u-he @ Superbooth 25 - Zebra 3, Uhbik 2, Cen2rion, CVilization

[Fannon]

Fully agree with your observations, Urs - also that it is niche. I didn't want to ask for MPE only features, except treating MPE timbre as dedicated per-voice mod source (but then, this is very similar as poly Aftertouch). This is common also in other synths I've tried out.

The problem is, if CTRL A maps to Timbre and this is then mapped to MIDI CC #74, it looks like you get MPE timbre assignment for free, but in reality it sometimes works, and sometimes not. As a result I would have change my MIDI / MPE settings per patch (but can't save it into it) or undo / adjust the Timbre assignments and update the patch. So my proposal would be to not try to do MPE at all by default or convention - and let MPE nerds adjust / setup things how they need it.

[Echoes in the Attic]

Some thoughts on combining Macros, MIDI Controls and MPE:

Currently there is no dedicated MOD source for MPE timbre and you have to assign Control A to take that role.

This creates potential problems: Many patches are not created for MPE controls and the assignment of Control A may do things that really do not work well with MPE controllers. In such cases, a patch can be unplayable on a MPE control surface and I first have to "fix" it by unassigning / adjusting the modulations or disable MPE on the controller.

Second, not every MPE controller works the same way, especially with Timbre you'll have a very different level of control between let's say a LinnStrument / Ableton Push vs. a Roli Seaboard.

I would prefer if MPE Timbre would be its dedicated mod source and there's no auto-reuse of Control A or default macro. It would be more important to me that it's easy to do my MPE assignments myself on the patches. I would not need / expect MPE patches in the factory library.

Here's the thing: As you say, different controllers use Timbre in different ways. In Osmose it's The-Pressure-Beyond-Pressure, elsewhere it's independent of pressure, can't remember for Seaboard. On top of that, it's originally specified as a bipolar controller, but the specs also allow for unipolar interpretation (as we do).

We are a bit concerned that while MPE is a somewhat consistent standard, each controller requires presets to be set up differently, simply because playing them require very different action.

So there's no way to generally set up Timbre control (or Pressure, really), as what makes sense on one controller doesn't necessarily make as much sense on another.

At the same time, MPE is also still a bit niche. We want to support MPE as good as we can, but it must not get in the way of the other users - which still is a majority of users. Therefore, we won't do "MPE only" features. We will always map Timbre on existing features, and CTRL A is the optimal way to do it. Timbre is MIDI CC #74, and we made CTRL A customisable for this very reason.

This way, people who do not have an MPE controller can still use the same modulation, and vice versa.

One way that i think is a really cool way to let mpe users have cool presets that are based on normal patches is to have a function to map the mod wheel to mpe timbre. Poly pressure is already quite common (e.g. nks now), so a functoin to switch from poly pressure to mpe channel pressure obviously make sense in mpe mode. And if you think about it, while the ranges are different, most controllers tend to use timbre much like mod wheel, but per note. Obviously mod whel is unipolar, so the option to map modwheel to mpe timbre coul dbe either unipolar (in case you're using a controller that way as I do with linnstrument - up only), or bipolar where it's increasing both directions. I find that this conversion makes great use of normal patches with mpe controls.

[pierb]

Oh, but you're missing context!

I have edited what you quoted so it fits the context better:

Oh, that's more than fair! Focus on the essentials for now and then you can tap into the community, former Zebra2 users and, naturally, Hans Zimmer, to see where'd they like Zebra3 to organically go next.

That's what we're doing.

Zebra 3 initially comes without a sequencer, nor an arpeggiator. We need presets and example cases based on the performance oriented features to see how any of this integrates with onboard sequencing.

Thanks Urs!

[nilhartman]

Also, Mod Mapper + Pitch panel can already work as a sequencer in current alpha, as Urs showed in the NAMM 2025 video.

[Urs]

Here's a video from Superbooth, which is mixed English and French:

[exmatproton]

Here's a video from Superbooth, which is mixed English and French:

those pitch resources

[Urs]

You can tell it's day 3 and I'm exhausted

[jtsterays]

Finally, the modulation ring actually follows the pointer. Idk why you didn't do that for the other synths. The gaps for the steps in the MMappers are quite nice too, i noticed that.

[Chalisque]

Something occurred to me after writing my earlier comment regarding things like the arpeggiator and sequencer, recalling something a Microsoft engineer wrote in a forum or somewhere (I think when discussing undocumented API's vs documented ones, saying that documentation of API's is akin to a contract between MS and software developers).

Essentially, including a feature in a synth is akin to a binding contract with sound designers that that feature will always be there and always work in the same way. Leaving a feature out, on the other hand, is not a binding contracting guaranteeing that such a feature will never be added.

[Dalle]

Comb updates and modal stuff looks super cool for physical modeling! And as an aliasing enjoyer I appreciate the FMO retro mode. Will it have other waveforms in addition to sine?

[pgwalsh]

Going to be a super deep synth, glad there's an easy wave editor. Looking forward to different filter types and can't wait to hear them.

[david.beholder]

You can tell it's day 3 and I'm exhausted

Oh that's insane
Urs one question on UI: would there be dark on light skin? My eyes are old and they don't like dark themes and getting tired of them really fast.

[Urs]

Comb updates and modal stuff looks super cool for physical modeling! And as an aliasing enjoyer I appreciate the FMO retro mode. Will it have other waveforms in addition to sine?

We're going to try this, but it won't be easy. Other waveforms might just not pair well with Thru Zero FM and Mod FM, but those two things simply expand the palette of options so much.

[Urs]

You can tell it's day 3 and I'm exhausted

Oh that's insane
Urs one question on UI: would there be dark on light skin? My eyes are old and they don't like dark themes and getting tired of them really fast.

I do not yet know if we can provide a dark and a light scheme from the start. We had a light scheme at NAMM, but people generally seemed to prefer the dark scheme as easier on the eyes.

However, if I understand our designer correctly, the new vector based UI can almost entirely be reskinned simply by changing colour values. We kind of "tint" the shapes inside the svg images. I'm totally sure that the theming community (Plugmon et al) will have a go at Zebra 3.

[Iores Pyadzee]

Love your work!