Zebra 3 Public Beta (final beta)

[Artie Fichelle]

First track with Zebra 3 two instances.
https://soundcloud.com/user-62690988/fi ... 6580f11dd7

[Funky40]

awesome @Artie !

[DCrown]

First track with Zebra 3 two instances.
https://soundcloud.com/user-62690988/fi ... 6580f11dd7

love it. It has a classical and experimental touch, could listen more, but too short, unfortunately.
Are these presets or sound created by yourself?

[Urs]

[Benjamin923]

First track with Zebra 3 two instances.
https://soundcloud.com/user-62690988/fi ... 6580f11dd7

How are these articulations coming together? What controller?

[Artie Fichelle]

Some parameters are modulated by the modulation wheel. No MPE.

[EvilDragon]

Nice touch in Filter-4: When having a mod source crosshairs, all targets with the same source flash. That's something we might somehow consider as well.

That's also something that was (to my knowledge) pioneered almost two decades ago in Surge - hovering above modulator select button changes slider groove color to show which ones have that modulator assigned)

[glokraw]

I'm finding the GUI really heavy/slow when opening things. Is this something I could expect to get better as beta progresses?

Hi, I'm using the linux clapi Zebra3 and it opens in around 2.5 seconds, sound-ready, in debian based AVLinux, with the xfce desktop. Secondary instances seem to load slightly faster, but not using a stopwatch. There is no delay in switching between various panels. Been using U-he in linux for years, and as a company they attack speed/optimization issues like a hungry tiger that sees a deer wander by In the meantime, maybe hints about your OS will appear and help.
Cheers

[Blowfish Tide]

While exploring the modal oscillator in Zebra 3, I discovered one of the quickest ways to generate kick drums. The exciter can be left at its default setting. Below it, add a modal oscillator, and choose "Basic Sine.csv" from available profiles. Then lower the Modal Resonator Tune to about minus 30, and it’ll create the simplest kick drum from a sine wave.

But to find more exotic kick drum sounds, I turned to examine CSV files dedicated to modal oscillators. You can preview them, and fortunately, u-he left the header in the file. Following this path, I created three presets with a significant amount of lower frequencies (all of them can be interestingly blended in Interpolation or Morph mode). And with a few effects, they can also generate massive drones.

However, in my tests, I found them helpful in adding rumble to kick drums. The notes need to be long enough for the decay to appear.

To hear the full effect, it's better to switch "Modal Density" to 128 modes. After pushing the Decay in Modal control to about 3/4 of its range, a reverbish rumble with dark vibrations will appear. To eliminate the sharp transient on the kick drum, you need to reduce the stiffness to around 30, but it will increase the amount of lower frequencies even more.

So all those kick drum experiments come solely from one exciter and one oscillator. The kick drums generated this way are also highly responsive to velocity, release velocity, and note length. If anyone wants to test the presets, copy them into a directory containing other CSV files.

This is how it sounds. First four kicks without decay, then with more decay and decreased stiffness.

https://soundcloud.com/hsluv-322992012/ ... ums-rumble

I could share CSV files, but I can't post them now... SPAM filter

[Blowfish Tide]

I could share CSV files, but I can't post them now... SPAM filter

Hollow Plop.csv

Code: Select all

Ratio;GainDB;Decay
post normalize gain: +6
1.0;0.0;1.0
1.003;-0.5;0.98
1.007;-0.8;0.96
1.011;-1.2;0.94
1.067;-6.5;0.92
1.122;-9.2;0.88
1.189;-11.5;0.85
1.261;-13.2;0.82
1.335;-14.8;0.78
1.414;-16.2;0.75
1.498;-17.5;0.72
1.587;-18.6;0.68
1.682;-19.8;0.65
1.783;-20.8;0.62
1.891;-21.9;0.58
1.997;-22.8;0.55
2.003;-22.9;0.54
2.009;-23.0;0.53
2.114;-24.1;0.51
2.227;-25.0;0.48
2.347;-25.9;0.46
2.476;-26.7;0.44
2.612;-27.5;0.42
2.758;-28.2;0.40
2.913;-28.9;0.38
3.001;-29.2;0.37
3.008;-29.3;0.36
3.015;-29.4;0.35
3.142;-30.0;0.34
3.289;-30.6;0.33
3.447;-31.2;0.31
3.617;-31.8;0.30
3.801;-32.4;0.28
3.999;-32.9;0.27
4.007;-33.0;0.26
4.015;-33.1;0.25
4.229;-33.7;0.24
4.459;-34.3;0.23
4.707;-34.9;0.22
4.973;-35.4;0.21
5.001;-35.5;0.20
5.011;-35.6;0.19
5.259;-36.1;0.18
5.569;-36.7;0.17
5.903;-37.2;0.16
6.001;-37.3;0.16
6.013;-37.4;0.15
6.263;-37.9;0.15
6.651;-38.5;0.14
7.071;-39.1;0.13
7.002;-39.0;0.13
7.017;-39.2;0.12
7.528;-39.7;0.12
8.025;-40.3;0.11
8.003;-40.2;0.11
8.021;-40.4;0.10
8.559;-40.9;0.10
9.001;-41.2;0.09
9.019;-41.4;0.09
9.131;-41.5;0.08
9.747;-42.1;0.08
10.001;-42.3;0.08
10.023;-42.5;0.07
10.567;-43.0;0.07
11.002;-43.3;0.07
11.027;-43.5;0.06
11.447;-44.0;0.06
12.001;-44.3;0.06
12.031;-44.5;0.05
12.389;-44.9;0.05
13.003;-45.2;0.05
13.039;-45.4;0.05
13.397;-45.8;0.04
14.001;-46.1;0.04
14.047;-46.3;0.04
14.477;-46.7;0.04
15.002;-47.0;0.04
15.061;-47.2;0.03
15.631;-47.7;0.03
16.003;-47.9;0.03
16.079;-48.1;0.03
16.869;-48.6;0.03
17.005;-48.8;0.03
17.101;-49.0;0.02
18.003;-49.4;0.02
18.127;-49.6;0.02
19.001;-49.9;0.02
19.159;-50.1;0.02
20.002;-50.4;0.02
20.197;-50.6;0.02
21.003;-50.9;0.02
21.241;-51.1;0.02
22.001;-51.4;0.02
22.291;-51.6;0.02
23.002;-51.9;0.01
23.347;-52.1;0.01
24.003;-52.3;0.01
24.409;-52.5;0.01
25.001;-52.7;0.01
25.477;-52.9;0.01
26.002;-53.1;0.01
26.551;-53.3;0.01
27.003;-53.5;0.01
27.631;-53.7;0.01
28.001;-53.9;0.01
28.717;-54.1;0.01
29.002;-54.3;0.01
29.809;-54.5;0.01
30.003;-54.7;0.01
30.907;-54.9;0.01
31.001;-55.0;0.01
32.011;-55.2;0.01
32.003;-55.1;0.01
33.121;-55.4;0.01
33.002;-55.3;0.01
34.237;-55.6;0.01
34.001;-55.5;0.01
35.359;-55.8;0.01
35.003;-55.7;0.01
36.487;-56.0;0.01
36.002;-55.9;0.01
37.621;-56.2;0.01
37.001;-56.1;0.01
38.761;-56.4;0.01
38.003;-56.3;0.01
39.907;-56.6;0.01
39.002;-56.5;0.01
41.059;-56.8;0.01
40.001;-56.7;0.01
42.217;-57.0;0.01
41.003;-56.9;0.01
43.381;-57.2;0.01
42.002;-57.1;0.01
44.551;-57.4;0.01
43.001;-57.3;0.01
45.727;-57.6;0.01
44.003;-57.5;0.01
46.909;-57.8;0.01
45.002;-57.7;0.01
48.097;-58.0;0.01
46.001;-57.9;0.01
49.291;-58.2;0.01
47.003;-58.1;0.01
50.491;-58.4;0.01
48.002;-58.3;0.01
1.189;-11.8;0.83
1.498;-17.8;0.70
1.891;-22.2;0.56
2.347;-26.2;0.44
2.913;-29.2;0.36
3.617;-32.1;0.29
4.497;-34.7;0.23
5.587;-37.0;0.17
6.941;-39.2;0.13
8.627;-41.2;0.10
10.723;-43.1;0.07
13.327;-44.9;0.05
16.561;-46.6;0.04
20.587;-48.2;0.03
25.591;-49.7;0.02
31.831;-51.1;0.02
39.581;-52.5;0.01
49.227;-53.8;0.01
1.122;-9.5;0.86
1.414;-16.5;0.73
1.783;-21.1;0.60
2.227;-25.3;0.47
2.758;-28.5;0.38
3.447;-31.5;0.30
4.303;-34.2;0.24
5.369;-36.6;0.18
6.703;-38.9;0.14
8.369;-41.0;0.10
10.447;-42.9;0.07
13.049;-44.7;0.05
16.301;-46.4;0.04
20.347;-48.0;0.03
25.369;-49.5;0.02
31.627;-50.9;0.02
39.469;-52.3;0.01
1.261;-13.5;0.80
1.587;-18.9;0.66
1.997;-23.1;0.53
2.497;-26.9;0.43
3.111;-30.2;0.35
3.881;-32.9;0.27
4.847;-35.4;0.21
6.053;-37.6;0.16
7.559;-39.7;0.12
9.447;-41.6;0.09
11.801;-43.4;0.06
14.751;-45.1;0.04
18.439;-46.7;0.03
23.041;-48.2;0.02
28.789;-49.6;0.02
35.989;-50.9;0.01
44.989;-52.2;0.01
1.335;-15.1;0.76
1.682;-20.1;0.63
2.114;-24.4;0.49
2.647;-27.8;0.40
3.301;-30.8;0.32
4.129;-33.5;0.25
5.159;-36.0;0.19
6.449;-38.3;0.14
8.059;-40.4;0.10
10.073;-42.4;0.07
12.589;-44.2;0.05
15.737;-45.9;0.04
19.669;-47.5;0.03
24.587;-49.0;0.02
30.733;-50.4;0.02
38.417;-51.7;0.01
48.021;-53.0;0.01

Horror Decay.csv

Code: Select all

Ratio;GainDB;Decay
post normalize gain: +8
1.0;0.0;0.25
1.003;-0.3;0.24
1.007;-0.5;0.23
1.413;-6.8;0.18
1.419;-7.1;0.17
1.426;-7.4;0.16
1.982;-10.2;0.15
1.991;-10.5;0.14
2.001;-10.8;0.13
2.236;-12.1;0.22
2.245;-12.4;0.23
2.255;-12.7;0.24
2.807;-15.3;0.28
2.819;-15.6;0.29
2.831;-15.9;0.30
3.141;-17.8;0.35
3.156;-18.1;0.36
3.171;-18.4;0.37
3.732;-20.2;0.41
3.751;-20.5;0.42
3.770;-20.8;0.43
4.472;-22.4;0.47
4.495;-22.7;0.48
4.518;-23.0;0.49
5.001;-24.1;0.52
5.029;-24.4;0.53
5.057;-24.7;0.54
5.385;-25.6;0.56
5.416;-25.9;0.57
5.447;-26.2;0.58
5.916;-27.3;0.60
5.951;-27.6;0.61
5.986;-27.9;0.62
6.708;-29.1;0.64
6.748;-29.4;0.65
6.788;-29.7;0.66
7.071;-30.2;0.67
7.115;-30.5;0.68
7.159;-30.8;0.69
7.937;-32.0;0.71
7.986;-32.3;0.72
8.035;-32.6;0.73
8.485;-33.1;0.74
8.538;-33.4;0.75
8.591;-33.7;0.76
9.487;-35.2;0.78
9.546;-35.5;0.79
9.605;-35.8;0.80
10.001;-36.2;0.81
10.065;-36.5;0.82
10.129;-36.8;0.83
11.180;-38.3;0.84
11.251;-38.6;0.85
11.322;-38.9;0.86
12.247;-40.1;0.87
12.325;-40.4;0.88
12.403;-40.7;0.89
13.416;-42.0;0.88
13.502;-42.3;0.87
13.588;-42.6;0.86
14.142;-43.1;0.85
14.235;-43.4;0.84
14.328;-43.7;0.83
15.811;-45.2;0.82
15.913;-45.5;0.81
16.015;-45.8;0.80
17.321;-47.0;0.78
17.434;-47.3;0.77
17.547;-47.6;0.76
18.974;-48.8;0.74
19.098;-49.1;0.73
19.222;-49.4;0.72
20.001;-50.1;0.70
20.137;-50.4;0.69
20.273;-50.7;0.68
22.361;-52.3;0.66
22.513;-52.6;0.65
22.665;-52.9;0.64
24.495;-54.2;0.62
24.663;-54.5;0.61
24.831;-54.8;0.60
26.833;-56.1;0.58
27.019;-56.4;0.57
27.205;-56.7;0.56
29.394;-58.0;0.54
29.599;-58.3;0.53
29.804;-58.6;0.52
31.623;-59.7;0.50
31.849;-60.0;0.49
32.075;-60.3;0.48
35.355;-62.2;0.46
35.609;-62.5;0.45
35.863;-62.8;0.44
38.730;-64.1;0.42
39.018;-64.4;0.41
39.306;-64.7;0.40
42.426;-66.0;0.38
42.751;-66.3;0.37
43.076;-66.6;0.36
46.904;-68.2;0.34
47.271;-68.5;0.33
47.638;-68.8;0.32
50.001;-69.8;0.30
50.413;-70.1;0.29
50.825;-70.4;0.28
54.772;-72.1;0.26
55.233;-72.4;0.25
55.694;-72.7;0.24
59.161;-74.0;0.22
59.675;-74.3;0.21
60.189;-74.6;0.20
63.246;-75.9;0.18
63.819;-76.2;0.17
64.392;-76.5;0.16
2.646;-14.2;0.26
3.317;-17.1;0.32
4.123;-19.8;0.40
5.196;-22.9;0.50
6.403;-26.3;0.58
8.062;-29.8;0.70
10.050;-33.5;0.79
12.649;-37.4;0.86
15.874;-41.5;0.80
19.953;-45.8;0.72
25.119;-50.3;0.62
31.623;-54.9;0.50

Horror Pendulum.csv

Code: Select all

Ratio;GainDB;Decay
post normalize gain: +3
1.0;0.0;1.0
1.498;-8.5;0.95
1.987;-12.3;0.92
2.134;-15.8;0.88
2.476;-18.2;0.85
2.891;-21.5;0.80
3.142;-24.0;0.75
3.517;-26.8;0.70
3.982;-29.2;0.65
4.471;-31.5;0.58
5.023;-33.8;0.50
5.618;-36.0;0.42
6.284;-38.2;0.35
7.015;-40.5;0.28
7.891;-42.8;0.22
8.832;-45.0;0.18
9.956;-47.2;0.14
11.234;-49.5;0.11
12.783;-51.8;0.08
14.512;-54.0;0.06
16.879;-56.5;0.04
19.234;-58.8;0.03
22.156;-61.2;0.02
25.891;-63.5;0.015
30.234;-65.8;0.01

[Benjamin923]

Some parameters are modulated by the modulation wheel. No MPE.

Just velocity variation and some modulation wheel work on a keyboard?

[icaria36]

After a few days browsing Zebra 3 and Zebralette 3 presets I decided to "crowdfund this project" (that's the intention, more than "buy a license", even if it's the same money going to the same account).

I'm not a sound designer, just a hobbyist producer and curious preset tweaker. I love the Osmose keyboard but Expressive/Haken focus on cinematic/soloist presets, I see why, I think it's good for their business, but I'm more into expressive yet unapologetically electronic sounds. Arturia's marketing is so good it grabs my attention every time, but then I actually try their stuff (Analog Lab Pro) and the actual sounds leave more meh than not. Plus, Expressive / Haken / Arturia don't support Linux, which doesn't help my motivation to invest more time digging deeper into their powerful engines. I was an Anyma Omega backer and I have the Anyma V vst (which was released for Linux too) but well, that's another story for another discussion.

All this to say that I see big promise in Zebra 3 (the synth and the community of preset developers) combined with the Osmose as a MIDI / MPE expressive controller + Bitwig as a very fitting host for this combo (MPE, expressiveness and more modulators in case you didn't have enough in Zebra). If u-he and other preset developers start packaging/marketing preset collections after specific synths or types of sounds, I think you can get more people like me, overwhelmed by the Zebra internals but in love with the power and flexibility of this synth. Because this one synth engine seems to be capable of producing pretty much anything (except the granular stuff, but this a clear differentiated niche).

[xmstkvr]

First track with Zebra 3 two instances.
https://soundcloud.com/user-62690988/fi ... 6580f11dd7

Awesome. First half, I instantly felt the Terminator 2 theme for some reason.

[charlesnyiha]

Just want to start by saying that I’ve been a huge fan of u-he’s synths for a long time, and I’m really loving how Zebra 3 sounds, and its depth.

However, there’s something I’ve always wondered about with the Zebra design. Why are there limitations on the number of modules - why only 4 filters for example? Why not just have a filter option, and allow people to put as many filters as they want?

I understand that introducing limitations is one of the things that gives a synth character and unlocks new sonic directions, but in Zebra 3 we already have the grid which limits the modules you can put; it seems to me that having a further limitation on the number of oscillators, filters etc goes a bit too far and unnecessarily makes the synth less flexible than it could be. Especially for a synth like Zebra, which is focused on depth. In my opinion it would be cleaner to just have options for each module without limiting the numbers.

Of course, I’m open to the idea that there’s sth I may have missed, I haven’t made any synths before. But this seems to be an obvious improvement to me so i thought i would just ask.

Thanks for all your hard work, and looking forward to the full release!

[bite_me]

Happy new year Urs and everyone outthere.