "hyping". This is my opinion right now at least. I'm genuinely curious to hear where you want to go with this and why you think it's necessary...

mm

[symplectiq]

Don't kick me in the face but yesterday I ran out of breakpoints of MSEG

Workaround - use a very slow square LFO (or another MSEG) to "switch" between two MSEGs.

Yes it's so easy to do especially when all of MSEGs are in use.

[Howard]

Don't kick me in the face but yesterday I ran out of breakpoints of MSEG

Workaround - use a very slow square LFO (or another MSEG) to "switch" between two MSEGs.

Yes it's so easy to do especially when all of MSEGs are in use.

No need for sarcasm, chaoticz, I was only trying to help

[beej]

I have to ask why and when you're looking for the 'Vanguard' sound. Vanguard has some great preset programming, but the sound of Vanguard itself is quite brittle, harsh, and leaves a lot to be desired IMHO.

Brittle, harsh, thin, wispy, grainy, grungy and so on - all these things are sound characteristics that are not necessary "bad", just specific types of sound. One individual might prefer "fat", "thick", "warm" etc sounds, but that doesn't mean that every part needs to sound like that.

If you *want* a brittle, harsh sound for one part, it's totally valid to want to get that sound with your instruments, whatever they may be.

warm/fat/thick/etc does not necessary equal good all the time
harsh/thin/brittle/etc does not necessarily equal bad all the time

(depending on your tastes, music, style and arrangement...)

[symplectiq]

No need for sarcasm, chaoticz, I was only trying to help

I appreciate it Howard. Sorry if I sound like a bitch sometimes

[bagginz]

Don't forget to add into the mix that Vanguard defaults to having it's output exciter switched on...

(btw I like Vanguard and I like Zebra)

bagginz

[rockin1]

Don't forget to add into the mix that Vanguard defaults to having it's output exciter switched on...

(btw I like Vanguard and I like Zebra)

bagginz

Ahh, I did not know that. This may be hyping the sound a bit much for my taste. To each his own...

mm

[zircon]

beej's response pretty much summed it up. There are times when I want a very high frequenchy-rich sound... I'm programming my third bank of Z2 presets now and some of the sounds are modeled after popular modern trance sounds. To more closely emulate them, it would be convenient to have more high freqs.

What Urs suggested is pretty much what I do now... it does work nicely.

[liars&ashes]

A frequency shifter sounds cool, although admittedly, I'm not sure how that would meaningfully translate as far as effecting the Z2 sound. Would it be like the Moog Bode Shifter thinger ?

It's pretty much the concept, yes. Put simple, in a pitch shifter, frequencies are warped exponentially, like a sampler does on a keyboard - like a note is transposed to another note. In contrast a frequency shifter shifts each frequency by a fixed number of Hertz - which results in rather metallic sounds.

Urs

----I was reading about the Analogue Systems RS240 Frequency Shifter a bit. It says how each volt adds an octave change, so it can function "pitch-wise" in it's own way apparently. I realize that's not at all the same as pitch shifting, but I like things that synch up and have nice rounded even marker points like that, good for my brain to get a grip on in a way ha-ha. Anyways, I just wanted to bump this FR again, especially since you said adding it would be "easy". I won't hold my breathe, I know you're still fixing some other things and battling a bit with Vista etc., but down the road, Frequency Shifting sounds like it would be a very cool addition to Z2.

Jeff

[musicall]

i love the vanguard sound and often wish zebra could pull that off better..any tips? cuz i agree the brilliance is kind of brittle

[Howard]

i love the vanguard sound and often wish zebra could pull that off better..any tips? cuz i agree the brilliance is kind of brittle

Well spin my nipple nuts and call me an Aardvark, I couldn't agree less! Zebra2 is the least brittle of all. In my not-so-humble opinion, Vanguard is not in the same league soundwise - much too much aliasing.

Tip: Use the oscillator effect "Brilliance". I suppose you tried that already...

warm/fat/thick/etc does not necessary equal good all the time
harsh/thin/brittle/etc does not necessarily equal bad all the time

Sure, but Z2 can "do" all of these