If you had to choose one: DIVA or Zebra?

[DynaMoHum]

...and is just complex enough for someone like me to feel like they have an interesting boundary of limitations to constantly push against, allowing me to create very un-analog sounds like chiptunes, additive experiments, soundscapes and SFX, as well as doing an amazing job of analog goodness.

Ahhh...there's the rub. Think of Bach, or even the Baroque style, in that period: "no parallel fifths," all harmony modally diatonic to that key (excepting modulations to other keys, however briefly).
Oh...and you can't tune the pipe organ, the pianoforte was just a glimmer (no velocity response) at the time. Yet the polyphony is perfection - and seldom used in that way today!

"There's freedom in limitations - genius, even."

I have Diva, Zebra2 and Dark Horse. There is soooo much 'freedom' in Zebra 2 that I just literally 'lock up.'
I'm not kidding. In the limited time I have daily to play with it, if I just set some limitations (no sweeping wave series with LFO or ENV or VEL, use no filters at all - just OSC mod - etc. etc.), my progress in learning Z2 would be more rapid, I'm certain. But I'm blessed in being able to have/explore/use these wonderful instruments at my leisure. Thanks Urs, team and wonderful sound craftsmen/women!

[5Lives]

Ended up going with Diva. Love the sound and generally, is pretty straightforward to program. Feel I was going down the rabbit hole with Zebra - or if I didn't want to, didn't like the UI for basic synthesis. Also, preferred Diva's sound.

[rubez]

wanting either diva or zebra. mainly for pads (and some basses)

i'm thinking zebra is good for pads, but maybe too soundscapey. i am into that, but i'm looking more towards traditional pad synth sounds. lush warm and cold. i suspect zebra would be better at cold somehow, but it seems to complicated.

i would be using presets most of the time. i also spied two soundpacks that look good for diva - arksun and luftrum.

[rod_zero]

wanting either diva or zebra. mainly for pads (and some basses)

i'm thinking zebra is good for pads, but maybe too soundscapey. i am into that, but i'm looking more towards traditional pad synth sounds. lush warm and cold. i suspect zebra would be better at cold somehow, but it seems to complicated.

i would be using presets most of the time. i also spied two soundpacks that look good for diva - arksun and luftrum.

Check thenpresets by The Unfinished, excelente stuff.

[billcarroll]

I don't see how you could go wrong with u-he Zebra or DIVA.

Side note, I recently read that ATTLAS uses Zebra as his primary synth. Once you learn a synth like Zebra inside your imagination becomes the limitation.

Check out his music. Zebra is all over it. https://soundcloud.com/attlas

[bmrzycki]

wanting either diva or zebra. mainly for pads (and some basses)

i'm thinking zebra is good for pads, but maybe too soundscapey. i am into that, but i'm looking more towards traditional pad synth sounds. lush warm and cold. i suspect zebra would be better at cold somehow, but it seems to complicated.

i would be using presets most of the time. i also spied two soundpacks that look good for diva - arksun and luftrum.

It sounds to me you've already convinced yourself to get Diva.

Why not install both? The demos of each are unlimited and both allow you to save your own sounds. Zebra's notes wander after 10-15 minutes and Diva has white noise bursts but both are more than usable for long-term testing.

As much as I love Diva I always find myself coming back to Zebra. I'm not quite sure why; maybe it's familiarity with the UI, the sound, or something less tangible.

No matter what you chose you can't lose. Both are excellent instruments.

[atreehaseyes]

I own both.

Zebra is definitely fantastic, extremely versatile, and a veritable workhorse. That said, I fall in love with Diva every single time I open a new instance. Out of all of the software synths I own (which is too many), it's far and away my favorite.

But let's not forget about Bazille...

[atreehaseyes]

Check thenpresets by The Unfinished, excelente stuff.

Some of his pad presets for Diva make me so very happy. Great stuff.

[zappadave]

Ace......of course.

[_al_]

I don't have Diva, but if you want a synth that can cover pretty much any territory you want, I'd have to go with Zebra. It's architecture is so open ended, it's hard for me to imagine a sound I couldn't get if I was willing to out in the time, which I am. And it's a such a fun tool for discovering synthesis possibilities too.

yep, i'll go with the original post on this. i havent even demoed diva, but i couldnt lose z2.