Zebralette: easy spectral synth
Zebralette is our version of a Trojan horse. A free synthesizer and an introduction to Zebra2’s fantastic oscillators. Perhaps it will persuade you to try Zebra2 and upgrade. If one oscillator is this powerful, imagine what you can achieve with four… and all the other great features available in Zebra2.
Features
• A single Zebra2 oscillator with a 16-slot waveset. Read more below
• Oscillator waveform editing with geomorph, spectromorph, geoblend and spectroblend modes. Read more below
• 24 spectral effects including filter, sync, scatter, phase distortion and many more
• Polyphonic (up to 16 voices), monophonic and legato modes
• Stereo VCA with pan and volume modulation
• VCA oscillator stacking with adjustable stereo width: single, dual, quad and eleven modes
• ADSR envelope with fall/rise (sustain slope) and velocity controls
• Modulation options including: modwheel, velocity, pressure, breath, key follow, gate and more
• 2 LFOs: one global, one per voice
• A 32-stage MSEG (multi-stage envelope generator)
• 3 built-in effects: chorus/phaser, EQ, delay
• MIDI learn / unlearn of hardware controls (CC)
• Polyphonic aftertouch support
• 300 factory presets
• Scalable UI from 70% to 200%
• NEW in v2.9.3: Support for Oddsound MTS-ESP
What is a Zebralette?
-ette: an English suffix indicating a diminutive form
Zebralette is an introduction to Zebra2’s powerful oscillators. Zebra2 can seem overwhelming at first glance, so we stripped it down to a single oscillator plus a few other features and created Zebralette, the little Zebra. Once you master Zebralette you can move up to Zebra2 with confidence. And your presets can come with you, as Zebralette presets can be opened in Zebra2.
But more than a teaching tool, Zebralette is an incredible sounding synth in its own right. Surrounding Zebra’s spectral oscillator with a few core modulation options and effects make Zebralette highly capable. With unsion options (think supersaw, but Zebralette is not limited to saw waves, so we refer to it as superwave), 16 voice polyphony and two different envelopes, you have everything needed to create some marvellously complex sounds.
Diminutive? Yes. Powerful? Yes.
Zebra oscillator
One oscillator may not seem like enough for a synthesizer, but Zebra2 oscillators are rather powerful and clever.
It resembles many other oscillators you may have used. You can choose a waveset from the included library, or use the waveform editor to draw your own shapes. Here is where things start to get interesting: The Waveform Editor manages up to 16 different waves and lets you rearrange, duplicate and morph between individual waves. Use one of modulation sources and the WaveWarp control to scan through the 16 waves and create unusual, dynamic sounds.
There are four drawing modes: GeoMorph, SpectroMorph, GeoBlend, SpectroBlend, each offering a different approach to creating and manipulating waveforms.
Using the two Geo modes you draw the waveform shape using up to 32 points, while the Spectro modes let you create the harmonic spectrum over 128 columns. When using WaveWarp to scan through the waveset, Morph alters the waveform, whereas Blend blends (crossfades) between adjacent waves.
Requirements:
• Apple OS X 10.9 or newer
or
• Windows 7 or newer
or
• Linux
Host software / DAW
• 1GB RAM, more recommended
• 50MB free disk space
• 1000 × 600 or larger display
Modern CPU required:
• Windows/Linux: Intel Nehalem or newer, AMD Bulldozer or newer
• Mac: Intel Nehalem or newer, Apple M1
• Linux: glibc version 2.28 or newer
Formats
Zebralette is not a standalone product, it requires host software. Zebralette is compatible with nearly all DAWs.
macOS:
• AUv2, VST2, VST3, 64-bit only
• temporarily no AAX (read more)
Windows:
• VST2, VST3, AAX*
• 32-/64-bit
* AAX requires Pro Tools 10.3.7 or later
Zebralette 2.9.3 (revision 12092)
Native M1 ARM support
Improvements:
• Native support for Apple Silicon chips (M1)
• Improved GUI performance (Mac only)
• Support for Oddsound MTS-ESP
• Improved handling of junction links on Windows
• Preset list scroll direction preferenceFixed Bugs:
• Fixed some old Zebralette presets not loading in Zebra2
• Fixed multiple things in preset browser
• Fixed crash when loading script presets (e.g. Randomizer)
• Fixed rare crash on project reload
• Fixed audio clicks when switching presetsKnown Issues:
• Context menus need plugin focus to work (Apple issue)Special Notes:
• AAX support on Mac removed temporarily (will come back in next update)
• Updated minimum requirements, CPU needs to support SSE4.2 instruction set
• Linux: minimum required glibc version is 2.28 (otherwise plugins won’t show up)
• macOS 32-bit support discontinued
https://u-he.com/products/zebralette/
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