Albino vs Gladiator vs Surge vs Zebra

[Doug B]

Looking at the Albino interface for more than 10 minutes really make my eyes hurt.

You could turn down the brightness control on your monitor.

Albino also has three colour variations for the fonts-white, red, or pale red.

There are a ton of Albino users, so how bad can the interface be for most people? Very few complaints here at kvr about that at all since Albino 1 a few years ago.

[casiosk1]

I have all of them except Albino (downloaded the demo twice, and couldn't get into it). Zebra is the deepest by far, but can be the most daunting. SICK-ASS sounds. Surge is gritty as sand poo and rather basic by comparison. Gladiator is ultra refined and organic sounding, but I often switch off the reverb and add my own sonic sauce.

What a delightful trio they are.

Don't get me started on the giggle-fests Alchemy invokes in my person.

[stimresp]

Surge is gritty as sand poo and rather basic by comparison.

A casual, but inaccurate description. I also have both. Yes, Zebra is more complex, but Surge has a huge sound palette and unique sounds, is much less hassle to program, is lighter on CPU.

Depends on what kind of sounds you want. Just demo them and see what you like.

[ATS]

Albino sucks. I wouldn't pay $50 for it.

[casiosk1]

Hence the qualifying phrase "by comparison."

[exxxy]

3) Zebra (I really wanted it to be #1)

there's your answer there, get zebra

[grymmjack]

I think Surge is the easiest to program, it's quite versatile, but compare to Gladiator I think the sound quality is not as good (ok, let's say it's just as good but different) and the presets are passable.

I really like Zebra, the sound quality, the presets and it's semi-modular possibilities. I also like the fact that it's a u-he product, meaning that I know I'll recevied great support and free/fair priced update in the future. The problem is I don't really "get" the interface. I think considering this is a semi-modular synth Urs did a great job designing an interface that is both practical and fit on one page but... I don't know. Maybe with time I'll "get" it.

you shouldn't judge surge on it's presets in the demo, because you get 1800 or something with full- but a synth like surge doesn't need that many.

i recently bought surge and am finding the amount of versatility, the ease of use, and the beautiful sound with bundled effects (and a fx version too) really is making me use surge so much the other synths i own aren't getting much love; this includes zebra2, sylenth1, fm8, alchemy, etc.

i'm not saying it's the greatest ever, but for me it's a nearly perfect match to how i think/work. the only thing i miss is a proper arpegiator but i can use orion or lives arp for that anyway.

zebra2 is the desert island synth. it's totally capable to make literally any sound but you have to know what you're doing quite a lot. i will say with what little bit of knowledge i have regarding zebra2, i was able to make a sound i adored quickly. the main thing i dislike about zebra2 is it's paged/tab interface (and no i cant think of a better way) - it's the type of synth you need to really focus your mind in a different way to use effectively.

i'd say go for zebra2 if you are being honest about 'last' synth you buy, but if you want a great compliment to wasp/toxic, surge would do that very well too. it's got a lot of features for various types of synthesis; subtractive, fm, wavetable, formants, etc. very unique and good sound that sits really well in the mix too. i'm loving it

whatever you choose, remember to take the time to learn it inside and out. make it a point to educate yourself and use it often.

good luck man

[casiosk1]

Well said.

[xx JPRacer xx]

Thanks for your advice grymmjack.

Surge is really the one that I prefer for its interface and worflow. At 1st I hated it, but then it just "click" and I was able to create what I had in mind really quick with it.

After more demoing I'm not so sure now with Gladiator. I think the final battle will be between Surge and Zebra.

I think I'll be happy with whichever synth I get. None of them are bad afterall but I'm not in a hurry, I'll take my time.

[foosnark]

Of those, I would choose Surge. I found it fun to design with as well.

I actually don't own any of those four, but Surge is the one I almost bought. Gladiator would be my second choice. Zebra is meh and Albino is blah.

[grymmjack]

Thanks for your advice grymmjack.

Surge is really the one that I prefer for its interface and worflow. At 1st I hated it, but then it just "click" and I was able to create what I had in mind really quick with it.

After more demoing I'm not so sure now with Gladiator. I think the final battle will be between Surge and Zebra.

I think I'll be happy with whichever synth I get. None of them are bad afterall but I'm not in a hurry, I'll take my time.

if you go zebra route, make sure you grab the darkhorse skin by unempty. it's pretty

[ATS]

Honestly I would go with Alchemy. I haven't been this excited about a soft synth ever.

[pdxindy]

I'd pick Zebra without question. Especially so if you have Alchemy. They compliment each other well.

Zebra has the widest range of sounds. The comb modules have no real counterpart in the other synths. The modular nature makes designing sounds a very creative and pleasurable process. I have often found fixed architecture synths frustrating in that I want to adjust some aspect of the sound and it is hard to do without backtracking or even not at all.

Some simple things in Zebra I really like. You can adjust osc volume over the key range with a curve. Makes it real easy to balance sounds, accentuate one osc more in the bass range etc etc... I wish more synths had that.

Slope control on the envelopes. Wow, until I had this I did not realize how much a sound is affected by this subtle control!

Ability to add some randomization to any parameter.

These are the sorts of quiet features that are not on the wow feature list, but which are examples of why Zebra is so versatile and powerful.

I also think the complaint about Zebra and multiple tabs is overstated. With a lot of the more basic type sounds, you don't need to switch tabs at all. Zebra is as simple or as complex as you need it to be.

Then Zebra has some truly powerful performance controls. The X/Y pads are fantastic for quick edits to sounds as you play. Then you also have a polyphonic arpeggiator which is playable.

Get going with the Multi-segment envelopes and a variety of sound modules and you can create evolving sounds as good as any synth.

Nothing else quite like the oscFX!!!

Last, Zebra sounds great. The quality is outstanding.

The only other synth I would consider on the list is Surge, but it is more limited than Zebra. I do like its sound, but if I am picking one synth to be my workhorse, it cannot match Zebra. Which makes Z2 my workzebra!

I think Zebra has one of the best designed GUIs around. Because of its modular flexibility, it may take a bit of time to get used to, but once it clicks, it is fluid and fast to work with. The stuff you don't need, stays out of the way.

[advaya]

Honestly I would go with Alchemy. I haven't been this excited about a soft synth ever.

Honestly you should try reading before posting.

[ATS]

Honestly I would go with Alchemy. I haven't been this excited about a soft synth ever.

Honestly you should try reading before posting.

honestly I don't read too much, I just like to talk