Albino vs Gladiator vs Surge vs Zebra

[Sascha Franck]

Excellent thread.

[Arksun]

The difference between the Juno sample and Zebra is obvious to me, though its still mainly just a tonal difference (and pitch drift is more stuttered in the juno example).

But as Howard said he only spent a few minutes making that. Just listen to some of the lush sounds him and Michael have made of Vintage synths for Zebra, they're excellent.

Certainly listening to those samples side by side, the genuine Juno example exhibits no clear sense of warmth or magic of analogue that most people like to think of analogue over the zebra mp3 in any way imho (read, my opinion of the juno mp3 sample on that particular site, NOT making a blanket statement about analogue synths in general).

I do get what some people are trying to say regarding a particular kind of warm smooth squelchy sounds that a few other soft-synths do but Zebra struggles with. But this really goes both ways. Zebra does some fantastic sounds other soft-synths also struggle to recreate.

So once again its purely down to taste, either you like one or two types of sound/character/whatever, or a whole range of sounds.

[Howard]

I do get what some people are trying to say regarding a particular kind of warm smooth squelchy sounds that a few other soft-synths do but Zebra struggles with.

I really, really can't agree with that! I've tested practically all teh tarnce specialists (Sylenth et al), ALL classic hardware emulations as well as NI and Fabfilter products. So which soft-synths haven't I tried out yet? The ones you say can do "warm smooth squelchy sounds" Zebra is supposed to struggle with?

[Echo Voodoo]

Before the flame of emulation war I was talking about digital sound of zebra and analogue of sylenth1.

Really?

You commented on the sound Howard made. Howard was using Zebra to emulate a sound sample from a Juno 106. There was no sample from Sylenth1 to compare with.

Unless you've got a sample of Sylenth1 emulating the same sound, I don't see the connection.

[Lotuzia]

I do get what some people are trying to say regarding a particular kind of warm smooth squelchy sounds that a few other soft-synths do but Zebra struggles with. But this really goes both ways. Zebra does some fantastic sounds other soft-synths also struggle to recreate.

Basically my feeling too.

Though, emulating the Juno 60 Vs 106 would probably be another story.... I always found that the 106 lacks the hmmmm ballish and gorgeous sound of the J60, both in the bass range, hi freqs and filter rudeness. Sounds just quite clinical Vs a 60 ........

LtZ

[Howard]

That is a close enough emulation that the difference is academic. I do hope you turned off the velocity sensitivity and also aftertouch cause the Juno had neither!

No, I didn't turn them off...
... because I didn't turn them on

[jupiter8]

That is a close enough emulation that the difference is academic.

I was thinking the exact same thing. I'm hoping Howard comes back and says his link is actually the mp3 from the Juno site just shortened. Nothing like the ol' placebo effect.

It's clearly missing a touch of oscillator instability

Oscillator instablity ? In a Juno 106 ? You're joking ?

[pdxindy]

That is a close enough emulation that the difference is academic.

Before the flame of emulation war I was talking about digital sound of zebra and analogue of sylenth1.

Sylenth does not sound 'analogue' any more than Zebra does. Sylenth may have a certain sound you happen to like, but it does not sound 'analogue'. You are just using that word (rather arbitrarily) to mean a certain sound of Sylenth you like. Someone else uses the word 'analogue' in a different way. There is hardly any consistent meaning to this word and yet I hear individuals such as yourself, in this case, use it as if it represents some fundamental superiority (kinda like religion).

Go listen to the Synth Squad demos on that thread and you will hear a digital synth that is making the effort to model the various characteristics common to analogue synths. When I compare to those, Sylenth obviously sounds like a digital synth (a good sounding one).

cheers

[djanthonyw]

you mean a warm digital synth?

[david.beholder]

Really?
...
There was no sample from Sylenth1 to compare with.

Please read whole thing, it's different rather than your story.

S1 sample -- why here should be one?

p.s. we need a guy from LD here to balance Urs and Howard and have full-format LD vs Z2 nuclear war thread.

[justin3am]

we need a guy from LD here to balance Urs and Howard and have full-format LD vs Z2 nuclear war thread.

Why, is it a competition?

[SWAN808]

http://www.unease.se/juno.htm

OK then. Just the very first sound (all others I heard there can be easily cloned in Zebra, but it would be a complete waste of my time!):
http://www.box.net/shared/36zm5027x5
BTW: Zebra's filter sweep is not naturally steppy, but for the sake of the clone, I "stepped" it a bit using the wonderful Mod Mapper

That to me sounds like a softsynth emulation of an analogue synth.

[justin3am]

http://www.unease.se/juno.htm

OK then. Just the very first sound (all others I heard there can be easily cloned in Zebra, but it would be a complete waste of my time!):
http://www.box.net/shared/36zm5027x5
BTW: Zebra's filter sweep is not naturally steppy, but for the sake of the clone, I "stepped" it a bit using the wonderful Mod Mapper

That to me sounds like a softsynth emulation of an analogue synth.

Why wouldn't it? That is what it is. Is that a bad thing?

I have yet to hear a digital synth (VA or otherwise) that sounds exactly like an analogue. I wouldn't want them to. That is why I have analogue synths.

I have heard a number of patches by Howard and others that come remarkably close to sounding like such and such vintage synth or whatever but still the patches retain the character of the synth being used. That seems pretty logical to me. You buy a synth because you like how "it" sounds, not because it can sound like other synths. If you want the sound of another synth, get that synth!

[mellotronaut]

http://www.unease.se/juno.htm

OK then. Just the very first sound (all others I heard there can be easily cloned in Zebra, but it would be a complete waste of my time!):
http://www.box.net/shared/36zm5027x5
BTW: Zebra's filter sweep is not naturally steppy, but for the sake of the clone, I "stepped" it a bit using the wonderful Mod Mapper

That to me sounds like a softsynth emulation of an analogue synth.

mein lieber Schwan!

what, if you didn't know it?

[david.beholder]

Why, is it a competition?

It's not IMO. But seems like word "digital" turns some owners of Z into "massacre mode". I'm so scared... And guys from LD (occasionally) should be scared too.

Sylenth does not sound 'analogue' any more than Zebra does. Sylenth may have a certain sound you happen to like, but it does not sound 'analogue'. You are just using that word (rather arbitrarily) to mean a certain sound of Sylenth you like.

Of course there's no definition of 'analogue'.

But, as I said before I have juno 106. In basic osc + subosc + cutoff + res situation S1 was closer to 106 rather than Z. Sound of 106 is what I call 'analogue'.