oscillator brightness

[kuniklo]

can you find what you want by changing the waveform? or importing many of the waveforms converted with that utility?

Good question. I'll mess around with those options more. There should be enough flexibility in the Zebra oscs to tweak them the way I want.

[Per Lichtman]

A typical string is always desired to have that brilliance touch. When i make strings in Zebra i make use of the 6 db pole and EQ takes over where the filter breaks. Same goes for things like Hihat and buzzy sounds.

/Michael

Thanks for the tip. I'm always reluctant to boost with EQ but I guess there are cases where it's ok.

Just remember that the EQ you use for this makes a big difference. The better "vintage emulations" tend to be good about boosting this while adding their own color and without adding harshness while the better "modern" EQs tend to be better at preserving the original character of the sound.

You can try this out with a combination of freeware and fully functional free trials. Try NoName EQ or Electri-Q (any version) for a more digital approach and either Vibe EQ or 1973 (loosely influenced by the Neve 1073 but quite different) by Stillwell for a more vintage sound.

Or if you already have Nebula, you're spoilt for choices. Try the Angel 2055 for starters.

[pdxindy]

can you find what you want by changing the waveform? or importing many of the waveforms converted with that utility?

Good question. I'll mess around with those options more. There should be enough flexibility in the Zebra oscs to tweak them the way I want.

Seems like there are enough tools to get what you want... There are quite a few wavesets for download. Also, the converter tool could convert the specific one you want? I have no idea how well it works cause I have not heard before and after...

[Polybius]

A typical string is always desired to have that brilliance touch. When i make strings in Zebra i make use of the 6 db pole and EQ takes over where the filter breaks. Same goes for things like Hihat and buzzy sounds.

/Michael

Thanks for the tip. I'm always reluctant to boost with EQ but I guess there are cases where it's ok.

Just remember that the EQ you use for this makes a big difference. The better "vintage emulations" tend to be good about boosting this while adding their own color and without adding harshness while the better "modern" EQs tend to be better at preserving the original character of the sound.

You can try this out with a combination of freeware and fully functional free trials. Try NoName EQ or Electri-Q (any version) for a more digital approach and either Vibe EQ or 1973 (loosely influenced by the Neve 1073 but quite different) by Stillwell for a more vintage sound.

Or if you already have Nebula, you're spoilt for choices. Try the Angel 2055 for starters.

Thanks for the tips. Also check out "NastyHF" by Bootsie, great vintage inspired coloring effect. In fact, all his effects are crazy good for free stuff.

BTW this isn't a silly thread at all, there's some interesting reads in here.

[kuniklo]

Here's a couple more:

oddity:


minimonsta:


The oddity spectrum looks a lot like the arp 2600 spectrum, perhaps not surprisingly. I do really like the raw osc sound of the oddity.

[fas1piano]

i have no clue what sounds look like but -

i have ultra analog from aas which is the same engine as ableton analog. i definitely do not hear any aliasing in the oscillators.

in fact, i prefer the sound of UA in simple VA like patches a lot to zebra. this is a subjective impression, I know. it is not because i like aliasing (e.g. i hate the pro53 sound.

me liking the UA sound keeps me from switching even though i think zebra is much more user friendly, works better inside brainspawn forte and has a much more modern and comfortable GUI than AAS synths.

the twin filters do nothing for me, say sound wimpy and not punchy in my ears. i don't get the sounds i like that i get from UA.

i suggest comparing sounds by using your ears.

please note: i think zebra is a great synth for more complex patches and i will buy it at some point. but not for the VA sound of it.

urs, i don't think you need this kind of self-advertising. you have a great product and everybody knows that.

fab

[Arksun]

It's interesting seeing the differences in these graphs of a fundamental waveform in different synths.

What's bizarre is wanting them to be the same. A part of having different synths is having a different character of sound, rather than them all sounding the same, so its good to see (or rather, more importantly 'hear') such differences.

I also think that there's a generation growing up that actually prefers the overly bright sound of many soft-synths we've had over the years.

Coming from a digital-hardware synth background myself (long before soft-synths were even around), after playing with the demo, I don't find Zebra's oscillators 'dull' at all. Just a very good solid sound. If people want the more overly bright right off the bat for everything like the gladiator sound then they should probably just get gladiator instead.

[Lotuzia]

A typical string is always desired to have that brilliance touch. When i make strings in Zebra i make use of the 6 db pole and EQ takes over where the filter breaks. Same goes for things like Hihat and buzzy sounds.

/Michael

Thanks for the tip. I'm always reluctant to boost with EQ but I guess there are cases where it's ok.

Just remember that the EQ you use for this makes a big difference. The better "vintage emulations" tend to be good about boosting this while adding their own color and without adding harshness while the better "modern" EQs tend to be better at preserving the original character of the sound.

You can try this out with a combination of freeware and fully functional free trials. Try NoName EQ or Electri-Q (any version) for a more digital approach and either Vibe EQ or 1973 (loosely influenced by the Neve 1073 but quite different) by Stillwell for a more vintage sound.

Or if you already have Nebula, you're spoilt for choices. Try the Angel 2055 for starters.

Thanks for the tips. Also check out "NastyHF" by Bootsie, great vintage inspired coloring effect. In fact, all his effects are crazy good for free stuff.

BTW this isn't a silly thread at all, there's some interesting reads in here.

I personnaly dont see the point of using and adding numerous VST to obtain/enhance what dead simple substrative basic synthesis principle should offer : A very bright OSC raw sound that you can filter.

Synths like ImpOSCar (many years old with very very low CPU hit, at least far less than Zebra) or Korg Lcae synths all deliver that kind of RICH basic sound with simple Oscillators. Some others too.

Zebra sounds different and has a distinct sonic signature, and my personnal point of view is that people should try it and decide on their own.

With all due respect to Mike, Urs and others, if there are some turnovers to get such a basic sound in Zebra (and there are for sure), and wether you call this neutral Osc or else, for me its still a turnaround, demonstrating both the flexibility of Zebra and its personality.

On a personal point of view, I agree with most of Kuniklo concerns, and want to thank here all those who did participate in this debate for the tips and tricks on Zebra.

LtZ

[Igro]

Yeah. I think too, that oscillators should sound bright without EQ help. So this HIGHT you can very fast adjust by using cutoff.

[Urs]

many years old with very very low CPU hit, at least far less than Zebra

Hehehe, Last time I checked Zebra 1.0 came out 2 months before impOSCar and still uses less cpu for the same configuration...

Urs

[Urs]

Yeah. I think too, that oscillators should sound bright without EQ help. So this HIGHT you can very fast adjust by using cutoff.

I still don't think so. Overly bright oscillators are a disease of the digital age. Zebras oscillators have a balanced, pleasant sound. They can be used without filtering and still not cause headaches.

[kuniklo]

I still don't think so. Overly bright oscillators are a disease of the digital age. Zebras oscillators have a balanced, pleasant sound. They can be used without filtering and still not cause headaches.

But from what I've seen so far some classic analog oscillators are brighter than those in many of the digital synths we use now, including Twin and Zebra.

I certainly don't want all my synths to sound the same, but I don't understand what's desirable about essentially having the saw wave pre-filtered. I guess with Zebra I can just smack up the oscillator brilliance effect if I want something sharper.

[Urs]

Zebra's waveforms aren't pre-filterd in the audible range. It's got a soft roll-off above 17kHz. If I switch that off, you'll still find them "dull" in comparison (I tried, there's no audible difference).

I rather believe that other synths have pre-emphasized harmonics. Which you probably can achieve easily in Zebra, i.e. with the Brilliance Osc FX.

Urs

[mabian]

Zebra's waveforms aren't pre-filterd in the audible range. It's got a soft roll-off above 17kHz. If I switch that off, you'll still find them "dull" in comparison (I tried, there's no audible difference).

Urs

Actually, the fact you don't hear difference doesn't mean that others cannot hear it... little subjective perception can of worms here...

- Mario

[Urs]

Zebra's waveforms aren't pre-filterd in the audible range. It's got a soft roll-off above 17kHz. If I switch that off, you'll still find them "dull" in comparison (I tried, there's no audible difference).

Urs

Actually, the fact you don't hear difference doesn't mean that others cannot hear it... little subjective perception can of worms here...

Well, the difference between Z2 and i.e. a Virus is still there... switching off the roll-off doesn't bring Zebra's oscillators much closer.