u-he

benburling · Post by **benburling** » Wed Jul 31, 2013 9:06 am

Hi All
I thought that Zebra would be best to emulate the D50 but I'm now thinking I need to buy a D550 (rack mount) - Has anyone bought one / also use u-he synths and can give me some advice - are they worth buying?
Thanks
Ben

jupiter8 · Post by **jupiter8** » Wed Jul 31, 2013 9:53 am

Have you listened to Michael Kastrup's presets ? They're D50ish.

pdxindy · Post by **pdxindy** » Wed Jul 31, 2013 5:12 pm

benburling wrote:Hi All
I thought that Zebra would be best to emulate the D50 but I'm now thinking I need to buy a D550 (rack mount) - Has anyone bought one / also use u-he synths and can give me some advice - are they worth buying?
Thanks
Ben

As Jupiter8 mentioned, Michael Kastrup has a Zebra soundset with D50 type sounds. It really depends on what you want. If you want a D50, then buy one. If you want to emulate some of its character and qualities, then Zebra is capable. They both have a bright digital yet warm sound. Since the D50 has samples for attack transients and then VA subtractive for the body of the sound, Zebra is well suited because you have the separate channels so you can create a separate attack and body.

hollo · Post by **hollo** » Wed Jul 31, 2013 5:18 pm

benburling wrote:Hi All
I thought that Zebra would be best to emulate the D50 but I'm now thinking I need to buy a D550 (rack mount) - Has anyone bought one / also use u-he synths and can give me some advice - are they worth buying?
Thanks
Ben

If you need those presets it's ok, but you will not be so happy for the poor quality of the filter.
Especially after using the Zebra filters. I have a D-50, i love it for some of the sounds, but i can't say i miss it since i have Zebra.

I didn't find a way to recreate those PCM waves to Zebra osc presets but there is nothing what you could not do much better with Zebra.

dmbaer · Post by **dmbaer** » Wed Jul 31, 2013 5:36 pm

benburling wrote:I'm now thinking I need to buy a D550 (rack mount)

If you're in the US, I've got a D550, presumably in good condition although it hasnt' been turned on in two decades, sitting on the self gathering dust. PM me if you're interested in buying it.

pdxindy · Post by **pdxindy** » Wed Jul 31, 2013 5:41 pm

hollo wrote:
I didn't find a way to recreate those PCM waves to Zebra osc presets but there is nothing what you could not do much better with Zebra.

You mean you tried to import them using the wave converter?

hollo · Post by **hollo** » Wed Jul 31, 2013 8:37 pm

pdxindy wrote:
hollo wrote:
I didn't find a way to recreate those PCM waves to Zebra osc presets but there is nothing what you could not do much better with Zebra.

You mean you tried to import them using the wave converter?

Yes, not much luck, tried to import the short trumpet or even the simple marimba, - we would need a little sampler kind to get it right.

But its easy to synthetise them in Zebra with more oscillators.

pdxindy · Post by **pdxindy** » Wed Jul 31, 2013 8:42 pm

hollo wrote:
pdxindy wrote:
hollo wrote:
I didn't find a way to recreate those PCM waves to Zebra osc presets but there is nothing what you could not do much better with Zebra.

You mean you tried to import them using the wave converter?
Yes, not much luck, tried to import the short trumpet or even the simple marimba, - we would need a little sampler kind to get it right.

But its easy to synthetise them in Zebra with more oscillators.

The wave converter seems hit or miss... I suspect it would have to be 'smart' to know how to adjust for various types of sounds.

I never tried the wave converter myself. I just use the tools in Zebra to craft a transient attack I want...

hollo · Post by **hollo** » Wed Jul 31, 2013 8:53 pm

Yes, it would be smart to know

maybe in Z3 with built in converter and bigger buffer size.

u-he

KVR Audio

Roland D50 / D550 - Using U-HE synths