Zebra PC blog

[rsmus7]

I suppose it will be very soon


when the beta testing is done



but only grandmaster Urs knows when

[Urs]

hi! i just found out about zebra, unfortunately i'm using a pc. i listened to all the mp3 demos on the webpage and they are very impressive! is zebra for the pc going to be released this year, is there perhaps a release date?

Zebra is gonna be Version 2.0 soon. This includes support for VST on Windows XP.

At the moment it's only a prototype consisting of roundabout 50% of the final version which is currently being tested for musical functionality and stability on all supported platforms (Audio Units, VST Mac, VST Win).

If nothing serious happens (i.e. unless I decide to take a vacation) I expect the final version to be announced within 3-6 weeks (screenshots, audio examples, feature list) and released within 6-10 weeks (manual written, tons of presets, optimized cpu performance, as free of bugs as possible).

Cheers,

Urs

[wazun]

hi! i just found out about zebra, unfortunately i'm using a pc. i listened to all the mp3 demos on the webpage and they are very impressive! is zebra for the pc going to be released this year, is there perhaps a release date?

Zebra is gonna be Version 2.0 soon. This includes support for VST on Windows XP.

At the moment it's only a prototype consisting of roundabout 50% of the final version which is currently being tested for musical functionality and stability on all supported platforms (Audio Units, VST Mac, VST Win).

If nothing serious happens (i.e. unless I decide to take a vacation) I expect the final version to be announced within 3-6 weeks (screenshots, audio examples, feature list) and released within 6-10 weeks (manual written, tons of presets, optimized cpu performance, as free of bugs as possible).

Cheers,

Urs

very good! the examples on the webpage really sounded very versatile and good. if you need any more tester and preset creators, i would be happy to help out. as for presets, my main interests are bass sounds, effects and misc sounds for house music.

[Urs]

very good! the examples on the webpage really sounded very versatile and good. if you need any more tester and preset creators, i would be happy to help out. as for presets, my main interests are bass sounds, effects and misc sounds for house music.

You have got a great website! And a PM.

Urs

[Sascha Franck]

Shit.
I got some notification mail today.
But a) I'm at my parents for some days, b) didn't take my login details with me, c) wouldn't happen to know how to transfer data from dad's PC to my laptop anyways (USB drive not recognized, no CD burner, no common net access, some shitty local company, etc etc...).
Gotta wait for a few more days it seems (monday or so).

Cheers anyways.

[Urs]

Gotta wait for a few more days it seems (monday or so).

That's okay! - I'm gonna send out a new notification today with some bugfixes. The thread in the beta forum has just exploded somehow... a couple of issues (i.e. VST Win gui doesn't update correctly when loading a patch, so it feels like presets are corrupted, although it's just the gui), nothing too serious. Some crashes on Mac, none so far on PC. So it might be more convenient to start with the new alpha...

Cheers,

Urs

[mystahr]

This is one ubersynth allready; even at 50%

[rockin1]

This is one ubersynth allready; even at 50%

Most definitely! You guys will all be blown away...

[OMU]

I made a crappy song for tis month contest

ouch!

[Urs]

Hiya, another Friday update!

I know I should be faster, but there are so many new ideas to play with... the Zebra way of modularity reaches higher levels with every new module and it takes quite some effort to seamlessly integrate that many different synthesis techniques into one beast... the latest stuff is a bit sculpturesque... for friends of the weird fun:

http://www.u-he.com/music/Z2experimental.mp3

Cheers,

Urs

[Shuzhen]

That pad is the lusciousness. Whoaw!

[OMU]

great sound!

[Urs]

It's Friday again... time flies by much too fast... I'm about to finish the next chapter of Zebra2 development: Improved delay and reverb algorithms. Many learned to love the crappy MetalVerb... it will be way more flexible in Z2, much like the delay. It will have unlimited size if you want, and every parameter can be smoothly modulated/automated... of course.

Here's a drumloop mangled by the current incarnation of the reverb:

http://www.u-he.com/music/ARDdrums.mp3

(naturally there'll also be normal rooms and ambiences inside of that...)

Enjoy,

Urs

[kuniklo]

Nice sounds. Are these still relatively CPU friendly like Z1 or are they more like Sculpture?

[Urs]

Nice sounds. Are these still relatively CPU friendly like Z1 or are they more like Sculpture?

Z2 still takes about 20% more cpu than Z1.5 for the same structure. But on the one hand, you need less modules for similar density (i.e. spectral filters already built into the oscillators) and on the other hand, there's a heavily underoptimized piece of preliminary code that makes it appear heavier on cpu than it should.

Also, some strategies will change. You can add more modules that you use selectively, i.e. if you build a transient part for your sound, say, from an oscillator and a filter, where you quickly decay the oscillator's volume, both the oscillator and the filter will go idle (no cpu consumption) after the oscillator fades to zero. And, you can use Velocity and Key to switch between sets of modules this way.

So, yeah, each modules takes a little more (mostly because everything processes stereo now), but it's full of tricks that actually save cpu.

Btw. the "double" and "quad" modes in the global section were ditched. They are not needed anymore, because of full stereo operation in the whole signal chain and selective "double" and "quad" modes with panning in each oscillator. Even the noise modes, FM oscs and comb filters can produce stereo signals. This is so much worth a few cpu cycles, you won't think twice about it

Cheers,

Urs