KVR Audio

fceramic · Post by **fceramic** » Sun Jul 06, 2008 10:07 am

Hoyhoy,

I'm looking for a diverse and powerful softsynth that will compliment my Reason 4 rack, Dimension Pro and the wacky Symptohm.

Reason can basically do it all but itś rewire and a bit inefficient (too much mind-bending routing).

Till now the killer synth seems to Surge. Especially regarding the new lower price and 1.5 improvements. Quite tasty!

Other then that I've checked out Gladiator, but it does not feel subtle enough, and the interface is not hugely intuitive.

I guess in the end my question is - Zebra or Surge?
Same price (in Euros at least), both highly regarded and offer tons of modulation possibilities.

So where should my student budget be used? Vemberaudio or U-he?

Oh btw I dislike Absynth, horrible and confusing interface and seems to be all over the place and hard to mix.

Cheers!

topaz · Post by **topaz** » Sun Jul 06, 2008 10:11 am

did you demo Massive ?

fridtjof wrote:Hoyhoy,

I'm looking for a diverse and powerful softsynth that will compliment my Reason 4 rack, Dimension Pro and the wacky Symptohm.!

fceramic · Post by **fceramic** » Sun Jul 06, 2008 10:17 am

Yup Massive is great fun. But I end up never using it in my Mixes. Itś just too Massive I guess, and itś a bit CPU heavy I think. Great interface though.

tangerine · Post by **tangerine** » Sun Jul 06, 2008 10:29 am

Zebra 2 is one of the best sounding softsynth out now, go for it!

Virsyn Tera 3 and Applied Acoustics Tassman 4 is also very very good softsynths to try out before you buy.

I have Tera 3 and Tassman 4 and now I am going to buy Zebra 2 they sounds like real hardware synths and is FAT sounding compared to others.

Good luck man!

fceramic · Post by **fceramic** » Sun Jul 06, 2008 10:37 am

As an illustrator, interface is extremely important to me. I think GUI equals fun, as itś what you're staring at for hours on end. Intuitive is the key word.

Psy-T · Post by **Psy-T** » Sun Jul 06, 2008 10:51 am

1. which sounds better for you?
2. which works better for you?
and if necessary, 3. which is more important to you (sound- which is to say core sound of the synth and presets, or 'work'- which is to say interface, cpu usage, et cetera)?

my personal choice is surge, but how does knowing my choice help you?

elxsound · Post by **elxsound** » Sun Jul 06, 2008 10:57 am

I'll throw in my 2cents, since you asked...

Zebra all the way.

I've only worked with the the Surge Demo, but I wasn't convinced I needed it.

I prefer Massive over Surge and prefer Zebra over Massive, so there's my logical conclusion in advising Zebra!

fgimian · Post by **fgimian** » Sun Jul 06, 2008 10:59 am

fridtjof wrote:Hoyhoy,

I'm looking for a diverse and powerful softsynth that will compliment my Reason 4 rack, Dimension Pro and the wacky Symptohm.

Reason can basically do it all but itś rewire and a bit inefficient (too much mind-bending routing).

Till now the killer synth seems to Surge. Especially regarding the new lower price and 1.5 improvements. Quite tasty!

Other then that I've checked out Gladiator, but it does not feel subtle enough, and the interface is not hugely intuitive.

I guess in the end my question is - Zebra or Surge?
Same price (in Euros at least), both highly regarded and offer tons of modulation possibilities.

So where should my student budget be used? Vemberaudio or U-he?

Oh btw I dislike Absynth, horrible and confusing interface and seems to be all over the place and hard to mix.

Cheers!

Zebra2 compliments Thor perfectly! Those huge pads and fx you need can be done in Zebra2 while leaving the more gritty VA stuff for Thor (and sometimes Subtractor in a combinator with Thor). The filters and general saturation algos in Thor are a little better than Zebra2, but Zebra2 has so much depth to it and tends to produce way richer pads to Thor, especially with how easy it is to do stereo spread in Zebra compared to Thor.

Massive as much as I like it, is way too heavy on the CPU and I can not get the same rich, full sound out of it as I can with Zebra2. I haven't demoed Surge enough to comment on it though.

Bset of luck

Lotuzia · Post by **Lotuzia** » Sun Jul 06, 2008 11:02 am

Apple Vs Oranges

Two very different synths.

No offense if my sole advice is : Demo both and choose the one that you like the most ?

LtZ

elxsound · Post by **elxsound** » Sun Jul 06, 2008 11:03 am

fridtjof wrote:Yup Massive is great fun. But I end up never using it in my Mixes. Itś just too Massive I guess, and itś a bit CPU heavy I think. Great interface though.

lol... just saw this.

I couldn't agree more. I like Massive too (its fun), but never used it in a mix.

CPU hog

I like the sounds in the library, but have more fun layering tracks that offer a comparitive feel to massive and in turn is more unique.

Fogot to mention earlier... Zebra has a lot of depth (I know surge does too), which allows for many, many, many variations of sound. It is truly a genius synth (but you don't have to be a genius to use it or enjoy it).

mellotronaut · Post by **mellotronaut** » Sun Jul 06, 2008 11:04 am

zebra is the one ... most flexible softsynth with a mighty sound. if i could buy only one, i'd go for it.

pdxindy · Post by **pdxindy** » Sun Jul 06, 2008 3:39 pm

GUI wise, I find Zebra more intuitive.

Zebra has a very nice polyphonic arpeggiator (no arp in Surge). The Multi-stage envelopes also have no equivalent in Surge. You have more subtle control over the regular envelopes. Osc effects. You can draw your own waveforms and share them with other users. The new Zebra compressors rock!

The routing in Zebra is remarkably flexible. Surge also has nothing like the X/Y performance pads in Zebra.

I like Surge, but then again, I think Zebra is the finest soft synth you can buy.

pdxindy · Post by **pdxindy** » Sun Jul 06, 2008 3:50 pm

Oh, and one of the rarely mentioned capabilities in Zebra... You can control modulation range. So for example, I want to modulate 2 parameters with the modwheel, but have one of them only start on the second half of the modwheel range, you can do that. This is one of the 'small' things that makes Zebra such a playable synth!

pandashake · Post by **pandashake** » Sun Jul 06, 2008 3:55 pm

Wait a while for the new Helix.

zerocrossing · Post by **zerocrossing** » Sun Jul 06, 2008 4:11 pm

Donate some blood and get both!

They are very different synths but both have found a home in my VST folder. I still scratch my head over Massive and usually my final thought is, "Really? This sound for all those CPU cycles?"

If had to choose only one, I'd get Zebra 2 in a heart beat, but I'd have Surge on my wish list for sure. I know what it's like to be a broke-ass art student, so I can feel your pain. Zebra should keep you busy until you save up enough money for your next synth.

BTW, I see people suggest Tera, but no one seems to ever mention Poseidon by Virsyn. I find it easier to use than Tera and just as good sounding. Cheaper too.

M

What killer synth do I need? Surge or Zebra?