# A Zebra2 cinematic cyberpunk sound library. Questions for potential buyers.



## Grim_Universe

After I composed



I had a very positive feedback and some of guys suggested to make my own Zebra 2 sound library.
Before I start to make it, I wanna say, that it will be top notch and one of the best on the whole market for sure, but it won't be really big, because each sound takes a lot of time to make, if you want to make it controllable (the most important thing) and sounding lively. And you need a new CPU to use a lot of Zebra2 instances with different patches in your projects.

Let's say, it will consist of 30 sounds, so how much are you willing to pay for that kind of library? $10? $20? $30?

Or there is no need to even make it, because the most of you have everything you need at this point?
Thank you.


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## axb312

These sound great and I believe theres always room for more awesome Zebra sounds...

Don't be offended but I'd be willing to pay about 5 USD for 30 patches.

Logic:
Unfinished Tunguska, when not on sale: 32 USD
No. of patches: 200


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## DivingInSpace

You were mentioning in the thread that you would have to do some explaining about the patches for people to actually understand how you utilized them in the track. If you included a short video masterclass about your writing and maybe deconstructing the track/part of the track, and eventually some tips on more advanced use of zebra, i could definitely see $10 or $20 being a fair price.

Generally, if the quality is there though, which i already know it is, $10 doesn't seem like a high price to me for the presets alone.


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## ProtectedRights

Unfinished soundsets also contain a bunch of "filler" sounds that are not that great imho. Also the performance pads sometimes don't give that much of space to vary the sounds.

so if there are thirty superb and unique Patches, all of which have some well-defined performance pads that allow morphing the sound (not talking about simple filter or Modulation effects here), I would pay $20 without hesitation, also $30 (incl tax) if it really fits my plate. I have come to appreciate quality much more than quantity.


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## kriskrause

Your presets sound fantastic! I think $10-15 is a good sweet spot. There are people who would pay more, but given that this is your first library, you might want to build a customer base with a more attractive price point. 

You could charge $20 or $30 if you were willing to offer a substantial intro discount that brings the price down into the $10-15 range, but then you'll be locked into the "wait for a sale" game.


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## Peter Satera

I'd be honest and say I'd pick 30 presets up for $10. 

I'll get ZebraHZ packs from the unfinished which has 260 sounds with it for £30. Howard Scarr - 100 presets for 30 euro. Zebra 2 Signature 690 presets - $50. Dark Zebra - 400 Presets for 99 euro. They all tend to be around that price range.


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## Grim_Universe

Guys, thank you very much for your honest opinions! You expressed a lot of good points, and now I have to consider my next steps.


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## Dr.Quest

ProtectedRights said:


> Unfinished soundsets also contain a bunch of "filler" sounds that are not that great imho. Also the performance pads sometimes don't give that much of space to vary the sounds.
> 
> so if there are thirty superb and unique Patches, all of which have some well-defined performance pads that allow morphing the sound (not talking about simple filter or Modulation effects here), I would pay $20 without hesitation, also $30 (incl tax) if it really fits my plate. I have come to appreciate quality much more than quantity.


I think this is a fair assessment. All those libraries with 200 plus sounds have a lot of filler. If the patches sold by the OP match his composition I would go for $20-$25 for sure. Quality above quantity. And that music piece is outstanding!


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## givemenoughrope

Grim, those sounds are pretty great! congrats


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## jcrosby

ProtectedRights said:


> Unfinished soundsets also contain a bunch of "filler" sounds that are not that great imho. Also the performance pads sometimes don't give that much of space to vary the sounds.
> 
> so if there are thirty superb and unique Patches, all of which have some well-defined performance pads that allow morphing the sound (not talking about simple filter or Modulation effects here), I would pay $20 without hesitation, also $30 (incl tax) if it really fits my plate. I have come to appreciate quality much more than quantity.


Beauty's in the eye of the beholder. Personally I find Matt's presets to contain the least fluff. This is obviously user-specific, but The Unfinished is by far one of the more consistent patch developers as he tends to put out sets that fill a specific niche.

I think the point about it being a first release is more than valid.... 10-15 is a reasonable price considering it'd be a first go; and, some "_fluff_" in inevitable in any preset pack. Most people will typically find a few duds unless they're specifically trying to write in exactly the same niche.. _Empty Vessel_'s a good example, while he often puts out smaller soundsets, they're broadly useful, and roughly around the same price range unless he puts out something beyond 40-50 presets... (In which case you might be looking at the 20+-ish range depending on the presets.)

Also why'd you have to go and use the same pic as my desktop wallpaper ?????!!!!!! :emoji_alien:


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## GNP

I would say, try not to make your presets sound too iconic. That would discourage composers from using them, because others would definitely use them.

It would be best if the presets were serious workhorse presets - that is, stuff that doesn't stand out, but sounds great that they can be used and modified over and over again, across different situations, across different projects. I would rather pick a simple workhorse arpegiatted bassline (which can be used everywhere without anyone really giving a shit), rather than a solo standout preset that sounds too recognizable and awesome, if you get what I mean.

I think that's the irony of trying to sell soundsets where we stand now - if something sounds too cool and stands out way too much, not alot of composers would use them, simply because they're so identifiable!


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## Peter Satera

jcrosby said:


> Beauty's in the eye of the beholder. Personally I find Matt's presets to contain the least fluff. This is obviously user-specific, but The Unfinished is by far one of the more consistent patch developers as he tends to put out sets that fill a specific niche.


I can't agree with this more. I find Matt's stuff has a huge amount of variety with minimal fluff.



GNP said:


> I would say, try not to make your presets sound too iconic. That would discourage composers from using them, because others would definitely use them.
> 
> It would be best if the presets were serious workhorse presets - that is, stuff that doesn't stand out, but sounds great that they can be used and modified over and over again, across different situations, across different projects. I would rather pick a simple workhorse arpegiatted bassline (which can be used everywhere without anyone really giving a shit), rather than a solo standout preset that sounds too recognizable and awesome, if you get what I mean.
> 
> I think that's the irony of trying to sell soundsets where we stand now - if something sounds too cool and stands out way too much, not alot of composers would use them, simply because they're so identifiable!



I'm not sure I'm on board with this opinion, each to their own. I'd imagine most of us are preset tweakers, making it a bit more of our own. I'm constantly taking pads and changing the sound of them to make them into leads, sequences, arps, etc. I also think there's a lot of personal preference, one thing I like in a pack will not be the same as others. With the huge variety of synths and preset packs and layering, mixing, etc. It'll be fairly indistinguishable to the average listener. Yes work horse stuff is awesome, but packs need identity and not just generic stuff you could pull from Nexus or Massive.


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## José Herring

I'd rather have 30 high quality sounds that are unique and that are usable than 200 presets that honestly I will never go through.


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## Dr.Quest

Looking forward to this when you get a chance to do it. Really great stuff!


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## GNP

Peter Satera said:


> I can't agree with this more. I find Matt's stuff has a huge amount of variety with minimal fluff.
> 
> 
> 
> I'm not sure I'm on board with this opinion, each to their own. I'd imagine most of us are preset tweakers, making it a bit more of our own. I'm constantly taking pads and changing the sound of them to make them into leads, sequences, arps, etc. I also think there's a lot of personal preference, one thing I like in a pack will not be the same as others. With the huge variety of synths and preset packs and layering, mixing, etc. It'll be fairly indistinguishable to the average listener. Yes work horse stuff is awesome, but packs need identity and not just generic stuff you could pull from Nexus or Massive.



That's exactly what I'm trying to avoid - presets that have identity. Identity should belong to the composer, and not the presets. The Unfinished did a preset called "SFX - Monster" in his Tunguska set, which sounds very cool and awesome, but unfortunately not exactly exclusive. It was perfect for this monster movie I'm working on, but I didn't use it in the end. Identity should be custom-created. If I were to buy presets, I'd rather look for those that are not going to be the star of the show. In this case, 'generic' is a friend.


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## DivingInSpace

GNP said:


> That's exactly what I'm trying to avoid - presets that have identity. Identity should belong to the composer, and not the presets. The Unfinished did a preset called "SFX - Monster" in his Tunguska set, which sounds very cool and awesome, but unfortunately not exactly exclusive. It was perfect for this monster movie I'm working on, but I didn't use it in the end. Identity should be custom-created. If I were to buy presets, I'd rather look for those that are not going to be the star of the show. In this case, 'generic' is a friend.


Honestly, i am not paying for generic presets, i am paying for presets that does something more. Generic presets i can either create myself, find a tutorial for or they are already included as fillers/factory presets in most libraries or synths. If i am going to pay for presets instead of creating them from scratch, they have to have a special sound to them, something more than the generic. Nothing worse than buying a pack and figuring out that it is filled with the same filler plucked basses and boring pads as everything else and only have 3 or 4 presets that actually stick out.


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## GNP

DivingInSpace said:


> Honestly, i am not paying for generic presets, i am paying for presets that does something more. Generic presets i can either create myself, find a tutorial for or they are already included as fillers/factory presets in most libraries or synths. If i am going to pay for presets instead of creating them from scratch, they have to have a special sound to them, something more than the generic. Nothing worse than buying a pack and figuring out that it is filled with the same filler plucked basses and boring pads as everything else and only have 3 or 4 presets that actually stick out.



I would say I would do the exact opposite - generic requires alot more different shades and flavors, and I would need all the help and 2nd opinions I can get. Special sounds should be created from scratch, but they don't have to have so many different shades, simply because they're the star of the show. I'd rather spend the money hiring a sound designer like The Unfinished, if I want an exclusive sound!

Anyway, all the best.


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## axb312

So when are these being released?


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## Dave Connor

Very, very nice writing and your sounds and use of them fantastic.


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## RonOrchComp

axb312 said:


> So when are these being released?




Wondering the same!


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## Dr.Quest

GNP said:


> I would say I would do the exact opposite - generic requires alot more different shades and flavors, and I would need all the help and 2nd opinions I can get.


I do not want generic sounds. I want something that spark my creative impulses. If I can't take a patch like that and tweak it to make it my own then I'm not doing my job. I think people are interested in these patches based on that fantastic composition. I want those patches! I'm not going to recreate that composition with them, I'm going to make my own.


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## Grim_Universe

Wow! Guys, thanks a lot. I really didnt expect the topic to rise again and all your comments are really kind. Thank you.
Regarding the patches: I definetely WILL make the "library". The problem is that I have a lot of things to finish and times are not the best (coronavirus, panic, etc.). I want to wait until everything settles down, and then I will publish the patches.
Thanks a lot once more, it is very inspiring that some of you are interested in these sounds.


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## Peter Satera

GNP said:


> That's exactly what I'm trying to avoid - presets that have identity. Identity should belong to the composer, and not the presets. The Unfinished did a preset called "SFX - Monster" in his Tunguska set, which sounds very cool and awesome, but unfortunately not exactly exclusive. It was perfect for this monster movie I'm working on, but I didn't use it in the end. Identity should be custom-created. If I were to buy presets, I'd rather look for those that are not going to be the star of the show. In this case, 'generic' is a friend.



I can only echo DivingInSpace. Nobody will buy presets we can already get from everywhere else. Identity will come from the method of using them, the processing, layering and usage. There's a reason why we buy 'Artist' libraries, because we aiming to achieve a similar sound but with our own twist and palette. I'm at the point where I can hear libraries nearly instantly, we can tell cinebrass, to JXL, to century. Eben every percussion library is identifiable, but the common listener will not be able to tell. Most of us tweak presets anyway. Some of the unfinished stuff is very unique and not generic, but if I play it...would you be able to tell me where it's from, or who it's by? Probably not considering the huge number of presets and synths out there. I honestly don't get why you'd prefer more of the same just for some additional shades or flavors, tweak what you have for that.


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## hollo

Grim_Universe said:


> Wow! Guys, thanks a lot. I really didnt expect the topic to rise again and all your comments are really kind. Thank you.
> Regarding the patches: I definetely WILL make the "library". The problem is that I have a lot of things to finish and times are not the best (coronavirus, panic, etc.). I want to wait until everything settles down, and then I will publish the patches.
> Thanks a lot once more, it is very inspiring that some of you are interested in these sounds.



Brilliant job on the sounds and the composing too! Congrats! Just release the patches don't worry about the pandemic all of us musicians sitting home even more than normally. 

I was reading your comment about remaking those Zebra patches you found out there on youtube - hehe just like me that's how I started too :D

Good luck! 
Cheers 
Joseph


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## Dr.Quest

Hope everyone is still well during this crazy and challenging time. It would be great to have those sounds in this time of Covid. Never had so much time to work on just about anything.


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## axb312

@Grim_Universe Any update on those patches?


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## Grim_Universe

axb312 said:


> @Grim_Universe Any update on those patches?


Hi, man. To be completely honest, I didnt work a lot on these, because I didnt want to share just the patches I created my cyberpunk track with. Since then I created new ones tho, like this one:








Abstract.wav


Shared with Dropbox




www.dropbox.com




The main problem is that every patch requires too much work until I get competely satisfied with it. The patch I shared, for instance, requires small tweaks and modulation controls, but these tweaks are the hardest part of work and I just cant motivate myself to finish the ones I already did and to do new ones.
Maybe I will release my patch library, but I dont think it will happen in the near future. One more thing is that I feel that my efforts won't pay off, because everybody has a lot of good libraries with synth sounds.


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## Dr.Quest

Grim_Universe said:


> Maybe I will release my patch library, but I dont think it will happen in the near future. One more thing is that I feel that my efforts won't pay off, because everybody has a lot of good libraries with synth sounds.


Yes but your sounds are really quite special. Nothing like them out there. 
Sorry to hear that but you'll never make much money off of sound programing so completely understand. At least we know the sounds can be programmed and maybe we'll get motivated to do it ourselves. Take care and be safe!


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## spacepluk

That sounds amazing! Is it just regular Zebra 2 without the HZ stuff?

Maybe you could compensate for the soundset being small by providing a small example project or some (more detailed than average) notes about how the patches work.


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## Grim_Universe

@Dr.Quest thank you very much for your kind words! I'll try my best to finish that library, but I cant guarantee anything. 
@spacepluk thank you, man! Ye, it is just a regular Zebra2. Thank you for the idea, tho, it seems pretty reasonable to do that actually. Small lib. with flexible sounds+project+some details about how they work. Maybe it's the right way to go actually.


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## axb312

Grim_Universe said:


> @Dr.Quest thank you very much for your kind words! I'll try my best to finish that library, but I cant guarantee anything.
> @spacepluk thank you, man! Ye, it is just a regular Zebra2. Thank you for the idea, tho, it seems pretty reasonable to do that actually. Small lib. with flexible sounds+project+some details about how they work. Maybe it's the right way to go actually.


Hey Eugene ,

Any update about the lib?


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## Merc

Awesome patches. Good work!
Would happily pay 15-20$.


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## Tusker

Grim_Universe said:


> Or there is no need to even make it, because the most of you have everything you need at this point?


Brother Grim_Universe, there is always a need for one with a unique vision and a unique voice. We (8 billion of us on this planet) are drowning in sameness. 

If you build it they will come. It may not be everyone on the planet, but it will be the people you want to have as followers. 💕


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## ka00

Tusker said:


> Brother Grim_Universe, there is always a need for one with a unique vision and a unique voice. We (8 billion of us on this planet) are drowning in sameness.
> 
> If you build it they will come. It may not be everyone on the planet, but it will be the people you want to have as followers. 💕


His city is being bombed. No electricity or heat. I could be wrong, but I don’t assume presets are on his mind. Wishing you strength and perseverance @Grim_Universe


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## Grim_Universe

ka00 said:


> His city is being bombed. No electricity or heat. I could be wrong, but I don’t assume presets are on his mind. Wishing you strength and perseverance @Grim_Universe


Thank you for your kind words, brothers! They are very valuable in such dark times for my home..
You're completely right ka00, I just cant think about it right now. I feel completely empty and destroyed. And I'm really thankful for you guys who understand that. This hell has been going on for almost a year, and emotional state is really unstable, you can't really focus on something for too long. Every day and every week new shit happens, and the only thing that inspires is the help of your countries guys and our heroic army. Thank you!


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## Tusker

Dear Grim, I am so sorry to have not understood what you are going through. Perhaps I can never fully understand. My mere words can’t really help you, but I hope you know how much I do stand with you for your freedom and your dignity and your courage. Thank you for showing us what we can aspire to. 🇺🇦


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## spacepluk

Hang in there! Putin will fail!


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## thesteelydane

Grim_Universe said:


> Thank you for your kind words, brothers! They are very valuable in such dark times for my home..
> You're completely right ka00, I just cant think about it right now. I feel completely empty and destroyed. And I'm really thankful for you guys who understand that. This hell has been going on for almost a year, and emotional state is really unstable, you can't really focus on something for too long. Every day and every week new shit happens, and the only thing that inspires is the help of your countries guys and our heroic army. Thank you!


I can not begin to imagine what you're going through, but know that all of Europe is with you! Stay strong and if you need anything I can help with, let me know!


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## Alchemedia

Grim_Universe said:


> Thank you for your kind words, brothers! They are very valuable in such dark times for my home..
> You're completely right ka00, I just cant think about it right now. I feel completely empty and destroyed. And I'm really thankful for you guys who understand that. This hell has been going on for almost a year, and emotional state is really unstable, you can't really focus on something for too long. Every day and every week new shit happens, and the only thing that inspires is the help of your countries guys and our heroic army. Thank you!


I have ancestors from Га́йсин and vicinity. Be safe & well GU. Ukraine will prevail!


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