# What A Synth



## chimuelo (May 31, 2015)

I have to say this is the very finest creation for creativity I ever purchased.
Omnisphere 2 is all that.
Right from the get go I decided since I am an old school guy who thinks manuals do not apply, I followed every instruction and watched the first video after the installation video, and immediately you can create sounds w/o having to read on further which always dusts my creativity.
Great product, if you don't own it, you must become serious about your hobby/work as this is a breath of fresh air.
Was curious about how Omni 2 would work Live.
It smokes in Live Mode.
The Physis K4 is made for such complexity in real time.

Just finished up a 6 month Zebra 2 HZ groove, now it's Omni 2 time.
Anyone here ever own a Roland S760 ...?
This synth reminds of my old Sample, real clean and the output is Hot !!!!
I find myself turning things down, and I am not even using internal FX.
Omni sounds so good I have dedicated my spare TC Fireworx via ADAT 48k.

Great Job and videos are so easy to understand.
Dual Live Mode is the juice for me.
And check out the controllers...4 Banks, one for Zebra 2 HZ, 2 for samples and now the 4th for Omni 2. Each Bank gets everything you see below....... _-) 




gif upload


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## NYC Composer (Jun 1, 2015)

chimuelo @ Sun May 31 said:


> I have to say this is the very finest creation for creativity I ever purchased.
> Omnisphere 2 is all that.
> Right from the get go I decided since I am an old school guy who thinks manuals do not apply, I followed every instruction and watched the first video after the installation video, and immediately you can create sounds w/o having to read on further which always dusts my creativity.
> Great product, if you don't own it, you must become serious about your hobby/work as this is a breath of fresh air.
> ...



I haven't upgraded yet because it requires an update of my Mac system, but that really has to happen soon. I love Omni, and have been on the train since the early days of Atmosphere, which was fabulous. I owned 760s, a 770 and multiple 700s, and you're right about the legacy warmth/cleanliness and hot output- not for nothing was Eric a product specialist and sound designer for Roland


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## G.R. Baumann (Jun 2, 2015)

NICE! I knew that LIVE mode would "trigger" your fancy. :lol: 

This feature here I imagine particulary useful for you: 



> You can also use your STACK MODE regions in LIVE MODE, by turning ON "Stack Mode Note Regions" in the LIVE MODE zoom. This gives you the flexibility to combine the instant Part selection from Live Mode with the Stack Mode splits and layering capabilities.



Would love to see an in depth video demo for your physics setup with omnisphere et al.

Congrats on Omnisphere! :D


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## chimuelo (Jun 2, 2015)

What's even more scarier than Omnisphere 2 and a fierce Master MIDI Controller...?
Solaris being added to the controller Arena.... :idea: 
It's Prgm. Chngs. coincide with Zebra2 HZ so when I type in a number, Zebra2 follows.
It gets Joysticked and Ribboned and it's Aftertouch is based on %'s and numerical values per preset.

Got so busy with the K4 I had to drop it to the lower Tier.
For the shows this summer I have 2 x SE-1Xs, Scope Modular IV, Zebra 2HZ, Omnisphere 2, Solaris, PLAY/Kontakt, VB3, Pianoteq 5 Pro and due to the nature of the music Satin 1.2 for a thick Tape Flange of all synths except the Racked hardware analogs.

I look forward to this weekend at a Winery with a cool amphitheater.
Management will be doing videos as agreed to since these Winery's and Festivals go from the Maifest through the Oktoberfest. Biker CLubs fill in the rest of the dates.
Lot's of old Biker cats always comment on the keyboard sound since we do Lots of dirty B3 stuff. 
Even had one guy tell me don't worry, Guns are all checked in at the Gate and returned afterwards...

Zebra2 HZ and Omnisphere 2 are really making my life more and more hardware free and sound great through my new vented IEMs and Spacestaion Vrs. 3.
Spacestation (SSv3) is a tiny little powered monitor that uses CPS technology from SoCal developer Aspen Pittman. Nicest onstage sound a keyboardist can get these days.

I am so busy I just leave the little buggar in the Trunk when I take at a pit stop at the crib.


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## G.R. Baumann (Jun 2, 2015)

This keyboard stand looks kinda flimsy to me, but impressions can be wrong. Keyboards that swing and move back and forth, and the physis is no light weight, are a nightmare for me.

Guns all checked in.... :lol:


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## Ned Bouhalassa (Jun 3, 2015)

Solaris!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Drool.


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## chimuelo (Jun 3, 2015)

Solaris pretty much has become the Waldorf Wave since software synths don't do Waldorf Wavetables very well.
I tied the Joystick to Omni 2's Granular controller, and the Ribbon to Filters and have some pretty signature sounding Motion-Pads while blending both synths together.

I should have bought Atmosphere way back when, I could have been a contender.

GR this stand is the very strongest most customized stand you can get.
Bought it at '96 NAMM. Saw them next to the Glyyph Booth.
Only use 2 tiers now but it had an MC3000, A90 and D70 on it for years.
Rated weight at 300 lbs. 
Any angle you want for the arms, at any height and telescopic extensions allows shaky looking configurations, which are actually incredibly "shake" proof.

Small footprint, sets up and tears down in seconds.
It's all about leverage.


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## G.R. Baumann (Jun 3, 2015)

There ya go, Impressions can be deceiving, I imagined your physis to shake like crazy on this stand.


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## bryla (Jun 3, 2015)

Hos do you find the Keys om the physis? Never heard of thit model and looks exactly like what I'm looking for


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## chimuelo (Jun 3, 2015)

Well I grew up my Uprights and Grands like most old school cats, but once you realize performing non Classical music is what you want, you really don't want 88 notes with super heavy, mostly not accurate action.
I gig days and nights and practice like a fiend.
My fingers can no longer handle more than an hour or two at most on an Acoustic.
But also never really liked semi weighted action until the MC3000.

The Physis is even less heavier than the MC3000 but it's perfect if you do many styles and many gigs.
It's real strengths is total control over MIDI and Audio.
You'll be King of all you survey.


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## chimuelo (Jun 3, 2015)

Meanwhile Back At The Ranch................

Been using JH Audio Layla with Vents for live work. Pretty amazing tech.
But for programming and recording, the most minute details aren't missed
when using the new JH Audio Roxanne IEMs.

Every little detail is heard with 24 way drivers in your ears.
That's right, Quad Bass drivers, Quad Mid and Quad High per side.
Omnisphere 2 is so amazing.

It is the very first softsynth where I decided to use it's amazing and unique FX to program and play with.
Most VSTi's have generic FX and I always disable and discard using hardware instead.

Not with Omnisphere 2.
The routing makes all of the difference too.
The new FX are amazing and Mr. P and Company sure did their homework.

Probably won't sound as good onstage but out front we have a pretty sophisticated stereo PA so I am feverish to play.






upload foto


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## NYC Composer (Jun 3, 2015)

Dunno what new fx have been added, but I (and a lot of people) think Eric could have successfully released the fx section of Omni as a standalone product.


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## chimuelo (Jun 3, 2015)

Definitely.

This synth begs for inputs...
Sorry for putting this in the OT area, but it is a category of it's own, shouldn't be buried by another Flute in the Sample Talk area.
Just sayin'...

Cheerz.


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## JonFairhurst (Jun 3, 2015)

Regarding touch, I find that I'm no fan of semi-weight. I like the "reality" of actual weighted keys, even if the weight is lighter than an acoustic. (I still use a Kurzweil PC88 Fatar.) And I like the quickness of synth action. (I had a Juno 60 back in the New Wave days.) I recently got an Akai MPK49, but I find that I don't like the heavy spring feel at all. The keys are stubby, slower than synth, and cheaper feeling than weights. Ugh. The problem is that most affordable USB keyboards like the low cost of springs and the marketing-speak of "semi-weighted". 

Does the Physis feel like springs, weights, or a combination of the two? I think I'd like something a bit heavier than a synth feel, but only if it doesn't feel like springs under levers. Keyboards shouldn't be designed like a line of door handles...


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## chimuelo (Jun 8, 2015)

It feels more like the keys follow your fingers up with a little resistance.

On another note, Omnisphere's Live Mode demos show somebody using 2 Buttons on a controller.
Physis K4 has a function called step Mode, like the old chain mode on the Oberheim MC300, but a single Button can be programmed with step adjustments from 1 - 128.
Since there's only 8 parts in live mode one can use a division of 16, so the button loops through the 8 parts. 
I could use a slider, knob, switch or Pedal as well, but a Button works just fine.

Seems as though the K4 was meant for Omnisphere.
I was thinking about Orbit and an iPad.
But routing Solaris MIDI into the K4, then out to Omnisphere, I get Solaris Joystick and Ribbon + everything on the K4.


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## G.R. Baumann (Jun 10, 2015)

One little thing I discovered on the creative side of sound design is the usage of the orb in a rather static way. Meaning, you take the original patch, and blend together with further patches that are "orbed", using a not moving but static orb setting that you found useful. Can be drastic or subtle as I tried to show here:

https://vimeo.com/46746017


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## chimuelo (Jun 10, 2015)

So what's causing the subtlety I am hearing, like sync'd Oscillator/flange?


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## G.R. Baumann (Jun 10, 2015)

Just the the orb messing about with the FX section.


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## chimuelo (Jul 5, 2015)

Any of yuze guys get PlugInGuru's stuff for Omni 2..?
Nice way to ease an old timer into EDM while still having cool synth leads and pads to work with.

Popping audio into Omni 2 is so much fun too.
Making Multi's where BPM Grooves can be mixed in tempo with i.e. vocal break from Dance to the music by Sly Stone. Then sweep the vocal break, reverse it.

Hell I might just turn into a performing DJ at this point.
I use to have to actually play the BPM Trance licks since I worshipped Emerson as a kid.
Learning Take a Pebble and other stuff on the Trilogy album is paying off these days.

If you haven't upgraded or grow weary of Omni 1, this is an entirely new synth from what I can tell.
I'll be busy for years with this stuff.
EPershing and team have given me new purpose.


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## Guy Rowland (Jul 5, 2015)

PluginGuru produce some great stuff (Toxic felt like Omni 2 before there was Omni 2). However their naming conventions drive me nuts, with stupid 2 letter prefixes before everything like nobody else does for Omni. I have to batch rename them before I start.

The tagging / library thing (and some occasional sluggishness) are the only downsides to Omni 2. Honestly I find it harder to find my way around patches now than in v1. I've had some back and forths with Spectra over the issue. They have said they will be doing a library update with lots of tagging improvements which is good, but I remain concerned about how it can ever properly integrate with the older third party libraries. Right now it's very hard to advise third party suppliers on what to do - the factory tagging seems so erratic it's hard to know what to follow. Hopefully as that improves, better guidance can be given.

But those are the only caveats really. Synthesis-wise and functionality-wise it's so unbelievably strong now the soundsources seem that bit less important - and when you think what great stuff is in there, that's quite something. I think my initial reaction was "this is a beast, it's just not been fully tamed yet", and I have to say that's still my feeling - I think the point releases will see some great strides there. But regardless, a beast it most certainly is.


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## chimuelo (Aug 5, 2015)

New Update for Omnisphere. 2.1.
Install went smoothly, then headed over to Plug In GuRu for the new Mega Magic / K5 bundle.
Haven't pulled the trigger yet as the demo's just came online and don't seem to work
at Soundcloud.
But erased/uninstalled Omnisphere 2 and previous patches/samples I made.
By that time the demos might be up and running.

Best way for me to learn a synth is starting over.
Had trouble loading and recalling sounds in Dual Live Mode.
Now it's a clean slate and hopefully will be loaded onto the new SM951 NVMe along with GuRu's 2 packages.

These little M.2s are so fast when I use to watch Omnisphere load LIVE Multi's the yellow progress bar took a second or so on an MX-100.
On any M.2 SSD you don't see even see the load process.
Thought maybe I'd load it again, then realized it already loaded..!!

I really look forward to having more than 3 x M.2 Ultra slots on my ASRock.
Z170 Extreme 6 has 3, but rumor has it once the i7 6700Ks hit the shelves an ASRock Extreme 9
will surface.
With 20 x PCIe lanes that means a total of 5 M.2 Ultra's can be accessed.

Not important for guys recording but Live performers can rejoice as load times are non existant.

Check the new Plug In GuRu stuff.
Im busy all day migrating and testing stuff.


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## chimuelo (Aug 5, 2015)

Also just wanted to add that I am 100% in favor of EPershing and the extra money this synth costs.
Reasons are this....
Pay less money, you get less R & D.
Most developers march on and release other products, only returning to add updates
when users complain.
I would have paid 999 USD for Omni 2 as I can't envision EPershing buying a Lambourghini and living the high life.
Having an updated smooth running synth with such incredible power is worth it's own NMVe SSD...


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## chimuelo (Sep 13, 2015)

Like my own little Omnisphere thread so here's another question.

Roli Grand/Rise Controllers.

I hear about how their concepts are supported by Spectrasonics.
Since these guys can't afford a forum, is there anywhere I can find information
on how they might incorporate that particular control/concept...?

Thanks


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## JohnG (Sep 13, 2015)

just bought the upgrade. Sooooo worth it. Can't believe I waited this long.


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## synthpunk (Sep 15, 2015)

Roger Linn Linnstrument also a intriguing option Chimuelo.
http://www.rogerlinndesign.com/linnstrument.html



chimuelo said:


> Like my own little Omnisphere thread so here's another question.
> 
> Roli Grand/Rise Controllers.
> 
> ...


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