# Spectrasonics new update: "Flow Capture"



## creativeforge (Sep 20, 2022)

Check this new feature Spectrasonics just put out! *FREE* update for *standalone* Omni, Keyscape and Trillian. Helps to quickly record and save improvisations, including the patches used AND their settings. Amd you can drag and drop them in your DAW when ready to work on them.

Looking good! Awesome job Spectrasonics!

QUOTE:_ "How many times have you been in the perfect “flow state” of musical inspiration, only to lose your idea after dealing with all the setup required to record and capture the moment?

Flow Capture™ is an innovative new recording feature Spectrasonics has developed for Keyscape, Trilian and Omnisphere 2 standalone users - which grabs spontaneous musical moments in audio, MIDI and sound formats simultaneously!"_
▼


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## Daren Audio (Sep 20, 2022)

This is a great solution especially for collaboration.


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## kgdrum (Sep 20, 2022)

The gripe many non-Omni/Spectrasonics users have with the cost of entry is almost laughable when you consider the sheer amount of innovative and extremely useful updates Eric and company continually provide free of charge with the Spectrasonics product line.
Most developers would have milked at least one or two PAID UPGRADES for Omni. If it wasn’t Spectrasonics,under different leadership and circumstances we would be discussing Omni 3 or Omni 4……..
Awesome!


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## EvilDragon (Sep 20, 2022)

Have MIDI retrospective record in Pianoteq, love it. Super useful stuff.

What Spectrasonics did here is not really innovative but I understand they have to have a marketing spin on everything they do.  (Oh and Pianoteq records at all times, you don't have to start/stop recording at all, which is even better, you don't have to think about it!)


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## Geoff Grace (Sep 20, 2022)

The bottom line is it's useful for those who like to use the standalone versions of products; and a useful, free update is always welcomed.

Best,

Geoff


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## creativeforge (Sep 20, 2022)

EvilDragon said:


> Have MIDI retrospective record in Pianoteq, love it. Super useful stuff.
> 
> What Spectrasonics did here is not really innovative but I understand they have to have a marketing spin on everything they do.  (Oh and Pianoteq records at all times, you don't have to start/stop recording at all, which is even better, you don't have to think about it!)


Interesting, I had never heard the term MIDI Retrospective Record. But I found this recent discussion here. Seems to have quirks depending on your DAW. Simon also mentions - Coyote MIDI? (Also found a mention from Botdog's @Jdiggity1 )
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Retrospective Record- the greatest feature of any DAW?


I have to say that whether it’s Studio One, Cubase or Logic, I find retro record to be incredibly useful for sketching ideas. In this format one doesn’t need to be concerned with meter or tempo. They can get melodic and harmonic and even rhythmic ideas down without being a slave to a bleeping...




vi-control.net


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## sostenuto (Sep 20, 2022)

Long time Spectrasonics (triad) user and always Update promptly. As often, splash screen shows (green) all Updated. Always check, and several Updates. Done quite differently this time, with one Updater .exe, but several seemed to require manual replacement of .dll(s), on .exe. ??? 
Maybe pilot error, but not as smooth as in past. 🤷🏻‍♂️ ( Win11 Pro )


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## Fleer (Sep 20, 2022)

Looking pretty pretty good. Indeed very interesting for collaboration.


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## imyself (Sep 20, 2022)

EvilDragon said:


> Have MIDI retrospective record in Pianoteq, love it. Super useful stuff.
> 
> What Spectrasonics did here is not really innovative but I understand they have to have a marketing spin on everything they do.  (Oh and Pianoteq records at all times, you don't have to start/stop recording at all, which is even better, you don't have to think about it!)


+1


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## imusic (Sep 21, 2022)

What Spectrasonics did here is not really innovative but I understand they have to have a marketing spin on everything they do.  (Oh and Pianoteq records at all times, you don't have to start/stop recording at all, which is even better, you don't have to think about it!)

you need to stop it "somehow" ... / but you do not record it manually ...


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## creativeforge (Sep 21, 2022)

imusic said:


> What Spectrasonics did here is not really innovative but I understand they have to have a marketing spin on everything they do.  (Oh and Pianoteq records at all times, you don't have to start/stop recording at all, which is even better, you don't have to think about it!)
> 
> you need to stop it "somehow" ... / but you do not record it manually ...


Yes, but we're talking about thousands of patches with all their settings for Omnisphere, and the same for Keyscape, and also for Trillian. 

Bravo Pianoteq, but it's a fragile equivalency, imho, between a few pianos, and the largest virtual synth on the planet.


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## GtrString (Sep 21, 2022)

Oh, these guys! ⭐

Nice, so now you can save and share plugin settings, and have them in your project folder, without having to do presets. That's useful. 

I like the workflow part of this too.


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## zvenx (Sep 21, 2022)

I really wish Kontakt had this.
rsp


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## davidson (Sep 21, 2022)

zvenx said:


> I really wish Kontakt had this.
> rsp


100%.


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## EvilDragon (Sep 21, 2022)

imusic said:


> you need to stop it "somehow" ... / but you do not record it manually ...


In Pianoteq? No, it goes by periods of silence then just splits things in separate MIDI files. It's really quite handy.



creativeforge said:


> Bravo Pianoteq, but it's a fragile equivalency, imho, between a few pianos, and the largest virtual synth on the planet.


"A few pianos", heheh. 






Hundreds of patches there across all the models they offer.


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## Geoff Grace (Sep 21, 2022)

Has Pianoteq vs Omnisphere become the new Mac vs PC?

What's with all the "my platform is better" comments?

Best,

Geoff


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## creativeforge (Sep 21, 2022)

EvilDragon said:


> In Pianoteq? No, it goes by periods of silence then just splits things in separate MIDI files. It's really quite handy.
> 
> 
> "A few pianos", heheh.
> ...


Nice, curious about that Bechstein, now...  

But you know what I mean... I will have to first install and use. I normally improvise most of my stuff, and really I do find the whole process of getting ready a bit anticlimactic or too fragmented.


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## EvilDragon (Sep 21, 2022)

Geoff Grace said:


> Has Pianoteq vs Omnisphere become the new Mac vs PC?
> 
> What's with all the "my platform is better" comments?


It's not about that, it's just about showcasing that, while the flow capture feature is nice, it is not innovative as it was done before. They did do some nice extensions to it and that's cool, but I wouldn't call that particularly _innovative, _since it includes "prior art".


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## Jdiggity1 (Sep 21, 2022)

creativeforge said:


> Interesting, I had never heard the term MIDI Retrospective Record. But I found this recent discussion here. Seems to have quirks depending on your DAW. Simon also mentions - Coyote MIDI? (Also found a mention from Botdog's @Jdiggity1 )
> ▼
> 
> 
> ...


Yes. If you use a Windows computer, you can use the (entirely free) CoyoteMIDI program to add retrospective MIDI recorder abilities to ANY plugin or DAW. Whether you're using Omnisphere, pianoteq, Kontakt, or the built-in coyoteMIDI piano samples... CoyoteMIDI will keep all your ideas safe and organized. And that's not even the primary feature of the program!
Cool idea from Spectrasonics though - including the audio file and patch details.


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## Fleer (Sep 21, 2022)

EvilDragon said:


> … but I wouldn't call that particularly _innovative, _since it includes "prior art".


As any human undertaking does


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## zvenx (Sep 21, 2022)

Fleer said:


> As any human undertaking does


Exactly!!!.
rsp


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## Reid Rosefelt (Sep 21, 2022)

Yeah and you can do something like this in Cubase too. Probably other DAWs.



I vaguely remember seeing it somewhere else too.

So what? Flow Capture is a nice feature. I like the idea of working in Standalone. This gives you audio, MIDI, and a record of the patch. The idea that you can take that patch data and drag it anywhere is nifty. Omnisphere patches can be extremely complex. 

It's useful and it's free. So what if it's not original?

And I think there's a reasonable chance that Pianoteq wasn't the first company to offer something like this either. Whether they did or not, it's a nice feature they provide for their customers, and bravo to them.


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## creativeforge (Sep 21, 2022)

Reid Rosefelt said:


> Yeah and you can do something like this in Cubase too. Probably other DAWs.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I think the focus with this addon, is to record right out from a standalone library without needing a DAW. To put down ideas fast and furious. That's my interest in it, anyways. With Omnisphere.


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## Sirocco (Sep 21, 2022)

For me is very usefuyl because these days i use to open standalone versions or hosts like Unify, wich records the performance too pretty basic but hey!! is there.

I spent half life working with sequencers and tbh i prefer lonely instruments, record, use a multi-host etc...is quicker?? yes i guess, but i worked as an enginneer thousand of hours in front of sequencers plus myself work so i refused sometimes even knowing that good sheets with differents versions for a seq is better but...ok, no too much logical explanation but when i open Omni, Zebra or any other without the sequencer i feel much more inspire and chill than open the seq...it should be a syndrome...XD....panic to red button, click pre-count....hehe!! I prefer turn on, play, rec and see, quicker than seq, is not the best but is the way i like since years ago. I create more ideas.

So this on Spectrasonics is very welcomed and free, for the moment the only gripe is that i record 30 sec with four parts multi, two of them fron Undercurrent Extension and two more from third party and the time that takes to load the .omnisphere file, once saved, which has all the settings takes an unusual time of one minute or so...

This file is very useful for me, i´m lazy and a little dissater when saving sketching ideas within Omni based on multis that constantly i change, create many versions, overwrite etc...is less complicated that save settings-sounds, channels etc.. inside Omni that with this file, at least in my "workflow" to name it, my workflow is anything less than flow..

Salute!


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## jtnyc (Sep 21, 2022)

I can see that there are people who use Omni and other VI's in standalone, so this feature is useful, but the idea that opening a DAW is more time consuming or somehow gets in the way of inspiration just doesn't add up to me. I open open my Logic template (which loads Kontakt, Omni and a few others in a few seconds) and I'm off and running. Or I can open Omni in standalone, but then not have access to Kontakt and the others... IDK.... I much prefer having all of those options laid out in front of me with the ability to start recording and layering from the start. And if I'm just jamming and nothing comes of it, no harm done, I just quit Logic.


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## cedricm (Sep 22, 2022)

creativeforge said:


> Check this new feature Spectrasonics just put out! *FREE* update for *standalone* Omni, Keyscape and Trillian. Helps to quickly record and save improvisations, including the patches used AND their settings. Amd you can drag and drop them in your DAW when ready to work on them.
> 
> Looking good! Awesome job Spectrasonics!
> 
> ...



Don't most DAWs have retrospective MIDI yet? How useful is Flow Capture in this scenario?


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## Fleer (Sep 22, 2022)

jtnyc said:


> I can see that there are people who use Omni and other VI's in standalone, so this feature is useful, but the idea that opening a DAW is more time consuming or somehow gets in the way of inspiration just doesn't add up to me. I open open my Logic template (which loads Kontakt, Omni and a few others in a few seconds) and I'm off and running. Or I can open Omni in standalone, but then not have access to Kontakt and the others... IDK.... I much prefer having all of those options laid out in front of me with the ability to start recording and layering from the start. And if I'm just jamming and nothing comes of it, no harm done, I just quit Logic.


True, but using the standalone is like firing up an instrument and then this Flow Capture is a very welcome option.


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## sean8877 (Sep 22, 2022)

jtnyc said:


> I can see that there are people who use Omni and other VI's in standalone, so this feature is useful, but the idea that opening a DAW is more time consuming or somehow gets in the way of inspiration just doesn't add up to me. I open open my Logic template (which loads Kontakt, Omni and a few others in a few seconds) and I'm off and running. Or I can open Omni in standalone, but then not have access to Kontakt and the others... IDK.... I much prefer having all of those options laid out in front of me with the ability to start recording and layering from the start. And if I'm just jamming and nothing comes of it, no harm done, I just quit Logic.


Yeah I agree, I don't mind opening the DAW and having more instrument/effect options if I want to noodle. I don't ever use standalone mode (even when playing live) so I don't have much use for this. But if there are others who do use standalone it should be useful.


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## tmhuud (Sep 22, 2022)

Flow Capture…. 🤔 sounds like a medical term.


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## dcoscina (Sep 22, 2022)

I noticed that changing tempo in Omnisphere mid way through recording also translates into tempo changes when you import it into your daw. Brilliant


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## AmbientMile (Sep 23, 2022)

This reminds me of the "Skip Back Sampling" feature that was on my first gen Roland Fantom. Very cool feature that I used a lot!


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## groove (Sep 28, 2022)

Great feature, thank you Spectra.
I add my vote for retrospective recording as I use it all the time in Cubendo


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