Berlin-based synth and effect plug-in developers u-he have announced that their software synthesizer plug-in Zebralette is now free for all to download. Perhaps jealous of its younger sibling, the upgrade to Zebra 2.5.1, including 64-bit support, new spectral effects and extra presets, is now also free.
A rather clever way of enticing new customers, as Zebralette – basically a single oscillator lifted out of Zebra2 – has what it takes to get synth fans hooked on the Zebra2 way of radically manipulating oscillator sounds. It is now included as part of the Zebra2 demo download.
u-he have also dropped the $20 they originally charged for upgrading from Zebra1 to Zebra2. All Zebra1.x license owners can now retrieve a free Zebra 2.5 license from the companyʼs online support section.
New in Zebra 2.5.1
- Adds more than 70 new factory presets by Howard Scarr
- Adds a bunch of Zebrify presets by Tasmodia
- Brand new manuals including hyperlinks and structured reference
- Two new spectral effects (Phase Distortion and Wrap)
- Native 64-bit support for Mac AU and VST Win
- Adds Cocoa view to AU version
- Smooth preset-switching (no pops, hangovers)
- Improved timing stability for swing function (affects LFOs and arpeggiator)
- Improved synchronization of multi-stage envelopes (MSEG)
- Lower CPU usage for RTAS (Mac) version
- RTAS (Mac) now supports ctrl+alt+cmd+click (“3-finger salute”) automation
- Zebralette is now freeware, with 40+ extra presets by Howard Scarr
- Various bugs and niggles fixed, minor GUI improvements
- Upgrade from even Zebra1 is now free
On the Mac, Zebra requires OS X 10.5 or newer, a current PowerPC (with AltiVec) or Intel (with SSE2) CPU, 1 GB of available RAM (more recommended), 20 MB of free disc space, a 1000 x 600 pixel display or larger, and a VST, AU or RTAS compatible host application.
If you decide that you just can’t live without it, Zebra2 is available as a direct download from u-he for $199 (+ 19% VAT in EU).