So....... I'm currently trying out the Zebra 2 demo right now, and as a person with almost no previous experiences with synths, I am having trouble get something different then a normal kind of boring 2 dual oscillator sound with some filters, combs, and shapers. Is a synth like that too tall of an order for a synth newb to tackle (i.e. is starting out with Omni a better idea), or is it good to slog through it.
Sincerely,
A broke teenager
What you are doing is trying to find a synth to makes you a better programmer, instead of what you should do, look at it exactly the other way around. And yes, Zebra isn't well suited for those just starting out programming synths. Omnisphere is nice, but not good if you really want to become a good synth programmer (if that is exactly what you want). It has many samples, and that offers really great possibilities, but what it does is also kinda hide that people can't model sounds worth a grain of salt. What I mean with that is, you can take an interesting sample, put a filter on it, some ADSR, and call it a great synth patch. But, ask yourself, have you actually made it yourself, or was the sample great to begin with? Omnisphere is great for inspiration, but not for learning actual SYNTHESIS (yes, it can do great synthesis, indeed, but it's not a good for learning it), in my opinion. It's also not a very well laid out synthesizer in my opinion (if you really want to do the programming part, not tweaking part). It's feature packed, yes, and that is great. But for true synth programming there are much leaner, much more ideal alternatives.
What you need is a simple synth, with 2-3 oscillators, a filter, ADSR, some LFO's, and preferably an assignable Mod Envelope. Combine that with some FX in your DAW and go to town! That's it. If you think that's limiting, consider that many of the most iconic synth sounds were made back when most synthesizers were really, really simple (albeit expensive!) affairs. Thing is though, back then, people didn't have the moolah to buy lots of synths, and VST's were unheard of. So if you bought a synth, what you saw is what you got, and what you got is what you used. Take a simple synth, and use the heck out of it until it's run completely dry (and some simple looking synths are deeper than you think!).
That last part is the most important part. One very prevalent part of this forum is the constant presence of GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome). Proof is in some posts in this thread as well (buy X synth! Buy that one, it's sooooo good).
Don't listen to that. Whilst some of the suggestions are indeed good synths, look at what your DAW offers. Which DAW do you use? I know that Mai Tai in Studio One is fantastic. Retrologue in Cubase is also really great. Heck, Reaper has this thing called ReaSynth that would be suitable to your needs if you stack some instances. Logic has some great ones as well. As does Ableton, and Digital Performer, and FL Studio, and on and on and on...
Don't buy things if you haven't even touched what you might already have.
Here's a free synth that will suit your needs just fine:
https://tal-software.com/products/tal-noisemaker
Is it the best synth you can get? The answer to that is in the eye of the beholder, but it IS a good starting synth to learn the ropes. And believe me, like I said, many iconic patches were created on synths that weren't much different in features from this one. Think to yourself: if they could do it, so can I. If you can't get interesting sounds out of this one, you won't make yourself a better programmer by buying another synth. Oh, and if you're doubting, it does sound seriously good!
Here's a free (and gaudy looking, but don't be fooled) and seriously in depth synth that also sounds bullocks good. I suggest learning this one as well, you'd be surprised how many professionals are using it (secretly of course). Perhaps use this once the above one has worn it's course:
https://www.kvraudio.com/product/synth1-by-ichiro-toda
Here's a good, very well known and seriously in-depth course on synthesis. Don't be mistaken by it's age, synthesis hasn't changed that much since, especially not the basics. Gordon Reids Synth Secrets takes you from the absolute basics of sound to the very complex all in one series. For me, there's no better reading resource:
https://www.mediafire.com/file/7w2dcsqmkbeduea/Synth+Secrets+Complete.pdf
For the absolute basics, watch these. They're old, but good. And the humor is really dry. What the guy says though, is absolute truth:
Don't forget there's a part two as well.
Moral to this story: don't listen to people telling you to buy x or y or z. Learning synthesis is done by learning synthesis, not by being a new synthesizer. Once you got that down, you know yourself what synthesizer you want and need. One man's trash is another man's treasure and all that...
So here, broken teenager. All of this, before you've even spend a single dime. Isn't the internet awesome?