Programming Zebra
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- KVRian
- 829 posts since 25 Nov, 2005
I'm still a newbie in the world of synths. I love the sound of Zebra but I'm a little lost when I play with its demo and read the manual. How long did it take you to learn it? Is it too complex for a beginning sound programmer? At this point I'm just looking for some subtractive sounds, especially some warm, smooth leads and keys (like those in Sylenth) but I would like to have Zebra's potential for the future when I'm more advanced in sound design so that I don't have to buy another synth. I don't have the money to buy any extra soundbanks at the moment so I would have just the synth itself. How easy is it to create such sounds? Is Zebra an overkill for such needs? Do you think it's wiser to start first with something easier, like Sylenth or Albino (probably Albino as Sylenth is a little too trancey for me) and then move to Zebra or can I learn the basics directly in Zebra?
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- KVRAF
- 9590 posts since 17 Sep, 2002 from Gothenburg Sweden
I would say it isn't too complicated. You can make awesome sounds with very few modules. It could even be easier than a fixed arcitecture synth since there's less stuff if you only use a few modules. One oscliiator,one filter (The XMF is incredible) one envelope and one LFO is capable of so much.
But it is very deep indeed. There's just so much stuff in there. But most of it is hidden unless you look for it.
OTOH if you like Sylenth,but that instead. No synth sounds like another.
OTTH there's thousands of free presets for Zebra2. You don't have to buy the extra soundsets though they're very good.
Just try the demo and start with the init patch and go from there. Load an oscillator and the XMF filter and play around for a while.
After 10 minutes it will start to play random notes. Just unload and load it again and it works for another 10 minutes.
But it is very deep indeed. There's just so much stuff in there. But most of it is hidden unless you look for it.
OTOH if you like Sylenth,but that instead. No synth sounds like another.
OTTH there's thousands of free presets for Zebra2. You don't have to buy the extra soundsets though they're very good.
Just try the demo and start with the init patch and go from there. Load an oscillator and the XMF filter and play around for a while.
After 10 minutes it will start to play random notes. Just unload and load it again and it works for another 10 minutes.
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- Banned
- 6129 posts since 9 Oct, 2007 from an inharmonious society
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- u-he
- 30215 posts since 8 Aug, 2002 from Berlin
As always, I recommend starting with Zebralette. This is to learn the oscillators with their specialities (osc fx etc.) as well as the basic modulators (envelopes, lfos, msegs).
Zebralette may seem like a tiny, constraint piece of software, but browsing its presets is well worth a listen.
Once its oscillators and basic modulators are understood, Zebra will unfold quickly.
Urs
Zebralette may seem like a tiny, constraint piece of software, but browsing its presets is well worth a listen.
Once its oscillators and basic modulators are understood, Zebra will unfold quickly.
Urs