# How to get the most out of Omnisphere?



## sIR dORT (Mar 2, 2020)

Just got it, and it's yuge. I'm finding lots of stuff I like and lots of stuff that I don't find that useful, but I'm wondering, since there are so many Omnisphere owners on this forum, what your guys' advice would be on getting the most out of it. Particularly for trailer stuff. I think it might have been Jay Asher who said it was the swiss army knife of VI's - so true.

DJM


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## sostenuto (Mar 2, 2020)

"Particularly for trailer stuff" ...... is not my forte, but far more addressable than Thread title. 
Personal experience has been long and varied. Will be interesting and enlightening to see Replies focused on "trailer stuff"..... 

Have accumulated notable set of 3rd Pty expansion libraries, which have been instructive in growing personal usage and learning of Omnisphere ..... thru v 2.6.


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## jonesg (Mar 5, 2020)

Watch some of the youtube videos, I like plugin guru , he has a good handle on its intricacies. 
This video is ideal for you, omnisphere for beginners.


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## jcrosby (Mar 5, 2020)

sIR dORT said:


> Just got it, and it's yuge. I'm finding lots of stuff I like and lots of stuff that I don't find that useful, but I'm wondering, since there are so many Omnisphere owners on this forum, what your guys' advice would be on getting the most out of it. Particularly for trailer stuff. I think it might have been Jay Asher who said it was the swiss army knife of VI's - so true.
> 
> DJM


Start tagging sounds you like. And use the collections feature to make collections of bookmarked sounds. Also spend a day or two each week just going through sounds and tagging/marking them for later use. I tag sounds with keywords ranging from genre to specific libraries or projects. When it's time to write I just start by typing in relevant keywords I've already added. (You can add text to a patch description and it shows up like a keyword, this is the fastest way to tag things I know of...)

Since Omnisphere's modular, (in that you can save settings for each module), think of collections and tagged patches and building blocks you can start from, or pilfer for interesting things like MSEG shapes, effects racks, arpeggio settings, etc..

Get familiar with soundlock as well. this lets you infinitely iterate off of a source patch and quickly turn it into something very different... Also don't overlock that "search text" is a parameter for sound lock meaning you can lock a search, incase you forget, and minimize the UI. (Search text doesn't carry over if you duplicate a track so keep that in mind...)

Use the randomize results function when you have a long list of patches. This will often toss a new sound at you you haven't discovered before.

As long as you don't talk yourself into feeling overwhelmed by it, Omnisphere is an endless playground, and capable of nailing any genre you work in..

Also play around with the orb. Sometimes you et really great unexpected results.


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## gsilbers (Mar 6, 2020)

3rd party presets 

I’m sure it’s not the thing you’d wanna hear after spending so much money on Omni.

As u said. There is just so much... for so many people and genres. 
So those 100+ EDM bass patches might not suit your trailer needs.

You can check out the many presets out there and see what u like. 
And as others said you can start tagging your preferred onboard patches.


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## Saxer (Mar 6, 2020)

I also like third party patches when they are made with a special concept. It‘s easier to find things in those libraries than in the main library, the final frontier where no men has gone before. “The Unfinished„ is great for cinematic stuff.


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## jonesg (Mar 9, 2020)

Saxer said:


> I also like third party patches when they are made with a special concept. It‘s easier to find things in those libraries than in the main library, the final frontier where no men has gone before. “The Unfinished„ is great for cinematic stuff.



The unfinished , very nice stuff.


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## Patryk Scelina (Jul 21, 2020)

If you have time to experiment. I recommend bouncing some single samples from your favorite Kontakt instruments and put those samples into Omnisphere. You'd be surprised how cool results you may get just by using Omnisphere's filters, envelopes and effects. 
I also love to record samples myself and use them in Omni...


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## NekujaK (Jul 21, 2020)

Randomizing the preset list will often yield surprising and inspiring results. With a library this big, I find it impractical to even begin wrapping my head around the entire collection of sounds... just let them come to you by way of discovery and random surprises. Omnisphere almost never disappoints.

If there are specific sounds you're looking for, find an example among the presets, then use Omnisphere's Soundmatch feature. Group the resulting patches (the ones you like) into a Project, and you'll be able to retrieve them again easily. (See YouTube videos about using Projects in Omnisphere.)

There are some outstanding third party presets available. Find collections that fit your style of music and add them to your arsenal. Some good preset developers to focus on are:
- The Unfinished
- Plugin Guru
- PlugHugger
- Triple Spiral
And there are many others out there...

Using Omnisphere is a neverending process of discovery and musical delight!


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## jcrosby (Jul 21, 2020)

sIR dORT said:


> Just got it, and it's yuge. I'm finding lots of stuff I like and lots of stuff that I don't find that useful, but I'm wondering, since there are so many Omnisphere owners on this forum, what your guys' advice would be on getting the most out of it. Particularly for trailer stuff. I think it might have been Jay Asher who said it was the swiss army knife of VI's - so true.
> 
> DJM


Bare minimum you want to read or search for videos about the following features:

Sound Lock. (Also look into locking search text.)
Sound Match
Projects. (You can use these as 'collections' of sound types as well... Which I do.)
Tagging. (My shortcut is to add search keywords in the patch description. Has the same affect but takes less time.)
Saving Envelope/LFO and Arpeggiator shapes
Saving Effect Racks Chains.

Assuming when you say "trailer stuff" you're referring to distinct sounds like 'signatures', not just braams, pulses, etc... If so I'd personally buy an Omnisphere tutorial. The one linked below goes deep under the hood and gets into some of its more powerful and/or unique features. The guy who created the course does some pretty abstract music so you should also pick up some unique Omnisphere sound design/tweaking techniques.









Omnisphere 2 Xtreme Tutorial & Online Course - Omnisphere 201 Training Video By macProVideo.com


Oh no...look out... Bill Burgess is back with an Xtreme look at Omnisphere 2! Bill doesn't play by the rules and this course is no exception. So hold on tight &




www.macprovideo.com


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## Pablocrespo (Jul 21, 2020)

jcrosby said:


> Bare minimum you want to read or search for videos about the following features:
> 
> Sound Lock. (Also look into locking search text.)
> Sound Match
> ...



If you add something to the info does it affect searches?
sidetrack question. How can I back my projects?


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## el-bo (Jul 21, 2020)

jonesg said:


> The unfinished , very nice stuff.



Also, SonIc Underworld make sets in a similar style. If you're quick, there may still be a 40% Summer discount (Either ends 22nd or 23rd)



https://sonicunderworld.com


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## jcrosby (Jul 22, 2020)

Pablocrespo said:


> If you add something to the info does it affect searches?
> sidetrack question. How can I back my projects?


Yup. Adding info to the patch description then re-saving it is 'searchable'. I've been doing this for years. I have a list of keywords I use, I just paste the necessary keywords in a new 'paragraph' below the description and separate each keyword by comma - e.g. _signature_, _alarm_, appropriate _library's name,_ etc. (Commas aren't necessary as far as I know, I'm just OCD )

Do you mean backup projects? If so you can 'share' a project as a .omnisphere file. This allows you to move it to a new/2nd machine, share it with a co-writer, sell it as a preset pack etc.


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## j_kranz (Jul 22, 2020)

Like most synths IMO, force yourself to create some patches from scratch... that will teach you more in a short amount of time than anything else.


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