Mixed impressions on u-he Zebra

[Urs]

"Chicken Shake" sound for Zebra2? Done that already...

Howie, you'll love to hear that I'm currently testing time based LFOs (rather than beat based) and... hold your breath... "ModMappers" which have 128 values that can be mapped to keys or modulation sources (smoothly crossfaded or quantized) or alternated in round-robin manner. These values are by default randomized but will be editable, i.e. to scale modulators to whatever curves (once I get my head round writing a new gui element).

You'll have a lot of work!

[Howard]

"ModMappers" which have 128 values that can be mapped to keys or modulation sources (smoothly crossfaded or quantized) or alternated in round-robin manner.

Yay! Been wanting those key-maps (as well as time-based LFO) for a good while now, but the generalized "ModMap" (sic) you propose here sounds more interesting still! Tons of ideas about what to do with them already (very happy)

[audioaquatic]

So what's the message?

Either use words to concisely express your point, if you indeed have one, or wank off.

[TiUser]

From what I can tell the goal is to somehow get into TiUser's brain, discover the neural impulses generated when listening to sounds, isolate the ones deemed to be pleasurable, and then create a synth that maximizes those neural paths for him.

You know, something that could be solved in 2-3 pages.

LOL... no, I bet you can't intrude my brain, but you can tell me if you ever had a similar impression with zebra or other synths or not, that's all...

[TiUser]

...I bet you mean the conclusion is either using zebra or real eggshakers for $1 each...

"Chicken Shake" sound for Zebra2? Done that already...

Ok, you got me with that...

[TiUser]

Either use words to concisely express your point, if you indeed have one, or wank off.

I already wrote a lot. I don't want to repeat all that.

It's like I would say in all the sounds I feel always a blue touch. I bet you might know what blue is... don't you? Have a look on ISO colour charts then and tell me if you have seen what you thought of... I guess no, you would called that ISO blue something like violett... and this example is even less difficult because there is a reference.

I am just interested in if you have had similar perceptions with zebra or other synths or you might have any other idea about it.

Is it so difficult just to share impressions? without further rating? Without numbers? Seems to be...

And to finish with, if I had a "conscience" metering method I wouldn't have asked anyone here at all. But why shall I wank off a question I have asked myself...?

[davidbuhau]

i consider this to be a niche synth...

i don't use it for bass sounds, generally.

i mostly use it for atmosphere and pad sounds...

david

[djsubject]

"Chicken Shake" sound for Zebra2? Done that already...

Howie, you'll love to hear that I'm currently testing time based LFOs (rather than beat based) and... hold your breath... "ModMappers" which have 128 values that can be mapped to keys or modulation sources (smoothly crossfaded or quantized) or alternated in round-robin manner. These values are by default randomized but will be editable, i.e. to scale modulators to whatever curves (once I get my head round writing a new gui element).

You'll have a lot of work!

Zebra2 the gift that just keeps on giving!!

Subz

[TOTAL]

I still think something should sound well on average speakers too, otherwise there is something wrong. Often music isn't consumed via high end hifi

Maybe your DAW is distorting the signal, although nothing's going into the red (seen this in Cubase and just now in MainStage). Just a thought...

How's that technically possible? Internally 32 bit DAW (I assume all of them are so now) needs only the master output to be taken care of.

[Urs]

I still think something should sound well on average speakers too, otherwise there is something wrong. Often music isn't consumed via high end hifi

Maybe your DAW is distorting the signal, although nothing's going into the red (seen this in Cubase and just now in MainStage). Just a thought...

How's that technically possible? Internally 32 bit DAW (I assume all of them are so now) needs only the master output to be taken care of.

True, but the level meters may work differently. Some are calibrated quite conservatively with a bit of headroom, others still show the sound to be good while in fact clipping has already occurred.

Besides that, anything in the channel strip can suffer from clipping, it really depends on the actual implementation within the daw.

Urs

P.S.: Dunno if Howie can answer... he's programming Zebras for Mr. Z next again

[Aroused by JarJar]

TiUser, when you referred earlier in this thread to a "Solaris Demo" of an analog string machine, did you mean an Estradin Solaris?

[Urs]

TiUser, when you referred earlier in this thread to a "Solaris Demo" of an analog string machine, did you mean an Estradin Solaris?

I'm pretty sure he meant the Solaris of John Bowen (which is still in development)

http://www.johnbowen.com/

[Igro]

I think there are simply different schools of synth design. One example is "those that compensate for filter cutoff volume drop and those that don't". When you close Zebra's cutoff, the volume of the tone will drop. This is because high harmonics are taken out while lower harmonics preserve their level.Urs

Hmmm...thanx for clarification. I always felt it in filters, but never asked about it.
A lot of synths don't compensate cutoff volume drop by lowering cutoff amount. So it sounds louder or the same. Reason: 1) to stay the same dynamic 2) Anyway compressors will be used later(if you not except this dynamic i talked)

So Zebra users forced to work with EQ more hardly than any other synth users to get...whatever. IMO

[Urs]

So Zebra users forced to work with EQ more hardly than any other synth users to get...whatever. IMO

Nope, the other way round. While it may sound cooler if the volume drop is compensated for, it does mess up your mix. Zebra2 users have less work, because it sits in the mix. Users of synths that cheat for ear candy have more work.