Review: Arte Nuovo Padsheaven 2 soundset for Zebra

Hot on the heels on the Joseph Hollo’s first soundset comes a new collection of sounds for the Zebra 2.5 software synthesizer from u-he.

The continuation of the successful padsheaven, a brand new collection of lyrical, dramatic pads, effects and soundscapes and much more from a multiple golden and platinum record owner composer.

Like the first version, you can use them in almost all styles from classical pop/rock ballads to moviescores or even in the most up to date compositions.

The majority of Padsheaven 2 patches are pad sounds (99). A full range of pads is included, from deep & warm to icy thin. Additional sounds include a variety of keys, bass and lead, plucked instruments and drum sounds (19 patches in total), as well as 15 arp/rhythmic patches. A few variations and bonus presets make for a total of 133 patches.

Joseph has once again made good use of the various controller assignments to add lots of expressive and dynamic variety to the sounds. Aftertouch, breath and expression have been assigned to the XY pads on Zebra, so you can change multiple parameters with a single control.

So what do I think?

Padsheaven 2 goes on in the same vein as its predecessor. High quality sounds, exceptionally emotional, expressive, and beautifully sculpted by talented sound designer Joseph Hollo.

I can never get enough of good pad sounds, and this set delivers another stunning collection.

Padsheaven 2 is another must buy for any Zebra user who needs pads. And then some. The bells, leads/synths, plucked sounds… all just hitting that sweet spot. These sounds will do wonderful in ambient and cinematic works, or anything else that needs gentle, moving, astonishingly beautiful sounds.

Joseph is offering a free 8-patch demo bank so make sure to check it out.

More information: Arte Nuovo

Hey there, I'm Ronnie and I run Rekkerd.org. I'm a bedroom music producer and guitar player, and I love chicken vindaloo & all things glitch.