KVR Audio

v1o · Post by **v1o** » Wed Dec 23, 2020 1:10 am

These are not my own.

Pretty cool trombone patch made in Zebra 2

Blade Runner style cinematic composition made with just Zebra

audiot · Post by **audiot** » Wed Dec 23, 2020 11:42 am

v1o wrote: Wed Dec 23, 2020 1:10 am Pretty cool trombone patch made in Zebra 2

Blade Runner style cinematic composition made with just Zebra

Lovely! After all these years I am always amazed how Zebra can sound more realistic than some physical modelling instruments

I often use the comb filter for percussive stuff. It's one of my favorite features! Besides the Geoblend mode, which is still the best editor to draw your own waveforms. Cableguys Curve is also cool, but i prefer Zebra. Modifying standard waveforms a bit, can be extremly helpful to make sounds more interesting or to make them fit better into the mix.

Some people here said that Zebra is not capable of generic edm saw's. Well ... a lot of the popular edm plugins focus on a certain "in your face"-sound-characteristic, while i would describe Zebras sound as universal, warm and brilliant at the same time. Havent found that elsewhere

For Z3, i just hope for some workflow improvements and wavtable import as wav ... and some new filters. That said, i think i'll finally upgrade to the dark Zebra (that 48 € offer, including the free Z3 upgrade, is to tempting).

digitalboytn · Post by **digitalboytn** » Wed Dec 23, 2020 12:12 pm

audiot wrote: Wed Dec 23, 2020 11:42 am After all these years I am always amazed how Zebra can sound more realistic than some physical modelling instruments

Yes...Zebra 2 can emulate a acoustic instruments with pretty good results...

The comb filters are very cool,but let's not forget the FM and the regular oscillators as well ...

Large combination with steamed rice please

We are so spoilt for choice these days...

A lot of synths are pretty good and they almost get us there....."close,but no cigar"...

But Zebra 2 is like a big fat Havana # 1

recursive one · Post by **recursive one** » Wed Dec 23, 2020 12:36 pm

audiot wrote: Wed Dec 23, 2020 11:42 am Some people here said that Zebra is not capable of generic edm saw's. Well ... a lot of the popular edm plugins focus on a certain "in your face"-sound-charecteristic, while i would describe Zebras sound as universal, warm and brilliant at the same time. Havent found that elsewhere

There is a lot more to EDM than just a generic saw with in-your-face sound characteristics.

By EDM I mean basically any electronic music supposed to be danceable, from deep techno to DnB and psytrance, not just Deadmaus-like stuff or whatever represents manstream EDM now.

Just saying, I see Zebra may have its place in these styles too but probably mostly as a source of background pads and textures rather than a main instrument.

audiot · Post by **audiot** » Wed Dec 23, 2020 12:39 pm

digitalboytn wrote: Wed Dec 23, 2020 12:12 pm ...
But Zebra 2 is like a big fat Havana # 1

I prefer car analogies! So i'd say Zebra is like a big fat tank

gondii · Post by **gondii** » Wed Dec 23, 2020 12:47 pm

I wonder what are peoples opinions on Zebra2 vs MSoundFactory?

audiot · Post by **audiot** » Wed Dec 23, 2020 12:51 pm

recursive one wrote: Wed Dec 23, 2020 12:36 pm
audiot wrote: Wed Dec 23, 2020 11:42 am Some people here said that Zebra is not capable of generic edm saw's. Well ... a lot of the popular edm plugins focus on a certain "in your face"-sound-charecteristic, while i would describe Zebras sound as universal, warm and brilliant at the same time. Havent found that elsewhere
There is a lot more to EDM than just a generic saw with in-your-face sound characteristics.

By EDM I mean basically any electronic music supposed to be danceable, from deep techno to DnB and psytrance, not just Deadmaus-like stuff or whatever represents manstream EDM now.

Just saying, I see Zebra may have its place in these styles too but probably mostly as a source of background pads and textures rather than a main instrument.

Yes ... EDM is spongy term, but the discussion on the last two pages was about trance. I wouldnt put DnB in the EDM category. I relate EDM to music that's played on the main floors ... no offense

Alway depends on what you're after. Melodic techno is quite popular at the moment. Would i prefer Spire or Rapid over Zebra for that melodic-techno-typical-analogish sounds? Clearly not, but that's just my personal oppinion.

recursive one · Post by **recursive one** » Wed Dec 23, 2020 1:00 pm

audiot wrote: Wed Dec 23, 2020 12:51 pm Melodic techno is quite popular at the moment. Would i prefer Spire or Rapid over Zebra for such sounds. Clearly not, but that's just my personal oppinion.

Yes, for hat I know about melodic techno, it tends to sound softer and more organic, probably Zebra would fit that style better than Spire and the like, and better than it fits mainstream trance.

I know some melodic techno producers use Diva a lot.

audiot · Post by **audiot** » Wed Dec 23, 2020 1:16 pm

recursive one wrote: Wed Dec 23, 2020 1:00 pm
audiot wrote: Wed Dec 23, 2020 12:51 pm Melodic techno is quite popular at the moment. Would i prefer Spire or Rapid over Zebra for such sounds. Clearly not, but that's just my personal oppinion.
Yes, for hat I know about melodic techno, it tends to sound softer and more organic, probably Zebra would fit that style better than Spire and the like, and better than it fits mainstream trance.

I know some melodic techno producers use Diva a lot.

Yes, Diva is perfect for that! Strangely, Melodic techno has also become a spongy term (like EDM). If you search for melodic techno on youtube, you'll find a lot of mixes that sound like other subgenres. But if you're after the sound of Bodzin and others, that made melodic techno popular, then Diva is one of the best choices

mxbf · Post by **mxbf** » Wed Dec 23, 2020 2:42 pm

only thing i don't really get about Zebra2 is the oscillator section. i can't get a good clean Sin or Square wav. like in Massive or most synths you can easily just get a simple clean Square tone but the oscillator drawing section in Zebra never really sounds like that. it always sounds like a sawtooth to me for all the options.

I feel like I'm missing something but I've never really understood that. anyone care to explain?

mxbf · Post by **mxbf** » Wed Dec 23, 2020 2:43 pm

I find Diva and Zebra as well are phenomenal for pads and evolving droning sounds.

On the other hand, I struggle to get a good poly key out of them for some reason.

recursive one · Post by **recursive one** » Wed Dec 23, 2020 3:22 pm

audiot wrote: Wed Dec 23, 2020 1:16 pm
recursive one wrote: Wed Dec 23, 2020 1:00 pm
audiot wrote: Wed Dec 23, 2020 12:51 pm Melodic techno is quite popular at the moment. Would i prefer Spire or Rapid over Zebra for such sounds. Clearly not, but that's just my personal oppinion.
Yes, for hat I know about melodic techno, it tends to sound softer and more organic, probably Zebra would fit that style better than Spire and the like, and better than it fits mainstream trance.

I know some melodic techno producers use Diva a lot.
Yes, Diva is perfect for that! Strangely, Melodic techno has also become a spongy term (like EDM). If you search for melodic techno on youtube, you'll find a lot of mixes that sound like other subgenres. But if you're after the sound of Bodzin and others, that made melodic techno popular, then Diva is one of the best choices

I don't make melodic techno myself but I do like it a lot.

Actually I attempted to make a melodic techno track not so long ago, I was struggling to get the right vibe (composition/arrangement) since it was very different from my usual output, but I had no problems with getting the right sounds using Diva, Bazille and Hive.

Maybe if I ever return to this track I'll find some place for Zebra in there.

audiot · Post by **audiot** » Wed Dec 23, 2020 3:44 pm

mxbf wrote: Wed Dec 23, 2020 2:42 pm only thing i don't really get about Zebra2 is the oscillator section. i can't get a good clean Sin or Square wav. like in Massive or most synths you can easily just get a simple clean Square tone but the oscillator drawing section in Zebra never really sounds like that. it always sounds like a sawtooth to me for all the options.

I feel like I'm missing something but I've never really understood that. anyone care to explain?

The new Massive X? I dont have experiences with it, but maybe it isnt the best reference. I quickly drawed a square with the geoblend in Zebra and compared it to a square from Tal Mod. Sounds the same with some marginal differences (almost not audible)

audiot · Post by **audiot** » Wed Dec 23, 2020 3:52 pm

recursive one wrote: Wed Dec 23, 2020 3:22 pm I don't make melodic techno myself but I do like it a lot.

Actually I attempted to make a melodic techno track not so long ago, I was struggling to get the right vibe (composition/arrangement) since it was very different from my usual output, but I had no problems with getting the right sounds using Diva, Bazille and Hive.

Maybe if I ever return to this track I'll find some place for Zebra in there.

Yalcin Efe has some nice youtube tutorials if you want to get deeper into melodic techno

And even if you wont, he's a very sympathetic youtuber and it's always interesting to see how others work.

recursive one · Post by **recursive one** » Wed Dec 23, 2020 4:00 pm

audiot wrote: Wed Dec 23, 2020 3:52 pm Yalcin Efe has some nice youtube tutorials

That's exactly what I had watched before starting that my track

I mean my struggles weren't technical but after years of my psytrance attempts it was really hard to switch my mind to something very different in terms of the composition and the overall feel.

My wife listened to that my attempt and said "sounds nice but you are making trance again"

Your opinion about Zebra 2