After a series of soundsets for Native Instruments Absynth and Massive, Polish sound designer Artur from Eclipse Sound Design takes on the Zebra synthesizer by u-he with Zebra Botanica.
Ethno-tropical sound set with a gentle breeze of warm equatorial regions.
The soundset includes a total of 54 patches:
- 32 Abstract Instants.
- 4 Lead/Bass.
- 3 Sequence Patterns.
- 15 Texture Pads.
Most patches have all 4 macro XY pads assigned for maximum expression.
At 54 patches, this soundset is rather small. However, it is surprisingly versatile.
Check out a few of the patches included in this audio clip.
For a demonstration of the sounds in a musical context, Torben Hansen created this lovely track.
So what do I think?
Format: .h2p patches for Zebra 2.5
Price: $8.95 USD
Like: organic sounds, expressive, unique & usable
Don’t like: —
Verdict: 8/10
Zebra Botanica is a really nice set of sounds. I don’t know if it’s the concept, patch titles and the cover art for the soundset, but the whole thing feels very organic to me. Almost like a collection of real instruments, found scattered around a tropical forest.
There is a lot of color in the instruments, they’re vibrant and alive. Interestingly enough, Artur has shared that he likes to start off with the artwork of a soundset, using a wallpaper of it as an inspiration while designing the sounds. I think this approach works really well, resulting in a cohesive collection of original sounds.
The patch count is kind of on the low side, but the soundbank is priced accordingly.
More information: Eclipse Sound / Zebra Botanica
