So I have Zebra. Now ... What?

[dune_rave]

these synths are super cool!

[FakeNatty]

I think we're going way beyond the expectation that Zebra3 will be "Zebra2 but newer"

Will familiarity with Zebra 2 let us understand Zebra 3 any easier? Or are these two just completely different things?

[Urs]

I think we're going way beyond the expectation that Zebra3 will be "Zebra2 but newer"

Will familiarity with Zebra 2 let us understand Zebra 3 any easier? Or are these two just completely different things?

The basic concepts and workflow will be the same. Similar kinds of modules, more consistency between modules and feature sets. Individual modules will inherit from two decades of acquired knowledge and experience though, which might look quite complex at first glance.

[FakeNatty]

The basic concepts and workflow will be the same. Similar kinds of modules, more consistency between modules and feature sets. Individual modules will inherit from two decades of acquired knowledge and experience though, which might look quite complex at first glance.

Thank you very much for the answer, Urs.

[zerocrossing]

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.

There was a point in time when I had a single (hardware) synth. An Ensoniq TS-10. It’s basically a wavetable synth with sample playback as well. (OK, well that’s not totally true, as I also had a few different Roland GRs (ROMplers designed to work with Roland’s guitar synth system). They were not really the focus of synthesizers in my music and I didn’t really edit them much.) I had this setup for a decade and I was happy.

…OR SO IT SEEMED. I was much more guitar focused back then, and while my synthesizer setup was small, I had a lot of pedals and rack effects for my guitar. I love to experiment and explore. After a decade of that TS-10, I realized I was pretty bored with it. Maybe you’re pre-bored with just having Zebra, or maybe you’re the type of person who likes to choose a good tool and move on with your life. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. It’s not like you didn’t choose a capable instrument.

But Zebra doesn’t do everything. Hell, U-He synths don’t do everything. You could not care about everything, but I like everything, and if it’s within my budge to get it, I will. That doesn’t mean I buy every plugin that comes out. Far from it. But I like to have my bases covered. Here’s where I think Zebra/HZ lacks…

It’s really not a Yamaha style FM (Phase modulation) synth. If you like the sound of the old DX series, you might want to find something that does this better. For an accurate emulation, I like Arturia’s DX-7 V. Some say that Plogue’s OPS7 is closer, but I’d rather sacrifice a bit of accuracy for more features, which the Arturia has. For FM that pushes things further, I like F’em.

Even though Zebra HZ has Diva’s filters, it doesn’t really do the vintage analog thing. At least not to what I consider close. Diva is good, but lacks accuracy in favor of options. Repro is great, but sacrifices options for accuracy. That said, Repro does go a lot further than the synth it emulates. Other developers that do good vintage emulations are Synapse Audio, GForce, TAL, Arturia, Softube, Roland, Brainworx… I’m sure I’m forgetting some, but those are the ones that I feel are the best.

Physical Modeling. Zebra doesn’t really do physical modeling. For this, I turn to Plasmonic.

Samples. No samples in Zebra. Kontakt, is a good workhorse, but if you want a lot of options for mangling and synthesis, Falcon is better. Then there’s granular, sampler’s cousin. Falcon has a granular engine, but there are also synths like Granite, Padshop and Quanta that focus on it. Omnisphere also has a decent granular mode (as well as samples, VA and wavetable… some FM)

Additive. I love a good additive synth, especially with resynthesis. If you’re in Apple’s Logic, you already have Alchemy, which is probably the best. I heard some great stuff from Steinberg’s Halion, but I passed on it due to them not supporting MPE or polyphonic aftertouch. (Halion’s actually multi engine, so you could kill a bunch of birds with that stone) Melda’s MSoundFactory is another multi-engine synth that covers additive and a whole lot more.

Anyway, I could go on, but I’m sure you see my point. I have no idea if any of that stuff interests you, but it definitely interests me. I’m happy to have a bunch of other options.

[Urs]

I think that many of the things you say Zebra doesn't really do, it does pretty well.

[pdxindy]

That said, we're going to showcase a matured version of our wavetable and envelope editing tools for Z3 in just over two weeks, during Superbooth.

[zerocrossing]

I think that many of the things you say Zebra doesn't really do, it does pretty well.

Sure, but a multi purpose instrument is almost always a compromise in some way, compared with something that has a singular focus. Would you not say that Repro does a better job of sounding like a vintage analog instrument than Zebra HZ? I would. If you didn’t think so, why would you have bothered developing Repro? Whether or not someone cares about that is another matter.

Of course, the inverse of that, is the multipurpose instrument will always trounce the singularly focused instrument, in terms of scope and range. I’d probably say that I use both types of instruments equally, and it just depends on what I’m after.

I also think there is utility in in having a variety of instruments, especially from different developers, including hardware instruments. Even if the feature set is the same, having to deal with a different character or interface puts me out of auto pilot mode and I engage in sound design in a more thoughtful way.

[aer72]

It depends on what you do. If you do sound design on an in-depth level, Z3 will be awesome, I'm sure. If you mostly use presets with a few tweaks and edits, it will take Z3 several years to catch up with Z2. In latter case Z2 is pretty hard to beat.

That said, we're going to showcase a matured version of our wavetable and envelope editing tools for Z3 in just over two weeks, during Superbooth. I think we're going way beyond the expectation that Zebra3 will be "Zebra2 but newer". It's more like a vast array of technology in a candy box. I believe that Zebra3 will initially appeal mostly to very skilled sound designers, who'll hopefully pop out good stuff that reflects the work we're putting into it. The learning curve will be steep nonetheless. Hence, it will take quite some time until there's a number of presets and banks that is comparable to Z2.

Thanks Urs for your answer. To be honest, I don't know how you manage your time, with everything you have on your plate, but your customer care is second to none. I'm super impressed with both your products, and your customer skills.
I had some loose plans (or wishes) to go to Superbooth this year, but I don't think my economy will allow it. But hopefully I can go next year.
Btw, since you are cooperating with Bitwig on "Clap", my mind started to wander a bit. What if Bitwigs Grid had some oscillators and filters etc. from U-He

[dragularob]

Hive

I feel like a justice warrior for Hive because of how overlooked it gets.

It satisfies all my needs. That's why I'm still single.

[pdxindy]

I think that many of the things you say Zebra doesn't really do, it does pretty well.

particularly FM...

[zerocrossing]

I think that many of the things you say Zebra doesn't really do, it does pretty well.

particularly FM...

I specifically said Yamaha style FM. Zebra is great for FM, but it’s not really like a DX-7.

[pdxindy]

I think that many of the things you say Zebra doesn't really do, it does pretty well.

particularly FM...

I specifically said Yamaha style FM. Zebra is great for FM, but it’s not really like a DX-7.

In theory no... in practice, you can make the vast majority of DX7 sounds in Zebra cause a single Osc can do so much. Speaking from a results perspective.

[zerocrossing]

I feel like I’m in some sort of bizarro world where the owner and fans of a company are doing their best to talk someone out of buying more of their products. Have a peanut! BIZARRO!

[Trahast]

It's more like a vast array of technology in a candy box. /---/ The learning curve will be steep nonetheless.

He, he, bring it on!

Cheers,
Trahast