Your opinion about Zebra 2

[martinjuenke]

We should start torturing puppies: that helps to speed up the release...
Look Dune3!
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=515504
and
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=516207

[Simon77]

Ah,there is One defect on zebra 2. The dimension of font size of the name of the preset and type...too much small.

[cantaloupe]

Z2 was the first softsynth i bought, back in 2010 or so. Made countless sounds on it, love the workflow - but i am honestly puzzled when i see people still recommend it in 2018 based on its sound alone. It is by far the blandest and flattest sounding synth i own, it is completely lethargic and yet somehow a tad annoying, and i usually spend half the time trying to cover up its waiflike sterile sound with clever patching and third party processing. Given the almost unanimous positivity about it online, i thought i was crazy but sometimes one just have a different perspective of things. I decided that i don't have time to fight against an instrument like that even though there is so much to like with Z2. On the other hand, I use Bazille almost exclusively now so i really appreciate u-he as a company and have high hopes for Our Favorite Vapourware, Zebra 3.

[Autobot]

Nvm

[kmonkey]

It is by far the blandest and flattest sounding synth i own, it is completely lethargic and yet somehow a tad annoying, and i usually spend half the time trying to cover up its waiflike sterile sound with clever patching and third party processing.

No it's okay. Your confused Zebra 2 with your own mind which stuck somewhere that's all...

[Halonmusic]

Z2 was the first softsynth i bought, back in 2010 or so. Made countless sounds on it, love the workflow - but i am honestly puzzled when i see people still recommend it in 2018 based on its sound alone. It is by far the blandest and flattest sounding synth i own, it is completely lethargic and yet somehow a tad annoying, and i usually spend half the time trying to cover up its waiflike sterile sound with clever patching and third party processing. Given the almost unanimous positivity about it online, i thought i was crazy but sometimes one just have a different perspective of things. I decided that i don't have time to fight against an instrument like that even though there is so much to like with Z2. On the other hand, I use Bazille almost exclusively now so i really appreciate u-he as a company and have high hopes for Our Favorite Vapourware, Zebra 3.

So why did you buy it in the first place?

[recursive one]

It is by far the blandest and flattest sounding synth i own, it is completely lethargic and yet somehow a tad annoying, and i usually spend half the time trying to cover up its waiflike sterile sound with clever patching and third party processing.

No it's okay. Your confused Zebra 2 with your own mind which stuck somewhere that's all...

Why is it so hard to accept that not everyone likes the same sounds and the same synths as you?

[Stokely]

My biggest question is which to get between Repro and Zebra.

As someone who (for synths) only has free/magware/built-in Logic synths (and that's a lot of good stuff mind you)....it's hard to make a choice. I know, both I need a new darn hardware keyboard for live use that is going to suck my funds away....Repro seems to fill a niche (analog-y) that my others can't really do near as well, plus I love the Prophet sound....but in playing around with demos, Zebra lends itself so well for layering in a mix (plus the upcoming discount on Z3 is a great deal...)

And of course the Bazille cm demo really, really impressed me. Add it to the chaos!

Alchemy + Zebra + Repro would not leave many stones unturned.... And I didn't even mention Diva...argh.

[toonertik]

Z2 was the first softsynth i bought, back in 2010 or so. Made countless sounds on it, love the workflow - but i am honestly puzzled when i see people still recommend it in 2018 based on its sound alone. It is by far the blandest and flattest sounding synth i own, it is completely lethargic and yet somehow a tad annoying, and i usually spend half the time trying to cover up its waiflike sterile sound with clever patching and third party processing. Given the almost unanimous positivity about it online, i thought i was crazy but sometimes one just have a different perspective of things. I decided that i don't have time to fight against an instrument like that even though there is so much to like with Z2. On the other hand, I use Bazille almost exclusively now so i really appreciate u-he as a company and have high hopes for Our Favorite Vapourware, Zebra 3.

Bland and flat... seriously, sterile sound.. omg
I don't have the Zebra.. (beyond my modest budget) however I do use the Zebra_CM..
and the weeee zebralette, this is a patch I created with said ZebLet... every thing you hear is just 1 as in ONE instance of this "bland, flat and outdated" synth.. NO external FX.
https://soundcloud.com/toonertik/zeblet-osc-cnga-cmp

[Aleatoriac]

It's awesome.

There is no main reason I don't use this (or any of the other synths I don't own a license for or use). It simply comes down to this: there's not enough time to use them all, let alone try them all.

[seismicfm]

It is by far the blandest and flattest sounding synth i own, it is completely lethargic and yet somehow a tad annoying, and i usually spend half the time trying to cover up its waiflike sterile sound with clever patching and third party processing. Given the almost unanimous positivity about it online, i thought i was crazy but sometimes one just have a different perspective of things.

I've demoed it multiple times throughout the years, and it always sounded the way you describe. It just sounded bland, and I never understood the praise in receives. I really tried to like it. It never blew me away like the first time I played Diva. Guess we're just the oddballs here.

[inkwarp]

i love Zebra. it always makes sounds that fit in a mix and the modulation aspect is excellent. definitely a 'goto' synth for me.
now it has a browser also, it's hard to top in my opinion : )

[Butwug]

Zebra can create sounds that sound like 3 instances of a synth. Couple presets on Dark Zebra sound like soundtracks from some big movies like Blade Runner 2049 and Dark Knight....by merely holding a key down. I asked over on UHe about legality of those patches, because they literally sound like stuff out of big blockbusters and are recognizable. Zebra2 isnt the easiest to learn but it’s a deep synth. And not really sure what sounds bland about it. It makes some SWEET sounds. I mean, Hanz used it for some big movies that are anything but bland. Maybe the workflow isnt the best which can make the learning curve make newcomers think it’s bland. I had buyers remorse for a couple days but after sitting down and following some tutorials from UHe, I saw it’s capable of a ton.

With that said, to pump out good sounds super fast, it might not be the easiest synth to do so. It has some minor flaws. Hard to see whats being modulated, and I dont bother with the built in arpeggiator. It’s also lacking visuals of whats going on with the wave but an oscilloscope can fix that. Bitwig has good modulators so at times I use it’s modulators to control some of Zebra’s knobs. Semi fanboy so take it with a grain of salt lol.

[cantaloupe]

So why did you buy it in the first place?

I had just started out and it seemed like a good idea at one point. One does not develop aesthetic ideals over night.

No it's okay. Your confused Zebra 2 with your own mind which stuck somewhere that's all...

Is this the way you react everytime someone isn't validating your own opinion?

Bland and flat... seriously, sterile sound.. omg

Interesting sounds, sincerely! But i think you misunderstand a little - i know very well what it is capable of, i have used it for years and explored countless third party sounds by designers much better than myself. And way too often, though not always, it appears bland to me. All synths have sweet spots, even ones i don't generally enjoy, but with instruments i do like, i don't have to fight against its basic character. With zebra i am constantly having to make it sound unzebra-like to be appealing to my ears. Your ears might hear something else and thats great, either way it doesn't make any of our opinions untrue (and i am not saying that just to be diplomatic - i can honestly see how some people enjoy its sound, i just don't).

[recursive one]

And way too often, though not always, it appears bland to me. All synths have sweet spots, even ones i don't generally enjoy, but with instruments i do like, i don't have to fight against its basic character. With zebra i am constantly having to make it sound unzebra-like to be appealing to my ears. Your ears might hear something else and thats great, either way it doesn't make any of our opinions untrue (and i am not saying that just to be diplomatic - i can honestly see how some people enjoy its sound, i just don't).

Not going to discuss this again, just wanted to say my experience with Zebra was pretty much the same. It's surely great and very capable synth, just, well, the sound character is not for everyone.

I don't understand why people have to be shitstormed when they dare to express opinions like that about Zebra. But well, I'm not going to discuss this again.