Massive vs FM8 vs Zebra 2?

Discuss music production with Ableton Live.

Massive vs FM8 vs Zebra 2?

Zebra 2
32
56%
Massive
20
35%
FM8
2
4%
Other
3
5%
 
Total votes: 57

ReplayAddicts
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2012 7:08 am

Massive vs FM8 vs Zebra 2?

Post by ReplayAddicts » Wed Apr 03, 2013 10:48 pm

I need some recommendations as to which VST I should buy. Please help!

schullermusik
Posts: 44
Joined: Mon Jan 28, 2013 4:09 pm

Re: Massive vs FM8 vs Zebra 2?

Post by schullermusik » Wed Apr 03, 2013 10:55 pm

They're very different synths (I own all three.) Zebra can do anything, provided you learn how to use it - very light on CPU for most things as well. I never got in to FM synthesis. Massive is cool, but all three carry a learning curve. If you're a preset person, Massive will have the largest library of available third party patch banks, by far.

yur2die4
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Re: Massive vs FM8 vs Zebra 2?

Post by yur2die4 » Thu Apr 04, 2013 12:29 am

I've only used uhe's freeware, but in my experience, midi mapping is really fun. I think this obsession may be unique to me. I enjoy using blue hand control, but in times where that was a bitch, I'd just flat out midi learn within a vst. Massive lets you make custom midi maps, but if I am not mistaken, you need to recall them every time you load a fresh instance?? Correct me if I am wrong. With uhe stuff, it seems like it just remembers them. For how I work, it is pretty damn effective.

Is Zebra the same in this fashion?

jlgrimes
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Location: Atlanta, Ga

Re: Massive vs FM8 vs Zebra 2?

Post by jlgrimes » Thu Apr 04, 2013 12:44 am

ReplayAddicts wrote:I need some recommendations as to which VST I should buy. Please help!
I haven't used zebra but both Massive and FM8 are good synths. Both are complex but Massive IMO is more user friendly.

Massive is probably more contemporary edgy with some unique filters and modulation system.

Fm8 works almost backwards from a traditional subtractive synth.

There are great tutorials for both synths but Massive probably have a little more.


I'd vote Massive if you have very few synths.

If u are drowning with VAs, FM8 would be my second pick.

I think Zebra is modular which I have never really got into.

outsidesys
Posts: 400
Joined: Tue Mar 31, 2009 2:26 am

Re: Massive vs FM8 vs Zebra 2?

Post by outsidesys » Thu Apr 04, 2013 2:11 am

The latest roundup from MusicRadar: http://www.musicradar.com/tuition/tech/ ... day-262145

Massive, FM8, and Zebra are listed, which can give you an idea of how they compare to each other, and to many others.

think2x
Posts: 11
Joined: Sat Jul 23, 2011 12:29 am

Re: Massive vs FM8 vs Zebra 2?

Post by think2x » Thu Apr 04, 2013 2:55 am

Zebra 2 is the most underrated VST of all time, in my humble opinion. Barely anyone ever mentions it but it is so tremendously powerful, yet simple and intuitive at the same time. The overall idea behind the UI is genius. You can make it be as simple and as complex as you want it to be. Honestly though, I wish they provided more comprehensive resources on how to use all of the modules. The modules are very deep and can be extremely complex--but again, only if you desire that level of complexity. I wish more people used it and there were more beginner friendly tuts out there for it. The NI stuff is a lot better in this area.

UncleAge
Posts: 677
Joined: Thu Nov 29, 2007 7:50 pm

Re: Massive vs FM8 vs Zebra 2?

Post by UncleAge » Thu Apr 04, 2013 3:23 am

@OP: Why these three?

tone61
Posts: 376
Joined: Fri Dec 21, 2007 5:09 am

Re: Massive vs FM8 vs Zebra 2?

Post by tone61 » Thu Apr 04, 2013 4:40 am

And which VSTs do you have already?

ReplayAddicts
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2012 7:08 am

Re: Massive vs FM8 vs Zebra 2?

Post by ReplayAddicts » Thu Apr 04, 2013 4:54 am

tone61 wrote:And which VSTs do you have already?
I have none, but I am looking to buy one of them, which is why I asked the question

deva
Posts: 1685
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Re: Massive vs FM8 vs Zebra 2?

Post by deva » Thu Apr 04, 2013 4:54 am

Which synth you buy also depends on what your needs are and what sort of sounds you like and what synths you already have. Without knowing any of that, here are my own thoughts.

I have all 3 but Zebra is the one I use all the time. It is my favorite.

Of the 3, Zebra is the most versatile and covers the widest range of sounds. In Zebra you can draw or import your own waveforms. You can create your own wavetables. You can do additive, FM, and some physical modeling with the comb modules which are far and away the best in a softsynth today. Zebra's semi modular design and huge toolset means you can structure a sound in ways neither of the other two you mention can match. Zebra has a simple serial #, is really solid and the EULA allows multiple installs as long as it is just you using it. There are many free and commercial soundsets for Zebra which cover a wide range of music styles. The Zebra demo loads and saves presets so you can really work with it before deciding. Zebra also has ongoing development so new tech finds its way into it. In the time I have had it, it has had 2-3 paid upgrades worth of new features and presets added, but at no additional cost. Best synth investment I have made.

If you most want hard aggressive sounds, Massive is the better choice in that area. The Gui is excellent.

FM8, I'd rather have Zebra for many FM sounds. For example, classic DX style FM sounds I think Zebra sounds better

ReplayAddicts
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Re: Massive vs FM8 vs Zebra 2?

Post by ReplayAddicts » Thu Apr 04, 2013 5:02 am

UncleAge wrote:@OP: Why these three?
If you have any other recommendations that you feel would be better than these, please tell me! I would be happy to do some more research on the topic since I am just beginning to produce music.

K1D1M35N
Posts: 74
Joined: Tue May 15, 2012 11:28 am

Re: Massive vs FM8 vs Zebra 2?

Post by K1D1M35N » Thu Apr 04, 2013 5:56 am

Sylenth is worth a try, espcially if you'r looking for sounds used on today's dance floors.

mbakirov
Posts: 172
Joined: Sat Jul 07, 2012 5:55 am

Re: Massive vs FM8 vs Zebra 2?

Post by mbakirov » Thu Apr 04, 2013 12:42 pm

my selection is tubeohm alpha-ray.
it is easy to understand on the screens how the filter is moving and affected by stuff like LFO or envelope.

Evengy
Posts: 454
Joined: Wed Jan 13, 2010 8:31 am

Re: Massive vs FM8 vs Zebra 2?

Post by Evengy » Thu Apr 04, 2013 12:57 pm

@replayaddicts

do you have live suite or standard? whats with your sounddesign skills? if you have suite i recommend to use operator and/or analog to learn sounddesign and add zebra 2 sooner or later!

UncleAge
Posts: 677
Joined: Thu Nov 29, 2007 7:50 pm

Re: Massive vs FM8 vs Zebra 2?

Post by UncleAge » Thu Apr 04, 2013 2:43 pm

ReplayAddicts wrote:
UncleAge wrote:@OP: Why these three?
If you have any other recommendations that you feel would be better than these, please tell me! I would be happy to do some more research on the topic since I am just beginning to produce music.
I would have preferred to make recommendations based on your likes/needs rather than just stating a favorite synth. It's pretty easy to make a good argument for buying any one of those three. I've owned each of them at some time or another.

With that said... Since you are new and you are still in research mode (which is a good thing) I would think that having a well rounded synth would be a plus. Out of the bunch listed I would take a long look at Zebra first. Out of the bunch not listed I'd take a long look at Predator. And if I had the suite version of Live I'd spend some extended hours with Operator before I bought anything.

Also, I'll offer this advice... Learn all your tools inside and out. A lot of the plugins look tasty. However, after you learn a bit of sound design and what you need as an artist, you come to realize that you quite often can reach your goals with just a few tools.

And don't overlook the free stuff! Stuff like Zebralette, Synth1, CM versions of a bunch of synths and more... That list is huge and it will allow you to look into various forms of synthesis for free.

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