Zebra 3 and Zebra Legacy

[Urs]

What are the differences between the 2 modules? I always thought all physical modelling synths use same method; short impulse + really short delay with feedback to excite it.

The Exciter indeed does a short impulse. It's great when sending it into a comb filter, which basically is a small delay with feedback. But it's also great on a Modal Resonator, which is a bank of resonant bandpass filters that get pinged. I posted a piano-ish sound example a few weeks ago, which is done pretty much with a patch that looks like what I posted.

So the difference is, Comb Filters/Delays have a dense harmonic structure, but little control over the composition and tuning of partials. Modal Resonators don't have the same density, but they do have very defined and complex partial structures. Combs are good for strings and brass, Modal Resonators excel at bells, wood, glass, metal.

[jtsterays]

What are the differences between the 2 modules? I always thought all physical modelling synths use same method; short impulse + really short delay with feedback to excite it.

The Exciter indeed does a short impulse. It's great when sending it into a comb filter, which basically is a small delay with feedback. But it's also great on a Modal Resonator, which is a bank of resonant bandpass filters that get pinged. I posted a piano-ish sound example a few weeks ago, which is done pretty much with a patch that looks like what I posted.

So the difference is, Comb Filters/Delays have a dense harmonic structure, but little control over the composition and tuning of partials. Modal Resonators don't have the same density, but they do have very defined and complex partial structures. Combs are good for strings and brass, Modal Resonators excel at bells, wood, glass, metal.

Okay I see, not a hard rule but basically Comb for sustained sounds and Modal for plucks/percs/drums. I alway wanted to make PM drums, so pretty excited for the Modal. Really bored of the Roland type synth drums ya know.

[stippenstoh]

Anyone who owns a Zebra2 license from before the switch gets an €30 upgrade path to Zebra3

I've been living under a rock for the past years and thought Zebra3 is a myth, and now I find this thread and find out that it's almost a grown up. And that I'll be eligible to buy it for under 50€.

I am about to cry.

[Urs]

While our mail server is down during a sale, and we're bracing for a tough day tomorrow, I hope some friends of FM might find the new FM Oscillators interesting:

Z3 FMOs.jpg

(yep, they are basically dual oscillators now, a modulator carrier pair, with external input, various routing options and different types of FM available between each other)

[GruvSyco]

I thought you said the FMO weren’t likely going to be in the first release. (That was some time back). I’m not complying though. Super excited.

Also… 200 pages before public beta? (not that I think it’s going to take longer but discussion seems to be picking up)

[Super Piano Hater 64]

Does the retro quality setting emulate the aliased table-driven sine wave construction in the DX7?

[exmatproton]

While our mail server is down during a sale, and we're bracing for a tough day tomorrow, I hope some friends of FM might find the new FM Oscillators interesting:


Z3 FMOs.jpg


(yep, they are basically dual oscillators now, a modulator carrier pair, with external input, various routing options and different types of FM available between each other)

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[Urs]

Does the retro quality setting emulate the aliased table-driven sine wave construction in the DX7?

Not as perfectly as Plogue, but pretty similar.

[Urs]

I thought you said the FMO weren’t likely going to be in the first release. (That was some time back). I’m not complying though. Super excited.

Turns out, the ideas I had already coded several years ago weren't all that bad, and with a fresh developer assigned to it, we could bring it forward into a really nice package.

The only thing that I can think of that we have not done by now is the arp/seq combo.

Also… 200 pages before public beta? (not that I think it’s going to take longer but discussion seems to be picking up)

Once we have a final enough UI maybe I should start a new thread with screenshots so people don't have to wade through 100s of pages...

[misterandy]

While our mail server is down during a sale, and we're bracing for a tough day tomorrow, I hope some friends of FM might find the new FM Oscillators interesting:


Z3 FMOs.jpg


(yep, they are basically dual oscillators now, a modulator carrier pair, with external input, various routing options and different types of FM available between each other)

Looks great! So if I understand this correctly, the Input here might be a saw wave from an external Osc chosen as Carrier (or what ever else) and the Modulator can also be a freely chosen external source? Sry, not super familiar with FM

[Urs]

While our mail server is down during a sale, and we're bracing for a tough day tomorrow, I hope some friends of FM might find the new FM Oscillators interesting:


Z3 FMOs.jpg


(yep, they are basically dual oscillators now, a modulator carrier pair, with external input, various routing options and different types of FM available between each other)

Looks great! So if I understand this correctly, the Input here might be a saw wave from an external Osc chosen as Carrier (or what ever else) and the Modulator can also be a freely chosen external source? Sry, not super familiar with FM

Carrier and Modulator are just sine oscillators for now, but the external input can be anything - another oscillator, a modal resonator, whatever there is in Zebra's audio modules rack.

As people will ask: We might explore alternative waveforms other than sine at some point, we might even explore FM for the main oscillators at some point. But atm, none of that is in there, and none of that is set in stone.

[wintoid]

While our mail server is down during a sale, and we're bracing for a tough day tomorrow, I hope some friends of FM might find the new FM Oscillators interesting:

Wonderful Urs! Two questions - are fixed Hz operators available, and can the ratio go <1.0?

[Urs]

While our mail server is down during a sale, and we're bracing for a tough day tomorrow, I hope some friends of FM might find the new FM Oscillators interesting:

Wonderful Urs! Two questions - are fixed Hz operators available, and can the ratio go <1.0?

Fixed Hz are available in the Pitches Section. Set Pitch 2 to 200Hz, set FMO 1 to Pitch 2, and FMO 1 will be tuned 200Hz.

Ratio is "off by one" in comparison to traditional FM synths, so 0 in Zebra is 1 in DX and 1 in Zebra is 2 in DX, but it can go below 0, where -1 means the Modulator is tuned to fundamental and the carrier is tuned one octave up, effectively 0.5 in DX. Such that, you can modulate Ratio without adjusting the carrier tuning for the perceived fundamental to stay in tune.

[misterandy]

But if both Carrier and Modulator are internal sine waves, what does the external Input effect? Pardon my question if this is basic FM

[Lbdunequest]

I checked the screens. Maybe ive missed but will there be some drift knob to make more "analog" behaviour of the oscillators without needing to setup random lfos to fine pitch/phase?