What's new

Diva, Zebra 2 or Dark Zebra?

For me, it’s the sound of Diva that makes it special. ****

Comprende ! However, I had thought Diva Filters would have had major effect on DZ sound. Clearly there are other key factors.
Yes … Demos make sense, although it gets tougher each year to sort sound subtleties :blush:
 
Last edited:
I thought you were using demo versions of Zebra (Z2) and Diva? If so, you can still use the small test sets from 3rd parties to explore further capabilities. However, iirc Zebra demo does this crazy thing where it messes with the pitch of notes after a while. Makes it difficult to test like that. Im not sure if the demo still does that. As others have said though Z2 is very versatile and can cover many genres and can get very complex. It’s wonderful.
Oh, sorry i misunderstood you. Yeah, i am using the demo versions, so will definitely check out the test sets for sure! I am thinking about reverse engineering some presets later tonight to get a better feel of both :)
 
I bought Zebra/HZ and Diva at the same time, so I have always used them concurrently.

I also use the synths the OP already has. I think Diva fills more of a gap. Reaktor is extremely versatile as it is so if you have to choose just one, and analog-style sound is your goal, I’d go with Diva first.
 
I've never really considered synth sounds (always focussed more on sample libraries), but this thread made me take a look at u-he, and then I reached Dark Zebra, and wow! Very cool!

I'm not sure I'm ready to jump in yet, but might download the demos and start to learn. I already have synths in Komplete Ultimate 11 (Massive, FM8, Monark, Kontour, Flesh, Razor, Absynth, Reaktor, Form) - but I've never used any of these and don't really know where to start, so my question is: (i) is there one of these you'd recommend that is an easy introduction but sounds good, and (ii) is it a night and day difference between these and Zebra synths? Most of the Komplete sample libraries I don't use anymore (with rare exceptions) because I have better bespoke alternatives, so would the difference between the Komplete synths be like going from the orchestral sounds in Komplete factory to Spitfire? Is it that kind of difference we're talking?
 
I've never really considered synth sounds (always focussed more on sample libraries), but this thread made me take a look at u-he, and then I reached Dark Zebra, and wow! Very cool!

I'm not sure I'm ready to jump in yet, but might download the demos and start to learn. I already have synths in Komplete Ultimate 11 (Massive, FM8, Monark, Kontour, Flesh, Razor, Absynth, Reaktor, Form) - but I've never used any of these and don't really know where to start, so my question is: (i) is there one of these you'd recommend that is an easy introduction but sounds good, and (ii) is it a night and day difference between these and Zebra synths? Most of the Komplete sample libraries I don't use anymore (with rare exceptions) because I have better bespoke alternatives, so would the difference between the Komplete synths be like going from the orchestral sounds in Komplete factory to Spitfire? Is it that kind of difference we're talking?

The NI stuff is really good and up to par and some extremely creative things there like Form, Prism, Reaktor and of course the golden generation of NI with Massive, FM8 and Absynth. But the U-he synths are classics on its own. Bit like comparing the Beatles with the Rolling Stones. I would say start experimenting a bit with them. There are good presets in the NI ones, good enough to get a good idea, turn on all the knobs you can find and see if you get hooked and if it works for you and in your work :)
 
I've never really considered synth sounds (always focussed more on sample libraries), but this thread made me take a look at u-he, and then I reached Dark Zebra, and wow! Very cool!

I'm not sure I'm ready to jump in yet, but might download the demos and start to learn. I already have synths in Komplete Ultimate 11 (Massive, FM8, Monark, Kontour, Flesh, Razor, Absynth, Reaktor, Form) - but I've never used any of these and don't really know where to start, so my question is: (i) is there one of these you'd recommend that is an easy introduction but sounds good, and (ii) is it a night and day difference between these and Zebra synths? Most of the Komplete sample libraries I don't use anymore (with rare exceptions) because I have better bespoke alternatives, so would the difference between the Komplete synths be like going from the orchestral sounds in Komplete factory to Spitfire? Is it that kind of difference we're talking?
So I love the u-he synths. I own almost all of them. But I have had great success with using Reaktor and Massive with Spitfire libraries too. The difference in what you can get from the NI synths and U-he will depend, in large part, on what kind of synth sound you’re after.

Have you looked into the Reaktor community synths? There are some real gems in there and they’re free.

Definitely download the u-he demos. They were a major factor in getting me to buy all the u-he synths I own. But do explore your NI synths. They’re very good and I still use them in addition to my other synths.
 
Great feedback, thanks guys - will look into this, based on your recommendations. Beatles vs Rolling Stones makes sense. If you'd have said Beatles vs Bieber, I'd have been back on the u-he website!

Great - this opens up a whole new avenue of music exploration. Thanks, great thread.
 
I'm tempted to say if you could only have one get Diva (you will never regret getting that synth, trust me on this it's sensational)...but if you can get Zebra and Dark together, do that as soon as possible.

Then go for online courses in Zebra like ADSR (they're the road I took and I learned a frickin ' ton, probably other places I don't know about as well). The more you learn how to use all three of those instruments, the more amazed you'll be at the rewards, which are ongoing.
 
I'm tempted to say if you could only have one get Diva (you will never regret getting that synth, trust me on this it's sensational)...but if you can get Zebra and Dark together, do that as soon as possible.

Then go for online courses in Zebra like ADSR (they're the road I took and I learned a frickin ' ton, probably other places I don't know about as well). The more you learn how to use all three of those instruments, the more amazed you'll be at the rewards, which are ongoing.

I might actually have the money for both, but it all depends on the next paycheck. I think That after this thread, and playing a lot around with the demoes, Diva has taken the lead as my priority! There really is something about that analog sound that I dig hard.
 
I might actually have the money for both, but it all depends on the next paycheck. I think That after this thread, and playing a lot around with the demoes, Diva has taken the lead as my priority! There really is something about that analog sound that I dig hard.

Diva is just sooo good, I'll always have it. But the Zebra HZ combo is a monster imo.

You can't go wrong getting any of them, put it that way. Other great synths are WaveMapper, Sytrus, Harmor, XILS IV, Sylenth, Massive.

Reaktor is one of the best synths I own, but I rarely use it.
 
Reaktor is one of the best synths I own, but I rarely use it.
There's the challenge: to not only get something good, but something good that you'll use. That's not always easy to know in advance.

The only softsynth I use as much as Diva is Omnisphere 2. Both were excellent investments!

(I also rarely use Reaktor, but I agree—great synth.)

Best,

Geoff
 
The NI stuff is really good and up to par and some extremely creative things there like Form, Prism, Reaktor and of course the golden generation of NI with Massive, FM8 and Absynth. But the U-he synths are classics on its own. Bit like comparing the Beatles with the Rolling Stones. I would say start experimenting a bit with them. There are good presets in the NI ones, good enough to get a good idea, turn on all the knobs you can find and see if you get hooked and if it works for you and in your work :)
Reaktor is amazingly flexible/powerful but not always approachable. Having said that I have developed a liking for Prism. Reaktor is one of those things I have on my system and one day will dig in properly.

Should I also drop in the VCV open source (free) rack modular here too?
https://vcvrack.com/
Some modules are paid but many are free.
 
Rounds can be a lot of fun to program imo; one does have to get a healthy eyeful of the manual for that one, though.

Anyhoo, as mind bogglingly full of potential as Reaktor is (not to mention how good Monark is, period), I wouldn't trade any of the three synths mentioned in the topic for it. Diva could be seen as both an overall better and far more flexible Monark. The latter does have a handful of presets and features to die for, though...
 
Rounds can be a lot of fun to program imo; one does have to get a healthy eyeful of the manual for that one, though.

Anyhoo, as mind bogglingly full of potential as Reaktor is (not to mention how good Monark is, period), I wouldn't trade any of the three synths mentioned in the topic for it. Diva could be seen as both an overall better and far more flexible Monark. The latter does have a handful of presets and features to die for, though...
I wouldn’t trade any of my U-he synths (no Diva here yet) for anything. Even the free ones are great.
 
I am currently also tempted by one these by U-he. And all the demos I could hear from them just sound superb. Did they implement lots of internal EQs or how did they achieve that?

Lots of useful feedback here, I will definitely pick one for the start up, and then getting the other ones later.
 
Rounds can be a lot of fun to program imo; one does have to get a healthy eyeful of the manual for that one, though.

Anyhoo, as mind bogglingly full of potential as Reaktor is (not to mention how good Monark is, period), I wouldn't trade any of the three synths mentioned in the topic for it. Diva could be seen as both an overall better and far more flexible Monark. The latter does have a handful of presets and features to die for, though...
Rounds is great. I also like Kontour, Razor, and Form. And again, I'm a huge fan of the Reaktor Community synths.

I wouldn't not buy u-he's synths because I own Reaktor. In fact, I bought almost every synth u-he has released when I had Reaktor first. But for people posting that they have Reaktor, and haven't explored it too much, they definitely should get to know it!
 
Rounds is great. I also like Kontour, Razor, and Form. And again, I'm a huge fan of the Reaktor Community synths.

I wouldn't not buy u-he's synths because I own Reaktor. In fact, I bought almost every synth u-he has released when I had Reaktor first. But for people posting that they have Reaktor, and haven't explored it too much, they definitely should get to know it!

There is a ton of useful content there. It's just that I learned how to program synths on Zebra and XILS IV, so I spend the overwhelming majority of my music making time with them, along with Diva, Nave. A little Wavemapper/'generator.
 
I just wanted to know you all that because of a good last month (financially) and a good on to come, I ended up getting all three. Just jamming out with Diva right now and really enjoying the lack of demo noise, + I realized that Howard Scarr has presets included in it which is really awesome! I will be activating Zebra and downloading Dark Zebra in a moment, and I just can't wait!
 
Top Bottom