Zebra XMF Filter Explained

This quick tutorial will break down what the Zebra XMF filter is and how it can be used, so you can get the most out of it!

Although it is simply called the Zebra XMF filter on this incredible synth you may also hear it commonly referred to as a Cross-Modulation Filter (which it is), or perhaps even the Multi-Multi-Mode Filter (which it also is). There are so many things that set Zebra apart from the other big soft synths out there, but the way the XMF filter has been integrated makes it one of the big ones. Basically, the XMF is an extremely flexible multimode filter featuring self-oscillation, input level dependent distortion and audio-rate FM via its extra input. This level of awesomeness does come at a price though, and that (of course) is a pretty big CPU hit, relatively speaking.

This particular video was made and presented by Urs Heckmann, the man behind Zebra, so this is a great lesson in what the XMF unit is capable of. Boasting 15 different main filter options, 5 modes of overdrive, 4 main routing modes (running in Parallel mode gives you the option of loading up any one of the 15 filter types in the second slot), I think it’s safe to say that the Zebra XMF filter is ready to handle whatever you may be thinking of throwing at it!

The last part of this video is a nice example of the types of effects that the Zebra XMF filter can have on a simple sound, giving you plenty of ideas I’m sure. As you can see and hear, it makes complex sounding modulation sweeps a very simple task to execute. You can map the various parameters of the XMf unit to a MIDI controller for easier use, as well as access any of the parameters via your DAW for easy automation assignments.

Although quick and simple, this video should help to shed some light on the powerful Zebra XMF filter. We plan on sharing much more about this tool in future posts and welcome any insights, suggestions or requests you may have on this topic or any other regarding U-he Zebra 2.5.