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Anyone using Zenbeats just to get to Roland synth sounds?
Zentracker and Zenbeats have been sitting on my iPad a long time with little attention. I’m just not interested to learn another iOS workflow.
But….. tonight I just saw there are a ton of synth sounds there. Are there some quality or classic Roland settings there? And is anyone using Zenbeats just to get to those tones?
Thanks,
Joe
P.S. I have never owned a Roland synth.
Comments
No. Just the opposite.
TBH I don't care about the Zenbeats synths, and wasn't all that impressed with the newer Roland sounds either. Love Zenbeats as a DAW though. Other than Loopy Pro, it has the best iOS DAW workflow for my purposes.
Zenbeats is certainly the most promising daw on iOS. I don’t use it right t now, just because of the missing audio routing facilities and midi limitation recording cc of external hardware. Once they add those functionality it may be my primary daw.
I’m also using Looy more than Zenbeats for these same reasons. Audio routing, sending and automating CCs… Loopy has no automation but there’s ways around to do stuff using plugins and so on while Zenbeats is more closed and once you can’t do something you probably won’t. It hasn’t been seriously updated in a while, either, which I find worrying. I believe what Zenebats has (clip modes, drum sequencer, synced loop preview and so on) would take a lot more to implement on other daws than what it’d take Zenbeats to work on its limitations which are basically very stiff and rigid routing.
All manufacturers just like Roland have their own ”character” to sounds. I used to own an Roland FA-series workstation but as time passed I realized I had basically everything I needed on the iPad to make music, so for a time I kept the FA only to get access to Roland sounds, and to use as a MIDI keyboard. Total overkill, and doubling the options I had on the iPad.
Then Zenbeats came along, and with the 2.0 update the current Zencore engine in slimmed ”player” version, ZC1. I got a MIDI keyboard instead, sold the FA, and now I have access to the Roland ”character” sound through Zenbeats using the same engine as the current hardware models like the Jupiter X, MC, MV, Fantom, Fantom-0 and most recently the Juno X.
So yes, apart from being my DAW of choice, I get Zencore versions of Roland sounds through Zenbeats. In my setup I also rely heavily on Synthmaster and some other chosen iOS synths. They are all of course digital emulating analog sounds in many cases, and to be honest doing it very well. Just for fun and to get the ”real” analog character I also have a hardware analog synth, a UNO Synth Pro desktop in my setup.
Now with all the Roland hardware and online evolution centered around the Zencore engine, I am looking forward to whatever Roland decides to bring to the Zenbeats table. A full-blown ZC2 synth? I-arpeggio? Of course a bunch of minor improvements in Zenbeats. An improved sampler with 16 pads just like the hardware?
/DMfan🇸🇪
Same for me I use loopy pro with Lk and have almost no limitations. The only drawback is a bit complicated and sometimes unstable workflow.
But very capable creative and powerful, even more than logic or Ableton. At least for me.
Thanks.
So for those who have had Roland synths, how true are the Zen sounds to the originals?
Q: What are vintage synths, and why are they so renowned/expensive?
The original synths were oscillator effect combinations that the user had to turn a certain way to achieve a specific sound. And they were powered by electric circuits which combined diodes, op-amps, potentiometers, and basic microelectronic circuits.
Part of the reason why vintage synths are so expensive are because of a number of reasons
Q: Do I need to have these synths to make sounds from those era? Or do I need to take a university degree in synth and sound design?
In reality, the musicians and SynthMasters manipulated the knobs and characteristics of the synth to make the sound that they wanted.
Presets were made to make it easy to get the sounds you wanted, and to give a lot of people access to created sounds, while also speeding up creative processes.
Having a understanding of how different effects and oscillator will definitely help you create cooler sounds, but honestly the best way to learn is by doing. By which I mean, experiment with whatever synth and effects you have, see how different presets are made while understanding how they work, and read relevant materials which interest you.
Q: But what about sampling? And how true are sampled sounds to the actual synth?
Sampling a synth allowed users who didn’t have that synthesizer to have the same exact sound preset from that synth. Of course, you wouldn’t be able to change the sound in the exact same way that you could on the synth (because you don’t have that synth), but you can add a LOT more effects to change the nature of the sound.
Q: What’s the difference between a digital synth (say something like SynthMaster One, Serum, Vital, Sylenth, etc) to something like the Roland/Korg/Moog Synths?
Well, each synth designer makes their synth to produce sounds in different ways. Just like how each guitar maker has a way to manufacture their guitar. The sound of each guitar isn’t exactly the same but it follows specific rules.
Think about this…why is an acoustic guitar, and an electric guitar still called a guitar, but a cello isn’t called a guitar?
Digital synths are simply another way to create sounds, than analog. There isn’t one better than the other. But each synth allows you to produce sounds differently from each other, despite them having oscillators and effects.
Oscillator- Something that generates sound
Effect - Something that changes the nature of a sound
Jeezs:)
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Thanks, @seonnthaproducer !
I've only owned a couple of analog synth, and it has taken years, but I get it now that digital can only get so close to the analog experience.
IMO, the Moog synth apps sound fantastic. But I'm sure the musician experience of will never be the same. Having said that, I think that for a given preset, an apples-to-apples comparison of the Minimoog to the Model D would come out so close that to most listener ears the difference wouldn't matter.
After I wrote the thread starter this morning, I fired up the iPad through my PAs to play a few ZC sounds. Then played with Synthmaster 2, Model 15, Animoog Z, and MKSensation X. And it reminded me how many high-quality synth sounds I have in overabundance with my iPad.
So no rush to jump into the Roland Zen world. But it will be more on my radar now.
I rarely use Zenbeats but every time I do I come up with something awesome which makes me want to dive more into it. I think the workflow is really great and over all it’s been quite stable for me.
Soundwise, I think there are much better options on iOS. The Tal Uno sounds much closer to a Juno than anything in the zen core engine, imo. I also have a 707 which gives me access to those sounds, so that’s not a huge draw for me any way.
That said, having played a classic Juno and Jupiter before, I think it does a passable job in a mix but it’s not the same.
I suggest trying one month full trial on Roland cloud which unlocks Zenbeats
Keep in mind you don't get full Zenology Pro or expansions on iOS , only ZC1 .
In a true blind test very few would be able to pick between an analog and a good digital recreation. There, I said it. 😉👍🏼
Yeah…+1
Agreed.
The people who buy our music or hear it at a gig certainly won’t be able to tell the difference, and being aware of that - for me - is pretty important.
I used to be in a band years ago where the guitarist used to fiddle religiously with his reverb settings between songs at our gigs, making sure everything was set perfectly for each song & I used to think he was nuts - so I pointed out that with the volumes our crowd were listening to us f.o.h that after about 30 seconds of our first song their hearing would be turning to mush (certainly in the top & upper mid frequencies) so they - the crowd - in all probability wouldn’t be able to discern that there was ANY reverb on his guitar at all, never mind hear the subtle differences in it from song to song.
Eventually he ended up ditching his reverb at live gigs (with the added benefit that there was now one less thing to break down on stage) and you know, not once did we have anyone come to us post gig and say “you really sucked tonight because there was no frickin’ reverb on the guitar” !
The point being that sometimes when creating we do like to get hung up on the wrong things - it’s just another form of procrastination in my opinion.
I agree. It really only matters when you’re alone in the studio and wanna hear that sweet analog goodness through your headphones/monitors. Which can also be important.
For your own playing, composing, enjoyment, sound design, creativity, etc., tweaking and obsessing on seemingly minor or technical points is essentially a good thing.
Obsession over secondary things to kick the can on primary outcomes is always a bad thing. On any project.
I didn’t really think much of how they sound - I’m more interested to see how if grows as a DAW in general.
Exactly so. If the artist can hear the difference and be inspired by it, then it might be significant enough to pursue.
I have done projects where I’ve added fx just because it’s easy etc. When I go to do the final mix and listen critically I take out everything that no longer makes a difference. There are often a relatively large number of things that just don’t contribute. Makes for better mixes. But their initial presence was important in the beginning.