Ableton Forum

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I've got Live 6, Sampler & Zebra 2, do I want/need Operator as well?

I'd be really interested in your opinions.

Thanks,

Ron

If you're looking for a hands-on synth, then operator might be a fine addition.

Nobody can really tell you to buy it or not. It's up to your taste/needs.
If you're considering the operator, then download the 700 free operator presets that can be found in the downloads section of www.thecovertoperators.com

Cheers

-B

If you do at any point need Operator, I can imagine it still might be i your interest to stick with what you got already for now. Zebra 2 looks like it can do just about anything, and edit its output in Sampler sounds equally incredible.

The allure to Operator, for me, breaks down into two parts:

A) It is very minimalist+capable=elegent.

B)... thus it is great for beginners.

So if you are a beginner I would actually buy it, put the other two in a "shoe-box" in your closet or the corner, and master it's comprehensive tutorials.

I would then emulate these results in Zebra.

Then I would putz around with the endless, newfangled capabilites of Sampler. If I was a beginner, and in that order.

If you are seasoned, however, I would hold off until it was a matter of deep, experienced, subjective appreciation of it's functional design aesthetic.

Peace.

If you already have Zebra2, my guess is Operator will bore you to pieces.

Both of these synths have demo modes. You should try both out and make your decision based on that.

I have both of them and I like them both.

I do not really no it if makes sense sonically, but from the approach, the different ways you can work with them, I think it is very good to have them.

best

no way.save your money.operator cant come close to zebra2 for any sound.

I have both, though I haven't had zebra for long. There is a lot of overlap in capability, but my impression so far is that operator is still sort of a bread and butter synth for me. I'm trying to think of things that zebra can't do, and I haven't come up with any yet (except maybe using the LFO at audio rates in operator to get 5 oscillators; but then you can use a different sound source for the first oscillator in zebra, also getting 5). It is much easier to program, and a lot less overwhelming of an interface. Zebra has a beautiful interface for its level of complexity, but operator's is better (relative to its level of complexity). I also have the impression that operator is somewhat lighter on CPU for many purposes (though I haven't tested it systematically). It's better integrated into live so you don't get that pesky drag in arrangement bug that I hope they fix soon (and in general, bugs that affect external synths won't affect it).

Basically all of this comes down to ease of use -- for basic sounds (that you don't already have preset), I think it is still easier to make them in operator.

D E M O

Decide for yourself

here's a question for you - why do you need a new synth...you seem to be getting by with what you got. Why today, of all days with all the OTHER stuff you got going on in your life you want a new soft synth.
I mean if you neglect everything else that's really on your mind right now, a bandaid will only hide the issue...

it's up to you Larry - stand up against the wind or fall like the willow tree

A great function of Operator is the synced pitch shift via velocity.

I love that - and that noise can be in any operator for FM.

Of course, for 9x% of the sounds, Zebra will do the job more than nicely -it is a superb synth and if I had to pick one of the two - well, it would be Zebra.

best

djadonis206 wrote:Why today, of all days with all the OTHER stuff you got going on in your life you want a new soft synth.
I mean if you neglect everything else that's really on your mind right now, a bandaid will only hide the issue...

Damn! That quote is like rolaids for your G.A.S.

djadonis206 wrote:D E M O

Decide for yourself

here's a question for you - why do you need a new synth...you seem to be getting by with what you got. Why today, of all days with all the OTHER stuff you got going on in your life you want a new soft synth.
I mean if you neglect everything else that's really on your mind right now, a bandaid will only hide the issue...

it's up to you Larry - stand up against the wind or fall like the willow tree

I was genuinely interested in the viewpoints of the people here.

Of course I'll decide for myself, hence the smilie in my original post, but I didn't see any harm in soliciting opinions.

LOFA wrote:If you do at any point need Operator, I can imagine it still might be i your interest to stick with what you got already for now. Zebra 2 looks like it can do just about anything, and edit its output in Sampler sounds equally incredible.

The allure to Operator, for me, breaks down into two parts:

A) It is very minimalist+capable=elegent.

B)... thus it is great for beginners.

So if you are a beginner I would actually buy it, put the other two in a "shoe-box" in your closet or the corner, and master it's comprehensive tutorials.

I would then emulate these results in Zebra.

Then I would putz around with the endless, newfangled capabilites of Sampler. If I was a beginner, and in that order.

If you are seasoned, however, I would hold off until it was a matter of deep, experienced, subjective appreciation of it's functional design aesthetic.

Peace.

Thanks for this, it's given me something to think about.

Ron_F wrote:
Of course I'll decide for myself, hence the smilie in my original post, but I didn't see any harm in soliciting opinions.

I do it all the time - my fingers from time to time think for themselves

as I bet, your name is not really Larry

hence the wink

peace


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I must admit, I didn't get the 'Larry' reference

Ron