Your opinion about Zebra 2

[mabian]

I don't like Zebra 2. From the sound, the interface and the features its IMO a bit dated.
In the best lists, e.g. on Musicradar, Synthmaster is the No.1... It's also a synth with a semi-modular concept, so you can compare it to Zebra.

I own both... Zebra is far better in my opinion. Sounds better, better design, more stable, better browser, better midi support, better GUI

Not willing to sound harsh, but, at least for version 2.9.8, is not so hard to more reliable than Synthmaster... let's hope in 2.9.9 which is in beta/RC currently...

- Mario

[machinesworking]

I don't like Zebra 2. From the sound, the interface and the features its IMO a bit dated.
In the best lists, e.g. on Musicradar, Synthmaster is the No.1... It's also a synth with a semi-modular concept, so you can compare it to Zebra.

I own both... Zebra is far better in my opinion. Sounds better, better design, more stable, better browser, better midi support, better GUI

If I had to choose between those two... Zebra all the way. And Zebra isn't even my fav, sound wise.

This right here is the point. I’m biased admittedly, I designed sounds for Zebra 1 back in the day when it was Mac only, but over the years I’ve collected dozens and dozens of soft synths, all told probably close to 200 instruments in my VST folder. A good portion of them have fantastic sounding libraries. Here’s the thing though, Zebra 2 is one of maybe 4 instruments that almost always get used in my music.
There’s a huge gap in my personal experience between synths with presets and a sound that grabs you when you pull it up and sounds that actually get used in my songs.

Plus it should be pointed out that unless something has changed, the story was that if you bought Zebra HZ while obviously owning Zebra 2, you were going to get Zebra 3 for free.

[fisherKing]

it should be pointed out that unless something has changed, the story was that if you bought Zebra HZ while obviously owning Zebra 2, you were going to get Zebra 3 for free.

zebra3? we've been talking about that (& waiting for it) for a decade or something (at least, it feels like a decade)...

[Buckster]

I have Zebra 2 but considering HZ struggling at how much of limitation the filter being mono is

I was surprised to read they are also in Diva as it sounds so stereo I guess the panning processing etc

My stance on stereo signal paths and filter character is that the more character a filter has, the less it is suited for stereo operation. That IMHO is particularly true for filter settings with high resonance, where the resonance (or even self oscillation) itself becomes disjointed between left and right side and thus forms an awkward stereo image.

It's not difficult to make a stereo signal path in ZebraHZ though, using 2 Mix modules and two Diva filters. After all, you've got 4 HP and 4 LPs...

Thankyou for taking the time to reply. I have decided to buy ZebraHZ (very much look forward to trying) and Diva and maybe Hive 2 too.

Feel compelled to say it even though everyone knows but Urs and Uhe are such a gem in the synth community - class leading products, fantastic updates and long term support and community interaction - I'd just like to say thankyou really

[machinesworking]

it should be pointed out that unless something has changed, the story was that if you bought Zebra HZ while obviously owning Zebra 2, you were going to get Zebra 3 for free.

zebra3? we've been talking about that (& waiting for it) for a decade or something (at least, it feels like a decade)...

I feel ya! I think it’s also the case that Zebra 2.0 to 2.9 is enough for any other developer to charge you for it though. Mostly I just look forward to MPE support in v3.

THe cost of upgrades is a huge adVantage of U-He as well. The pace of upgrades is pretty slow though.

[fisherKing]

while i wait (& wait) for Z3, i have to admit, i use Z2 regularly; it's one of my oldest plugins (i usually switch things up twice a year or so), but it's a keeper.

[digitalboytn]

Zebra 2 is one of maybe 4 instruments that almost always get used in my music.
There’s a huge gap in my personal experience between synths with presets and a sound that grabs you when you pull it up and sounds that actually get used in my songs.

I agree with this 100%...

Many of the soft synths out there produce wonderful farts and pops and have amazing specs,but I produce songs,so I am relying on synths that provide me with a solid and time proven framework before I start thinking about the icing on the cake...

Like a diet,you have to focus on the main course before you start thinking about the sweets...

Zebra 2 is very powerful and in many ways it is a bit of a chameleon...it is a first call synth for me because I can dial up a preset from the huge library,tweak it to suit the track and in most cases it will provide the solution..

I find Urs designs synths that are easy to drive and this makes the experience of using them more pleasurable and more tactile...

He seems to have a good understanding of the need to design objects that have a good balance between the function and the form

And Howie knows how to make them sound great

[Ah_Dziz]

It's my go-to synth for anything not sample based. The workflow is very simple as soon as you understand the signal paths. The modulators only appear if they are in use. I can do entire tracks with zebra easily and only really need to reach for other synth a when I have a very specific sound to achieve. For synth stuff I usually go zebra to Absynth to omni to something really specific like alchemy for additive or ribs for something obviously weirdly granular.

One of the biggest things that allows it to cover so much ground is the 3 output buss effect section. You can add lots of space and carve interesting “EQ s” ( edit) and modulate all of it with the mod matrix along with the distortion and other fx. I honestly wouldn't want to be without it while doing anything synth heavy and I have all the other "big synths" (serum equator fxpansion the grid softube modular and so on). If you do this stuff for a living it's a no brainier at full price.

JJ

[v1o]

ZebraCM has a really ugly skin. Is there a way to upgrade to the new skin?

[THE INTRANCER]

ZebraCM has a really ugly skin. Is there a way to upgrade to the new skin?

If you mean the beige one with stripes, well you can reskin it to your liking yourself by accessing the folder of files it has.

[gondii]

Don't think it's been mentioned in this thread, but the Neumann theme by Plugmon is really an awesome visual and functional upgrade to Zebra2 and I highly recommend anyone interested in getting Zebra during this sale to check it out. Also since it's modern looking, it makes Zebra more suitable for EDM.

[Arashi]

Don't think it's been mentioned in this thread, but the Neumann theme by Plugmon is really an awesome visual and functional upgrade to Zebra2 and I highly recommend anyone interested in getting Zebra during this sale to check it out. Also since it's modern looking, it makes Zebra more suitable for EDM.

Plugmon does really nice work.

[surreal]

I would like to know how to create new wavetables for Zebra or how to add new audio content to Zebra

[WasteLand]

I would like to know how to create new wavetables for Zebra or how to add new audio content to Zebra

the editor?...

[4damind]

I own both... Zebra is far better in my opinion. Sounds better, better design, more stable, better browser, better midi support, better GUI

But I don't know if there is a best list where users have rated Zebra #1? In the user survey on Musicradar 2019, it was ranked 11th. It doesn't appear at all in other lists. From U-He, Diva seems to be the most loved synth.
I can understand that, because I wouldn't rate Zebra very high myself, but Diva or Repro much better.
But that's just a matter of taste, there are certainly users who like Zebra 2 more.
However... I'm looking forward to seeing how Zebra 3 turns out.