So I have Zebra. Now ... What?

[nosleepdemon]

I bought Zebra 2 shortly before Zebra Legacy became enshrined in stone. At the time, I was convinced it, along with the HZ variant with Diva's glorious filters, would be the last word in software synths for me. Months later, having got to grips with Zebra's interface... I think I was right. Even putting aside the almighty pile of presets that now come with it for free, the software is so easy to work with, I can produce practically anything I can think of. For everything else, there's a preset that gets me close and I can go from there.

Damn it. What on Earth else should I even bother looking at? Diva? Repro? Maybe. I've become such a fan of U-he software synths that I practically hold other developers in contempt, and only consider other U-he synths as viable side-grades. Which is probably not good and rather narrow minded.

What other soft-synths do you guys use? There must be something Zebra *can't* do that leaves a hole in one's toolkit plugged by something else? Maybe a good kick synthesizer? But that just seems a bit silly.

Edit:

I use Reason 12 as my DAW, and prefer to record my arrangements live or in layers, versus creating patterns that are re-used (not that I am morally opposed to that of course). I prefer to mix using extremely neutral speakers versus speakers that accentuate problem areas (genelec 8010 versus Yamaha HS8/NS10 for example). My preferred style is somewhere between dance (speed, beat) and synthwave (song structure, synth sounds). I've expanded a bit on my musical 'prowess' in the thread.

[FakeNatty]

You're not wrong about Zebra. It definitely belongs to one of those "last synth you'll ever need" type of synth.

However, I can very easily list you synths that can do what Zebra cannot. For any of the synths I list, I can also list you a bunch of synths that do what that synth cannot do. So, don't take the list as a ranking of any kind.

Melda MSoundFactory

UVI Falcon

Kilohearts PhasePlant

Steinberg Halion

Synapse Audio Dune

VPS Avenger

[nosleepdemon]

Cheers. Recognize a couple there. I used to use Kilohearts One back in the day, and Synapse Antidote was the first Reason rack extension I used that actually made Reason sound 'pro' (this was back in version 4 I think, before the update that brought the more advanced mixer in, though I might be wrong). Actually Legend looks interesting, I just saw a comparison video where it ended up sounding more accurate than Diva. BUT Diva does more than just the reproduction of a single synth, so I would be inclined to go with Diva for the reproduction of a classic sound, or Repro. Again with the U-he synths...

[seangm]

Massive X

[Lbdunequest]

Xfer Serum

Vital (free synth)

[pdxindy]

Damn it. What on Earth else should I even bother looking at? Diva? Repro? Maybe. I've become such a fan of U-he software synths that I practically hold other developers in contempt, and only consider other U-he synths as viable side-grades. Which is probably not good and rather narrow minded.

What other soft-synths do you guys use? There must be something Zebra *can't* do that leaves a hole in one's toolkit plugged by something else? Maybe a good kick synthesizer? But that just seems a bit silly.

Diva, RePro, ACE and Bazille... of course

[liquidsound]

Zebra 3….

[Fannon]

Technically you might not need DIVA if you're not into making Zebra 2 sound the same. But DIVA comes with a completely different workflow, forces you toward simplicity and there's probably also something involved how the DIVA modules play together - that would be difficult to replicate identically with Zebra 2.

I just found it to be an enjoyable synth to use. If I had to stick to only 2 synths and make them complementary, then I'd probably go for Zebra and Diva. But not so much by sound considerations but more by workflow / mindset separations?

If you're looking for something entirely different, maybe a synth that is mostly into FM?

[OdoSendaidokai]

I bought Zebra 2 shortly before Zebra Legacy became enshrined in stone. [...]

Damn it. What on Earth else should I even bother looking at? [...]

What other soft-synths do you guys use? There must be something Zebra *can't* do that leaves a hole in one's toolkit plugged by something else? Maybe a good kick synthesizer? But that just seems a bit silly.

If you are a collector, then there are many synth you should buy. If you want make music, you don't need many synths. A lot professionals always tell "At the end you need 2-3 synths maximum you learned from the inside to the outside to make our music". So if you are looking for fänsischmänsi Blingbling, then go on youtube or forums aka teleshopping and buy what everybody is suggesting
And for sure you can buy everything from uHe because their products are really well made in a sounddesign perspective and from the programming side.

[surreal]

The only complementary synth I can suggest is something like a sampler and any synth that can handle wavetables in a 2048 sample size format. A good synth that can do this is any one of the following. Ana 2.5, Icarus, Serum and the versatile free Vital

[surreal]

The only complementary synth I can suggest is something like a sampler and any synth that can handle wavetables in a 2048 sample size format. A good synth that can do this is any one of the following. Ana 2.5, Icarus, Serum and the versatile free Vital

On second thoughts maybe all you really need extra is just Hive with the wavetables and diva

[Scrubbing Monkeys]

I have sort of the same experience.
I demoed Zebra in 2014. I didnt really understand much about synthesis but was blown away by pressing one key and hearing the magic that was in some of those presets.
I began the journey of learning as much as possible about how to create those sounds on all types of synths.
I couldnt afford Zebra but it stayed on my system as a carrot that i would one day have.
I was finally able to pick up Zebra Legacy. Zebra HZ is the perfect interface for me and the extra filters are a bonus. It is as easy to create in as a Juno and as complex as you can make it.
The sound is still top of the heap.

Bazille would be a could complement. There is nothing quite like it.

[nosleepdemon]

Quite surprised by the nunber of suggestions, thanks everyone; I've a lot to think about now!

[billcarroll]

Quite surprised by the nunber of suggestions, thanks everyone; I've a lot to think about now!

I don't think you mentioned what type of music you make, or what DAW you use. You might already have a great additional synth or sampler.

Running against the grain here I'd say you don't need another synth. The better you get with a limited set of tools, the faster you can focus on your music.

If you absolutely have to have another synth, get Diva.

[nosleepdemon]

Quite surprised by the nunber of suggestions, thanks everyone; I've a lot to think about now!

I don't think you mentioned what type of music you make, or what DAW you use. You might already have a great additional synth or sampler.

Running against the grain here I'd say you don't need another synth. The better you get with a limited set of tools, the faster you can focus on your music.

If you absolutely have to have another synth, get Diva.

I didn't, did I? I shall update my OP because yes, you raise a good point. I'll expand a bit on my musical/software preferences here:

My style of music is a bit specific. It's what you might call dance or electronic (all synths, 120-140bpm) mixed with synthwave. I prefer to use percussion that was recorded live (minus the kick) and I am not a huge fan of the archtypical dance music song structure, nor of endless sweeps and swells to lead into instrument or tempo changes. My favoured synth sound is rooted in analogue, despite my complete lack of ability to convince my wife that I need a Prologue or Matriarch. Most of my tracks are within the 3 minute range for example. I recently discovered that Le Matos is rather similar to the style I prefer.

Despite my disagreement with the Reason+ ecosystem, and the apparent sentiment that the DAW is somewhat out of date, it is my preferred tool for composing. I love it partly for the bright UI, and partly due to inertia. I don't get along particularly well with Bitwig's grey UI, or appreciate the dual sequencer workflow for example. I play most of my music 'live' initially, and create variations from that input, so working in serial on a single sequencer without patterns is perfect. I did used to use a hefty amount of effects processing via iZotope's Neutron - the usual stuff like compression and transient processing, and some of their more complex features like the Exciter that I don't fully understand. Unfortunately what I ran into was heavily accentuated mixes that only sounded good on my headphones. A friend of mine has some electrostatic speakers, and they immediately (and painfully) highlighted the amount of dynamic range destruction that unrelenting effects processing can cause. I now use only a touch of EQ, a wee bit of compression, and that's more or less it. My mastering chain is pretty much just a limiter now, my mix channels use some EQ to separate instruments, and I prefer to 'get it right' via just the synth I am using first. I am mixing with a set of genelec 8010s and a 7040 sub, which is a vast upgrade from headphones (I still use them for sanity checks). All this is to say, that I have began to appreciate the notion that less is more - from DAW, to synth, to mixing. That's one reason I really enjoy Zebra - it is as simple as you need it to be for any particular task, yet it can also contain an absolutely massive sound with a great deal of processing going on in a single UI.

Getting experienced with a more limited set of tools is absolutely a good suggestion. In fact it's what I have been trying to focus on ever since I upgraded my speakers and discovered what throwing the kitchen sink in does to your mix. I think this thread came to mind partly as an expression of my paranoia that I might be keeping it *too* simple now. I practically use just Zebra. I am working on a test track to gain experience with the 8010s and Zebra forms most of it. I was even using it for a kick, but I since switched to Khz One (my interest having been revitalized somewhat after the recent One Synth challenge).