User Interface
Zebras UI is divided into three sections.
The top section provides access to the main control panes. There is a save button here that will save the current patch to the currently selected preset folder (see chapter presets). This section also contains the display that either shows the name of the currently loaded preset, or the currently edited paramter value. There are two arrows left and right of the display to quickly load the next/previous preset
The middle section shows the control pane selected by the tab:
The XY-controls pane. In thie view you can quickly modulate a sound by dragging one of the four handels in the modulation pads. Double clicking the area below an XY-pad opens a text input field. Enter a description of the paramteres modulated by the X and Y axis. Press the “Esc” key to leave the input field. Please refer to the chapter “5 XY Controls” for details on how to use these.
The synthesis pane contains the the sound generation rack, the modular playground (aka “the grid”) and the rack containing the basic modulations such as ADSR envelopes and LFOs. For a detailed description of the grid, it’s modules and how to use it see the chapter “2. Audio modules”.
The Voice mix
This sections controls the levels and pannings of the individual channel as well as modulations for these parameters. See the chapter “5 Voices” for detailed description of these controls.
The ModMatrix
At the bottom of the voice mix you can select the ModMatrix tab. For indepth discussion see the chapter “3 Modulation Sources”.
The preset pane is used to load presets and navigate through the folders containing Zebras presets.
The sound generation rack
The controls for each module are displayed in this rack. For a complete explanation of the modules please the chapter “2 Audio modules”.
Modules can be rearranged in this rack by clicking the top edge to move the clicked module up or the bottom edge to move the module down.
Right-clicking brings up a popup menu with the option to either highlighting a module that is clicked in the grid or the option of having the clicked module always at the top of the rack.
The envelope and LFO rack
The contros for the ADSR envelopes and LFOs are displayed in this rack. For a complete explanation of these please consult the chapter “3 Modulation Sources”.
As with the sound generation rack you can rearrange the modules by clicking on the top edge to move the clicked module up, or the bottom edge to move the module down.
Right-clicking opens up a popup menu with the option to either highlighting a module that is clicked in the grid or the option of having the clicked module always at the top of the rack.
The ModMatrix
The ModMatrix is below the grid. Click on ModMatrix to display the controls. For a complete desctiption of the ModMatrix consult the chapter “ModMatrix” in “3 Modulation Sources”
There are no special controls or options in this pane.
The bottom section of the interface contains the following control panes:
Effects
The effects pane contains global controls as well as the controls for the effects. The controls for polyphony, pitch bend, portamento are to the left, the global mixer is in the middle and to the right you can find the controls for the effects.
Please read the section “4 Effects” for a more detailed description of the effects.
The global mixer contains another grid where you can enable/disable several modules. Clicking on an module will show its controls to the right.
Click on an empty slot to add a new module.
Doubleclick or command-click (Mac), xxx PC?? to switch a module on/off.
Right-click to select the modules input or remove it from the grid.
Zebra2 features one master channel and two aux channels. Use the send to set the level going into the aux channel. This level can be modulated using the knob next to it. Use return to adjust the level of the aux channel going back into the mix.
Output controls the overall output level of Zebra2.
more OSC 1 through OSC 4
Use these tabs to set the waveform for each of the oscillators. For a detailed description please see chapter “Oscillators” in “2 Audio Modules”
MultiStage EG
Use this tab to adjust Zebras MultiStage Envelope Generator. See the chapter “MultiStage EG” in “3 Modulation Sources” for detailed description on how to use these.
XY assign
The XY assign tab is used to set the modulation targets and ranges for the performance pads. See chapter “XY Controls” for detailed description on how to use these.
Knobs
There are two types of knobs in Zebra2:
Knobs that have positive and negative values – you can recognize these knobs by the line at 12 o’clock.
Knobs with only positive values – you can recognize these by the line at 7:30
Click-draggin up or down changes the value of the knob. For finer value adjustments press and hold shift before click-dragging.
If there are three dots beneath a knob it means that the knob doesn’t have a parameter assigned yet. The first time you click on an unassigned knob a popup menu appears that lets you select a parameter.
Right-click on a knob that already has a parameter assigned to change that assignement to a different paramter.
The status display displays the value of the last edited knob. This display generally displays values according to the modulation target, so if the target of a knob is the waveforms it will range from 1 to 16, for tune from -48 to 48 etc.
Popup menus
Right-clicking generally opens a popup menu providing advanced functions for modules, points in the waveforms and knob paraemters. These are described in detail in the corresponding sections. Throughout this manual these will be referred to as “right-click”