I paid $199 which is average for a current soft synth and so far I am into it. I do enjoy the time I spend with this synth and the sound quality is great, again, on par with Synthmaster and Sylenth. I will say that, with all the options, you can really create some massive sounding movements filled with swirly pads, percussion lines, and arpeggiations from the most outlandish wave forms straight from your brain, which can be extremely pleasing, but get ready to spend some time on it. I am sure the more I use it the better my workflow will become, but as it stands, I only take it out when I have the time to dedicate. There are just so many options that it can feel a little daunting at times. This is one of those synths that it can take a long time to create patches with. What I mean is I don't use this as my 'get a quick think, fuzzy lead in there' or something else needed quickly and efficiently. What I really like and actually dislike about this synthesis is it's insane amount of options. You also get a very sophisticated arpeggiator and sequencer, a modulation matrix, a standard set of effects, and a ton of presets to get you started.

First off you get a 4 Oscillators in which you can apply a bunch of different wave presets (standard square, saw.etc to random sillyness like Wet Eel and Fizzle riously) as well as the ability to fully customize each to create your own with the built in editor. The synth itself is loaded with all sorts of options. With the heavy presence of Computer Touch Tablets these days, having these X/Y boxes come in very handy. Another cool thing about this synth is the 'Perform' section where it starts you off with 4 midi 'learn-able' X/Y boxes. Essentially lots of options using little space. They also set up the GUI similar to how Native Instruments Battery works where in the bottom, you have 'tabs' that when selected show only the specific parameters of that tab. Even though the synth offers a ton of options and tweakable parameters, they did a guide job of organization.

The configuration of the synth is very well thought out.

The sound is quite 'natural' sounding, meaning it sounds more like a Virtual Hardware Synth than a Soft Synth and doesn't have that lack of body or warmth found in some soft synths. I hold Zebra 2 in the same ranks as Synthmaster 2.5, and Sylenth. The recent batch of 'Flagship' soft synths have really been sounding great. The Zebra 2 performs very well in both DAW's without any hiccups. So far I have had zero compatibility issues. I run this synth on a Macbook Pro (10.6.8) with an RME Fireface 800 in both Ableton 8 and Logic 9.

U-he zebra2 synthwave