# The Dark Zebra - Hans Zimmer and Howard Scarr



## germancomponist (Jul 22, 2012)




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## Ed (Jul 22, 2012)

Want! :D

Those synth drums are awesome. That sound at the end, very Inception too.


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## Freesamples (Jul 22, 2012)

How soon it'll be available?


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## Ganvai (Jul 22, 2012)

In the description on youtube they say 23rd July. On u-he.com are no infos about the product. Probably they thought the name "Hans Zimmer" would make it all.

*irony on*
Don't know what to think about it. We will have another million composers sounding like Hans Zimmer. Yeah. 

~o) 
*irony off*


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## germancomponist (Jul 22, 2012)

Ganvai @ Sun Jul 22 said:


> In the description on youtube they say 23rd July. On u-he.com are no infos about the product. Probably they thought the name "Hans Zimmer" would make it all.
> 
> *irony on*
> Don't know what to think about it. We will have another million composers sounding like Hans Zimmer. Yeah.
> ...



Smile: Tell me only one other composer! ;.)


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## Ed (Jul 22, 2012)

Im not sure irony means what you think it means 

This would not enable people to sound like Hans Zimmer any more than the 8dio Aura stuff does, except that you will find people maybe using the same sounds long after he has moved onto newer and more unique sounds while for the next 10 years everyone is using what he used on maybe 2 projects.


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## Saxer (Jul 22, 2012)

i think it's great to have a look inside the kitchen... it will probably open doors in thinking about sound design using synths... at least for me. doesn't nessecarily mean i would use the sounds as they are to benefit from this sound set. looking forward to get it!


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## Jeffrey Peterson (Jul 22, 2012)

All aboard the Hans Zimmer wanna be but never will be train, everyone have your money ready so you can act like you designed them all your self. Next stop...your first feature film.

Even Hans Zimmer knows there is a HUGE market for wanna be Film Composers.


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## JohnG (Jul 22, 2012)

I think people understand that it's a starting point and maybe fun to play around with, not a shortcut of some kind. I've learned a lot working with Zebra and getting guidance from another forum member who's been very generous with his time.

What makes a great film composer is of course not one's tools alone, but a whole range of skills. That said, good tools and the ability to use them quickly and effectively are part of the skill set.


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## Kralc (Jul 22, 2012)

These patches will be awesome to analyze. Can't wait for this.


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## Ed (Jul 22, 2012)

Jeffrey Peterson @ Sun Jul 22 said:


> All aboard the Hans Zimmer wanna be but never will be train, everyone have your money ready so you can act like you designed them all your self. Next stop...your first feature film.
> 
> Even Hans Zimmer knows there is a HUGE market for wanna be Film Composers.



Im not sure how this is it any different to any other presets. The thing is if you dont know what to do with them musically your music will still suck, there will be people who say oooh that sound sounds like Batman!! But that will be the end of it.


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## choc0thrax (Jul 22, 2012)

I think this is cool. 

My 17 year old wannabe film composer cousin was just lamenting how hard it is to make good "movie songs". After a grueling 23 minutes trying to learn music theory one Saturday afternoon he gave up. Now because of this news he's just booked 3 feature film scoring gigs including the Spiderman sequel. I asked him if it was a problem that the producers were only paying him in pizza but he said that the misery and death of film scoring as a career path for legitimate composers was all the payment he needed. 

Then his head started to slowly swivel around 360 degrees and we carried on the conversation in Latin... which got awkward.


There's a lot of sweet sounds in that demo but I want to recreate this sound somehow:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rC-IF9GV ... page#t=95s

Is that just some electric cello or something?


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## Ed (Jul 22, 2012)

lol choco :D

yea I love that sound too.


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## Ned Bouhalassa (Jul 22, 2012)

I've been lucky enough to use this set over the past two days. It's as good as it gets. I mean it: really wicked programming. If you have/like Zebra, you will want this. There's much to learn by checking out how the patches are made, and endless combinations. As much a no-brainer as it gets. =o =o =o


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## Ed (Jul 22, 2012)

Ned, how bad is this on your CPU? I know from the beta of Diva you could change settings so you could choose what quality you wanted, is there a way to do that here if its got intensive Diva filters?


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## Dan Mott (Jul 22, 2012)

This would be a nice learning tool. Seeing what goes on under the hood.

Learning synthesis is IMO very useful. I feel it opens up a new world of creativity and inspiration. 

I came up with some synthesis drums a while ago in Alchemy. Something about synth drums that is quite tasty and that can sound huge. I think Zebra is perfect for the drum stuff though as it has a little more options in that department.


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## Ned Bouhalassa (Jul 22, 2012)

Ed @ 22/7/2012 said:


> Ned, how bad is this on your CPU? I know from the beta of Diva you could change settings so you could choose what quality you wanted, is there a way to do that here if its got intensive Diva filters?



I didn't see such a thing on Zebra. I used a few Diva-filtered patches, but most were not. My Mac Pro never even broke a sweat with 15 Zebras.


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## José Herring (Jul 22, 2012)

Sounds amazing.


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## Ned Bouhalassa (Jul 22, 2012)

José, I have to say that the only time I get the kind of feeling I got when I played some of the patches, is when I play a new set from Eric and the gang at Spectrasonics. Just as good. _-)


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## José Herring (Jul 22, 2012)

Good to know.


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## choc0thrax (Jul 22, 2012)

So how much is it? I saw $99 but then you need some license thing or something. How does one obtain the license? 

Ned, is that your Divavavoom demo? I was listening to that cute little Venus demo and turned my sound to max and clicked on yours and you wrecked my ears.


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## noiseboyuk (Jul 22, 2012)

choc0thrax @ Mon Jul 23 said:


> So how much is it? I saw $99 but then you need some license thing or something. How does one obtain the license?



How it seems to work is you need to be a registered Zebra 2 owner, then you can get this frigged Hans Zimmer version of the synth - ZebraHZ - bundled with the $99 patches.

Looks absurdly cool to me - the ACTUAL sounds from that series?! I KNOW I'm being overly cynical, but when I read all the comments about wanting to get this to see how the patches are put together, it feels a little bit like those who used to say they bought Playboy for the articles.


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## Kralc (Jul 23, 2012)

Course I'm buying ZebraHZ for the patches, the fact i can learn from them is just a big and awesome bonus. :D 
And I don't think anyone would ever actually learn anything from a playboy article. Maybe how to perfect your brofist.


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## Saxer (Jul 23, 2012)

Kralc @ 23.7.2012 said:


> And I don't think anyone would ever actually learn anything from a playboy article..


articles are for entertainment... you learn from the pictures!


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## marcotronic (Jul 23, 2012)

that baby is available now, by the way  Really considering getting this but I don't own Zebra yet and a price of about 300,- EUR for both is a bit hard for me at the moment. Hope they'll offer a bundle for people like me who don't have a Zebra license yet...

Marco


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## Ned Bouhalassa (Jul 23, 2012)

choc0thrax @ 22/7/2012 said:


> Ned, is that your Divavavoom demo? I was listening to that cute little Venus demo and turned my sound to max and clicked on yours and you wrecked my ears.


 :twisted: :lol: 
Yep, glad to be of use for cleaning your hobo ears!


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## leafInTheWind (Jul 23, 2012)

Price is ouch inducing, but let's see when payday comes :D


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## gsilbers (Jul 23, 2012)

got it. 

its pretty cool. it comes with zebra 2 patches so great for those who dont have zebra. 

some patches are very cheesy, others very useful. only like 4 patches i remember from batman, the others might of been buried under other stuff.


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## Ned Bouhalassa (Jul 23, 2012)

Here's a little something I put together, feature Dark Zebra on all synths, with just a few stock Logic drum beats. I call it *The Striped Bat*:

[flash width=300 height=100 loop=false]https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F53817606[/flash]


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## choc0thrax (Jul 23, 2012)

gsilbers @ Mon Jul 23 said:


> got it.
> 
> its pretty cool. it comes with zebra 2 patches so great for those who dont have zebra.
> 
> some patches are very cheesy, others very useful. only like 4 patches i remember from batman, the others might of been buried under other stuff.



But... but someone above said you needed to have Zebra 2...


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## choc0thrax (Jul 23, 2012)

Ned Bouhalassa @ Mon Jul 23 said:


> Here's a little something I put together, feature Dark Zebra on all synths, with just a few stock Logic drum beats. I call it *The Striped Bat*:
> 
> [flash width=300 height=100 loop=false]https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F53817606[/flash]



Heh, that beginning is totally inceptiony.


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## JPQ (Jul 23, 2012)

Shows Zebra can sound very nice i mean dont sound cheap softsynth what i allready know but now i know even better... Testing demo is next impossible know what is reallity possible there is so too bad limitation in demo i mean its pitch is not stable whivh mean s i cannot test if suitable my personal needs. I hared only few sounds what i can imagine use itself but i am not so massive music composer... i still can like patches and music even still if i use or compose material which needs them.


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## marcotronic (Jul 23, 2012)

choc0thrax @ Mon Jul 23 said:


> gsilbers @ Mon Jul 23 said:
> 
> 
> > got it.
> ...



Yes, on the website they say you need a valid Zebra 2.x license: http://www.u-he.com/cms/

Marco


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## madbulk (Jul 23, 2012)

Sounds awesome, Ned.


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## Ed (Jul 23, 2012)

Ned Bouhalassa @ Mon Jul 23 said:


> Here's a little something I put together, feature Dark Zebra on all synths, with just a few stock Logic drum beats. I call it *The Striped Bat*:
> 
> [flash width=300 height=100 loop=false]https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F53817606[/flash]



haha love it! Did you tweak any of the presets or is this all as it comeS?

And yes the beginning is just totally Inception. :D


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## Ned Bouhalassa (Jul 23, 2012)

Thanks friends! Ed, the sounds are as-is, though I made good use of the mod wheel and some CC 2 (Zimmer's choice). Compression is used here and there.


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## Daniel James (Jul 23, 2012)

This actually looks quite fun. 

Hans and Howard are some of the best patch designers out there today so I imagine studying the construction of the sounds will be invaluable for some. I am not sure personally if I would use them (that inner demon telling me I'm cheating) although I imagine we will start to hear this stuff everywhere now.

Bring on payday.

Dan


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## germancomponist (Jul 23, 2012)

Daniel James @ Mon Jul 23 said:


> Hans and Howard are some of the best patch designers out there today so I imagine studying the construction of the sounds will be invaluable for some. I am not sure personally if I would use them (that inner demon telling me I'm cheating) although I imagine we will start to hear this stuff everywhere now.
> 
> Bring on payday.
> 
> Dan



+1

Ned, your demo is nice!


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## Ned Bouhalassa (Jul 23, 2012)

Merci, mon ami!


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## JPQ (Jul 23, 2012)

choc0thrax @ Mon 23 Jul said:


> Ned Bouhalassa @ Mon Jul 23 said:
> 
> 
> > Here's a little something I put together, feature Dark Zebra on all synths, with just a few stock Logic drum beats. I call it *The Striped Bat*:
> ...



Sounds synthetic but good way i mean sometimes sýnth have something what i cannot describe with even with my mother tongue. something which is easily avoided with this recipe use synth with crappy envelopes,and lfos,and poor noise source. this is quick and easy basic method.


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## Sid Francis (Jul 23, 2012)

I just watched the video: WOW! normally I don´t like pure synthesizer sounds anymore because they´re often too sterile, but if this monster would cost a third I would be downloading now. 
Not "My home is my castle" but "My purse is my guardian" :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## Biggator1999 (Jul 23, 2012)

So I know this is a little off topic, but I'd love a couple people to give me their opinion. I'm about to make a purchase and the contenders are CS2 or Dark Zebra. I know there is a crazy price difference, but I can't really afford them both. If you were me, which one would you buy? I already have Zebra2 and I use it a lot, so I'm not really missing much other than the extras that they added (filters and such). I think I know the reaction to this question, but humor me. Because I know I will probably not use the patches straight out of the box either and CS2 is a more useful tool for me than a bunch of patches that will never go into any of my music.


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## zvenx (Jul 23, 2012)

Ned, I love your demo above..... 
rsp


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## Ed (Jul 23, 2012)

Biggator1999 @ Mon Jul 23 said:


> So I know this is a little off topic, but I'd love a couple people to give me their opinion. I'm about to make a purchase and the contenders are CS2 or Dark Zebra. I know there is a crazy price difference, but I can't really afford them both. If you were me, which one would you buy? I already have Zebra2 and I use it a lot, so I'm not really missing much other than the extras that they added (filters and such). I think I know the reaction to this question, but humor me. Because I know I will probably not use the patches straight out of the box either and CS2 is a more useful tool for me than a bunch of patches that will never go into any of my music.




Wait, if you have Zebra2 already then the price is just a relatively small upgrade. CS2 is much more expensive than the upgrade price.. even more expensive than buying Zebra2 and the HZ upgrade all together!

But anyway aside from that, you really cannot compare lol. But CS2 is a gorgeous string library.


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## germancomponist (Jul 23, 2012)

Ed @ Mon Jul 23 said:


> But anyway aside from that, you really cannot compare lol. But CS2 is a gorgeous string library.



+1


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## JohnG (Jul 23, 2012)

Biggator1999 @ 23rd July 2012 said:


> I know I will probably not use the patches straight out of the box either and CS2 is a more useful tool for me than a bunch of patches that will never go into any of my music.



Well, it sounds as though you want both but, if you have to choose, this probably answers your own question.


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## Saxer (Jul 23, 2012)

Biggator1999 @ 23.7.2012 said:


> So I know this is a little off topic, but I'd love a couple people to give me their opinion. I'm about to make a purchase and the contenders are CS2 or Dark Zebra. I know there is a crazy price difference, but I can't really afford them both. If you were me, which one would you buy? I already have Zebra2 and I use it a lot, so I'm not really missing much other than the extras that they added (filters and such). I think I know the reaction to this question, but humor me. Because I know I will probably not use the patches straight out of the box either and CS2 is a more useful tool for me than a bunch of patches that will never go into any of my music.


get CS2. until zebra3 comes out and brings (a selection if not all of) these patches with it you can write a bunch of wonderful timeless string music.


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## Biggator1999 (Jul 23, 2012)

I thank all you guys for your opinions. I have LASS 2 and LASS LS already and I'm not sure that I really need another string library at the moment, but I've been impressed with the sound of everything I've heard with CS2 and the fact that everything is just 5 patches and it seems to sound pretty close to done straight out of the box is really attractive for me. I mean I feel like I might still use LASS, and I think LASS 2 is a huge stuff forward for the library, but I mean you can't even compare with the simplicity of the CS2 library. Plus I think they will mix well together. I think I might have to pull the trigger on CS2. This discussion was also hoping I would hear someone say Dark Zebra, because I really shouldn't spend the cash on this library, but I've been wanting it since it came out and I think I will use the heck out it so I think it's gonna pay for itself many times over in the end.


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## Ed (Jul 24, 2012)

But I mean... Dark Zebra is what.. $99 if you have Z2 already? whereas CS2 is over $500 so.... I still dont see where the comparison is even in price?


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## Ned Bouhalassa (Jul 24, 2012)

Apples and oranges, IMO. 

Back on topic, as anyone else here played with the new patches yet?


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## re-peat (Jul 24, 2012)

Ned Bouhalassa @ Tue Jul 24 said:


> (...) Back on topic, as anyone else here played with the new patches yet?


Yes, I have. 
Not a bad expansion.

_


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## synthetic (Jul 24, 2012)

Kralc @ Sun Jul 22 said:


> These patches will be awesome to analyze. Can't wait for this.



Yeah, same here. I'm looking at this set as a Zebra programming masterclass.


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## flashman (Jul 24, 2012)

It is an interesting insight into how he writes as well. 

But also if he's selling off the sounds it means he's had enough and is looking for another new direction which without doubt everyone will be copying in two years time...just like Gladiator and Batman Begins....


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## Resoded (Jul 24, 2012)

flashman @ 24th July 2012 said:


> It is an interesting insight into how he writes as well.
> 
> But also if he's selling off the sounds it means he's had enough and is looking for another new direction which without doubt everyone will be copying in two years time...just like Gladiator and Batman Begins....



I don't think "selling off" is entirely accurate. He shared them with U-He in return for them to develop the custom made Zebra with Diva filters for him. When U-He talked about it it sounded more like their idea rather than Hans's.


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## chimuelo (Jul 24, 2012)

Nice demo Ned.

And Howard Scarrs patches are a Lesson themselves.
I have a Bank of his for Solaris hardware synth, and his routing ideas are so outside, yet have purpose.
Modulating an Oscillator with an Oscillator that then Syncs with another, then have a free Oscillator/Shaper choice using incredible performance tricks. That's using a 4 Oscillator design.

Keep up the good work...

Ladies & Gentlemen,.............JeffL..............Ankyu


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## Ned Bouhalassa (Jul 27, 2012)

Hello people,

A second Dark Zebra demo, more in a D n B style. While composing, I pictured taking a drive in a zebramobile. All synths Zebra:

[flash width=300 height=100 loop=false]https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F54346218[/flash]


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## Resoded (Jul 27, 2012)

Very inspiring Ned!


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## marcotronic (Jul 28, 2012)

Sounds great, Ned! (Also your first demo was very nice, indeed!)


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## synthetic (Jul 29, 2012)

Just downloaded this set. Totally humbled. I thought I knew a few things about programming Zebra but these are unbelievable. 

Bataalimba is incredible. The basses even using Zebra 2 filters are immense. And I'm so so happy that the CS-80 pads from Inception are in here too.


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## marcotronic (Jul 31, 2012)

Hi guys,

I have heavily used some of the new ZebraHZ patches for this little trailer piece I've done a coupe of days ago:

http://soundcloud.com/soundrepository/s ... nt-royalty

(Sorry for the watermark - but it's obligatory when you sell that stuf on audiojungle...)

Marco


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## germancomponist (Aug 6, 2012)

Ned Bouhalassa @ Sat Jul 28 said:


> Hello people,
> 
> A second Dark Zebra demo, more in a D n B style. While composing, I pictured taking a drive in a zebramobile. All synths Zebra:
> 
> [flash width=300 height=100 loop=false]https://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F54346218[/flash]



Also cool!


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## germancomponist (Aug 6, 2012)

re-peat @ Tue Jul 24 said:


> Ned Bouhalassa @ Tue Jul 24 said:
> 
> 
> > (...) Back on topic, as anyone else here played with the new patches yet?
> ...



I was and am always impressed by your demos, re-peat!

I would like to listen to a non orchestral demo, done by you! Is there something to listen to? o/~


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## StrezovSampling (Aug 6, 2012)

I do love the expansion. Lots of stuff are suitable for Batman films only imho, but there are some nice gems in there! 

I did a speedwork a couple of days ago - 1 hour of tweaking things up. 
http://soundcloud.com/strezov/dark-zebra-speedwork

I'm waiting for them to fix the Cubase issue (no sound from plugin when loaded in a large template)... it's so inspiring!


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## muziksculp (Aug 10, 2012)

Hi,

Does 'Dark Knight Zebra' use the exact same Synth Engine/Filters/Architecture that is in 'Zebra 2' ? or is it different ? 

I'm under the impression that DKZ is just a new special version with a dark GUI, and custom presets. or is this not the case ?

Just wanted to clarify this detail.

Thanks,
Muziksculp


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## marcotronic (Aug 10, 2012)

muziksculp @ Fri Aug 10 said:


> Hi,
> 
> Does 'Dark Knight Zebra' use the exact same Synth Engine/Filters/Architecture that is in 'Zebra 2' ? or is it different ?
> 
> ...



No, the "Dark Zebra" also contains some Diva-Filters and a few addtional features. So it's a different beast than Zebra 2.5.

Marco


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## muziksculp (Aug 10, 2012)

marcotronic @ Fri Aug 10 said:


> No, the "Dark Zebra" also contains some Diva-Filters and a few addtional features. So it's a different beast than Zebra 2.5.
> 
> Marco



Thanks for the clarification.

It would be cool to have those Diva-Filters in a future Zebra update, or maybe in Zebra 3 !


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## marcotronic (Aug 10, 2012)

muziksculp @ Fri Aug 10 said:


> marcotronic @ Fri Aug 10 said:
> 
> 
> > No, the "Dark Zebra" also contains some Diva-Filters and a few addtional features. So it's a different beast than Zebra 2.5.
> ...



You're welcome  As far as I remember I have read somewhere (maybe I dreamt it  ) that those filters will be in Zebra 3 but with better performance (they are very CPU hungry...)

Marco


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## Ed (Aug 10, 2012)

Really wish Zebra2 and DZ were multitimberal!


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## givemenoughrope (Oct 25, 2017)

I'm not wearing hockey pants either.


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## Michael Antrum (Oct 25, 2017)

givemenoughrope said:


> I'm not wearing hockey pants either.



Good to know....


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