U-he Released Zebra 2.8 Synthesizer Public Beta & It Looks Amazing!

Christmas has not started yet but Urs Heckmann has a very nice gift for Zebra 2 Synthesizer users. U-he released just before the holiday the long anticipated major update for Zebra 2 Synthesizer. The new version comes with a complete new improved GUI, new features and many bug fixes. Zebra 2.8 enhance a lot the complete workflow of this amazing Synthesizer and take it to another level in my opinion. I had for long time problems with the GUI but this new GUI is really a major improvement compared to the old interface.

Zebra is a wireless modular Synthesizer. It combines many different types of synthesis with a powerful modulation engine. Imagine — you can create any additive, freehand or spline-based waveform you like, apply a vast selection of spectral effects, morph between those waves and send them through classic synth filters. Perhaps use that entire sound as modulator for an FM oscillator, or route it through a comb filter — the building block of physical modelling synthesis. All generator modules, all signal paths, all effects are stereo

New Graphical User Interface – A Major Improvement! 

The biggest new feature inside the Zebra 2.8 is the complete redesign user interface. In the first beta version, there will be two skins available: DotEight and DarkEight. They remade in the new version the GUI of the OSC, MSEG and MMAP modules and added an amazing full-size editor. The FMO module comes now with a waveform preview in the new skin and gives you direct feedback of the waveform. MSEG and MMAP modules got also a major improvement with a new modulation table. Beside this, there are good news for Windows users. With the new version, users of Windows systems can benefit from improved GUI performances.

New Features! Preset Browser, Reverb & A Wave-Folder Effect 

The new optimised GUI is not all that users get in this update. Zebra 2.8 features a new improved preset-browser that allows musicians to work more intuitive and quicker with presets. Great sound design features were also added. It comes now with a new Wave-Folder module as well as a new designed NuRev reverb module. Both new features gives sound designers a lot of new possibilities to create new sounds. I can imagine that sound designers can now design dark, horrible atmospheric sounds with the new reverb and distortion module.

More Improvements

• XY controls now have fine control via Shift-click
• “On open expand to” has new “none” option
• Init preset can be loaded from main display
• More parameters exposed to host automation
• Pitch-bend range now +/-48
• New VST3 implementation
• Plugin format & OS info next to revision number

Bug Fixes

• MacOS High Sierra – folders and presets unsorted if using APFS
• Mac only – possible crash in Cubase when selecting presets
• Win only – VST3 wasn’t remembering preset name in main display
• Playing very high notes could lead to a crash
• Formant filter caused volume spikes when used at 96kHz sample rate
• Zebrify MSEG was retriggering in single trigger mode
• Various small fixes and improvements

Please backup your presets before installing. We unified the preset organization between Mac and Win.On Mac, there were separate local and user folders for OSC and MSEG module presets and Micro-tuning files. The user location won’t be used anymore. During installation, any presets from this location will be moved to a ‘user’ folder in the local location.

The first public beta version is not yet perfect and has known issues 

• Full-size editors slower when using larger GUI sizes
• VST3 – some parameters not reacting to MIDI CC control yet
• MMAP spectralize not automatically updating number of steps
• Init preset needs refinement
• Crash when trying to load script presets (e.g. Randomizer)
• Some small issues in preset browser
• In a few hosts, a “send all keys to plugin” option needs to be used
• Win only:
  • Sonar hangs when using Tab key in text search field
  • Issue with mouse and text search field in ProTools
  • Short flickering while entering strings in text search field
  • Original and UDH skin, text search field yellow when active

The new Linux version will come later.

More information here: U-he Zebra 2.8 Public Beta

Available here: U-he Zebra 2 Synthesizer