How to get Zebra generate an ideal square and another waveforms?
-
- KVRist
- 72 posts since 4 Mar, 2010
Hi all. Who knows about subj?
I found that, by default, Zebra2 adds more presence when generating the waveform. I tried to make an ideal square in waveform editor, but it does not get...I made small video.
Anybody help me.
watch please.
Thanks.
I found that, by default, Zebra2 adds more presence when generating the waveform. I tried to make an ideal square in waveform editor, but it does not get...I made small video.
Anybody help me.
watch please.
Thanks.
- Beware the Quoth
- 35498 posts since 4 Sep, 2001 from R'lyeh Oceanic Amusement Park and Funfair
[yoda]Ideal there is not, only idea of the ideal there is...[/yoda]
An idiot on Set Theory:
"In some cases there is an object called red that contains everything that is red. In much the same way a pot is a plate."
"In some cases there is an object called red that contains everything that is red. In much the same way a pot is a plate."
- u-he
- 30217 posts since 8 Aug, 2002 from Berlin
What you see is the bandlimiting of a perfect square. The "overshoots" at the edges of the square are the result of reducing digital artifacts. If they were not there, the square wave would sound horrible. A square wave sampled from an analogue synth has the same "jagged" edges, after being digitised. Thus any square wave that doesn't have jagged edges is not a square wave.
You can easily make a wave that *looks* more like a square wave, but sounds considerably duller. This is done by moving the corner points by a pixel or two, to soften the slope a tiny bit. This is usually not desireable though.
You can easily make a wave that *looks* more like a square wave, but sounds considerably duller. This is done by moving the corner points by a pixel or two, to soften the slope a tiny bit. This is usually not desireable though.
-
- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 72 posts since 4 Mar, 2010
Urs thanks for quick answer!
I suspect that the way you implement the emulation of an analog synthesizer.
Hmm... Another VST synth (shown in video) has not these "overshoots" at the edges and it sounds pretty well.
That's right, Zebra2 is my favorite synthesizer. And could you make a knob in global menu to enable/disable such overshots? Same as the "voice drift" knob, and located next to it. Is it real?
Thank you Mr. Heckmann
I suspect that the way you implement the emulation of an analog synthesizer.
I'm not sure but I think, all osc waveforms from Zebra's OSCs haves these "overshoots" at the edges. I've compared. Sine, saw, pulse, square...etc. all of these.Urs wrote:If they were not there, the square wave would sound horrible
I tried to do so, yeah, that sounds is not good.This is done by moving the corner points by a pixel or two
Hmm... Another VST synth (shown in video) has not these "overshoots" at the edges and it sounds pretty well.
That's right, Zebra2 is my favorite synthesizer. And could you make a knob in global menu to enable/disable such overshots? Same as the "voice drift" knob, and located next to it. Is it real?
Thank you Mr. Heckmann
- u-he
- 30217 posts since 8 Aug, 2002 from Berlin
That should give you an incentive to actually buy itserhiy06 wrote:Zebra2 is my favorite synthesizer.
-
- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 72 posts since 4 Mar, 2010
Using the demo, I've already started saving money for future purchase full version.Urs wrote:That should give you an incentive to actually buy itserhiy06 wrote:Zebra2 is my favorite synthesizer.
P.S. So, I can help u-he for translating Zebra manual on russian language.
- KVRAF
- 4141 posts since 11 Aug, 2006 from Texas
Zebra doesn't sound like Sylenth1. Zebra only sounds like Zebra. I watched the video and to be honest I don't hear much of a difference between the square waves you play, but to each their own.
-
- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 72 posts since 4 Mar, 2010
You know, it was only one oscillator for the test. When the four of them, and the waveforms are summed up, the sounds begin to differ.
Anyway, I think, Zebra2 sound most like the sound of real analog synthesizers.
Anyway, I think, Zebra2 sound most like the sound of real analog synthesizers.
- KVRAF
- 5223 posts since 20 Jul, 2010
You can use OscFX to reduce the square wave ringing, IIRC... use something like 'brilliance' or 'filter' and turn the knob down just a fraction from 0.
And yes, I think Zebra probably sounds more analog than a lot of analog synths do!
And yes, I think Zebra probably sounds more analog than a lot of analog synths do!
-
- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 72 posts since 4 Mar, 2010
um... Oh yeah. Thanks. I tried to use it on -2 value It looks little better, but it sounds slightly worse than before. All right, Urs Heckmann said: it was planned so
- KVRAF
- 5223 posts since 20 Jul, 2010
I have to admit, you have got me thinking, why do some synths not have the ringing artifacts on hard edges, and yet still don't alias? I smell witchcraftserhiy06 wrote:um... Oh yeah. Thanks. I tried to use it on -2 value It looks little better, but it sounds slightly worse than before. All right, Urs Heckmann said: it was planned so
-
- KVRist
- 455 posts since 3 Nov, 2009
The synths with a non-ringing sawtooth (or square) hardly don't suffer from the aliasing. It might be inaudible, but it is visible on a spectrum. Here is an example of such "clean" saw from some synth (can be square, no matter):

If the synth is huge, like Zebra, after some sort of processing the aliasing quickly becomes perceptible.

If the synth is huge, like Zebra, after some sort of processing the aliasing quickly becomes perceptible.
- KVRAF
- 5223 posts since 20 Jul, 2010
Another thought that has occurred to me is that some synths may not bother aliasing lower notes, as they're less likely to fall victim to obvious artifacts.
Incidentally, this is sort of related-ish, but I have noticed on some synths, if you play notes and watch on a spectrograph, you'll see that some notes have the very highest harmonics missing, and you might play a B and see that the note has no ultra-high frequencies, wheras if you play the C next to it, it does, and these jumps can be quite irragular from note to note. For example, if you look at the area from 16000 up to 20k, and play a scale, you might see something that looks akin to a city-scape, lol
You can't hear it much, but it's disconcerting all the same. Perhaps over-zealous anti-aliasing. Either way, Zebra's harmonics continue proudly up to the top, no matter what note you play
Incidentally, this is sort of related-ish, but I have noticed on some synths, if you play notes and watch on a spectrograph, you'll see that some notes have the very highest harmonics missing, and you might play a B and see that the note has no ultra-high frequencies, wheras if you play the C next to it, it does, and these jumps can be quite irragular from note to note. For example, if you look at the area from 16000 up to 20k, and play a scale, you might see something that looks akin to a city-scape, lol
You can't hear it much, but it's disconcerting all the same. Perhaps over-zealous anti-aliasing. Either way, Zebra's harmonics continue proudly up to the top, no matter what note you play
- KVRAF
- 5223 posts since 20 Jul, 2010
Not that I care about this stuff, as you can barely hear it, but it's interesting on other levels...
"Spectrograph, spectrograph, on the wall... who has the cleanest square wave of all?"


I think, in the first graph, we can see the low-end distortion that sches mentioned (the feint lines near the bottom half moving against the direction of the bold lines).
"Spectrograph, spectrograph, on the wall... who has the cleanest square wave of all?"


I think, in the first graph, we can see the low-end distortion that sches mentioned (the feint lines near the bottom half moving against the direction of the bold lines).
-
- KVRian
- 523 posts since 22 Jul, 2008
Urs wrote: The "overshoots" at the edges of the square are the result of reducing digital artifacts. If they were not there, the square wave would sound horrible.
It sounds cool for basslines, and also leads when lowpass filtered with envelope imo.
