One Synth Challenge #191: Zebralette by u-he (exponent1 Wins!)

[empphryio]

Thanks ] Peter:H [ and empphryio and Happy New Year

Then, I have another question, sorry: so, when I made the account in KVR I chose 67maxx as my nickname, but in Soundcloud (and other music platforms) I have another name. Can I upload the song in that account or do I have to create a Soundcloud account called 67maxx?
Thanks again

You can have different names. Mine is Mauvecastle on Soundcloud.

[67maxx]

...

[] Peter:H []

+++ Submissison +++
https://soundcloud.com/p-e-t-e-r-h/zebr ... es-of-2025

Details:
Bitwig 5.3 Beta
28 Zebralettes
Bitwig FX: Delay+, Delay-2, Compressor+, Tool, Mid-Side, Arp
Other FX: MeldaProduction MEqualizer, MCompressor, MTremolo, Tal Reverb 4, LoudMax, Auburn Lense, ISOL8, BlueArp
Monitoring Plugins: Youlean, PsyScope, mvMeter2, dpMeters, Total Immersion (Headphone Correction), Lua Protoplug with my self-written Multi-In Script.

[The Sound Of Merlin]

Hi all, here's my submission for this month's challenge. Zebralette 2 is a great sounding little synthesizer and I had lots of fun with it! I wish you all the same!

28 instances of Zebralette 2. All the sounds were made from scratch, except the snare which is a Taron snare and the sitar which was made by Howard Scarr.

DAW: Reaper 7.29
Reverbs: SuperMassive, MConvolutionEZ, PSP Chamber
Delay: Sixth Sample Deelay
EQ and Compressor: Analog Obsession Frank CS, Airwindows Consolidated, Audiothing Blindfold EQ, Viator Graphic EQ

Mastering plugins by Tukan Studios: Multiband Processor, Tape Recorder S2 and Limiter 3

https://soundcloud.com/thesoundofmerlin ... iew-osc191

[paramita123]

Hi all, here's my submission for this month's challenge. Zebralette 2 is a great sounding little synthesizer and I had lots of fun with it! I wish you all the same!

https://soundcloud.com/thesoundofmerlin ... iew-osc191

Very fun track with lots of skills !
I wonder how you classify the genre? Ethnic dub prog?! Synth world jazz?!
Has some Herbie Hancock vibes to it, with some Ravi Shankar or Trilok Gurtu.
Cool bass lines and keys !

[The Sound Of Merlin]

Thanks Paramita! I was asking myself the same question and I classified it as being Eclectic World. Prog and Jazz could also be mentioned I guess.

[bzz]

Hey guys! Does anyone experience random crackling at the beginning of sounds with Zebralette? The synth seems to be light on the CPU, so I don't know what the problem might be. It looks like I can mitigate it a bit by increasing the attack of the volume envelope, but that's obviously not good for sounds where I need the punchy attack.

[paramita123]

Hey guys! Does anyone experience random crackling at the beginning of sounds with Zebralette? The synth seems to be light on the CPU, so I don't know what the problem might be. It looks like I can mitigate it a bit by increasing the attack of the volume envelope, but that's obviously not good for sounds where I need the punchy attack.

I don't. Depending on your setup, I would recommend first restarting the computer ...
Then if that does not solve it try tweaking the driver settings, buffer rate for example.
Not sure if there is a polyphony setting on Z2. Or maybe one last thing perhaps it could be one of the filters adding grit? Obviously not if it is on any preset or the init preset. That is all I can think of for now.

[J.Ruegg]

Hey guys! Does anyone experience random crackling at the beginning of sounds with Zebralette? The synth seems to be light on the CPU, so I don't know what the problem might be. It looks like I can mitigate it a bit by increasing the attack of the volume envelope, but that's obviously not good for sounds where I need the punchy attack.

Could it be something related to the resolution?
There is a resolution knob that when it's set at minimum it will jump between wave frames, and when it's set on max it will morph as smoothly as possible between each frame. Depending on your wave frames and OSC FXs it may jump around and make a crackling sound if the resolution is set to low.

Another thing could be the Normalization setting which normalizes the spectrum after the OSC FXs, if it's set to the max it may make some harsh sounds depending on the spectra.

[bzz]

I think I found the culprit. It seems that the built-in chorus is causing this for me. I'm not sure if it's sound (spectrum) dependent or if it collides with some other synth settings (e.g. the normalization), but if I turn the MOD FX section off, the problem is gone.

[The Sound Of Merlin]

I have also had it a couple of times. I think it has to do with the output volume of the oscillator that kind of distorts a little in the FX section when the transients are quite harsh. Lowering the volume of the oscillator may help?

I also found that the attack and the release of the envelope are a bit clicky when set to zero. Since the chorus actually is a delay you may hear more than 1 click when the chorus is on. So there may be 2 possible causes I guess.

[bzz]

I have also had it a couple of times. I think it has to do with the output volume of the oscillator that kind of distorts a little in the FX section when the transients are quite harsh. Lowering the volume of the oscillator may help?

I also found that the attack and the release of the envelope are a bit clicky when set to zero. Since the chorus actually is a delay you may hear more than 1 click when the chorus is on. So there may be 2 possible causes I guess.

I think you are right. Probably a combination of both. I still get occasional clicks when I have the envelope attack set to zero, even with the FX section off. Fortunately, my piece seems to be evolving into a vintage jazzy something, so I can live with some random noises, I guess

[The Sound Of Merlin]

This sounds like you may want to engage the "Reset" button which makes sure that every note always starts on the same phase of the wave cycle. You can dial in this starting point by tweaking the oscillator's phase knob. This feature is really indispensable if you are into drums and percussion. Besides this: Setting the envelope's attack to 1 instead of zero is also wise to to do.

[] Peter:H []

Hey guys! Does anyone experience random crackling at the beginning of sounds with Zebralette? The synth seems to be light on the CPU, so I don't know what the problem might be. It looks like I can mitigate it a bit by increasing the attack of the volume envelope, but that's obviously not good for sounds where I need the punchy attack.

From what I see, the waveform is not restarted on note on ... think for example of a sine which does not start at phase zero, but somewhere in the middle of the sine cycle ... therefore increasing attack time is the way to go. On top the phase mangling osc fx might add to this problem ...

[] Peter:H []

This sounds like you may want to engage the "Reset" button which makes sure that every note always starts on the same phase of the wave cycle. You can dial in this starting point by tweaking the oscillator's phase knob. This feature is really indispensable if you are into drums and percussion. Besides this: Setting the envelope's attack to 1 instead of zero is also wise to to do.

I think the phase mangling osc fx will change the phase ... could be that even when the pure osc starts at zero the phase turmoil cause by the osc fx might get you crackles. only thing you can do is to add attack time.