My longest-ever shopping quest finally concluded

I set out a year ago to find a software synthesizer. Not just another addition to my collection, but the One Synth that was versatile enough to fill all my needs, and warrant the time to truly learn it inside and out. I wanted the kind of long-term semi-monogamous relationship I once had with hardware synths. 
 
It's been a long process, during which time I've demoed just about every synth ever mentioned on KVR. That, my friends, is a long list.
 
Some were eliminated because they were too "VA" - I may be an old fart, but I'm not stuck in the 1970's. Some were just too obtuse or too cute in the way they're meant to be programmed, or had dreadful UIs. Some were very proud of their ability to create a "supersaw" but apparently little else. Some had sophisticated arpeggiators that were like mini-sequencers, but I hate arps - no matter how clever at the end of the day they're just computer-generated notes. Some of the synths were too hungry for my aged computer and had to be passed over. Some pretty good ones were not being actively developed anymore, so they got scratched lest I be stuck with an orphan. 
 
One by one, they all got crossed off the list. In the end only two remained: Synthmaster and Zebra. Both satisfied every criterion. In the end, Zebra won out. Deciding factors were its CPU-efficiency and ease of programming. Another factor is version 3 currently under development, which, although an entirely new product, will only be a $39 upgrade for Zebra owners.
 
With the addition of Zebra, along with Omnisphere and Kontakt, I feel I've completed the golden triangle. I can't imagine much ground that I can't cover now. 
 
OK, that OTS Rick is still on the wish list, but that's icing. Kontakt will always be a money-hole.

I just bought SynthMaster today, 30% off until Sept. 1 and an additional 5% for signing up for their newsletter.

Yeah, I was prepared to pay the $90 and then when I downloaded the demo, the site offered an additional 5% off for signing up for their newsletter. Coincidentally I went back to your other thread about non-EDM synths earlier today to get some ideas for a new toy. The U-he synths are nice.

 
No AAX 64bit?

mike_mccue
 
 
http://www.u-he.com/cms/zebra2-dinosaur-crossgrade

Intresting, but looking at the fine print my Korg Poly 800, Yahama DX100 or SEIL DK80 probably do not count  Dinosaurs but no knobs or patch cords.

bitflipper
I no longer have any analog synths. I called a friend that did, but he said he'd sold his last one. I didn't know anybody else, so I paid the extra 50 bucks for Zebra. I was not happy about that. Like Spectrasonics, U-he never discounts, never holds sales or even offers introductory prices on new products. You wanna play, you pay.

Not exactly true.
Did you take time to read what qualifies & look at some of the pics? I received the $50.00 off & put it towards HZ Dark Zebra.

Does the HZ pack come with or is it an added thingy?

HZ was a custom build for Hans Zimmer that adds Diva's famous filters to Zebra. It's not included in the base package, but you get it with the Dark Zebra patch set for $99. Dark Zebra is a pretty nice cinematic-oriented soundset, with 400 presets made by two masters of sound design, Hans Z and Howard Scarr. I'm considering buying it, but that $200 pretty much blew my music software budget for the next 3-4 months.

You mean to say TTS-1 is not enough for you? Goes away in a huff!

Another great thing about Zebra (and SynthMaster as well, I might add) are some superb third party sound set offerings.

I'm afraid that if I buy a bunch of patches it'll distract me from my primary goal of rolling my own. The factory sound set already contains plenty of good examples for reverse-engineering.
 
Oh yeh, I talk a good talk, but I suspect there will be a few bucks going down a new Zebra money-hole. I'm listening to the demo for the Transmission soundset right now. Just 30 bucks. Must be strong - I still don't have that Rick.
 

The case against Omnisphere, for those who don't have it and think maybe they should...
 
Nobody NEEDS Omnisphere. It's not a "bread 'n butter" instrument, neither as a synth nor as a sample player. It's not where you'd turn first for a bass or a piano. Strings, maybe, but although it has some very sweet-sounding strings you get no articulations like you would from a good Kontakt string library. The strings, like so many Omnisphere patches, are meant for beds, not as featured instruments.
 
Most Omnisphere patches are designed to sound good on their own, in solo. They'll typically have impractically-long release times and/or be drenched in reverb, delay and chorus effects. They are usually very broad-spectrum. Played in isolation, they make you go "oooh". But try to squeeze them into an actual mix, and they either muddy everything up or get lost. Most patches, unless featured up front or in solo, will require envelope modification, paring-back of effects, and aggressive equalization (usually a HPF) before they can be slotted into a mix.
 
Omnisphere's sample library is a closed, proprietary system, so there is little third-party support. The only aftermarket patch libraries available use only Omnisphere's synth engine, as they are not allowed to use its samples. So unlike almost any other synth or sampler, when you buy Omnisphere what you see is what you get. (Yeah, yeah, it's a big library! Not as big as my Kontakt collection, though.)
 
Omnisphere is a resource hog. You'd better have a top-spec machine if you want to run more than a couple instances. Sometimes, patches play OK but end up garbled after a fast bounce or export. Because many patches are so large, browsing patches during project playback may not be practical.
 
Finally, it's fairly pricey in the soft synth world. It's in the same ballpark with NI Komplete, which gives you a whole lot more content and variety. It's twice the price of Alchemy, arguably Omnisphere's closest competitor.
 
Hope those of you who don't have Omnisphere will feel a little better after reading this.
 
 
Now as for me...well, to paraphrase Charlton Heston, you can take away my Omnisphere from my cold, dead hands.

Bit
I've wanted Zebra for about 4 or 5 years now.... I have the CM-Zebra with several additional free sound sets and it is just KILLER....I have the Demo of Zebra 2 and all I can say is I want it!!!! along with the Dark Zebra....I want it , I want it, I want it, I want it..........I need it.....I want it........OOHHH!
 
But then again I have wanted the FabFilter Plugs for the same amount of time as well....................
 
Now on the other hand I just got me a recording student a month and a Half and I am $60 towards my Zebra 2 Purchase!!!!!!
 
It will not be long now!
I am also committed to working on FM8 and Massive......

Crowned One
Just curious what is it that makes Zebra stand out above these?

Curious you should mention Zeta 2, since it shares something with Zebra that most synths don't offer: wave shaping, although in Zebra it's called something like Spectral Transforms.
 
But that's neither here nor there.  It's hard to say what makes Zebra special, but the number of extremely good sound libraries created for it attest to it's special qualities.  Urs Heckmann, the main developer, is an extraordinary designer of audio software, so that surely has something to do with it.  The documentation is pretty good ... sufficient at least for sound designers to get the necessary information out of so they can do their thing, but it's not great, so that's not the secret of Zebra's success.
 
It's difficult to answer your question.  Zebra does things a little differently than other synths but, apart from the spectral transforms, it doesn't have anything particularly unique in the world of synths.  The individual components all sound good, but other a number of other synths can legitimately make that claim.  Zebra's architecture just organizes the basic synth components in a way that invites innovative sound design, I suppose.

bitflipper

Now on the other hand I just got me a recording student a month and a Half and I am $60 towards my Zebra 2 Purchase!!!!!!

Mine was financed via a penny jar I'd been throwing pocket change into for the past 6 months. I got the idea last summer after driving my grandson to the bank so he could cash out his penny jar (actually a small beer keg), and was surprised when it yielded $550!

Bit!
Thanks for reminding me about that......You know I have done the same thing most all my life but with the advent of the debit card my coin jar fills slower now a days......but I still have one that I have been thinking about what to put the money to.......this would be an excellent solution!!!!
 
When I was on the road my coin jar was a coffee can...medium size one and it filled very fast cause a lot of purchases were cash....so it was not hard to come up with four or five hundered dollars in no time just in coin.....but the can was heavy as all get out.....
 
My jars now will hold about 30 to 35 dollars but I have  couple of them spread through out the house.....
 
Yeah Baby, Zebra is closer than I think!  :-)

bitflipper
Ask around - musicians, music stores - and try to locate an analog synthesizer you can take a photo of (with a card on top that says "replaced by Zebra"). Send it in to u-he and get 50 bucks off Zebra.

As I said earlier read the page ( the Emerson pic made me smile too):
 
"On the other hand, certain rack mounted units or digital synthesizers can qualify. That depends. Rumours has it that even one or two digital hardware synthesizers have become classics in the meantime."
 
I used something not exactly vintage but was able to get the $50.00 discount. If you have some h/w equipment lying around & uncertain if it qualifies email him & ask!
 
Great products & customer service btw..