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vinayk · Post by **vinayk** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 6:42 am

Hi Guys,

I was looking at picking up the ACE synth, as it seems like it would be quite simple to use at first (and then infinitely complex), so that I can finally start to get a handle on sound synthesis.

I'm wondering if it is worth my while or should I buy Zebra instead? I have ZebraCM which sound great, but zebra seems like it has even more tweakability which may actually limit my learning? I did notice the zebrify addition in the new beta, has anyone run a guitar through this to see how it sounds?

I'm not sure what you guys would recommend?

Would love any opinions! (I'm eagerly awaiting my new Ztar - so would love to have some great synth sounds to control with it!)

Thanks,
Vinay

dusted william · Post by **dusted william** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 6:53 am

get Ace, especially if there is still some spaghetti discounts.

dw

pdxindy · Post by **pdxindy** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 7:11 am

Depends on your situation.

If you have no synths at all. I would suggest getting Zebra as it is a more complete all arounder. It is also easier on the cpu in general and has a much bigger collection of available presets both free and for pay sets.

dusted william · Post by **dusted william** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 7:14 am

oh yeah, if you have a top notch PC, get ACE.

dw

Echoes in the Attic · Post by **Echoes in the Attic** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 7:21 am

I say go with Zebra. It's actually very intuitive how the signal flows down the grid, top to bottom. And you can start simple while still having a fast array of presets to play.

To undertand it, start with just one Osc module and see all the things you can do with it. Watch the tutorials about the Ocsillator in Zebra on youtube.

Once you have some idea how the Osc works, get to know the envelopes and lfo's and how the modulations are assigned. And at any time you can explore the wavetable morphing, then later the FM functions of the FM Osc and the XMF filter.

You can go step by step only using and seeing things you want. Also, it's very light on cpu with the simple patches.

xh3rv · Post by **xh3rv** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 8:26 am

Tough question, they're both incredible

I think Zebra is an ocean, it's huge and all sorts of things are there. ACE is a destination, it's not the whole ocean, but it's somewhere I want to go. That's both in terms of a compositional perspective and from a perspective of exploring sounds.

vinayk · Post by **vinayk** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 8:49 am

Thanks guys - some interesting thoughts - I managed to pick up komplete this year when the discounted prices were around. So I do have a lot of synths - and while I love the sounds in fm8 and absynth - I find them hard to program on my own - I guess I skipped the initial step of learning the basics of how things are created.

I will go and download the demo and see how they sound. I would probably be happy with a synth that does less thugs but still gives me sounds that are very useable.

It sounds like I can't lose in any case!

Echoes in the Attic · Post by **Echoes in the Attic** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 9:12 am

vinayk wrote:Thanks guys - some interesting thoughts - I managed to pick up komplete this year when the discounted prices were around. So I do have a lot of synths - and while I love the sounds in fm8 and absynth - I find them hard to program on my own - I guess I skipped the initial step of learning the basics of how things are created.

I will go and download the demo and see how they sound. I would probably be happy with a synth that does less thugs but still gives me sounds that are very useable.

It sounds like I can't lose in any case!

Hmm, in this case I might recommend ACE then. Native Instruments have some pretty complex synths and sometimes they're overwhelming before knowing some basics of sound design. Something like ACE might be a great compliment as the one thing that Komplete doesn't have is a strong but simple analog modeled synth. I think ACE would fill that gap nicely.

xx JPRacer xx · Post by **xx JPRacer xx** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 3:29 pm

If you're starting and already have Komplete then I suggest you start with Reaktor.

Seriously, Zebra is more versatile than ACE and uses less resources but for coventional sounds you already have Komplete so go with ACE. And it's very fun to program even if you don't know what you're doing, like me.

pdxindy · Post by **pdxindy** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 5:59 pm

vinayk wrote:Thanks guys - some interesting thoughts - I managed to pick up komplete this year when the discounted prices were around. So I do have a lot of synths - and while I love the sounds in fm8 and absynth - I find them hard to program on my own - I guess I skipped the initial step of learning the basics of how things are created.

I will go and download the demo and see how they sound. I would probably be happy with a synth that does less thugs but still gives me sounds that are very useable.

It sounds like I can't lose in any case!

Hehehe... Forget the NI stuff and get both Zebra and ACE!

Seriously, if you have so many synths already, then what are you looking for?

Sometimes people just keep buying synths but it is the person who makes music, not the synth!

On the otherhand, I have FM8, Absynth and Massive and I do not particularly like the NI sound. I mean, they are good synths. Massive has a great GUI, Absynth has vast sound potential and FM8 is really good too. Of the 3 I have had the most use of FM8 but it just does not do it for me sonically. FMish sounds in ACE just have more life, more zest than FM8.

Zebra clicked for me and I use it much more than the 3 NI synths combined. Because I really like the sound, and the GUI works for me, I have learned how to use it well and I feel fluid in it.

Try the demos and see if they 'click' for you... Also consider whether you have put enough effort into working with Komplete cause it does not matter what synth you get if you do not apply yourself enough.

Some food for thought

vinayk · Post by **vinayk** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 9:06 pm

I could Certainly spend my time learning the ni synths. I quite like the sound of fm8 - massive for whatever reason doesn't do it for me for some reason doesn't do anything. And find myself preset browsing in reaktor and absynth.

I have a whole lot of others so you are right - I probably have more gear lust than anything! I LOVE the sound of sculpture and have a tutorial video on that - but tendofo prefer live for the workflown so sculpture gets less use at present. I even have omnisphere whic I use a lot but more in a preset browsing fashion.

So what i'm really looking for is a Synth of high quality sounds which I can learn from the ground up - I had a lot of fun playing with ace yesterday, and loved the "fatness" of it. I'll give zebra a play this morning but I think I'm probably sold on ace!

In theory once I learn one it will be easier to go back and learn the other. I think sometimes having limited funds is a great thing -forces you to use what you have - on the other hand my gear spending is very soon to stop so I'll enjoy this year while it is here!

VitaminD · Post by **VitaminD** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 9:28 pm

My advice would be to skip all of these synths and start with something much more simple.. like Synth1 and learn the basics of (in this case Subtractive) Synthesis.. Controller Oscillators through the Amplitude Envelope, Filters, and even LFOs controlling just about anything you want to. You would benefit from a foundation of this general knowledge instead of jumping off into the ocean of NI or u-he synths and trying to figure out which end is up..

ThomasKoot · Post by **ThomasKoot** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 10:00 pm

xx JPRacer xx wrote:If you're starting and already have Komplete then I suggest you start with Reaktor.

Might sound rather bizzare, but this is the approach I took. After you've dug through Reaktor for a year, most other synths do not have any secrets anymore. So it is a steep learning curve, but after familiarizing yourself with that, you get so much quicker in getting the sound you're after in any synth.

mcnoone · Post by **mcnoone** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 10:45 pm

If you tried both demo's out.
You should go with your instinct, and get which one clicks with you.

Zebra is way better than ZebraCM, as far as what can be done with it.
If I had to choose. I would choose Zebra over ACE, but only because of cpu usage. Actually I would get both. Which is my plan anyway.

xx JPRacer xx · Post by **xx JPRacer xx** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 11:00 pm

ThomasKoot wrote:
xx JPRacer xx wrote:If you're starting and already have Komplete then I suggest you start with Reaktor.
Might sound rather bizzare, but this is the approach I took. After you've dug through Reaktor for a year, most other synths do not have any secrets anymore. So it is a steep learning curve, but after familiarizing yourself with that, you get so much quicker in getting the sound you're after in any synth.

I'm sure if you're really dedicated this is probably the best thing to do and I would like to take the time someday to do this but not now.

But like you've said, somebody that master Reaktor can probably program any synth without much trouble.

u-he

KVR Audio

Help for a synth beginner - should I get Zebra or ACE?