rediscovering zebra2...

[fisherKing]

zebra2 was my very-first 3rd-party plugin (i started with logic pro around 2009). i used it a lot, then abandoned it (i've owned a million different plugin synths, i switch things up every 4-6 months; so, new plugins and i sell off (or tuck away) old ones.

i haven't used it in a very-long time, but... just updated to 2.8, and decided to dive in... and am loving it. it's a great synth, and glad to have it back in the fam.

i think it's good to try new things, change our workflow; good to challenge ourselves. but it's also great to have synths that just sound good, and are worth coming back to (even if it's been a while).

just mentioning!

[wagtunes]

Zebra 2 was my 3rd synth with ACE and Synthmaster 2 coming before it.

The new look is very different. Going to take me a while to get used to it.

[himalaya]

Well...Zebra should be called Chameleon, since it can become 'anything' and can do so much!

However, I'm a relative late comer to Zebra2, never having had the time in the past to use it fully. But, now, that's changed.

[_al_]

I don't use many synths at all, but of what i do use, Zebra is my fave by far.
The 2 things that stop me going elsewhere are the osc fx and the comb filter. the osc fx can just bring things to life when you can't think of any other way to put life into a sound. When i look through my presets, it seems like every other preset has +8 or +16 scatter effect on one of the osc. Honestly, it seems like that scatter was made specifically for gritty electro basses. It can give a nice watery top end to basses too, which i can't get any other way.

And the comb filter... i'm sure i don't need to say why i love this thing. It's dissonant mode is unlike anything i've heard anywhere, and by modulating the tone and flavour, creates the most unreal sounds i can imagine. Basses, atmospheres, percussion, this thing is my goto for dark or exotic sounds.

The only thing i would say i don't like about Zebra, is the gritty square wave. It seems to sound as clicky as a saw for some reason, and sometimes i don't want that. I know i can just round off the edges of the wave, but then it loses a lot of it's highs.
So if anyone knows a better way of getting a smooth square wave bass, please feel free to tell me. I know the osc has 4 modes, but i only use the default because the others aren't intuitive to me (ok, i don't understand them), so i usually load up Zeta for square wave bass

[whyterabbyt]

The only thing i would say i don't like about Zebra, is the gritty square wave.

https://u-he.com/PatchLib/zebra.html#mseg

[_al_]

https://u-he.com/PatchLib/zebra.html#mseg

Hmm, i normally stay away from other peoples presets, but this time i'm gonna make an exception, as this seems out of my league.

Thanks, i'll report back my results.

[himalaya]

Here's a Zebra Square wave init for you, which sounds almost the same as my Roland SH-2 square wave (the original hardware not the Aira remake):

http://www.electric-himalaya.com/stuff/ ... AVE__H.h2p

[_al_]

Here's a Zebra Square wave init for you, which sounds almost the same as my Roland SH-2 square wave (the original hardware not the Aira remake):

http://www.electric-himalaya.com/stuff/ ... AVE__H.h2p

downloading now.
i just tried the zeta museum and pietw packs, and all seem to have the same gritty sound, so i'll try this one

[_al_]

Ok, even that still has the gritty zippery top end. i think it's just the way the sound engine is. With Zeta i can get a smooth glossy click-free bass that still has a nice top end. Thanks for the effort though

[himalaya]

I'm not sure what "gritty zippery top end" you are hearing. If it sounds just like the SH-2, which is a classy VCO oscillator, how much better would you like it to be? In fact the Zebra patch I made is slightly more mellow, and pleasant, whereas the SH-2 has more high end 'excitation' (which can also be added to teh Zebra patch).

[_al_]

I'm not sure what "gritty zippery top end" you are hearing. If it sounds just like the SH-2, which is a classy VCO oscillator, how much better would you like it to be? In fact the Zebra patch I made is slightly more mellow, and pleasant, whereas the SH-2 has more high end 'excitation' (which can also be added to teh Zebra patch).

Sheesh, how to explain this. I mean on some synths, the top end of the square wave sounds so smooth it's almost sine-like in it's quality. Almost like smooth glass. I've heard a few synths sound like this, but Zeta is the only one i own.
I've also heard other people talking about this too, and it was the first thing i noticed when i got Zebra and loaded up the basic square. It was extremely raw sounding

Edit:
I do understand that by definition, a square SHOULD sound clicky because of the abrupt change, so i'm kinda curious how zeta manages it. But that said, Zebra is a lot rawer sounding than any of the other synths i use (which aint many)

[himalaya]

Which synths? Software? You only own Zebra, as you say, so would I be wrong to assume that you don't have any hardware synths which could provide you with a solid point of reference for such things?

[_al_]

Yep, no hardware, just zebra, zeta, surge, alchemy, some others i hardly use

so i just loaded up zeta now, and i have to admit, there is still some clicky top there, but i think the overall glossyness of it's sound makes it a lot easier to low pass and still sound bright.

Or maybe it's modifications in the waveform editor, but zeta is certainly sounding "glossier" than zebra to me

Actually, your preset is not far off from zeta's vint sq 1, so i'm guessing it's the waveform editor that creates what i'm after. It seems to create a very bright polished sound, without deviating from the square too much.

Maybe i'll experiment with Zebra a bit more.
Thanks for the help

[himalaya]

Ok, so the sound you get from analogue hardware synths can be even more buzzy and full of top end frequencies than the sound you get in Zebra. You'd be surprised how 'raw' some analog synth can sound. There is nothing 'smooth' and 'glassy' about such square waves.

Edit:
I do understand that by definition, a square SHOULD sound clicky because of the abrupt change, so i'm kinda curious how zeta manages it. But that said, Zebra is a lot rawer sounding than any of the other synths i use (which aint many)

"Clicky" is not a term I would use.
'Raw' is good. A square wave should be open, bright, buzzy, raw, full of top end frequencies.

The sound of the square wave will also differ in most synths. To give you a hardware example, the square wave in my Korg mini 700 sounds much more bright and buzzy than the one in the Roland SH-2 (can't be bothered to switch the other synths to compare...) the difference is huge! The Mini700 sounds extremely buzzy, 'fizzy' almost like a sawtooth....but that's its square wave. In fact, it pumps so much high frequency content that its tiring for my ears (if I focus on the sound).

So, I can assure you that there is nothing wrong about the Zebra square wave. Maybe other software synths have a different take on the square wave, in the same way as real hardware analog synths differ in this regard. But to me, the Zebra square wave can be as full, rich and buzzy as a square wave should.

[himalaya]

Or maybe it's modifications in the waveform editor, but zeta is certainly sounding "glossier" than zebra to me

'Glossy' square wave...that shouldn't be your measure of whether the square wave sounds good or not. Real analog square waves can be very buzzy and raw. Very cutting. You'd be surprised.