# How to get good at Zebra?



## ThomasNL (Sep 22, 2021)

Hey all,

I love using Zebra 2 but so far mostly just used presets. Anyone that can recommend a good course/tutorial series for learning to create your own sounds? I know how synths work but for some reason very "easy" things in other synths are hard to find/accomplish in zebra for me for some reason.

Thanks!


----------



## gohrev (Sep 22, 2021)

I forgot who said it, but going with a preset for a basis and then adding your own elements and flavours to it will quickly upgrade your knowledge.

As for tutorials: u-he published a nice playlist with short tuts


----------



## Pier (Sep 22, 2021)

ThomasNL said:


> I know how synths work but for some reason very "easy" things in other synths are hard to find/accomplish in zebra for me for some reason.


I think I know what you mean.

Zebra excels at complex sounds with lots of modulations and layers, specially pads, but simple "effective" analog sounds seem to be difficult to accomplish unlike in Repro or Diva.

I'm working on a soundset for Zebra which is mostly composed of somewhat simple sounds and it took me a long time to get the right tone. Try this:

- OSC -> XMF: LP4 with serial

Or:
- OSC -> VCF: LP Vintage2

Overdrive the filters to taste, even add some overdrive after/before the filter.


----------



## R. Naroth (Sep 22, 2021)

ThomasNL said:


> Hey all,
> 
> I love using Zebra 2 but so far mostly just used presets. Anyone that can recommend a good course/tutorial series for learning to create your own sounds? I know how synths work but for some reason very "easy" things in other synths are hard to find/accomplish in zebra for me for some reason.
> 
> Thanks!


In the initial days, I found some of these videos on youtube helpful. Zebra is modular, sometimes I would pick just a single OSC & VCF and try to see how far I can push it. Just the OSC effects can take you quite far. It helps to have the output visualized, I use an old, free VST plugin.

Maybe we can use this thread to post small Zebra tips like what @Pier did in his comment above.


----------



## R. Naroth (Sep 22, 2021)

Here is a simple pad using a comb filter. Even though no modulators are applied, the noise that drives the comb filter makes the sound alive. I've circled many of the knobs that are modified in this patch. Reverb is essential. 

Try different Comb modes (except Cluster which will blowout your speakers)
Try modulating the Comb's TONE and FLAVOUR knobs.
Try a different "Shape" type.







Try this VCF setting to get a choral sound:


----------



## R. Naroth (Sep 22, 2021)

Single FMO, modulated with Env sounds magical when Piped through Reverb.


----------



## Pier (Sep 22, 2021)

@R. Naroth would be great if you also posted the patches


----------



## R. Naroth (Sep 22, 2021)

Of course. 
Sorry, I had not saved those, just recreated them. Here they are.

For the Comb String pad, try enabling VCF2 and see how it carves out some frequencies to create an interesting effect.


----------



## NULL_Bits (Sep 22, 2021)

You've gotta earn your stripes.


----------



## KEM (Sep 23, 2021)

One of the things I like about Zebra is the visual aspect of it within the center box, if you turn something off then you actually see it go away, and everything stays in order on the sides, so my way of learning Zebra was taking patches I liked and just turning everything off in order of the newest thing to the starting point, that way I could see what everything does in order, Zebra is a good synth to learn that way in my opinion


----------



## ThomasNL (Sep 23, 2021)

KEM said:


> One of the things I like about Zebra is the visual aspect of it within the center box, if you turn something off then you actually see it go away, and everything stays in order on the sides, so my way of learning Zebra was taking patches I liked and just turning everything off in order of the newest thing to the starting point, that way I could see what everything does in order, Zebra is a good synth to learn that way in my opinion


Yeah, this is what I tried to do too, but there is always some elements that I just can't "turn off" because it is hidden somewhere else.

Thanks everyone for the resources!


----------



## KEM (Sep 23, 2021)

ThomasNL said:


> Yeah, this is what I tried to do too, but there is always some elements that I just can't "turn off" because it is hidden somewhere else.
> 
> Thanks everyone for the resources!



I had that issue at first too, just keep doing it and you’ll eventually find out where those secret parameters are and such, Zebra is certainly not the easiest synth to pick up but once you learn it you’ll definitely be at advantage when trying out other synths afterwards. It takes time but if you just force yourself to get past that initial frustration you’ll get the hang of it!!


----------



## ThomasNL (Sep 23, 2021)

R. Naroth said:


> Single FMO, modulated with Env sounds magical when Piped through Reverb.


Which skin is this btw?


----------



## GNP (Sep 23, 2021)

gohrev said:


> I forgot who said it, but going with a preset for a basis and then adding your own elements and flavours to it will quickly upgrade your knowledge.
> 
> As for tutorials: u-he published a nice playlist with short tuts



Yep, that's how I learnt it the hard way too. I opened presets I loved and fiddled around with them, and slowly understood what each knob and option did. Eventually you'll understand what the perimeters do and you'll be able to create your own kickass stuff.


----------



## ThomasNL (Sep 23, 2021)

What I've noticed now, toying with it a couple hours, is that i get distracted/overwhelmed by the options. By just focusing on one or two modules and twisting every knob and settings, I am learning much quicker than trying to dissect a preset with 5+ modules.


----------



## KEM (Sep 23, 2021)

ThomasNL said:


> Which skin is this btw?



Not a skin, that’s just the new UI, you have to update Zebra and then manually select it


----------



## Pier (Sep 23, 2021)

ThomasNL said:


> Which skin is this btw?


It's the default skin of Zebra HZ.


----------



## Pier (Sep 23, 2021)

KEM said:


> Zebra is a good synth to learn that way in my opinion


After messing with synths for years I decided to get serious with synthesis and got into Zebra.

In a way it's a complex synth, but OTOH it can help you understand better what's going on since you have control of the audio flow/architecture (unlike fixed architecture synths). Maybe it's not for everyone, but for me it was a fantastic synth to learn on.


----------



## ThomasNL (Sep 24, 2021)

Pier said:


> After messing with synths for years I decided to get serious with synthesis and got into Zebra.
> 
> In a way it's a complex synth, but OTOH it can help you understand better what's going on since you have control of the audio flow/architecture (unlike fixed architecture synths). Maybe it's not for everyone, but for me it was a fantastic synth to learn on.


I'm very much a visual learner, so for me a synth like Serum was a very good way to learn synthesis. You see the waveforms, the filters, the envelopes and lfo's visually doing their thing. Made everything so much easier to understand for me.


----------



## spektralisk (Sep 24, 2021)

I don't know any good tutorials but what I recommend is to really spent time with it until you start "feeling" it 

For me Zebra is one big sweet spot. It's built from very high quality components and when you combine them you almost always get something that sounds good and musical.

Another thing that I can recommend is my soundset which offers free patch templates and wavesets for Zebra. These might be helpful for you when creating new sounds and maybe give you some ideas for your own patches. 

Full soundset is available at https://www.spektralisk.com/products/xebra
(free version is available at https://soundflux.spektralisk.com/)


----------



## R. Naroth (Sep 24, 2021)

ThomasNL said:


> I'm very much a visual learner, so for me a synth like Serum was a very good way to learn synthesis. You see the waveforms, the filters, the envelopes and lfo's visually doing their thing. Made everything so much easier to understand for me.


Zebra only has a couple of modules (Fold and MSEGs) that have any visual feedback. I don't think u-he is big on this maybe because it adds more CPU load. One thing I've found helpful is to add an oscilloscope plugin to your master bus and see what the Oscillator effects, PWM, Sync and VCOs are doing to the OSC waveform.


----------



## Pier (Sep 24, 2021)

R. Naroth said:


> I don't think u-he is big on this maybe because it adds more CPU load.


U-He has been adding visual feedback in their more recent products (Hive, Bazille, etc) although not as much as some would've liked. In Vital, Serum, Pigments, etc, everything is animated.

Zebra doesn't have any probably because it's 15? years old at this point. I'm guessing Zebra 3 will have more visual indicators.


----------



## RogiervG (Sep 24, 2021)

Have a good grasp on synthesis in general (the path a sound goes through, from source to end)
Start with the analog path, which is the easiest. Then expand on that.. etc..
just experiment with the other options once you have some knowlegde on the sounds in general.
And so on..

the more you try, experiment, the better you start to know the gui/naming/routing/filters/etc of zebra


----------



## Minko (Sep 24, 2021)

Start at one component, then work on to the next.


----------



## Dirtgrain (Sep 24, 2021)

R. Naroth said:


> One thing I've found helpful is to add an oscilloscope plugin to your master bus and see what the Oscillator effects, PWM, Sync and VCOs are doing to the OSC waveform.


Yes, this, but I also used a spectrum analyzer (like Voxengo Span) to get a better grasp of what the oscillator effects were doing. 

Zebra was my starter synth, and I learned a lot with it, despite warnings from others that I should try a simpler synth at first. It was fine. The u-he tutorial videos and the manual are well thought out. And I fell in love with the comb filter, not knowing it was quite unique--I don't think there is an effect in any other VST I have tried that I like as much.


----------



## Pier (Sep 26, 2021)

Today I learned a new Zebra trick!

Turns out if you put the MSEGs to single they will work globally (and keep looping) when using the arpeggiator, instead of being triggered on every single note from the arpeggiator.

In all these years I had never tried this, and the manual simply says:



> single..........only retriggers after all notes are released (like organ “percussion” register)


My god this open so many possibilities.


----------



## Pier (Oct 5, 2021)

Here's another Zebra trick.

If you need random values per voice (like the random modulator in Hive or other synths) you can use the mod mapper modulator. It's not really random, but it's good enough to fool our ears.






This modulator has 3 modes:

1) "Increment" which applies values per voice. This is polyphonic so even though it will display a new value on every new key press, the values will be maintained on the voice. So, if you play a chord, each note will have its own value applied.

2) "Key" which gives values per key. In this mode, the value is applied to every note value. So if you play a C4 it will always get the same value from the mapper.

3) "Smooth" and "quantize" will allow you to sweep through the values with another modulator like the modwheel.

If you want a random value on every key press, use "Increment", and right click on the mod mapper UI to generate any number of random values.


----------



## R. Naroth (Nov 18, 2021)

Zebra tips. While trying to create metallic noise sounds such as a cymbals, no matter what I did, white noise + VCF + EQ just didn't cut it. The solution came from a Serum tutorial video by Au5. What we need to do is carve out bands of frequencies from the noise.





To do this in Zebra, you can use the AP Phaser 8 filter like so:






As you turn the cutoff knob, you can hear the band moving through the white noise. Resonance adds a bit more teeth to it. Split works more like a fine tune. Modulating these ever so lightly can produce some very nice results.

This technique works to modify the timbre of any input, not just noise. Works great on pads to generate nice organic sweeps. I've attached the patch with some additional modules and modulations, just to make it palatable.


----------



## KEM (Nov 18, 2021)

R. Naroth said:


> Zebra tips. While trying to create metallic noise sounds such as a cymbals, no matter what I did, white noise + VCF + EQ just didn't cut it. The solution came from a Serum tutorial video by Au5. What we need to do is carve out bands of frequencies from the noise.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



God tip!! Will try this out for sure


----------



## R. Naroth (Nov 26, 2021)

I bought the Nordsund Bundle by @TheUnfinished and apart from the fact that it is a fantastic collection of patches, it is also a wealth of Zebra knowledge. There is a BF sale currently on. For those in the US, it comes to about $85. Having gone though some of the patches, even without the sale, IMO it is every bit worth it.


----------



## Pier (Nov 26, 2021)

R. Naroth said:


> I bought the Nordsund Bundle by @TheUnfinished and apart from the fact that it is a fantastic collection of patches, it is also a wealth of Zebra knowledge. There is a BF sale currently on. For those in the US, it comes to about $85. Having gone though some of the patches, even without the sale, IMO it is every bit worth it.


I got Nordsund Dusk too in a previous sale. It's fantastic and has tons of great Zebra tips!


----------



## TheUnfinished (Nov 28, 2021)

My favourite answer to this question is always to "reverse engineer".

Select a few sounds you like in Zebra and then slowly and steadily recreate them in another instance. Make sure you listen to what's happening to the sound with each step of rebuilding it.

You can also experiment as you go along if you want: change the oscillator waveform, use a different filter, alter the envelope shapes and/or LFO rates, etc. to learn how these things affect the sound. 

Just by doing this you'll be surprised how quickly you're able to subconsciously make good decisions when making your own original patches.

It also provides fun* moments when you have to work out why your reverse engineered versions of patches DON'T sound like the originals!

*Frustrating.


----------



## Mikro93 (Dec 5, 2021)

NULL_Bits said:


> You've gotta earn your stripes.


I'm taking this at face value!

This morning, I opened Zebralette (I don't have Zebra yet), and created a few patches from scratch. I then used these patches in a short track, to try and push what I could do in a limited time amount, with a limited set of features. Here's the result.

There is some mixing involved, side chaining, EQing when I couldn't get the sound I wanted with the built-in FX, a bus reverb, and mastering magic on the main bus, but all sources or instances of Zebralette.

So, do I get my stripes?


----------



## R. Naroth (Dec 29, 2021)

Let's revive this thread..  
One thing I figured out late in Zebra were the Arpeggiator Modulators ArpMod and ArpMd2. It was really hard to find out where they were within the UI. 

In Zebra, you have to select the +A or +AB buttons to see the lanes.





In ZebraHZ, it is a bit harder to find because there are no A/AB buttons. The lanes are always present but they just looked like dividers.




I wish they had used different colors for the two ArpMod lanes.

You can associate ArpMods to levels in different lanes and break the pattern of everything triggering at the same time. In the attached example, I used ArpMd2 to turn off the Bass Drum except for the first note.
Sounds like this:
View attachment BassNDrums.mp3


ArpMods only change when a note/step is triggered so it will need to follow that pattern. Zebra Arpeggiators are really nice but not very easy to modify, especially when you want to insert a new note in an existing pattern. But limitations are sometimes good, they trigger new ideas that wouldn't have happened otherwise. 

What I realize is that Soft Synths are so complex, it is hard to wrap an intuitive UI around it that lets you tweak every little thing easily. Thus it becomes imperative that developers find uncommon and innovative UI elements to solve it with in the limited space allocated to them within a DAW. I just have to commit to RTFM, several times.


----------



## KEM (Dec 29, 2021)

R. Naroth said:


> Let's revive this thread..
> One thing I figured out late in Zebra were the Arpeggiator Modulators ArpMod and ArpMd2. It was really hard to find out where they were within the UI.
> 
> In Zebra, you have to select the +A or +AB buttons to see the lanes.
> ...



Keep blessing this thread with your knowledge!! 


And patches…


----------



## R. Naroth (Feb 25, 2022)

Reviving the good ol' thread again.. Here is a technique to get a semi-realistic female vocal "aah" sound-- it will work only well with in the 3rd octave, the lower octaves will sound too nasal. This is just a starting point, there are many ways we can go from here. The secret to making it less synth-y is in the pitch modulation. The LFOs are driving the OSC Detune and Vibrato. There is a simple MSEG that bends the pitch slightly during the attack..

Try modifying the VCF2 cutoff to change the timbre and format. I tried to keep it minimalistic just to demo the method.

Patch attached.


----------



## KEM (Feb 25, 2022)

R. Naroth said:


> Reviving the good ol' thread again.. Here is a technique to get a semi-realistic female vocal "aah" sound-- it will work only well with in the 3rd octave, the lower octaves will sound too nasal. This is just a starting point, there are many ways we can go from here. The secret to making it less synth-y is in the pitch modulation. The LFOs are driving the OSC Detune and Vibrato. There is a simple MSEG that bends the pitch slightly during the attack..
> 
> Try modifying the VCF2 cutoff to change the timbre and format. I tried to keep it minimalistic just to demo the method.
> 
> Patch attached.



I don’t know how you do bro, sounds awesome!!


----------



## EvilDragon (Feb 26, 2022)

R. Naroth said:


> it will work only well with in the 3rd octave, the lower octaves will sound too nasal.


You can probably shape the relevant parameters with modmapper(s) so that the patch sounds more consistent across a wider range.


----------



## Andreas Moisa (Feb 26, 2022)

R. Naroth said:


> Zebra tips. While trying to create metallic noise sounds such as a cymbals, no matter what I did, white noise + VCF + EQ just didn't cut it. The solution came from a Serum tutorial video by Au5. What we need to do is carve out bands of frequencies from the noise.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yeah, use it all the time :-D


----------



## Andreas Moisa (Feb 26, 2022)

I found these videos really helpful: https://www.youtube.com/user/ThePereveslo/videos


----------



## R. Naroth (Feb 26, 2022)

Andreas Moisa said:


> I found these videos really helpful: https://www.youtube.com/user/ThePereveslo/videos


 @Andreas Moisa That is quite a treasure trove of sound design tuts...


EvilDragon said:


> You can probably shape the relevant parameters with modmapper(s) so that the patch sounds more consistent across a wider range.


@EvilDragon Good idea, I must try that. Lower voices have been challenging to model in general.


----------



## Kel (May 1, 2022)

Hi, did you read the zebra user guide? Devour it and learn from it. I did when started and from there started experimenting. To the point of being able to make a soundbank from all the experience. Because I had a little experience from other synths I jumped to the hybrid design.

Everything you put enough time in, should have a reward.


----------



## Snoobydoobydoo (May 14, 2022)

The Z3 spline based morphing will be soo smooth.


----------



## KEM (May 14, 2022)

Snoobydoobydoo said:


> The Z3 spline based morphing will be soo smooth.




WHAT?!


----------



## KEM (May 14, 2022)

@Snoobydoobydoo where did you get that and is there more? I will beg if I have to…


----------



## Snoobydoobydoo (May 14, 2022)

KEM said:


> @Snoobydoobydoo where did you get that and is there more? I will beg if I have to…


My lips are sealed. Ah, thats all there is :/


----------



## KEM (May 14, 2022)

Snoobydoobydoo said:


> My lips are sealed. Ah, thats all there is :/



I can’t believe Zebra 3 is finally a reality and I’ve now seen a glimpse of it. It’s 2:30am and I want to sprint a lap around my neighborhood in excitement


----------



## ed buller (May 14, 2022)

buy some Howard Scarr Patches and study them. There is no better programmer

best

e


----------



## DANIELE (Aug 12, 2022)

I have a problem with Zebra 2. I created a pluck bell like sound (a sort of ping sound) with a little bit of delay (1/4 1/4 1/4 1/4). When I apply a tempo change in Reaper I hear the delay change pitch creating a not wanted dissonant sound.

Is there something I'm doing wrong? It's very annoying.


----------



## KEM (Aug 12, 2022)

DANIELE said:


> I have a problem with Zebra 2. I created a pluck bell like sound (a sort of ping sound) with a little bit of delay (1/4 1/4 1/4 1/4). When I apply a tempo change in Reaper I hear the delay change pitch creating a not wanted dissonant sound.
> 
> Is there something I'm doing wrong? It's very annoying.



Try using a separate delay plugin if you aren’t already, that might work


----------



## DANIELE (Aug 12, 2022)

KEM said:


> Try using a separate delay plugin if you aren’t already, that might work


Thank you.

I thinked about that but the delay goes in the reverb and I don't want to build a chain of plugins just for that patch. Why doesn't it behave correctly?

Any good delay pluign out there?


----------



## KEM (Aug 12, 2022)

DANIELE said:


> Thank you.
> 
> I thinked about that but the delay goes in the reverb and I don't want to build a chain of plugins just for that patch. Why doesn't it behave correctly?
> 
> Any good delay pluign out there?



Tons, I usually go for Echoboy first, and don’t forget Zebra has its own Zrev plugin that it comes with, so you could still use the Zebra reverb after the delay


----------



## Pier (Aug 12, 2022)

DANIELE said:


> Why doesn't it behave correctly?


I could be wrong but I think probably all delays will produce some kind of artifact when you change the delay time while there's stuff in the feedback buffer. Delays that emulate the tape behavior will produce a pitch change effect.

If you don't want the delay to change its time with the tempo, you could set a fixed time without syncing to the DAW tempo.

It's a bit tedious but you could have a different Zebra instance (with a different delay time) for every section of your track that has a different tempo.


----------



## DANIELE (Aug 12, 2022)

Pier said:


> I could be wrong but I think probably all delays will produce some kind of artifact when you change the delay time while there's stuff in the feedback buffer. Delays that emulate the tape behavior will produce a pitch change effect.
> 
> If you don't want the delay to change its time with the tempo, you could set a fixed time without syncing to the DAW tempo.
> 
> It's a bit tedious but you could have a different Zebra instance (with a different delay time) for every section of your track that has a different tempo.


Ah thanks, it makes sense.


----------



## JohnG (Aug 12, 2022)

DANIELE said:


> When I apply a tempo change in Reaper I hear the delay change pitch


If the tempo is changing, we will always have this problem, but there's a solution.

*Solution*

Instead of tying the delay to the tempo (or bpm / note values), use milliseconds. That way the delay doesn't distort when the tempo changes. This is something you can use on _any_ delay, not just Zebra. Same goes for Omnisphere, your DAW, and most delay / echo plugins.

*Example:*

tempo is 93 beats per minute; so in milliseconds:

Quarter note (crochet) is 645.16 ms
Eighth note (quaver) is 322.58 ms
Sixteenth (semiquaver) is 161.29

Triplet eighth (triplet quaver) 215.05

And so on.


----------



## Living Fossil (Aug 12, 2022)

DANIELE said:


> I have a problem with Zebra 2. I created a pluck bell like sound (a sort of ping sound) with a little bit of delay (1/4 1/4 1/4 1/4). When I apply a tempo change in Reaper I hear the delay change pitch creating a not wanted dissonant sound.


There's no sense in setting up the same delay time (1/4) four times.

And as mentioned, tempo changes causes glitches in almost all delays.


----------



## Pier (Aug 12, 2022)

Living Fossil said:


> There's no sense in setting up the same delay time (1/4) four times.


Zebra has a multitap delay with 4 taps so I imagine that's what Daniele is referring to.


----------



## Living Fossil (Aug 12, 2022)

Pier said:


> Zebra has a multitap delay with 4 taps so I imagine that's what Daniele is referring to.


I know, but it doesn't make sense to engage more than 1 tap if you need just one value.
(it would be different if you could filter/saturate different taps in different ways etc., but so you're just accumulating the identical)


----------



## Pier (Aug 12, 2022)

Living Fossil said:


> I know, but it doesn't make sense to engage more than 1 tap if you need just one value.
> (it would be different if you could filter/saturate different taps in different ways etc., but so you're just accumulating the identical)


Maybe he's using ratio and pan too.


----------



## tressie5 (Aug 12, 2022)

Being the lazy ADHD sod I am, I like synths to be as intuitive as possible. Zebra stumped me when I couldn't find the switch to activate the sequencer so I had to go online just for that. Kind of annoying. But, so I don't make @Pier angry at me, it's a great synth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## Living Fossil (Aug 12, 2022)

Pier said:


> Maybe he's using ratio and pan too.


Ok, he didn't mention different ratio settings, so I assume it's just 4times the same.


----------



## DANIELE (Aug 13, 2022)

I'm using the Delay 1 in stereo mode so it is using only the first two delays (by looking at the guide), I wrote all the line just as it is in Zebra not because I'm using it.

It is still a work in progress so the settings are not final, this is why actually it could be useless but maybe it won't be in the future.


----------



## R. Naroth (Aug 20, 2022)

To give Zebrify the love it deserves, I recently started exploring it and made a bunch of patches. You can download them for free here: https://sonictales.sellfy.store/p/zebrify-effect-presets/.

Patch demo:


To take full advantage of these patches, make sure that Zebrify is receiving MIDI events. I use it in Cubase and can post the setup instructions if anyone need help.


----------

