The update from V2.1 to V2.2 consists of numerous improvements, most of all in the user experience. It also addresses compatibility issues with new platforms such as MacOS X 10.5 Leopard and Muse Receptor – on which Zebra runs happily now.
But the biggest asset may be the all new factory presets by Howard Scarr, which now show off Zebra’s capabilities in about every genre.
This list is probably not comprehensive, but as a result of a major overhaul of the u-he plugin engine and of a lot of effort put into improving the user experience:
* factory presets were replaced with all new bank by Howard Scarr
* it’s now compatible to MacOS X 10.5 Leopard
* presets load way faster
* user interface opens almost instantly
* a “compact install” for Muse Receptor compatibility was added to Windows installer
* a factory bank of oscillator module presets was added (also by Howard Scarr)
* gui consistency was improved (i.e. renamed some parameters, too long texts get shortened to fit)
* that infamous MSEG bug is fixed (single trigger MSEG may have caused deadlock)
* the Preset Manager remembers name & location of loaded patch, saved with song
* the editor window opens in the state where you last closed it (doesn’t/can’t save with song though)
* global parameters such as FX Returns are available in modulation matrix
* smoother ModWheel, Breath Controller, Expression and PitchBend
* speaking of PitchBend, ranges can be set to 0 now to free the Wheel for other tasks
* MidiLearn now requires a conscious decision for a menu entry – preventing users from accidentally Teaching a parameter
* Preset scripting was improved so that 3rd party waveform converters are fully supported (still no decent documentation for scripting though)
* a bug in the reverb diffusion on SSE2 machines got wiped out – if that changes your sound, set “D-Feedb” to 0.00
* the Preset Manager can now be used to create new folders and refresh the directory listing (right/ctrl-click)
* .h2p is now default patch format – set to native to save patches for use within host applications (usually not necessary)
* text rendering quality on Windows was improved
* there’s no more need for Microsoft Runtime Libraries on Windows (finally!)
* one can now import patches made with the Computer Music edition of Zebra aka ZebraCM
* number of voices can be set to 0 in an Arpeggiator step, making this step a “skip”