u-he

waltercruz · Post by **waltercruz** » Thu Dec 31, 2015 2:55 am

Hi. A friend of mine gave me Zebra as a bday present and I'm learning about it and playing a lot with it. I've read some posts here saying that Zebra is not the best choice for analog emulations (that's fine, I have a lot of synths that do this kind of sound pretty well). But well, where Zebra shines? To which kind of sound would you choose Zebra over other synths? Just curious about how you guys are using it.

bmrzycki · Post by **bmrzycki** » Thu Dec 31, 2015 3:07 am

For me, zebra shines the more time you invest in learning it. I think it does excellent emulations of analog but it takes time to craft the sound in that direction.

I recommend watching Howard's mini tutorials on the u-he youtube channel.

The sounds I struggle the most to make are the shimmery, ethereal pad sound. But I know that's me and not zebra because Howard has several examples in the factory bank with just such a profile.

The sonic range of zebra is huuuuge. I've been using it for almost ten years and I still discover new things or new corners of interesting textures. With this flexibility comes a lot to learn and explore and it can be a bit overwhelming. But take the time and I think you'll grow to love it.

Good luck!

pdxindy · Post by **pdxindy** » Thu Dec 31, 2015 7:07 am

bmrzycki wrote:For me, zebra shines the more time you invest in learning it.

+1

Zebra shines in most every direction... It can be so very expressive, nuanced and beautiful.

Zebra is superb for percussion, bells, plucks, pads, moving evolving textures, lots of variability and modulation. Zebra does a variety of synthesis methods and each of them capable enough to be flexibly useful but not so deep it is too complicated. I think Zebra is a great balance of complex and easy to use.

The Traveler · Post by **The Traveler** » Thu Dec 31, 2015 11:24 am

bmrzycki wrote:For me, zebra shines the more time you invest in learning it.

+1

Absolutely. The Zebra is so flexible that I don't think there's a electronic music genre that it won't fit into.

ariston · Post by **ariston** » Thu Dec 31, 2015 12:26 pm

Zebra, to me, is a little like a blank canvas, whereas most other synths are already coloured in some way. Which is fine, if that's what you're looking for - I won't call up Zebra if I need a Moogy squelch. It can do that, and quite well, but there are others out there more suited to that. Zebra wants you to start painting, and gives you all the tools you'd ever need and then some.

Zebra is an explorer's synth. To me, it's for setting out and discovering new territories. Take the oscillator modules - they're damn well the most flexible I've ever experienced. Sync and PWM-like modulation are a given, of course - for any waveform. You can stack up to 11 oscillators and detune them, to get that instant Hypersaw (hypersine, hypermidsquare, what have you) sound. You can draw your own waveforms in different ways, and morph through those. That alone will keep you busy for days. But then, you have the spectral effects, and these really take your sound all over the world. Modulate those (keeping osc resolution in mind), bounce them off of each other (that's right, there's two per oscillator), and prepare for surprises.

And you haven't even touched any of the other modules yet.

What I've said so far might make you think that Zebra excels at moving textures, long, drawn-out sounds... and you'd be right. But Zebra is also my go-to for percussive, bell- and string-like sounds, all thanks to the awesome comb module and the "simple" but effective FM synthesis (as far as FM can ever be simple - it's actually more than capable here).

Reading my post again, I just realized that it sounds kinda like an ad. Sorry for that, but take it as a genuine, undiminished-by-the-years enthusiasm for a one-of-a-kind synth playground.

waltercruz · Post by **waltercruz** » Thu Dec 31, 2015 12:30 pm

ariston wrote:Reading my post again, I just realized that it sounds kinda like an ad. Sorry for that, but take it as a genuine, undiminished-by-the-years enthusiasm for a one-of-a-kind synth playground.

Man, you description is fantastic and I think that it defines quite well what I was trying to understand about Zebra.

And I think that Urs should use your text in the Zebra advertisement

ariston · Post by **ariston** » Thu Dec 31, 2015 12:33 pm

waltercruz wrote:
ariston wrote:Reading my post again, I just realized that it sounds kinda like an ad. Sorry for that, but take it as a genuine, undiminished-by-the-years enthusiasm for a one-of-a-kind synth playground.
Man, you description is fantastic and I think that it defines quite well what I was trying to understand about Zebra.

And I think that Urs should use your text in the Zebra advertisement

Thanks, you're very kind!

aaron aardvark · Post by **aaron aardvark** » Fri Jan 01, 2016 9:55 pm

I think the Zebra offers a huge variety of different types of sounds. The Zebra HZ (another $99 extra, I think) has some Diva filters, which may get you closer to the analog sounds.

xx JPRacer xx · Post by **xx JPRacer xx** » Fri Jan 01, 2016 10:09 pm

It shines in the hands of Howard Scarr and Hans Zimmer!

3ee · Post by **3ee** » Sat Jan 02, 2016 12:01 am

after some time of getting used to.... there is one questions (at least for me): what Zebra CAN'T do??

I see Zebra as a "digital" synth but I simply can't understand when people say than it doesn't do good "analogue" emulation... it's simply a matter of time till the user figures out how..

Arrested Developer · Post by **Arrested Developer** » Sat Jan 02, 2016 9:36 pm

For me one of the outstanding qualities of Zebra is that "organic" component in its sound which makes it a perfect addition to orchestral sounds. It just works in such a context.
It often sounds like an unknown "real" instrument; of course the comb module is an important reason for this.

u-he

KVR Audio

where zebra shines?