Zebra 3 and Zebra Legacy

[BSB]

Zebra Legacy contains the same installers that were previously separate downloads. The soundsets have been worked on but great care was taken to not overwrite previous sounds from installations, in case people have their own edits, tags and favourites there.

Thanks to everyone for the reinsurance!

[ghostwhistler]

Which on is Dark Zebra?

Can I ask if there are any tips on how to program waveshapes as that does seem, if not difficult, a bit time consuming.

And furthermore, while I consider a purchase, any tips on how to incorporate this into one's workflow. Being a simple sort, I use emulations for two reasons a) they're easy for me to work with (the ones I use, that is) and b) I can get on with the bsuines of composition rather than sound design. Don't misunderstand: I enjoy sound design and tinkering as much as anyone, but I don't want to have to spend hours just to get a good sound. Learning is the key obviously.

[pierb]

Can I ask if there are any tips on how to program waveshapes as that does seem, if not difficult, a bit time consuming.

Well there is a dedicated waveshaper module and you can drive the Zebra filters too to get all sorts of interesting tones (not the Diva filters in ZebraHZ though).

[ghostwhistler]

Can I ask if there are any tips on how to program waveshapes as that does seem, if not difficult, a bit time consuming.

Well there is a dedicated waveshaper module and you can drive the Zebra filters too to get all sorts of interesting tones (not the Diva filters in ZebraHZ though).

Right, you mean the geomorph spectral stuff. What I mean is are there any tools to help drawing and creating stuff. Otherwise it's just a case of pencil it in using a mouse.

[JamminFool]

Mmmmmm... Honestly, I find this little debate about Legacy not being upgradeable to Z3 quite offensive.

totally agree.

[ralfrobert]

Mmmmmm... Honestly, I find this little debate about Legacy not being upgradeable to Z3 quite offensive.

totally agree.

+1

If I were new to synthesis, I would just pick up Zebra Legacy and be happy for years.

[darkinners]

Mmmmmm... Honestly, I find this little debate about Legacy not being upgradeable to Z3 quite offensive.

totally agree.

+1

If I were new to synthesis, I would just pick up Zebra Legacy and be happy for years.

+2
I don't understand where all the salt coming from, 99 EUR with a synth this powerful with amazing sound, on top of that with thousands of super high-quality presets and a variety of different types of sound.

Somehow people are still manage to find something to complain and whine about. People never cease to amaze me.

[pierb]

Right, you mean the geomorph spectral stuff. What I mean is are there any tools to help drawing and creating stuff. Otherwise it's just a case of pencil it in using a mouse.

I mean the Shaper module in the main voice grid but yeah if you want more control you can draw your own waveforms either in geomorph or geoblend.

[JonHolstein]

If people don't understand, why people complain, then read what people are saying.
When buying music software, there typically is a discount offered through upgrade or crossgrade plan.
Here people will be left out of that. And it isn't because there will be no Zebra 3. And even more controversially, it is not something that applies to everyone.
It is only for those that buy at a new discounted price. Other vendors also sell heavily discounted products, and do not exclude buyers by that reason, so it isn't standard practice that purchase price is an excluding factor.

So for people that haven't read up on it, followed threads or read deeply in to the details, it would be expected that when Zebra 3 comes along, they will enjoy some discount for the upgrade.

The information has not been made clear.
Referencing newsletters and threads is not an argument to defend against this, as most of the people that buy at this price, will do it because they hear of this offer, not because they heard of a change in terms of conditions.

It seems that the attitude here from Urs and others, is that people knew, and held off buying Zebra 2, waiting for the legacy offer, and then were hoping to get the upgrade price anyhow.
That idea, is completely divorced from reality.
Most potential buyers at this time will be people that have not read up on the newsletter or threads. It will be people seeing this offer pop up in different places.
Some will have known about Zebra 2 for years, and may think this is a really great offer, especially since it bundles a lot extra and is at a lower price.
Others will not really know about Zebra 2, find out now, and see demos, and think it seems like a good synth, despite the age, but with such a large bundle, may still feel comfortable buying.

So any comments about newsletters and threads is irrelevant.
People will not have gotten the information from those.
They will hear about this offer now that it is released.

And for those that google on Zebra 3, since Zebra 2 is old, will find information that there actually is a Zebra 3 in the works. Some might even see text stating upgrade prices. To find out that upgrade only applies to previous purchases, does take a little digging, or an act of random chance.
And they might chose to buy despite Zebra 3 in the works, and expecting that they will be able to upgrade for with a reasonable discount, if they get on board now.

If previous owners will be able to get zebra 3 for 30 dollars/euros, that is a much greater offer than most do for upgrades, considering the price will be 179-199 or more for new purchases.
People buying software do not necessarily expect that level of discount for an upgrade/crossgrade, but people don't expect to be left out completely.


Adding some information on the website, when it gets updated is no defense either.
It should have been there all along, from the launch of the bundle. If the site was updated with the bundle information, so should have restrictions in the purchase condition has been as well.
I get that people live in their bubble, and U-he (Urs), seemingly, was very much in a bubble, with a false expectation, that future potential customers where reached with this information through newsletters and forums. That is a very unrealistic view. It is now when the offer is live that people engage with it, and when people will actually find out about it. And some of the buyers will not find out that they are excluded from upgrade prices that others will get until they either start to dig in to forums learning about the synth they purchased, or when seeing information about the release of Zebra 3, and finding out that some people have gotten a offer they have not gotten.
This strategy might seem very resonable for a owner, purchasing in the past at a higher price, making them feel more comfortable with them paying a premium, especially those that purchased recently. Or someone really keeping up to date, and choosing to purchase before the cut off date, because they know that will save them a lot of money when Zebra 3 is released, will feel good about their decision. But for the person casually interested in Zebra 2, or people that haven't heard about it before the bundle offer pop up in various places, not being informed about this strategy feels very off.
This is in no way commonly known information about this offer, anyone that thinks so, is in a bubble.

[faultyline]

If people don't understand, why people complain, then read what people are saying.

You've made your point (probably not the point you intended) but from what I can see the majority does not agree with you. You don't speak for "the people"

If you're unhappy just move on

[WatchTheGuitar]

Others will not really know about Zebra 2, find out now, and see demos, and think it seems like a good synth, despite the age, but with such a large bundle, may still feel comfortable buying.

So any comments about newsletters and threads is irrelevant.
People will not have gotten the information from those.
They will hear about this offer now that it is released.

And for those that google on Zebra 3, since Zebra 2 is old, will find information that there actually is a Zebra 3 in the works. Some might even see text stating upgrade prices. To find out that upgrade only applies to previous purchases, does take a little digging, or an act of random chance.
And they might chose to buy despite Zebra 3 in the works, and expecting that they will be able to upgrade for with a reasonable discount, if they get on board now.

If previous owners will be able to get zebra 3 for 30 dollars/euros, that is a much greater offer than most do for upgrades, considering the price will be 179-199 or more for new purchases.
People buying software do not necessarily expect that level of discount for an upgrade/crossgrade, but people don't expect to be left out completely.

[Shiek927]

I don't see a problem with the pricing or how Urs has chosen to do things. Zebra2 is an extremely long-in-the-tooth synth. It has been around for well over a decade. For the many, many people who've used for that long or even only recently, the discount towards Z3 is a wonderful way to honor their appreciation for as long as Zebra has been around.

If you're someone new to Zebra though and you purchase Zebra Legacy, you get a fantastic synth with literally thousands of unbelievable presets. Some of which have been used in huge Hollywood movies. That's nothing to feel upset about.

To be upset because you want Zebra2 at an affordable price, all the presets, AND a discount towards Z3 just feels very unfair. It's not fair to those who've stuck around much longer. You can call it "special treatment", but there's nothing wrong with that and making sure you're longest supporters and customers feel like they are appreciated. It's what keeps them around and your business going.

[Double Tap]

If people don't understand, why people complain, then read what people are saying.
When buying music software, there typically is a discount offered through upgrade or crossgrade plan.

Where is the discount for Serum? For Valhalla? For Omnisphere? For Logic Pro? For HY? For Soundpaint? For Superior Drummer 3?

Why can't I get an Osmose from Expressive E for the same price and at the same time as the Patreons that backed it in 2019?

[FapFilter]

HY, xfer and i think Valhalla too will give you lifetime free updates / upgrades though, there are of course others that do this too, like TAL or Melda for instance.

still, Z2 Legacy is an incredible deal, even if you wouldn't get any benefit at all towards Z3 price point.
and people who bought Z2 long ago had received substantial free updates for almost two decades at this point.

[Double Tap]

HY, xfer and i think Valhalla too will give you lifetime free updates / upgrades though, there are of course others that do this too, like TAL or Melda for instance.

still, Z2 Legacy is an incredible deal, even if you wouldn't get any benefit at all towards Z3 price point.
and people who bought Z2 long ago had received substantial free updates for almost two decades at this point.

That's true, but it's not the complaint people have been making - I was pointing out that not everyone discounts and it's silly to expect that.

If my memory is right that Steve Duda has talked about Serum 2 being a free upgrade, he hasn't talked about dropping the price of Serum to $50 a few months before launching it. That's what Urs has done. If he'd taken the approach that Duda might, and yer man JonHolstein has been arguing for, Z2 would still be $199 and HZ would still be $99, except Jon doesn't seem to realise this.

The complainers haven't spotted that this is all about keeping Z2/HZ available as a separate product, which seems like a good thing to do because it means customers have easier access to old projects, it means the 3rd party preset makers won't lose half their work overnight, and it means new people who want that Hans Zimmer/Zebra sound will still be able to buy it. It also means that U-he gets some income from it to justify maintaining it when we get to Rosetta 3.

But not everyone would do that. I don't think you can buy Omnisphere 1 and you definitely can't buy Alchemy separately, or Absynth, or Kontakt 5, or Iris. It's easier to make a clean break, launch something new and let your ecosystem catch up on their time and their money.

I'm not saying U-he is being completely altruistic here - I imagine launching Zebra Legacy has given them a financial boost at a time when things are tight, it's got people talking about Zebra 3 so it's good, cheap marketing, and it also means there's more creative flexibility about what Z3 looks like.