Advise needed. Sylenth1 or Zebra2?

[davidgary73]

Hi guys..Do hope you can help me out with my queries. I'm currently planning to purchase either Sylenth1 or u-he Zebra2. I have tested both demos and they sound great.

I mainly do dance music (EDM) and occasionally do pop, rock, hiphop genres. Currently using soft synths like Omnisphere, Nexus, Alchemy etc and also owned a Virus Ti Desktop.

In terms of sound from both of these softwares, which software will bring new pallete of sound to my work and which software would you recommend i should purchase?

Cheers

[lysander]

Zebra2 without a single doubt.
Sylenth1 does sound great but is very limited and not even supported anymore - the developper has disappeared.
Zebra2 sounds amazing ( although different than Sylenth ), is extremely deep and powerful and Urs keeps adding stuff to it.

I've got both, and occasionally use some Sylenth1 presets that I tweak ( the presets are amazing btw ) a bit but if I want to design a sound I will always reach for Zebra, so much more freedom and I find the workflow more natural.
Also for Zebra there's a very large number of high quality preset libraries available, both free and commercial.

EDIT: also sylenth1 will always sound like Sylenth1. Zebra is so versatile that sometimes you can barely believe it's the same synth between 2 patches or patch libraries. So in terms of palette there is no comparison.

[Jovas]

What do you mean the developer dissapeared..?

LennarDigital - Sylenth1

Ok V2.2 is the last version released in 2008.

Apart from that, Sylenth1 is one hell of a synth for that money.. Indeed not very versatile, but it's very good at what it does!

Oh, Fabfilter Twin 2 is also a very good one!

[FUBAR]

Zebra is so versatile that sometimes you can barely believe it's the same synth between 2 patches or patch libraries

+1

Sylenth is a great synth so you should just get them both

[Mardi Gras]

I wonder if the developer knows he's sitting on a goldmine with sylenth?

[Estin]

Both for sure, They are fantastic synths.

[msl]

Do the proper gearslut thing and get both. If not based on what you have already get Zebra first, more options, way deeper synth.



.

[Jovas]

The fun thing with Sylenth1 is, is that it's so simple to use.. You can get otherworldly sounds in no time, it's so freakishly powerfull.. It has some kind of magic in it, which gives it some sort of cult status..! I can do anything with it, from rumbling basslines to shocking FX scapes, it always makes my place rumble..

I allready sent Lennar Digital an e-mail, I'm curious what he will bring out in the future..!

[offki]

Zebra, in a heartbeat.

Sylenth sounds better than most purely because of the comprehensive onboard effects, the raw sound of zebra is far better.

[Jovas]

Originally Posted by offki

Zebra, in a heartbeat.

Sylenth sounds better than most purely because of the comprehensive onboard effects, the raw sound of zebra is far better.

Alot of people here will disagree with you, and praise Sylenth1 for the osc's and filters, but NOT the onboard FX. A synth is a synth, and you use FX to use them as FX, not as a synth..

I do agree that Zebra is a great synth, Sylenth1 was just more tempting to me for that price at that time..

[kstackm]

Originally Posted by offki

Zebra, in a heartbeat.

Sylenth sounds better than most purely because of the comprehensive onboard effects, the raw sound of zebra is far better.

Zebra is the first Soft-Synth that I've encountered that sonically holds up to the 'heft' of a Hardware synth/ROM-Pler, with all of the freedom afforded a software product.

It shouldn't be a 'must-have', it should be a requirement. Sylenth1 is certainly hot as well, but Zebra would absolutely be first. Very powerful.

[rids]

Is Sylenth th softsynth that sounds like a Virus or am I thinking of something else? (maybe dune)

[samsam]

First some facts. Lennard has not disappeared and answered an email enquiry last week. However, he is VERY much in the background. 2008 is not the last version, a beta was released more recently. It's VERY difficult to get him to talk about plans. He told me he was working on an update but... do we believe him? I hope so but not sure, long time - little action.

That said, Sylenth has an awesome sound, is very easy to use and is low on CPU. I love it.

Also, its onboard effects are no better than average. It sounds great due to the oscillators and filters, not because of effects.

(BTW I'm sure Zebra is great too).

[Estin]

Originally Posted by Jovas

Alot of people here will disagree with you, and praise Sylenth1 for the osc's and filters, but NOT the onboard FX. A synth is a synth, and you use FX to use them as FX, not as a synth..

I do agree that Zebra is a great synth, Sylenth1 was just more tempting to me for that price at that time..

i personally dislike the FX on Sylenth1, and agree its sound comes from the raw osc's and filter. Zebra is also a great synth, but its OSC aren't quite as beefy as Sylenth1 to me.

[adivizion]

Go with Sylenth. You won't be disappointed.

[ohmicide]

I use Sylenth1 but I'd go with Zebra if I could choose between the two, specially for the price and features

[Vectorman]

There are resynthesized versions of Sylenth's oscillator waveforms for Zebra (find them in the patch library on u-he's site). I found them useful in getting something similar to the narrow pulse wave sounds I liked from Sylenth in Zebra. Loading different wavetables - even, for example, swapping out the default saw for a Moog-derived saw or an OB-8 saw or whatever - can make quite a difference.

[davidgary73]

Thank you so much guys for the valueble inputs and recommendations. Sadly, i have limited budget to spend. I reckon i will purchase Zebra2 to start with as advised by you guys and later Sylenth1.

I read that Zebra2 is 64bit on Mac/Win while Sylenth1 is 64bit only on Windows. Perhaps i'll wait for Sylenth1 to port to 64bit on Mac before i purchase it.

[ohmicide]

Originally Posted by davidgary73

I read that Zebra2 is 64bit on Mac/Win while Sylenth1 is 64bit only on Windows. Perhaps i'll wait for Sylenth1 to port to 64bit on Mac before i purchase it.

if ever, people have been waiting on this for years :S

[davidgary73]

Originally Posted by ohmicide

if ever, people have been waiting on this for years :S

Indeed i do notice that as well. Hopefully Sylenth1 will be 64bit on Mac soon but i'll purchase it when i have the available funds.

@Vectorman

I'll definately checkout the resynthesized versions of Sylenth's oscillator waveforms for Zebra. Thanks mate

[Synth Buddha]

Easy. Zebra. Sylenth1 is very good at what it does (and it actually does more than you'd think by just looking at it), but it doesn't even begin to come close to Zebra in terms of, well, a whole lot of things that matter to me. I tend to get very bored with Sylenth1 and not use it for a while, but Zebra is in constant use every day. Zebra is a classic.

[PaPi61]

Apples or oranges? They're very different synths, it all depends on what you're looking for, sonically speaking. Sylenth is basically a virtual analog synth, Zebra is a much more complex beast, capable of a much wider sonic palette.

[offki]

Originally Posted by Estin

i personally dislike the FX on Sylenth1, and agree its sound comes from the raw osc's and filter. Zebra is also a great synth, but its OSC aren't quite as beefy as Sylenth1 to me.

Bleh, but you have so little control over them. One osc on Zebra can make sounds entire softsynths would struggle to reproduce. That's before it's even touched a filter.

I'm not saying it's rubbish, but it's a bit like those rop papen synths...(cept albino)

[danielb]

I have a (small) room full of hardware synths, and a computer full of softsynths, but even so, the one that has formed the foundation of the largest number of my tracks is Sylenth1.

It seems that every time I touch it I end up with a new track. It sounds amazing and is easy to get something brilliant out of. It is also the only synth I own whose presets I regularly use. they are really good.

My latest track (latest version published today) is full of Sylenth 1:

Talk To Me by DanielB

[Estin]

Originally Posted by offki

Bleh, but you have so little control over them. One osc on Zebra can make sounds entire softsynths would struggle to reproduce. That's before it's even touched a filter.

I'm not saying it's rubbish, but it's a bit like those rop papen synths...(cept albino)

Good point and i agree. But a low note with a plain saw osc on Sylenth just makes me shit my pants. Then just flip the voices to 8 and detune and you have Supersaw's that would make nuns start fapping

[davidgary73]

Hey guys, just want to thank you so much for your advised. Bought Zebra2 and really loving it. The 3rd party soundsets are very good as well.

Sylenth1 will be my next purchase for sure.

Thanks & Cheers

[Augsy]

Sylenth is my bread and butter vst, I usually go with that first, even before my p08 these days..

[muziksculp]

Interesting topic.

I will be adding Zebra 2 in the near future.

I own a virus Ti, and would like to know if it it would also make sense to add Sylenth 1, given that I have a Virus Ti ?

Thanks.

[lysander]

Originally Posted by davidgary73

Hey guys, just want to thank you so much for your advised. Bought Zebra2 and really loving it. The 3rd party soundsets are very good as well.

Sylenth1 will be my next purchase for sure.

Thanks & Cheers

Glad to hear it ! Make sure to check out the free patchlibs from Nick Moritz as well as "Zebra Food", there's some pretty incredible sounds in there.

[andivax]

zebra 2