Zero Hybrid Synthesizer is in the shop!

[challism]

I was lucky enough to beta test this beast. It's absolutely amazing and I love it! It is capable of making such a wide array of sounds. It's so much fun to play. Great job and congratulations to Blamsoft for this one!!

If you guys find the DSP use is too heavy, try cutting the effects, reducing the poly and unison. That should help. It pulls a lot of DSP because it is really doing a ton of stuff under the hood. This thing is a beast.

This was teased a bit by myself and by Noel, I think, with a blurry picture of the device in the "upcoming REs in August" thread. But it was very, very vague. I think this really did hit everyone by surprise, which is really cool in a slow month like August.

[EnochLight]

Shawn's promo video is fantastic - probably one of the best product feature demonstration videos I've ever seen for an RE:

Looks like it's time for me to close up shop!

[challism]

Yes, great job on the video. I agree with what he said in the video, this synth is truly a "game changer."
FM, RM, additive and subtractive synthesis!!!! WOW!!!!

[JoshuaPhilgarlic]

Unfortunately I'm not the target group . I prefer FM4 'cause it's so easy to use. Even PX7 is too complex for me!

I think with this one it is much easier to achieve a great sound than PX7.

Agree. It can probably create great sounds without ever touching the FM matrix, 'cause it already gives a lot of possibilities using solely the oscillators and the filters. But I don't like to buy a synth whose main feature I barely use! And BTW, after testing Oberon, Zero and Ochen K's forthcoming new synth I can say, that I'm definitely no friend of grafically controlled envelopes. Main thing for me is to have knobs or faders for those (but fewer as PX7 offers). The envelopes of Rob Papen's synths are just perfect for me. I can't work with this 'hyperflexible' stuff .

[Heater]

Okay. I've had a good play with it now. It's deeply impressive and the sound is immaculate.

I swore never to buy another rack extension again but it's bending my will something fierce.

[EnochLight]

And BTW, after testing Oberon, Zero and Ochen K's forthcoming new synth I can say, that I'm definitely no friend of grafically controlled envelopes..

That's interesting, as I'm on the opposite side of this experience. For me, graphically controlled envelopes make it easier for me to "see" what I'm hearing (if that makes sense LOL).. What is it that you find difficult to work with most when doing so graphically?

[DNA Apocalypse]

Wow this synth is great, the sound design is seriously nice…. Much respect is given to Blamsoft and the patch designers!

[Fretless Fingers]

am I dreaming ? this is what i'm talking about.. really this beats all. Great work Blamsoft. finally additive FM RE is in shop.
can make seamless Growl sound in 5 sec.......

I've been waiting to hear from you specifically bobbytrap. Ever since I started work on the overview I kept running into you screaming from the rooftop for this. I know you'll be very happy.

[bsp]

5min into testing and I noticed something odd regarding the polyphonic voice allocation: Sounds with long(er) release phases are frequently cut off even when the max voice count is set to 8 (or even 12) (unison is off).
Some notes are then played monophonically until the polyphony returns.
Can anyone confirm this ? I tried various patches (changed the amp release and disabled effects) and it's quite easy to reproduce the issue.
It sounds to me as if the voice allocation algorithm does not pick/reallocate the most quiet voice (or the oldest one) but often picks one that was just started.

Regarding graphical envelopes: There are nice but it's easy to lose standard features like attack/decay/sustain/release modulation.
This synth for example appears to only have an overall "rate" modulation target for its envelopes.
Oberon's graphical envs are better in this regard since you can at least modulate the attack (i.e. everything until the sustain point) and release times (i.e. everything after sustain) separately.

Just some first impressions, have to test it more thoroughly tomorrow.

This seems to be quite a deep/complex synth that one can get a lot of mileage out of!

[hydlide]

That's interesting, as I'm on the opposite side of this experience. For me, graphically controlled envelopes make it easier for me to "see" what I'm hearing (if that makes sense LOL).. What is it that you find difficult to work with most when doing so graphically?

From my point of view, this is where I can tell the difference. Not trying to offend here but more from the "patch workflow perspective".
When I look at the subtractor I see sliders, I can increase ADRS on a whim and it changes the sound
When I look at ZERO hybrid (a really cool synth with a lot of potential), and Oberon (another cool synth with a lot of potential), I have to select an envelope, change the envelope, move to the next envelope change that too, move to another envelope and so on.

While the subtractor (just in comparison here) has all those envelopes on the screen. Sure I cannot see what changes what and what not. But... from a workflow perspective I don't have to push "env", "pitch", "volume", "filter", "whatever" first to see its envelope.

I truly understand from a synth perspective is that it is what it makes them unique. But from a sound designers perspective (while trying this thing) it was also the biggest headache at the same time. I simply cannot see all in one go what is triggering what, why, and how much all the same time. This is a part where user experience kind of goes bad at some extend (a topic I tried to grasp a few days back while podcasting the whole thing).

I like what is capable nowadays, but personally I am loosing the "fun" when I have to mess buttons more or less to visually see what happens with the volume / pan / filter / envelope / wave and you name it.

Hence I can somewhat realte to the issue.

[JoshuaPhilgarlic]

And BTW, after testing Oberon, Zero and Ochen K's forthcoming new synth I can say, that I'm definitely no friend of grafically controlled envelopes..

That's interesting, as I'm on the opposite side of this experience. For me, graphically controlled envelopes make it easier for me to "see" what I'm hearing (if that makes sense LOL).. What is it that you find difficult to work with most when doing so graphically?

First, it's a lack of precision. Especially for Attack and Decay (speaking of a simple ADSR envelope) I prefer hearing over seeing. I think it's easier to distinguish a short from an even shorter Attack with a knob or a fader .

Second are the additional options those grafical envelopes almost automatically come with: multiple stages and loops. Before I had the opportunity to check these my thought was that it's a must-have. But now that I dealed with it I recognised that I don't need them - or even more I don't like them! As said before I tested three synths with grafic envelopes so far, and with none of them I could figure out exactly the 'law' how the sustain stage can be selected. And instead of the loop stuff, I prefer a mod matrix, a reasonable amount of LFOs and envelopes, and some CV inputs where I can plug my things together. All these are exceptions I can use when I need them, because in most cases I'm totally happy with a simple ADSR!

So the perfect compromise for me is Vecto: I have my beloved 'simple' envelopes for filter and amp, but I can also use the x-y pad for more complex stuff. And I got knobs of course !

[dvdrtldg]

I'm not a huge fan of those graphical envelopes either. But after 30 mins playing with this thing... holy shit. My thing with synths is complex drones and evolving pad sounds, and this is heaven.

[JoshuaPhilgarlic]

When I look at ZERO hybrid (a really cool synth with a lot of potential), and Oberon (another cool synth with a lot of potential), I have to select an envelope, change the envelope, move to the next envelope change that too, move to another envelope and so on.

Yeah, that's another interesting point of view, and I totally agree! Even though those new synths like Zero and Oberon offer huge displays and a lot of - Attention! - knobs, there's no WYSIWYG! Zero for instance: you have to select an operator first to get access to it's frequency (what's pretty essential for FM). That reminds me a bit of the 80s where you had to select a parameter first and adjust it with a single slider - like the original DX-7 .

Not to offend anybody - least of all Blamsoft! People cried for a more complex FM synth and they finally got it. I just try to point out why I don't like the newly arrived 'modern' synths. Sorry, I think I'm just an old analog fart !

[EnochLight]

That helps; thanks fellas. Makes sense.

[X1Lo]

Lovely gui, great presets, and enough depth to keep me sleep deprived until winter

[Benedict]

The trick is to learn to "see" the patch in your head. I talk about that in this article (admittedly Oberon focused but still valid for Zero).
http://benedictroffmarsh.com/2015/06/30 ... a-rundown/

Must admit I am liking Zero far more than I expected. Seems pretty well designed and versatile.

[Jagwah]

Very exciting. I'm hoping this is what I have been waiting for.

Does anyone know how well Zero stacks up against Sytrus in FL Studio? I have seen a lot of Sytrus tutorials and I am hoping I can use those same tutorials, provided Zero offers the same features?

Either way, it's time to get familiar with FM and Zero!

[Faastwalker]

Some fantastic presets, the GUI is gorgeous & looks very clean & accessible. Looks a bit alien in terms of programming, but this is just a first impression. Not actually tried yet - too busy playing with the presets.

We've been a bit spoilt with Reason synths of late. We've had RP's excellent Vecto, Zvork's equally impressive Oberon. Then RedRock hit us with the simple (by today's RE synth standards) but hugely accessible & amazing sounding Red 70. Now Zero from Blamsoft. I'm really stoked with Red 70 but I think Zero is looking very tempting being somewhere between Vecto & Oberon. Looking forward to diving in to do some programming to see how this works.

[CrossFireG]

I am so impressed, this is unbelievable!

Guess i'll have to say goodbye to all my combinator patches which tried to achieve the same functionality

[motuscott]

That is quite the handsome and efficient UI. Salute.

[riemac]

This synth sounds amazing. I was always hoping that Aiyn Zahev would make some sounds for Reason. His soundwork for Zero is the icing on the cake.
The only thing which bothers me is the heavy CPU load of Zero. I hope when the new SDK 2.2 with SSE optimization comes out Blamesoft will improve it.

I think this is finaly the time that propellerhead should implement performance improvements:
- Use of all CPU cores
- Track freezing in the sequencer

[Majestik Monkey]

@Riemac !

Viking suffered with Cpu issues when it first dropped
but with the updates it was solved , i see the same issues with this Beast , Zero !
incredible sound tho ' & still well worth the Buy because of its versatility

[Faastwalker]

Totally & utterly confused by the programming. It's unorthodox to say the least. I'll definitely need to RTFM for this one.

Just about to watch the videos again as well. Scratching my head initially though. Red 70 this is not. I jumped straight in with that one.

[boobytrap]

am I dreaming ? this is what i'm talking about.. really this beats all. Great work Blamsoft. finally additive FM RE is in shop.
can make seamless Growl sound in 5 sec.......

I've been waiting to hear from you specifically bobbytrap. Ever since I started work on the overview I kept running into you screaming from the rooftop for this. I know you'll be very happy.

really, still I can't believe about this. everything is perfect, GUI, Sound engine, FX everything. honestly since long time I'm dream about a synth like this and it's 100% match with what I dream.

[eXode]

Totally & utterly confused by the programming. It's unorthodox to say the least. I'll definitely need to RTFM for this one.

Just about to watch the videos again as well. Scratching my head initially though. Red 70 this is not. I jumped straight in with that one.

If you take your time and think about the color coding and how they are connected with the different sections it will be clear over time. I find the programming quite intuitive once you get your head around it. No it's not RED70, but I actually prefer programming Zero over i.e. PX7. Plus it's much, much more flexible/complex.