Zebra 3 Public Beta Revision 20399

[Urs]

Wow.

Sorry if I'm being honest.

We are in the process of finishing our synth. It is pretty complex and it took quite the amount of time and effort. It brings me and my team to the borders of our physical and mental possibilities.

In this situation, being confronted over and over with whatever synth out there is just, dunno, very hard to appreciate, maybe bit depressing even. There's no thread, no YouTube video, no Facebook post where not on cue, a video about Ultra is shared, as if to say "look what they can do, why can't you?".

Honestly, it's great that some dev out there can still wow people. It's totally fine if Zebra does not wow people enough or the same way. We're not particularly wow-oriented.

I'm just really tired of it. Maybe they can export their wavetables to Hive. That would be something I could appreciate.

[bmrzycki]

I bought Zebra 2 in 2006.

I didn't know bleeps from proper bloops or why Mr. Syntho-X-9000 was king of the hill around here at the time. I just thought this pile of bits had a solid sound and and I felt the passion of the the person who made it.

Six years pass and I'm blindsided by the most intricate tocks and tensions and resonators and NEW FILTERS for a fraction of the price Hollywood paid for these features to sell us a guy in mascara and rubber. I pressed keys, turned knobs, mapped controllers, and scratched my head wondering how it made the noise it did.

Another FOURTEEN years later I find out I get something new, for FREE, because I once bought two things in my youth. And that new thing is...special. It's exactly like the original thing and not like it at all. The executor of my deceased uncle left me a steamer trunk, covered in stickers from strange places around the world, begging to be opened. Inside I found an undiscovered artifact, a curious device, lovingly preserved in linen. It's tarnished in places, has odd glyphs, while gleaming new in others. As I touch it, it feels old, new, foreign, and also commonplace. And I wonder why it's mine. I want to explore it, interact with it, see what makes it tick. I'm afraid to show it to others for fear of them taking it from me. And the sounds it makes are ... different.

Zebra 3 is so special to me. The people who made Zebra2 in 2006 aren't the same one who gifted me this new curious device. Both they and I have walked different paths, heard different things. Since then I've made a few bleeps and and one or two bloops. But this thing, it's like starting over, seeing things anew.

Thanks to the u-he team for this delightfully quirky thing. I adore Zebra and it's drive to be proudly different.

[Touch The Universe]

That impossible filter is insane

[Grizzellda]

Will Z3 have separate audio outs for each oscillator?

[todkon]

I just want to say, personally, Zebra 3 wows me! It's everything I was hoping it would be when it was first announced. I love a complex and unique take on synthesis, Zebra 3 hits all those marks perfectly. The best thing about having a bunch of different synths is when they all have their quirks and ways to design new and exciting sounds. It's fun to limit yourself to as few instruments as possible and hope to find that one "synth that does it all", but what's the practicality in that when you want it do something else, that another existing instrument can already do. Everything has its strengths and weaknesses. Honestly, with the tools available in Zebra 3, you can probably get to the end result you're looking for if you try hard enough.

[Urs]

Will Z3 have separate audio outs for each oscillator?

We have an initial proof of concept for audio input and some initial work on multiple outputs. There is a risk that it can set us back several weeks if we merge this code it into the 3.0 feature set. That is because it is a feature that changes the way Zebra interacts with the host, and those features just need lots of testing - and often individually tailored solutions for specific hosts.

Therefore we have decided to continue this work after the initial release of V3.0, and try to pick it up for a later update.

[Grizzellda]

The Korg Wavestation A/D has audio inputs, and that was an exciting concept, if you ask Grizzellda.

That is because it is a feature that changes the way Zebra interacts with the host, and those features just need lots of testing - and often individually tailored solutions for specific hosts.

Therefore we have decided to continue this work after the initial release of V3.0, and try to pick it up for a later update.

I can understand, if you have to work separately with various DAW providers, that could take effort.

I was wondering if there was some kind of standard established regarding multiple outputs in DAW land?

[Urs]

Sure, the "standards" are defined by the plug-in formats, but then host manufacturers (as well as plug-in developers) interpret those differently... if we just define 4 stereo output busses, we can easily end up with a mess in one host, where e.g. it is impossible to simply create a stereo track. If that is a host that has as little as 1% market share, we end up with hundreds of support cases. So we have to check beforehand, and sometimes across several versions of hosts.

[Grizzellda]

Of course that could be frustrating...maybe it is not even currently worth it.

So will Z3 be able to just process any incoming audio?

[Urs]

Of course that could be frustrating...maybe it is not even currently worth it.

So will Z3 be able to just process any incoming audio?

No, the two things live together in a conceptual state.

[Grizzellda]

Well, still working on what you mean by that, but all I was really asking, if it will process incoming audio...have not demoed it yet, currently working to get MuLab 10 going so I can maybe actually try Zebralette 3 and CLAP.

Wanna learn!

[Touch The Universe]

What filters/drive to mimic moog sounds with those filter resonances etc. Never had a moog but do have the legend and trying to replicate some patches.

[buckycore]

Will people insist that all of our synths must do the same? Like they already do with Serum? Like they used to do with Virus, Sylenth and whatnot before?

I'm tired of people trying to say this need to have the exact functionality and features of Serum and Vital. Its such non-creative thinking. I own all your Synths because they sound and do things differently. I own Melda's MSoundFactory because it sounds and does things differently. Phase plant, Pigments, Falcon and all them crazy Arturia synth emjla which sound and do things differently. And yet, they're all not as unique as say...Sugar Bytes Aparillo, Dawesome's Abyss and Novum. And now, added to this list is Zebra 3. This guy bitch slaps expectations and says "THINK DIFFERENTLY" I don't find it that intimidating at all. Even if the work flow isn't similar to Bitwig's grid (I mean...Adobe illustrator vector curves?? SAY WHAT?? ) it DOES have that feeling of risk taking and playful danger like with the grid. I have tones and tons of very non-musical but crazy awesome patches in Bitwig. And Zebra 3 has allowed me to make patches I couldn't do in the Grid nor any other synths

SO TO REAPEAT LOUDER FOR THOSE IN THE BACK: IF YOU WANT THIS TO WORK LIKE SERUM...GET SERUM..THIS AIN'T YO GRANDMA'S WAVETABLE SYNTH. Also, where does that mindset come.from that you can only own like...two synths and use only one DAW? Dude, are we not musicians? Creative sound designs? Or are we corporate record label executives that one the same sound all the time, Every time? (I mean, I understand low budget being a gatekeeper . Los Bugets can ruin the fun sometimes)

[Urs]

To be fair, people made some comments using Serum etc. as an example for how the modulation system could be improved, and we took that and implemented a few new features that we really like a lot.

The other thing is that sometimes people expect Zebra to be a wavetable synth like any other, which it is not. That's probably because sample based wavetable synthesis has become an ingredient shared by many popular synths. But then, if every popular synth already has sample based wavetable synthesis, what is the point in making another? My impression is that wavetable synthesis is already a bit, well, beyond its zenith - people regularly yawn at new releases. Maybe something like Ultra can revive it for bit, but it IMHO doesn't change that the omnipresence of it leaves little room for more, and with Hive we already have a very popular product in that market.

[Grizzellda]

Keep innovating!