What makes U-he Zebra so loved?

[EnochLight]

Jesus... if people think Zebra is "overpriced", I'd suggest you have a look at Omnisphere 2 for a reality check.

Zebra came out at just the right time with the perfect blend of features, IMHO. And to be frank, at the time it appeared, it had no comparisons. None. Couple that with industry-wide praise (let's be honest, once you score Hanz f'ing Zimmer as a fan and get your instrument used in blockbuster films), and you've made an impact. And yeah, Howard Scarr is a genius patch designer.

That said, yeah - I feel the GUI/UX could use a tad bit of modernizing and refreshing, but what else do you do at this point?

[recursive one]

The interesting thing is IMO the semi-modular concept and how this is implemented with the GUI. It's not too complicated like in Synthmaster but the same time it allows a lot of options for sound designers and musicians (but to be honest, I don't think that the sound is very special).

Agree on that and also about the sound. I know that Zebra was used in blockbuster soundtracks and all that but I'm curious what kind of external processing was used on Zebra tracks.

Actually it seems that people waiting for Zebra 3 with the hope of a lot of new features and a overhauled GUI?

I wait for a new sound engine, which was confirmed by Urs. A synth with Zebra's feature set and sounding as great as Bazille and Repro might be the only synth I'll ever need

[fmr]

Jesus... if people think Zebra is "overpriced", I'd suggest you have a look at Omnisphere 2 for a reality check.

Indeed. I was wondering what people complaining about Zebra would say about Omnisphere 2...

[ariston]

Regarding the "sound" of Zebra... I would say that, among all the synths I've used, Zebra sounds the most neutral. Which is a huge plus in my book, as it is like a blank canvas with a huge tonal palette, and can in effect be made to sound like anything, provided you know your chops. I'm not saying it can nail any synth sound 100%, but it can come pretty close. Which is probably one reason Zimmer loves it.

[inkwarp]

Zebra has the most diverse range of sounds it can produce and it has a real clarity to it. plus there is the intuitive modulation set up. it's a typical U-He synth. the presets alone are mostly top notch.. oh, and it is really light on resources. it's a synth worth exploring for sure.
top instrument. (

[beely]

I bought Zebra 1 back in the day on it's great design and usability, more than it's sound. It was really well designed in that you could do complex things without the interface getting in the way, and without being overwhelmed by possibilities.

Zebra 2 gave it an overhaul and hugely improved the sound engine and the possibilities. It gives you a kind of modular sound design over a traditional fixed synth architecture, so you could dial in resources as needed, which makes it great from a sound design point of view.

Zebra does have a character I associate with it, difficult to describe. I get the "neutral" comment above, although that's not "quite" right... It's not really any one thing, but it can be pushed in many directions - but it takes a little skill imo to take it to places that you might just get for free without any work on other, more characterful synths.

It does, and has, needed a GUI overhaul for while now, while the u-he team has vastly moved the company on in terms of it's knowledge, expertise and design by developing the other, newer products, so I'm really looking forward to 2.8 in that regard.

I expect Zebra 3 will move the sound engine and possibilities on still further, and I look forward to that, but it's still a product that won't exist for customers for another year at the absolute minimum, so I don't really think about it, until there is something real to contemplate - until then, it mostly seems to exist as an ideas/to-do list and some proof of concept code on Urs' machine/head.

[Numanoid]

Even though Apple poachers probably want to capture it and put it in their zoo/tiergarten only, u-he let it roam free on every OS

[JerGoertz]

I demoed Zebra 2 several years back, and the sound left me cold. (There have been several updates since then AFAIK so the sound may have improved from my perspective.) Nonetheless, I get why some people like it. It seems very flexible and feature-rich, while being (relatively) easy to use.

[Cinebient]

Jesus... if people think Zebra is "overpriced", I'd suggest you have a look at Omnisphere 2 for a reality check.

Indeed. I was wondering what people complaining about Zebra would say about Omnisphere 2...

Nothing because they are so different in any possible way.
Lol....humans

[Synthman2000]

On my latest tune the only synth I have not used is Zebra2...it stays in the Savanna of its home folder. Occasionally I try to take it for a watering down at the Serrengeti but then send it back. Obviously mega powerful technically, but it don't fit in for me personally. I do like other U-He synths though. A case of takes too much time for not enough result.

Maybe one day I will get it, like everyone else here. Sorry if that was a bit imaginative I am on the $8 red wine tonight.

[quantum7]

I originally didn’t think all that much of zebra until I purchased some third-party libraries for it actually. I never realized how powerful zebra was and what could be done with it until then.

[egbert101]

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[EnochLight]

Jesus... if people think Zebra is "overpriced", I'd suggest you have a look at Omnisphere 2 for a reality check.

Indeed. I was wondering what people complaining about Zebra would say about Omnisphere 2...

Nothing because they are so different in any possible way.
Lol....humans

The point is, many consider Omnisphere 2 "overpriced". Indeed - humans...

[ATS]

I originally didn’t think all that much of zebra until I purchased some third-party libraries for it actually. I never realized how powerful zebra was and what could be done with it until then.

what libraries did you get? I just bought it again and looking

[chili beans]

I am really curious. I think it sounds wonderful but I also think the same thing about many other synths. But people seem to LOVE this one. Why are people so much more passionate about Zebra than most other synths?

I own Diva and Repro 1 and absolutely love and use them all the time. I've downloaded the Zebra demo lots of times and idk we just never got along. The presets didn't impress me enough to want to buy it. I think it's more of a programmers type of soft synth so maybe that's why we never clicked.