# Omnisphere - disappointed



## Henrik B. Jensen (Oct 21, 2021)

I kind of "impulse bought" Omnisphere after watching the videos with Undercurrent etc the other day. But after checking various of the default patches, I'm disappointed 

Edit: The default patches in Omnisphere, not in the Undercurrent extension.

To my ears u-he's stuff sound so much better.

Checking Luftrum's patches for Omnisphere didn't change my impression sadly: It's the sound of Omnisphere that is not for me, I guess.

I know many people here swear by Omnisphere, but I've also seen others say the sound is not their cup of tea.

I guess I'm hoping someone can tell me "you just have to do this-and-that, then Omnisphere will sound very similar to u-he's stuff"


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## Zanshin (Oct 21, 2021)

I went through the same deal and ended up selling it after it sat unused for a while. Hopefully it'll turn around for you though!


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## Colin66 (Oct 21, 2021)

I'm interested in the response because I've just bought & installed Omnispere 2 and I'm a little underwhelmed too!


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## davidson (Oct 21, 2021)

I'm not a fan of the UI. I don't know why but I can't get on with it at all. I think it sounds amazing though!


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## KEM (Oct 21, 2021)

You probably haven’t even scratched the surface of what’s in Omnisphere, there’s something in it for everybody, I’ve had Omni for like 5 years now and there’s so much of it I haven’t even explored yet, keep using it and I guarantee you’ll find stuff in it that you really like


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## ka00 (Oct 21, 2021)

Omnisphere ships with over 9000 patches. Best to start rating them all. I one-star the ones I don’t like, so I don’t have to look at them again if I sort my patch browser by rating. You will likely find a ton you like.


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## Technostica (Oct 21, 2021)

Is today, International Omnisphere Day, in the Upside Down World? 
Try playing the theme from Stranger Things on it to see if that helps to connect the worlds!


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## hoxclab (Oct 21, 2021)

Build your own patches... that's what I do.


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## AlainTH (Oct 21, 2021)

it is like saying "i don't like kontakt sounding..."


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## chillbot (Oct 21, 2021)

Well, I forget the exact dates but you are complaining about buying a 6-year-old product (Omni 2) that contains all the sounds from a 13-year-old product (Omni 1) as well as an almost 20-year-old product (Atmosphere) and many other bonus libraries (HZ Guitars, Bizarre Guitars, Distorted Reality, etc). It's not like it came out yesterday.



Henrik B. Jensen said:


> Checking Luftrum's patches for Omnisphere didn't change my impression sadly: It's the sound of Omnisphere that is not for me, I guess.



I can't remember if Luftrum provides it's own soundsources but remember some libraries provide patches which utilize Omni's internal sounds but many libraries provide their own soundsources which have nothing to do with Omni so I'm not sure where 'the sound of Omnisphere' comes into play.

Everything in Omni can be tweaked, I can hardly think of a sound that you can't create, outside of some acoustic instruments. It seems like you dislike every sound?

OK sorry you don't have to like it but remember there's a shit ton of really good libraries and soundsources you can add to it, for example:







If I had to choose my personal favorites (it's really hard) it would probably be Keyscape Creative, Bob Moog Tribute library, followed by the MIDIssonance stuff.


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## chillbot (Oct 21, 2021)

AlainTH said:


> it is like "i do'nt like kontakt sounding..."


Oddly phrased but spot on!


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## bill5 (Oct 21, 2021)

Henrik B. Jensen said:


> It's the sound of Omnisphere that is not for me, I guess.


? There's really no such thing as "the Omisphere sound." I don't even have it and know you can make it sound a million different ways. 

As others have said, since there are so many presets, keep looking. I find it hard to believe you couldn't find things you like out of what, 14K presets? g/l


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## Duncan Krummel (Oct 21, 2021)

EDIT: Turns out I’m wrong about this! Some patches are stretched, others are multisampled and only stretched beyond its sampled range. 

I think the “Omnisphere sound” might have something to do with the fact that samples are stretched across the range of the keyboard, as opposed to multisampled (excluding Sonic Expansions, from what I can tell). Can’t speak to the synths, these may be generated. Couldn’t find the documentation either way. This stretching does change the sound, though I think Omni does it better than any other sampler I’ve used.


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## Hunter123 (Oct 21, 2021)

Try some "The Unfinished" soundsets


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## Monkberry (Oct 21, 2021)

I've had Omnisphere since it was released and still have not heard everything in it and probably never will. There is so much content to explore you should probably spend some quality time with it before jumping to judgement. It is still my desert island synth if I had only one to take with me.


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## sostenuto (Oct 21, 2021)

The incredible set of top 3rd Pty expansion providers speaks volumes ... imho.


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## Scottyb (Oct 21, 2021)

Everyone has different mindsets and expectations no doubt. Omnisphere ends up (in some way) in almost every track I make. There’s always something inspiring in in. Some digging is needed for sure, but I enjoy that! Sorry it hasn’t been what you were hoping for but maybe just spending some more time with it will help? There’s just so much to it and also so much you can customize and tweak yourself. Good luck!


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## easyrider (Oct 21, 2021)

Henrik B. Jensen said:


> It's the sound of Omnisphere that is not for me, I guess.


Omnisphere doesn’t have a sound….it’s a tool to create pretty much any sound you want.

It’s got infinite possibilities…


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## Zanshin (Oct 21, 2021)

The Omnisphere cult might be the most vicious dangerous cult on VI-C!


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## bill5 (Oct 21, 2021)

The Kontakt cult would whip their ass in a fight.


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## chillbot (Oct 21, 2021)

bill5 said:


> The Kontakt cult would whip their ass in a fight


Have you met the Spitfire club?


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## Zanshin (Oct 21, 2021)

bill5 said:


> The Kontakt cult would whip their ass in a fight.


LOL I dunno, plenty of Kontakt haters around here.


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## nolotrippen (Oct 21, 2021)

easyrider said:


> Omnisphere doesn’t have a sound….it’s a tool to create pretty much any sound you want.
> 
> It’s got infinite possibilities…


That's like saying beer doesn't have a sound. Oh. NM.


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## floydian05 (Oct 21, 2021)

I had the same reaction when i got it finally a few years ago after all the hype. I was afraid that I would never use it. But I kept trying to find sounds and got to know the interface and now I do use it. I wouldn't say that I am the super-fan that many here are, but I have grown to appreciate it and I am glad I got it. there is just an overwhelming # of sounds so can take a long, long time to find something that you want to use.


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## Lindon (Oct 21, 2021)

bill5 said:


> The Kontakt cult would whip their ass in a fight.


made me laugh out loud - so true....


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## sostenuto (Oct 21, 2021)

Zanshin said:


> The Omnisphere cult might be the most vicious dangerous cult on VI-C!


Long way still, to catch up with yours !! 🙄 😜


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## Living Fossil (Oct 21, 2021)

easyrider said:


> Omnisphere doesn’t have a sound….it’s a tool to create pretty much any sound you want.


(First of all, i like Omni – since Atmosphere)

One point to consider is the sound of Omni's filters.
They are for sure not in a similar ballpark as u-He's filters (or Falcon's filters).
When exposed [usually in combination with Resonance], they do have indeed have a sound, which reminds me a bit of the sound of plastic. This is an area where i think it would be a good thing to get a substantial update.

However, in all those years it never was an issue for me in real world situations. Inside of a mix they usually work absolutely fine.

Besides, with Omni is often a good thing to modify the effects (i often disable quite a lot of them).


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## sostenuto (Oct 21, 2021)

Long ago .... holler 'Kontakt', and propeller whacks you in the bum !! 😨


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## Technostica (Oct 21, 2021)

The Cult of Apple wins pants down, I mean hands down.


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## shadowsoflight (Oct 21, 2021)

To me, Omnisphere is kind of like a (high-quality) Swiss Army knife. Whatever type of sound you need will probably exist in some form within the Omnisphere default patches, but you may have another more specialized tool that does that particular sound better. u-he synths are a good example - the Diva filters are legendary (so I hear), and Omnisphere can't match that. But if you don't have Diva, Omni can still give you some very smooth analog sounds, very much good enough to my ears.

I would encourage you to search through the presets using the tags, search bar, and similar sounds capabilities, and try a bit of tweaking or even patch building yourself. I personally find that many of the stock presets are attention hogs; on the other hand, I have been lucky enough to land all of the Luftrum soundsets via a contest, and find them to be quite inspiring yet a lot more subtle. It's easy to make entire tracks with a single soundset... 

As many have said, Omni is very powerful and allows for lots of possibility. It's probably worth some dedicated experimenting and browsing before you give up on it. However, in the end you alone can decide if it is right for your workflow/style - it is quite an expensive tool to be collecting virtual dust!


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## el-bo (Oct 21, 2021)

Technostica said:


> Is today, International Omnisphere Day...?


Actually, it's 'I'm disappointed' week. Often the two coincide


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## FalcoreM (Oct 21, 2021)

I tried to recreate a beautiful patch from my OB6 with a virtual synth. Zebra couldn’t come close, Diva got kinda close but it sounded very flat and 2 dimensional. Omnisphere came incredibly close and was better in some ways. I was blown away. 
I’d recommend exploring the sampled oscillators from real hardware synths. Some very interesting colours in there. But be sure to randomize the sample start function when using them.


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## sostenuto (Oct 21, 2021)

shadowsoflight said:


> To me, Omnisphere is kind of like a (high-quality) Swiss Army knife. Whatever type of sound you need will probably exist in some form within the Omnisphere default patches, but you may have another more specialized tool that does that particular sound better. ********************************
> 
> As many have said, Omni is very powerful and allows for lots of possibility. It's probably worth some dedicated experimenting and browsing before you give up on it. However, in the end you alone can decide if it is right for your workflow/style - it is quite an expensive tool to be collecting virtual dust!


Nicely stated. Interesting perspective. Heading into vast, unknown territory ...... does one choose versatile, capable Swiss Army Knife, limited-purpose single weapon, cumbersome set of alternatives ?
So far, 'SAK' (_Omni 2.8_) feels comfy. 😆


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## Gerbil (Oct 21, 2021)

It’s a brilliant synth and greatly adored by many because of it so I hate to say that I never got on with it either. I much prefer having the simpler UI and restrictions of Repro or The Legend and baking my own synth sounds from scratch, or mangling samples in Kontakt.


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## Technostica (Oct 21, 2021)

sostenuto said:


> Nicely stated. Interesting perspective. Heading into vast, unknown territory ...... does one choose versatile, capable Swiss Army Knife, limited-purpose single weapon, cumbersome set of alternatives ?


Komplete Ultimate = Nuke 'em from space!


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## el-bo (Oct 21, 2021)

Henrik B. Jensen said:


> Edit: The default patches in Omnisphere, not in the Undercurrent extension.
> 
> To my ears u-he's stuff sound so much better.


It's interesting you make the distinction between Omnisphere's stock sounds and the new Undercurrant library, as it seems that these new sounds are still built within the same engine as you have access to, albeit with sound-sources sampled specifically for the set. And while it's true that these new sets are multi-sampled, I don't think that's at the core of what makes other synths sound different. It's more down to, as someone else noted, the filters etc. But those Omnisphere filters are the same, it would seem, in these new sets.

I won both Omnisphere 1 and Repro, and I think that repro does generally sound better within its various limited niches. Omnisphere doesn't do specialist, but rather takes a good stab at everything. I think there is a very good case to be made for combining the flavours in the same template.

If anything, we've just started to get a glimpse of a much richer side of Omnisphere. Good times, ahead. With time, perhaps your buyer's remorse will fade and the hype forgotten.


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## bill5 (Oct 21, 2021)

Technostica said:


> The Cult of Apple wins pants down, I mean hands down.


I can't believe I just thought of this...The Pro Tools cult could kick every other cult's asses combined. 

Back to Omni


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## Braymen (Oct 21, 2021)




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## Casiquire (Oct 21, 2021)

I felt the same way for over a year now but I'm slowly starting to warm up to it. The problem is the vast sea of patches and wildly variable levels of quality. Put on a filter by author and check out, as mentioned earlier, The Unfinished. Those patches really sing and have thoughtful modwheel effects. The Unfinished also sells third party sets which seem to be just as carefully crafted. Then when you find something close to what you like, if it's not *quite* the perfect fit, my suggestion is to hit the sound lock button and search for similar patches. That started to open up some new possibilities for me


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## Henrik B. Jensen (Oct 21, 2021)

So much good and constructive advice here, thank you 

I'll start putting it to use right away.


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## kitekrazy (Oct 21, 2021)

I avoid getting Omnisphere because life would be more confusing.


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## KerrySmith (Oct 21, 2021)

Originally, I was not that enthused with Omnisphere, either. But it's a very deep program. It's not like buying a keyboard workstation from Guitar Center. Eventually I came around, and started using it a lot more. Buying some libraries from The Unfinished, Pulsesetter, and the ILIO "BT Modern Wave" really hammered home what it's capable of if you work with it... but you have to put in some work. The original Gospel and Jazz Combo Vocals (which were originally on Sample CDs) are also really great.


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## sostenuto (Oct 21, 2021)

KerrySmith said:


> Originally, I was not that enthused with Omnisphere, either. But it's a very deep program. It's not like buying a keyboard workstation from Guitar Center. Eventually I came around, and started using it a lot more. Buying some libraries from The Unfinished, Pulsesetter, and the ILIO "BT Modern Wave" really hammered home what it's capable of if you work with it... but you have to put in some work. The original Gospel and Jazz Combo Vocals (which were originally on Sample CDs) are also really great.


Many quality expansions for sure ! 
PluginGuru has produced perhaps most large, diverse set, over many years. Guru is so adept with Omni, likely due to years at Korg doing in-depth synth tasks. Large set of videos on his Site, fine Omni tutorials, deep walkthroughs of libraries, many cool Livestreams. GUI, manipulation of virtually all Omni controls, explanation of major Updates. 

Personally not so quick to assert Omni limitations and deficiencies ... _yet ymmv_ 🤷🏻‍♂️


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## Henrik B. Jensen (Oct 21, 2021)

KerrySmith said:


> Originally, I was not that enthused with Omnisphere, either. But it's a very deep program. It's not like buying a keyboard workstation from Guitar Center. Eventually I came around, and started using it a lot more. Buying some libraries from The Unfinished, Pulsesetter, and the ILIO "BT Modern Wave" really hammered home what it's capable of if you work with it... but you have to put in some work. The original Gospel and Jazz Combo Vocals (which were originally on Sample CDs) are also really great.


I'm checking out ILIO "BT Modern Wave" and found this bass sound:


Then I thought, if I just heard this sound without knowing if it was from Omnisphere or something like Repro (which I have), I wouldn't be able to tell which of these two synths it was from


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## el-bo (Oct 21, 2021)

Just wanted to give a nod to Sonic Underworld, who is a sound-designer very much in the style of The Unfinished. Seems to always fly under the radar, but worth checking out. They normally do pretty good discounts around common sales periods, also.

I've not bought any of the Omni sets (Most are for V2, which I don't have), but they're on my list should I ever upgrade. Some goodies for other synths, also:



Store – Sonic Underworld


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## Technostica (Oct 21, 2021)

I do smile when people say how great Omnisphere is, then they give a large list of add-ons that they purchased for it.


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## sostenuto (Oct 21, 2021)

el-bo said:


> Just wanted to give a nod to Sonic Underworld, who is a sound-designer very much in the style of The Unfinished. Seems to always fly under the radar, but worth checking out. They normally do pretty good discounts around common sales periods, also.
> 
> I've not bought any of the Omni sets (Most are for V2, which I don't have), but they're on my list should I ever upgrade. Some goodies for other synths, also:
> 
> ...


THX ! Not fully aware and now revisiting ! 

Regards


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## Faruh Al-Baghdadi (Oct 21, 2021)

Living Fossil said:


> (First of all, i like Omni – since Atmosphere)
> 
> One point to consider is the sound of Omni's filters.
> They are for sure not in a similar ballpark as u-He's filters (or Falcon's filters).
> ...


100% agree. I always thought that filters is a weak spot of Omni's. Which is a shame considering the number of those filters. Almost every software synth these days(popular synth) has much superior filters - Synapse Audio, u-he, TAL, Unfiltered Audio etc. If they update their filters, it'll be a huge step forward for them(and for us?).
And I think Spectrasonics has a little bit grainy sound engine. It's especially prominent in their drum sampler.

But. It's still an interesting synth, especially for pad and soundscape sounds. There are plenty of really-really interesting preset packs from other developers, that can add plenty of character to your music. I saw people saying stuff like "it's better to use dedicated tool for every task - good vst synths for synth sounds, libraries like SC Hunted Spaces and Geosonic for soundscapes" and so on, but Omni definitely has something unique in its sound(it's "warm" I would say?).

Anyway, I think their upcoming major update will decide their future. They really need to seriously update their filters.


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## el-bo (Oct 21, 2021)

Technostica said:


> I do smile when people say how great Omnisphere is, then they give a large list of add-ons that they purchased for it.


Never purchased a single one, and have loved Omni since I bought it as Atmosphere, back in 2006


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## sostenuto (Oct 21, 2021)

Faruh Al-Baghdadi said:


> 100% agree. I always thought that filters is a weak spot of Omni's. Which is a shame considering the number of those filters. Almost every software synth these days(popular synth) has much superior filters - Synapse Audio, u-he, TAL, Unfiltered Audio etc. If they update their filters, it'll be a huge step forward for them(and for us?).
> And I think Spectrasonics has a little bit grainy sound engine. It's especially prominent in their drum sampler.
> 
> But. It's still an interesting synth, especially for pad and soundscape sounds. There are plenty of really-really interesting preset packs from other developers, that can add plenty of character to your music. I saw people saying stuff like "it's better to use dedicated tool for every task - good vst synths for synth sounds, libraries like SC Hunted Spaces and Geosonic for soundscapes and so on, but Omni definitely has something unique in its sound(it's "warm" I would say?).
> ...


Seriously need to focus on knowledge /capabilities with Filters. No secret John Lehmkuhl (PluginGuru) is on-line mentor, and continue to learn from his skills tweaking all Omni parameters, especially Filters.
Weak chops now, and unable to sort limits of adjustment when comparing to 'touted' Diva, et al. 
Gotta get better !


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## hoxclab (Oct 21, 2021)

bill5 said:


> I can't believe I just thought of this...The Pro Tools cult could kick every other cult's asses combined.
> 
> Back to Omni


More like whip them with their friggin' ponytails.


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## el-bo (Oct 21, 2021)

Henrik B. Jensen said:


> So much good and constructive advice here, thank you
> 
> I'll start putting it to use right away.


Definitely worth giving it more of a chance. And perhaps stop making direct comparisons, as it will never likely beat more targeted, specialist synths. See if you can get to like it on its own terms. And if not, just smother it in external FX


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## Faruh Al-Baghdadi (Oct 21, 2021)

sostenuto said:


> Seriously need to focus on knowledge /capabilities with Filters. No secret John Lehmkuhl (PluginGuru) is on-line mentor, and continue to learn from his skills tweaking all Omni parameters, especially Filters.
> Weak chops now, and unable to sort limits of adjustment when comparing to 'touted' Diva, et al.
> Gotta get better !


To be more precise - we have to bacially look for sweet spots with Omni's fiiters, and even then we have another problem: the sound of moving cutoffs and resonances. Just try to autumate Dune 3 filters(just like in Omni they have a lot of them, but each one of them is good) all the way up and down, and then compare to Omni's. For me it's day and night difference. Dune's filters sound much more natural, smoother and convincing.

I really hope Spectrasonics are going to update ALL of their filters. Maybe it's not that easy and they'll have to come up with solution for compatibility problem, but it is worth it, after all filters are one of two core elements of any synth.


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## Jaap (Oct 21, 2021)

Omnisphere can be quite overwhelming and actually underwhelming at first. So many presets and indeed ranging from many years till very recently and no clear indication in the browser at first how to sort the old from the new. And if you go through some of the of "older" stuff it can indeed sound a sort of dated.

What you can do is sort a few things first and browse through the more "recent" patches from 2.0 and onwards. You see on the left top, just below the directory browser, a search field.
Type there 2.0 and you get all the presets added in Omnisphere 2.0
2.1 till 2.4 are minimal in result, but if you search on 2.5 and 2.6 then you get tons of patches to go through. Maybe this will help you out a bit at first to get to know the more current Omnisphere sound without having to dive into 3rd party stuff.


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## Bee_Abney (Oct 21, 2021)

sostenuto said:


> Seriously need to focus on knowledge /capabilities with Filters. No secret John Lehmkuhl (PluginGuru) is on-line mentor, and continue to learn from his skills tweaking all Omni parameters, especially Filters.
> Weak chops now, and unable to sort limits of adjustment when comparing to 'touted' Diva, et al.
> Gotta get better !


You are right. I'm a beginner with synths generally, but I am beginning to realise how very important the filters are for shaping the sound. You can get massive transformations and go in such interesting directions.

Whilst Omnisphere is every bit a great and powerful synth, I don't think there is anything wrong in using a lot of 3rd party soundsets. I feel bad about it, because I am really keen on sound design. But even so, I know that there are much better sound designers out there - or in this thread, for that matter. I'm not going to refuse to use a distinctive sounding guitar pedal just because I didn't create it; and I can't refuse to use sounds that are so good in part because I didn't make them and someone with their own aesthetic vision and greater skills did.

Having said that, for certain kinds of composing, the sound design is part of the composition, as is the production. And much as I can get great results with it, it doesn't feel like my music at all if I lean too heavily on someone else's programming (the same goes for Spitfire Audio's British Drama Toolkit).

Filters, though: I didn't realise that Omnisphere was thought to be lacking in that area.


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## Casiquire (Oct 21, 2021)

Technostica said:


> I do smile when people say how great Omnisphere is, then they give a large list of add-ons that they purchased for it.


But...but that's kind of the point! Lol. Like the kontakt comparison earlier, it's like saying "I smile when people say how great Kontakt is, then they give a large list of libraries they purchased for it." But the included sounds get me further than the Kontakt factory library anyway


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## sostenuto (Oct 21, 2021)

Bee_Abney said:


> You are right. I'm a beginner with synths generally, but I am beginning to realise how very important the filters are for shaping the sound. You can get massive transformations and go in such interesting directions. **************************
> 
> Filters, though: I didn't realise that Omnisphere was thought to be lacking in that area.


You and Skippy Lehmkuhl ! 😜 
OTH, @ Faruh Al-Baghdadi has notable points for consideration.


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## Bee_Abney (Oct 21, 2021)

Henrik B. Jensen said:


> I kind of "impulse bought" Omnisphere after watching the videos with Undercurrent etc the other day. But after checking various of the default patches, I'm disappointed
> 
> Edit: The default patches in Omnisphere, not in the Undercurrent extension.
> 
> ...


I have to confess that I'm a person who has said it isn't my cup of tea. Which is true. The sound is not quite right for me on the vast majority of patches. It is warm, but also very clean and solid. I like that. But it can sound a lot like it has already been produced by someone else. By which I mean, a music producer has already ladled on EQ and compression until it sounds 'professional', but not like me.

At the same time, I admire the incredible quality of the sounds and the fact that they elevate anything I do and make it sound professional and usable for professional purposes.

So, I'm experimenting with tweaking and with adding plugins to see if I can make it more my style without making it (too much) worse.


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## Technostica (Oct 21, 2021)

Casiquire said:


> But...but that's kind of the point! Lol. Like the kontakt comparison earlier, it's like saying "I smile when people say how great Kontakt is, then they give a large list of libraries they purchased for it." But the included sounds get me further than the Kontakt factory library anyway


I see people saying that Omnisphere covers so many bases out of the box, which is why I smile when they list all the add-ons.
People don't state the same about Kontakt.
Plus you can use a massive amount of Kontakt libraries with the free player version. 
It's also bought often as a part of Komplete, so the real world price is much lower. 
You can still Crossgrade from a free library for about $130 during sales. 
Then you add in all the free and cheap libraries available for the full version. 
So a completely different scenario.


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## hoxclab (Oct 21, 2021)

Technostica said:


> I see people saying that Omnisphere covers so many bases out of the box, which is why I smile when they list all the add-ons.
> People don't state the same about Kontakt.
> Plus you can use a massive amount of Kontakt libraries with the free player version.
> It's also bought often as a part of Komplete, so the real world price is much lower.
> ...


Tell me what is the difference in the size of the Kontakt library vs Omnisphere?


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## sostenuto (Oct 21, 2021)

Technostica said:


> I see people saying that Omnisphere covers so many bases out of the box, which is why I smile when they list all the add-ons.
> People don't state the same about Kontakt.
> Plus you can use a massive amount of Kontakt libraries with the free player version.
> It's also bought often as a part of Komplete, so the real world price is much lower.
> ...


Hmmm .... agree happily !
Mainstream daily activity dominated by Reaper / Kontakt 6.6.1, /Omni v2.8.
_Hasten to add __ such long time with Omni, notable updates, enhancements, expansions _ yet so much to learn and fine-tune. 
Could very easily have initially been Zebra, or Falcon, or Dune, xx, and committed to full understanding, capability. 
Others, with more chops, can handle multiple, touted, soft synths effectively _ I simply cannot (_ to personal levels of satisfaction)_.


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## Bee_Abney (Oct 21, 2021)

Technostica said:


> I see people saying that Omnisphere covers so many bases out of the box, which is why I smile when they list all the add-ons.
> People don't state the same about Kontakt.
> Plus you can use a massive amount of Kontakt libraries with the free player version.
> It's also bought often as a part of Komplete, so the real world price is much lower.
> ...


But people often buy Omnisphere to get access to third-party soundsets, because they like many of the sounds that are available and would like to be able to add some of them to their repertoire. In that respect, it is rather like Kontakt. And, in that respect, price is irrelevant. (It is most definitely not irrelevant to whether someone should buy it, or whether they might reasonably feel disappointed in it.)

It is an added bonus with Omnisphere that it comes with a library that you will periodically dig into and find useful content in for the rest of your time making music. Kontakt's basic library is also quite good; but perhaps less likely to satisfy after ten plus years of collecting sounds.

The big difference is that Omnisphere is a synth and Kontakt isn't. So one might reasonably expect it to stand on its own. I think it does. I mean, it's very much not my favourite synth; but that isn't a mark against the synth itself.

None of which is meant to change your mind; I wrote it just to distract me from the yawning abyss of existence. Darn, it didn't work...


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## NekujaK (Oct 21, 2021)

What I like best about Omnisphere is that it's a reliable one-stop-shop of useful sound choices.

Omnisphere is not the kind of synth that's going to blow you away with mind-shattering patches. It certainly has patches that can do that, but I find the majority of Omnisphere's content is more musically useful - and that's a good thing. The patches satisfy specific musical roles, aren't over-hyped, and fit well into a mix. It's a workhorse synth, and for that reason, can take some time to fully appreciate what it has to offer.

Also, there's just something nice about having many thousands of sounds easily accessible under one common interface. It makes my brain hurt less.

Certainly, Omnisphere can't do everything - no tool can. But it can do a heck of a lot. When I'm stuck for a sound, I know I can turn to Omnisphere and more often than not, end up satisfied.


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## doctoremmet (Oct 21, 2021)

Bee_Abney said:


> the yawning abyss of existence


Databroth just did a cool ABYSS livestream. He also gives away copies - just saying.


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## Double Helix (Oct 21, 2021)

Bee_Abney said:


> "The Yawning Abyss of Existence"


Isn't that an Omnisphere patch? Maybe buried somewhere in Soundscapes? Textures Playable?


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## sostenuto (Oct 21, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


> Databroth just did a cool ABYSS livestream. He also gives away copies - just saying.


Hope my Comment met requirements !


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## Bee_Abney (Oct 21, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


> Databroth just did a cool ABYSS livestream. He also gives away copies - just saying.


I like Abyss, and I like the abyss, I even quite like The Abyss (dire.James Cameron, 1989). But which is better?

There's only one way to find out.

Fight!!!


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## Bee_Abney (Oct 21, 2021)

sostenuto said:


> Hope my Comment met requirements !


More and more intriguing. I'll have to take a look.


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## Technostica (Oct 21, 2021)

I am aware of all that but I still find it ironic.


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## Bee_Abney (Oct 21, 2021)

Double Helix said:


> Isn't that an Omnisphere patch? Maybe buried somewhere in Soundscapes? Textures Playable?


It must be... Right, I see Facing the Abyss, Plunk Abyss, Abyss Gate, The Abyssal and Traversing the Abyss. Nope. The name is free!


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## sostenuto (Oct 21, 2021)

Bee_Abney said:


> It must be... Right, I see Facing the Abyss, Plunk Abyss, Abyss Gate, The Abyssal and Traversing the Abyss. Nope. The name is free!


Abyssmal ?


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## Bee_Abney (Oct 21, 2021)

sostenuto said:


> Abyssmal ?


I didn't realise you knew my work!


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## sostenuto (Oct 21, 2021)

Bee_Abney said:


> I didn't realise you knew my work!


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## Bee_Abney (Oct 21, 2021)

sostenuto said:


>


That _is _one of mine! That's going back a bit. I'd just got my exam results back...


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## TonalDynamics (Oct 21, 2021)

Henrik B. Jensen said:


> I kind of "impulse bought" Omnisphere after watching the videos with Undercurrent etc the other day. But after checking various of the default patches, I'm disappointed
> 
> Edit: The default patches in Omnisphere, not in the Undercurrent extension.
> 
> ...


If you've only had it for a few days, I can almost guarantee you haven't seen what it has to offer yet.

Like another user said, start by sorting what you want exactly in the patch browser (this is very important, you _have_ to sort by categories, never just start listening to random patches in Omni, there's too damn many to navigate)

Try to stay away from the layered sounds, at first. You know the kind I'm talking about, where you press a single note and it makes your walls rumble it has so many frequencies.

Go for simpler, more naked sounds and rate those first.

Learn to use the star system, rate them a 1 star if you don't like them, 3-5 if you do.

Do all this, poke around some more and come back in a week. If it's still not for you then it's probably not for you. Also 3rd party patches are a must!

And don't forget to play with Keyscape, that's the best part of Omni IMO

Cheers


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## sostenuto (Oct 21, 2021)

TonalDynamics said:


> If you've only had it for a few days, I can almost guarantee you haven't seen what it has to offer yet.
> 
> Like another user said, start by sorting what you want exactly in the patch browser (this is very important, you _have_ to sort by categories, never just start listening to random patches in Omni, there's too damn many to navigate)
> 
> ...


Hmmmm ..... concern re. now adding long-desired 'Keyscape' _ having no hardware synths, and $400. expense for 1,400 new Omni2 Patches. 

No clue now as new Sonic EXtensions available for comparable cost.


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## shponglefan (Oct 21, 2021)

davidson said:


> I'm not a fan of the UI. I don't know why but I can't get on with it at all. I think it sounds amazing though!


The UI is a bit of a frankenstein thing at this point, since it has a legacy going back ~20 years. 

I'd love for them to give the whole thing a complete makeover for V.3, although I suspect they might not want to alienate long time users.


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## TonalDynamics (Oct 21, 2021)

sostenuto said:


> Hmmmm ..... concern re. now adding long-desired 'Keyscape' _ having no hardware synths, and $400. expense for 1,400 new Omni2 Patches.
> 
> No clue now as new Sonic EXtensions available for comparable cost.


Haven't played with the sonic extenstions yet, but let me clarify about Keyscape, it's my personal favorite part of Omni, but certainly not the _only_ good thing about Omni, and you don't need it to appreciate those other things I mentioned.

If you do try out an extension, feel free to post your thoughts here, I'm still trying to gather more info about them before I pull the trigger

Cheers


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## TonalDynamics (Oct 21, 2021)

shponglefan said:


> The UI is a bit of a frankenstein thing at this point, since it has a legacy going back ~20 years.
> 
> I'd love for them to give the whole thing a complete makeover for V.3, although I suspect they might not want to alienate long time users.


I swear I must be crazy, because it seems like I'm the only person around here who actually _likes _the
Omni UI compared to the vast majority of VST synths 🤷


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## shponglefan (Oct 21, 2021)

TonalDynamics said:


> I swear I must be crazy, because it seems like I'm the only person around here who actually _likes _the
> Omni UI compared to the vast majority of VST synths 🤷


It's not terrible and they have made some updates over the years (like finally getting rid of the goofy faux-handles and cheesy brushed metal). But it's got a weird mix of inconsistent design elements that reflects different parts of the interface being designed at different times.

This is why IMHO they need to overhaul it and make it more unified and modern.


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## cedricm (Oct 21, 2021)

AlainTH said:


> it is like saying "i don't like kontakt sounding..."


I disagree. Like any software synth, it has its own effects, its own filters, its own algorithms and so forth. All these give it its own sound. If not there would be thousands of me-too products aping the presets and sounding exactly the same.


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## shponglefan (Oct 21, 2021)

Henrik B. Jensen said:


> I guess I'm hoping someone can tell me "you just have to do this-and-that, then Omnisphere will sound very similar to u-he's stuff"


To be perfectly honest, if you're looking for things that sound like u-he's synths, just use u-he's synths.

Omnisphere is a combination sampler and softsynth. Its strength lies in being able to mix and mangle various sound sources in the creation of complex and interesting sounds.

Whereas u-he synths are pure synths with an emphasis on different sounds and functions depending on the synth (e.g. Diva for analog-synth emulation, Zebra for semi-modular, etc).

I wouldn't go into Omnisphere expecting it to necessarily replicate what you're getting from other soft synths. It really is it's own thing and you'll either gel with it or you won't.


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## shponglefan (Oct 21, 2021)

Technostica said:


> I do smile when people say how great Omnisphere is, then they give a large list of add-ons that they purchased for it.


I'd be surprised that anyone would need to sell it by way of third party patches. Just the fact that Omnisphere has seen extensive use within film and game scoring just with it's stock patches should sell people on its utility.

Of course the curse of that is once one has spent an amount of time going through all the stock patches, you start hearing them everywhere in scores.


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## Pianolando (Oct 21, 2021)

Omnisphere is one of a kind. It’s one crazy passionate man that has gathered a staff to travel round the globe and find the most unique sounds, synths and instruments, sample them, tweak, reamp and process them, and then edit them into literally 10000+ unique presets. It has waveforms from just about every synth, munks singing, completely broken instruments, all kinds of wierd, non musical, items, choirs, guitars and countless other stuff, all processed through the granular engine, the fx and the synth engine.

It’s far from perfect, the filters aren’t best in class, not the fx either and there’s generally too much fx in the presets for my taste, but as an accomplishment in virtual instruments it’s completely in its own division because the sheer scope of it is insane and so much of it sounds good and/or interesting.

In my book it’s king of pads and ambient sounds, and the synth sounds are generally strong, even more modern and hard hitting ones. The guitars have been super common in productions for the last ten years I think but I rarely use them. Some of the choirs are amazing. The strings surprisingly good but has a church sound to them. The combined sounds with Keyscape are also amazing. The UI and library functions are thankfully top notch otherwise it would drive anyone crazy.

One things for sure: it’s far to wide sounding to have one specific sound. It can sound a thousand vastly different ways.


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## Mike Fox (Oct 21, 2021)

Living Fossil said:


> One point to consider is the sound of Omni's filters.
> They are for sure not in a similar ballpark as u-He's filters (or Falcon's filters).
> When exposed [usually in combination with Resonance], they do have indeed have a sound, which reminds me a bit of the sound of plastic. This is an area where i think it would be a good thing to get a substantial update.
> 
> ...


No joke. Earlier today I was talking to a friend about the sound of Omnisphere, and “plastic” was one of the words i used to describe it.


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## Technostica (Oct 21, 2021)

shponglefan said:


> I'd be surprised that anyone would need to sell it by way of third party patches.


A lot of people quickly mention Keyscape, Trillian and The Unfinished etc when Omnisphere gets mentioned. 
It's only because it's been a recurring theme that it stood out for me. 
It's not meant as a criticism, I just find the irony amusing in the context.


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## Lionel Schmitt (Oct 21, 2021)

Duncan Krummel said:


> I think the “Omnisphere sound” might have something to do with the fact that samples are stretched across the range of the keyboard, as opposed to multisampled (excluding Sonic Expansions, from what I can tell). Can’t speak to the synths, these may be generated. Couldn’t find the documentation either way. This stretching does change the sound, though I think Omni does it better than any other sampler I’ve used.


No, it depends on the samples.
There are MANY multi-sampled sound sources with different samples for different keys. 
Just like with Kontakt it depends on what you're loading up. There are also Kontakt libraries with 1-2 samples stretched across the key.
The only difference is that in Omni every patch has an infinitely stretched range by default. So you an choose to play within the natural sampled range (which is generally specificed in the infos tab of the sound-source last time I checked) or any key outside of it.


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## Lionel Schmitt (Oct 21, 2021)

One of the main qualities of it are the crazy sound sources.
Check the psycho-acoustics and kalimba experiments. You won't find most of those anywhere else. Like the Typosonic, which is a typewriter turned into a Zither-like instrument which is engaged by the typewriter-keys. Or Rhodes with the natural resonance of a grand piano. Lots of awesome and super useful acoustic sources that only exist in Omnisphere. 
And often the sampling is as deep as a dedicated Kontakt etc library.


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## kgdrum (Oct 21, 2021)

Technostica said:


> A lot of people quickly mention Keyscape, Trillian and The Unfinished etc when Omnisphere gets mentioned.
> It's only because it's been a recurring theme that it stood out for me.
> It's not meant as a criticism, I just find the irony amusing in the context.




Well for me part of the beauty of the Spectrasonics ecosystem is having Keyscape,Trillian, the Moog Tribute,the Creative expansions and all of the 3rd party soundsets like from Unfinished,Sound Dust,Skippy etc……… available,accessible and malleable in Omnisphere. The enormity of choices can be overwhelming but the possibilities are virtually infinite.


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## Duncan Krummel (Oct 21, 2021)

DarkestShadow said:


> No, it depends on the samples.
> There are MANY multi-sampled sound sources with different samples for different keys.


You learn something new every day, cheers!


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## TonalDynamics (Oct 21, 2021)

shponglefan said:


> It's not terrible and they have made some updates over the years (like finally getting rid of the goofy faux-handles and cheesy brushed metal). But it's got a weird mix of inconsistent design elements that reflects different parts of the interface being designed at different times.
> 
> This is why IMHO they need to overhaul it and make it more unified and modern.


Fair enough.

I'm just glad it's not a Native Instruments Synth UI



In particular for me it was the first VSTi I got that had a star rating AND boolean Category/keyword patch sorting system, something I believe every VSTi should have


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## sostenuto (Oct 21, 2021)

TonalDynamics said:


> Fair enough.
> 
> I'm just glad it's not a Native Instruments Synth UI
> 
> ...


Feel same, and often wonder if most of similar UI complaints are by seasoned users of many other softsynths using somewhat similar GUI(s). No issue with those disliking, but no issues here. 

Not likely to have many takers, and does take time and effort, but PluginGuru Site has large number of videos _ tutorials, lib walkthroughs, livestreams digging deep into Omni innerds. Guru's notable set of Omni extension libraries are capable, enjoyable, and display Omni tweakablility nicely ... imho


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## Trash Panda (Oct 21, 2021)

Maybe it's just a matter of expectations versus the price tag? I always viewed Omnisphere as a jack of all trades, master of none style sampler/synth.

My only real expectation was if I needed a particular sound, chances are there's an Omnisphere preset or sound source that does it. So far, it hasn't let me down.

Then again, I wasn't really expecting to use it for the same purposes as Zebra, Diva or Hive, so YMMV.


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## Quasar (Oct 21, 2021)

Technostica said:


> The Cult of Apple wins pants down, I mean hands down.


Truth.


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## Bman70 (Oct 21, 2021)

Henrik B. Jensen said:


> I guess I'm hoping someone can tell me "you just have to do this-and-that, then Omnisphere will sound very similar to u-he's stuff


I don't get this part... like all of "u-he's stuff" sounds the same, and Omnisphere sounds different? Any synth can sound drastically different from even itself, depending on how it's used. Can you provide some examples of how u-he sounds, so we can see if anything in Omnisphere matches it? 

Sounds to me like the usual buyer's remorse reaction that kicks in on an expensive purchase. So give yourself time to get over that, then figure out what you really want to do with synths before deciding on the next step. It's quite possible Omnisphere could do what you need, but mainly you want to have a clear idea of what you're trying to do. 

Here's one of my favorite recent Omni soundsets... before release, there was a "guess what synth" contest, and most were guessing Zebra 2. But it's Omnisphere: 


https://www.luftrum.com/enigma/


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## Bman70 (Oct 21, 2021)

Faruh Al-Baghdadi said:


> Anyway, I think their upcoming major update will decide their future. They really need to seriously update their filters.


I'm really curious about how people know / assume this. I don't know anything about filter technology and how it's advanced. But why don't people say that about classic hardware synths I wonder? Which are always described as awesome. It would also be nice to have a blind listening test of different developers filters.


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## hoxclab (Oct 21, 2021)

I sold all my U-he synths and just use Omnisphere. In fact I sold all my soft synths and just use Omnisphere and what's in my DAW (FL).


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## Bman70 (Oct 21, 2021)

TonalDynamics said:


> I swear I must be crazy, because it seems like I'm the only person around here who actually _likes _the
> Omni UI compared to the vast majority of VST synths 🤷


I like it well enough, but it does seem less "modern" somehow than u-he GUIs or even Pigments. I guess having 3D fake knobs is unnecessary in 2021, I'd rather have flat ones that have a glowing position indicator or something. Judging by the new extensions though, Spectrasonics loves huge 3D knobs .


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## dcoscina (Oct 21, 2021)

I dig it personally and have the entire suite of Spectrasonics products. I’ve used Omni on all commercial ventures I’ve done in some way shape or form. Indispensable for me.


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## AmbientMile (Oct 21, 2021)

TonalDynamics said:


> I swear I must be crazy, because it seems like I'm the only person around here who actually _likes _the
> Omni UI compared to the vast majority of VST synths 🤷


Nope, Im right there with you. I have used Omni since release (and Atmosphere before that), and I have such muscle memory to Omni's GUI that the thought of a redesign worries the crap out of me. I can agree with those who point out that its dated, but I know where everything is and it just works for my process.


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## sostenuto (Oct 21, 2021)

Bman70 said:


> I like it well enough, but it does seem less "modern" somehow than u-he GUIs or even Pigments. I guess having 3D fake knobs is unnecessary in 2021, I'd rather have flat ones that have a glowing position indicator or something. Judging by the new extensions though, Spectrasonics loves huge 3D knobs .


.... and various DAW 'theme' tweakers will still flatten 3D knobs, or vice versa. 😆


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## Thorgod10 (Oct 22, 2021)

Omnisphere is a do it all tool, it simply takes a lot of knowledge to use to its fullest extent, 
like using its ARP and the import functions.
If you are needing soundscapes, sound, or really just a "mood" there really is no better way to start than with Omnisphere, if you are using synths.


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## djrustycans (Oct 22, 2021)

Haven’t read the entire thread but…. I would say that as a synth - Omni has a certain sound as do U-he synths. IMO and I only own Diva, U-he synths have an incredibly solid low end - more than any other soft synths I can think of other than Roland cloud stuff.

Obviously this may only matter in certain situations but some synths don’t provide that consistent power at the bottom. It’s a different matter if you add Trilian into the equation.

Definitely think in general that Omni is whatever you make it. I’ve recently been going through so many stock presets just running through ‘Tone Projects - Kelvin’ and there’s a lot of inspiration just with saturation applied.

Also can’t believe what Logic’s phat fx can do with synth basses. Tried it on some Omnisphere basic waves this week and was floored!


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## GtrString (Oct 22, 2021)

I've found that Omni sits well in a mix with drums and guitars. But the stock patches are over the top, and you need to tweak it some. Heres a good 101:


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## samplin (Oct 22, 2021)

GtrString said:


> I've found that Omni sits well in a mix with drums and guitars. But the stock patches are over the top, and you need to tweak it some. Heres a good 101:


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## Reid Rosefelt (Oct 22, 2021)

Omnisphere is just a sound tool that lets you combine four soundsources into a patch. And then you can mix and keyboard split up 8 patches into a multi for a patch that can be composed of up to 32 sounds. There are 58 FX units onboard unless you buy some of the extensions, which add more. And of course, there are arps and filters. There's a lot more if you want to dig deeper.

It only comes with 5439 sounds to work with, but you can add your own sounds to it. The reason people always talk about the add-ons is that they often add new sound content and features. For example, John "PluginGuru" Lehmkuhl, among other things, really loves multis, and offers a lot of split ones with drumbeats you can trigger on the left side of the keyboard. There are very few multis that come with Omnisphere.

The engine is old, but it is a sturdy enough tool so that the world's best sound designers have a platform to innovate and keep it up to date. While some people criticize the UI, I think it's one of the greatest that has ever been created--one of the main reasons for its enduring popularity. The reason is that on the surface it is ultra-simple so that somebody who knows absolutely nothing can use it. The power of it is hidden behind menus, none of which you ever need to open unless you want to. It's designed to work well for experts and noobs alike. Something like Zebra is awesome if you already understand what all those knobs do, but if not, you have a learning curve. Omni is very easy to use as soon as you download it, no matter what level you are on.

Plus Spectrasonics has offered many free updates that offer major new features and sounds. For example, a single Omni patch used to be composed of two soundsources, and now it is double that.

One big drawback is that the development has been very slow aside from the updates. The new extensions change the rules. We're going to see a lot of Spectrasonics-level sound design added.

In my experience, I only used Omnisphere for horsing around and never once in a track. There are a lot of patches like "Glorious Guitars" and the jazz vocal stacks that I can play for hours. But to use it in a track...I just thought it would take forever to look for something. But then I started making templates of things like pads. These templates allow me to quickly try out all my favorite pads from everything I own. Since I did that I have never used a single pad that wasn't from Omnisphere. It's not about how these pad sounds sound in isolation. Many of them are amazing. But when you put everything into a track, Omni kills. So far, the Omni pad makes my music better 100% of the time. Of course I don't claim to own everything, but I own a lot.


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## davidson (Oct 22, 2021)

One of the the things which bugs me the most is the lack of global ADSRs, which is probably related to my issue with not liking the UI either. Flicking back and fourth between layers to match up envelopes isn't fun. What do you guys do as far as quickly adding a global filter or amp envelope? 

Using signal path -> shared can completely mess up your carefully modified per-layer envelopes, or at least it does mine. So, how does everyone else get around the lack of master envelopes?


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## shponglefan (Oct 22, 2021)

davidson said:


> One of the the things which bugs me the most is the lack of global ADSRs, which is probably related to my issue with not liking the UI either. Flicking back and fourth between layers to match up envelopes isn't fun. What do you guys do as far as quickly adding a global filter or amp envelope?
> 
> Using signal path -> shared can completely mess up your carefully modified per-layer envelopes, or at least it does mine. So, how does everyone else get around the lack of master envelopes?



You can link layers so that settings changes will be mirrored for each linked layer:







https://support.spectrasonics.net/manual/Omnisphere2/25/en/topic/layer-page-concepts-page00a


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## tmhuud (Oct 22, 2021)

I can’t imagine being without it. It’s in just about everything I do. I just finished an anthology show and it’s everywhere.

I’m old. It’s old . But it’s aging better.


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## Faruh Al-Baghdadi (Oct 22, 2021)

Bman70 said:


> I'm really curious about how people know / assume this. I don't know anything about filter technology and how it's advanced. But why don't people say that about classic hardware synths I wonder? Which are always described as awesome. It would also be nice to have a blind listening test of different developers filters.


What it has to do with classic hardware filters?
I wish Omni's filters sounded even remotely close to any of filters of any analog classics.

Listen, for example, to Repro, Diva and Dune 3 filters to understand what I'm talking about.


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## doctoremmet (Oct 22, 2021)

Bman70 said:


> But why don't people say that about classic hardware synths I wonder? Which are always described as awesome. It would also be nice to have a blind listening test of different developers filters.


Believe me. I own many classic hardware synths (Oberheim, Yamaha, ARP, Kurzweil, Roland) and have a hard time A/B’ing (blind testing) them with a quality software emulation. So honestly, many software filters are fantastic, including Omnisphere’s. Most people claiming huge differences (I once believed the myth myself haha) will miserably fail any tests.


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## Faruh Al-Baghdadi (Oct 22, 2021)

Damn, @doctoremmet keeps hunting my hot takes🥲


----------



## hoxclab (Oct 22, 2021)

Imagine being disappointed with Omnisphere. I bet you only drink $10,000+ bottles of wine too, huh?


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## odod (Oct 22, 2021)

well, my poor version of Omnisphere is UNIFY by pluginguru, a fantastic synth and a host too developed by the master patch makers john lehmkuhl, what an amazing person he is!
and i love it .. also the fact that i got scammed few days ago for buying omnisphere with cheap price :( made me want to think twice before i want to buy it again


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## chillbot (Oct 22, 2021)

I have 16 hardware synths here and each one has a very unique "sound"... though as I refer to them as, "personalities".

Filters? I dunno. It's a combo of everything. If you've grown up with hardware there is absolutely a certain and distinct difference between Roland vs Yamaha vs Korg.

Omni has a certain sound too that is maybe not for everyone, which I've heard referred to and used the term myself, "plastic-y". This word has a certain connotation in my head, I know exactly what it means-- to me-- not sure about what it means to others. But I would consider only about 25% of the factory internal sounds to be plastic-y and almost exclusively found in the arp/seq patches. None of the beautiful pads or textures or ethnics would I consider plastic-y.

Also in the ~100 third-party soundsets/patches I have there's really not one patch that I would call plastic-y. Maybe a certain subset of sounds have colored the whole thing for many.

Pull up something like "Anthem of Youth" or "Atomic Acceleration" or "Bandpassed Trancer" or "Bendomatic Duo 1" just as quick examples from the beginning of the alphabet for what I think of as plastic-y.


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## doctoremmet (Oct 22, 2021)

Faruh Al-Baghdadi said:


> Damn, @doctoremmet keeps hunting my hot takes🥲


Not intentionally! I just reacted to the original question hehe. Here’s a hot take: maybe MY ears just suck  ❤️


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## Zoot_Rollo (Oct 22, 2021)

odod said:


> well, my poor version of Omnisphere is UNIFY by pluginguru


hmmm


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## Faruh Al-Baghdadi (Oct 22, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


> Not intentionally! I just reacted to the original question hehe. Here’s a hot take: maybe MY ears just suck  ❤️


Or mine. We will never know for sure 🌛🌜🌚🌝


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## sostenuto (Oct 22, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


> Not intentionally! I just reacted to the original question hehe. Here’s a hot take: maybe MY ears just suck  ❤️


Personal ignorance falls to Omni 2.8 innards specifically Filters. Have long 'assumed' that capable Users can tweak Filters, producing notable variation. John Lehmkuhl has done this often in walkthroughs, tutorials, livestreams. He is surely in higher tier of Omni 'gurus' and will continue to learn from his ongoing instruction.

Enjoy following all comment. Not persuaded to any conclusion, negating Omni 2.8 prowess. 😉


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## Scottyb (Oct 22, 2021)

KerrySmith said:


> Originally, I was not that enthused with Omnisphere, either. But it's a very deep program. It's not like buying a keyboard workstation from Guitar Center. Eventually I came around, and started using it a lot more. Buying some libraries from The Unfinished, Pulsesetter, and the ILIO "BT Modern Wave" really hammered home what it's capable of if you work with it... but you have to put in some work. The original Gospel and Jazz Combo Vocals (which were originally on Sample CDs) are also really great.


Man those Jazz Vocals. I love them so much! Wish they would do something new in that department!


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## davidson (Oct 22, 2021)

shponglefan said:


> You can link layers so that settings changes will be mirrored for each linked layer:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


But if you want to have the same attack on all the amp envelopes but have different decays on each layer, what then? I don't know, I still feel its clunky as hell. Global amp and filter envelopes on the main page would make perfect sense in my mind at least.


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## rrichard63 (Oct 22, 2021)

davidson said:


> But if you want to have the same attack on all the amp envelopes but have different decays on each layer, what then? I don't know, I still feel its clunky as hell. Global amp and filter envelopes on the main page would make perfect sense in my mind at least.


How would global envelopes facilitate having the same attack but different decays? Wouldn't the developer have to provide something like a global override switch separately for each of A, D, S and R?

Or am I misunderstanding your point?


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## el-bo (Oct 22, 2021)

Scottyb said:


> Man those Jazz Vocals. I love them so much! Wish they would do something new in that department!


So much fun to be had playing those jazz stacks


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## Akarin (Oct 22, 2021)

Zanshin said:


> The Omnisphere cult might be the most vicious dangerous cult on VI-C!



Next to the CSS one, they are kids. And don't even speak about the Reaper one! These guys are hardcore (broke but hardcore nonetheless!)


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## Bman70 (Oct 22, 2021)

chillbot said:


> I have 16 hardware synths here and each one has a very unique "sound"... though as I refer to them as, "personalities".
> 
> Filters? I dunno. It's a combo of everything. If you've grown up with hardware there is absolutely a certain and distinct difference between Roland vs Yamaha vs Korg.


That does seem to be a common perception among synth owners. I wonder if many have tried a blind test though? With each synth set to the same settings for a saw wave for instance. 

We humans are so influenced by visual and other non-auditory perceptions, that often I've tweaked a setting in my DAW and heard the difference, only to realize the setting was still bypassed. It would be easy to experience a hardware synth as a whole organism, its unique visuals and knobs and colors, and then both adjust and hear it in a different way. 

Of course it could also just be that they sound different, too.


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## shponglefan (Oct 22, 2021)

davidson said:


> But if you want to have the same attack on all the amp envelopes but have different decays on each layer, what then? I don't know, I still feel its clunky as hell. Global amp and filter envelopes on the main page would make perfect sense in my mind at least.



Link the layers, adjust the attack on one of them, then unlink them and adjust the decays individually.

If the intent is to have differences in the respective envelopes for each layer, then a global envelope wouldn't matter. But the linking feature does help solve cases where you want identical settings for specific things, but also allowing subsequent variations.


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## Zanshin (Oct 22, 2021)

Akarin said:


> Next to the CSS one, they are kids. And don't even speak about the Reaper one! These guys are hardcore (broke but hardcore nonetheless!)


I don’t like Omni, I think CSS sounds meh (it’s the room I think), and what is Reaper?! 

(I may not be long for this world)


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## Trash Panda (Oct 22, 2021)

Akarin said:


> Next to the CSS one, they are kids. And don't even speak about the Reaper one! These guys are hardcore (broke but hardcore nonetheless!)


The Jasper Blunk Army would like a word.


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## TonalDynamics (Oct 22, 2021)

Technostica said:


> A lot of people quickly mention Keyscape, Trillian and The Unfinished etc when Omnisphere gets mentioned.
> It's only because it's been a recurring theme that it stood out for me.
> It's not meant as a criticism, I just find the irony amusing in the context.


Well in the case of keyscape, it REALLY is just 'that good'.

I spend loads of time playing the patches in Keyscape/layering them with other sounds just for my own pleasure in rehearsal/practice.

The 'naked' versions of those instruments are very mixable as well, serving as a nice tonal basis for any number of sounds


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## sostenuto (Oct 22, 2021)

Zanshin said:


> I don’t like Omni, I think CSS sounds meh (it’s the room I think), and what is Reaper?!
> 
> (I may not be long for this world)


Hmmmm .... wouldn't open strange packages any time soon ! ⚡💥


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## Akarin (Oct 22, 2021)

Zanshin said:


> I don’t like Omni, I think CSS sounds meh (it’s the room I think), and what is Reaper?!
> 
> (I may not be long for this world)



Shots fired! 



Trash Panda said:


> The Jasper Blunk Army would like a word.



They don't have time for that. They need to work extra hours to be able to afford one-dynamic, one-articulation libraries. 

(Oooh I'm on a roll!)


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## TonalDynamics (Oct 22, 2021)

Bman70 said:


> I like it well enough, but it does seem less "modern" somehow than u-he GUIs or even Pigments. I guess having 3D fake knobs is unnecessary in 2021, I'd rather have flat ones that have a glowing position indicator or something. Judging by the new extensions though, Spectrasonics loves huge 3D knobs .


I feel like this is just total aesthetic preference, yeah?

I personally like the 'realistic knob/fader' direction, and actually feel like the flattened/lo-fi look which is en vogue currently is a bit overrated.

But then again so are most things that are considered 'en vogue' 

To each his own!


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## TonalDynamics (Oct 22, 2021)

dcoscina said:


> I dig it personally and have the entire suite of Spectrasonics products. I’ve used Omni on all commercial ventures I’ve done in some way shape or form. Indispensable for me.


This, and I feel like people (such as us composerey folk) should learn to use tools/plugins in a way that makes some kind of sense in context:

If you're looking to use one synth/VSTi in the hopes to fill up the entire sonic spectrum, then yeah your project will likely have the 'sound' of that instrument embedded within the project.

Which critically I think Omni tends to make all too easy, because it is admittedly chock full of patches/presets that BLAST every frequency (and some you didn't even know existed :O)

Layering intelligently is key, trying to mix and match sounds based on the strength of each plugin, same as with kontakt libs and samples.

Of course to know the 'zen' of a vst instrument you have to play around with it for more time than it takes to listen to 10 of the first presets and making snap judgements on it (been guilty of this myself), which I suspect is done by quite a few people in these discussions

So if you used nothing but U-he or Omni to make your track, one day you'll listen to it and decry, "OMG this whole song SOUNDS like U-HE", or "OMG this evolving D note held for 2 minutes that eventually creates a wormhole if you sustain it long enough SOUNDS like OMNISPHERE"

Whereas if you mix and match from plugins based on the best sounds each has to offer, it'll just sound like music (hopefully)

Cheers


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## dpasdernick (Oct 22, 2021)

If you can't find love in Omnisphere where can ya find it?


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## Technostica (Oct 22, 2021)

dpasdernick said:


> If you can't find love in Omnisphere where can ya find it?


An elevator is one option I hear.


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## doctoremmet (Oct 22, 2021)

Technostica said:


> An elevator is one option I hear.


But now that we’ve found it: what are we gonna do with it?


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## Colin66 (Oct 22, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


> But now that we’ve found it: what are we gonna do with it?


What's love got to do with it?


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## Colin66 (Oct 22, 2021)

Technostica said:


> An elevator is one option I hear.


Higher Love?


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## Technostica (Oct 22, 2021)

Colin66 said:


> Higher Love?


Dig the strings on the intro:


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## Zoot_Rollo (Oct 22, 2021)

doctoremmet said:


> But now that we’ve found it: what are we gonna do with it?


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## sostenuto (Oct 22, 2021)

Colin66 said:


> What's love got to do with it?


I know that song ! 🎶


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## chillbot (Oct 22, 2021)

Bman70 said:


> With each synth set to the same settings for a saw wave for instance.


I'm certain I couldn't tell the difference between synths with a saw wave or sine wave. I was referring more to classic synth sounds, for example if you played synth brass on each one. The recognition isn't of the synth so much as from spending a lifetime browsing synth presets. Might be a fun blind test, maybe I'll make one for another thread...


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## David Kudell (Oct 22, 2021)

That's the beauty of having so many options. Something that someone's not getting along with, might be something I can't live without (definitely the case with Omnisphere). I'm glad we don't all like the same stuff.


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## sostenuto (Oct 22, 2021)

Sums up why Ford, Genl Mtrs, Fiat-Chrysler, VW Group, .......... continue to flourish.
Personally covet youngest daughters F-Type. 😚


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## vitocorleone123 (Feb 9, 2022)

Not that I'd ask anyone to care about some random person on the Internet is or is not doing with Omnisphere, but...

I did it. I completely uninstalled Omnisphere today, starting the separation process. But not too quickly, in case I change my mind. I still have the USB key, so no fees or anything to re-install. Side note: it's nice to have those 60+ GB back available on my drive.

Big step, since I pined for Omnisphere for so long only to ultimately find it wasn't a tool I'd get along with. Again, I'm glad I had the means to try it. And it's not like it didn't get some use in some tracks with a couple of sounds here or there in a supporting role.

I'll see if I miss it over the coming months and, if not, put if up for sale - and hopefully put the money aside to go toward one last hardware synth.


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## Trash Panda (Feb 9, 2022)

That’s cool man. Every product isn’t for everyone. Glad to hear you can at least recoup some of the cost!


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## Casiquire (Feb 9, 2022)

vitocorleone123 said:


> Not that I'd ask anyone to care about some random person on the Internet is or is not doing with Omnisphere, but...
> 
> I did it. I completely uninstalled Omnisphere today, starting the separation process. But not too quickly, in case I change my mind. I still have the USB key, so no fees or anything to re-install. Side note: it's nice to have those 60+ GB back available on my drive.
> 
> ...


It's normal to have a regret or two over time. Actually mine WAS Omnisphere for a minute! The third party stuff was a huge shift for me. Most of the core stuff is bloated and outdated. So i get it, i just say to try out third party presets in the meantime to see if you can get at least something out of it. No judgment here for disliking it though, I'm just sad to see someone go through it


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## Shad0wLandsUK (Feb 10, 2022)

chillbot said:


> Have you met the Spitfire club?


I wouldn't even wish them on my WORST enemies!


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## Shad0wLandsUK (Feb 10, 2022)

bill5 said:


> The Kontakt cult would whip their ass in a fight.


But we would *BLOW* them out of the water with our re-scalable UI... sorry I know its a 'touchy' subject


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## Shad0wLandsUK (Feb 10, 2022)

bill5 said:


> I can't believe I just thought of this...The Pro Tools cult could kick every other cult's asses combined.
> 
> Back to Omni


Just as soon as they were updated to be compatible in the same fighting space


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## Shad0wLandsUK (Feb 10, 2022)

TonalDynamics said:


> Well in the case of keyscape, it REALLY is just 'that good'.
> 
> I spend loads of time playing the patches in Keyscape/layering them with other sounds just for my own pleasure in rehearsal/practice.
> 
> The 'naked' versions of those instruments are very mixable as well, serving as a nice tonal basis for any number of sounds


One day KeyScape and I will meet on my system.. until that day, I can only dream on with Omnisphere 2 by my side 

Oh and we can't forget my long love for Trilian one day joining the pack


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## Soundbed (Feb 10, 2022)

I knew I wouldn’t use most of the factory presets.

So, I bought the Everything bundle from The Unfinished the same day I bought Omnisphere. 

Haven’t bought another synth since. 

Omnisphere isn’t my favorite synth; The Unfinished’s Omnisphere is my favorite synth (unless I’m doing Serum EDM stuff).


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## el-bo (Feb 10, 2022)

Soundbed said:


> Omnisphere isn’t my favorite synth; The Unfinished’s Omnisphere is my favorite synth (unless I’m doing Serum EDM stuff).


I know it should go without saying, and I know you're not saying it. However, given some discussion in another recent Omnisphere thread, perhaps it bears repeating: Omnisphere is not a rompler!


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## Jrides (Feb 10, 2022)

Shad0wLandsUK said:


> I wouldn't even wish them on my WORST enemies!


I think the 8dio cult, might give them a run for their money. if you don’t hear anything else from me within the next 48 hours, please send help.


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## GtrString (Feb 10, 2022)

Try this:


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## Soundbed (Feb 10, 2022)

el-bo said:


> I know it should go without saying, and I know you're not saying it. However, given some discussion in another recent Omnisphere thread, perhaps it bears repeating: Omnisphere is not a rompler!


No, and good point. It had been on my list for years but I never had enough money for it.

But I knew given my available time and patience that I would be more inclined to learn how best to use it by studying patches I actually liked versus patches that felt dated or for the wrong styles / genres.

Skippy (Plugin Guru) also taught me many things about how to use it.

I've since recorded a couple simple tutorials that walk beginners through the basics, based on things I learned studying Skippy (John L.) and The Unfinished patches.


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## Roger Newton (Feb 10, 2022)

I wouldn't want to tell anyone what they should or shouldn't like, but Omnisphere (previously Atmosphere and that was good) maybe should be an essential part of anyone's kit who writes music for money. It's a life saver on occasions. Many ways to use it. In my case I use it as a detailer. An additive that makes me sound a lot better than I should. A favorite spice you use for cooking.
Combined with Trillian and Stylus and also Keyscape it's difficult to beat imo.


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## Casiquire (Feb 10, 2022)

Roger Newton said:


> I wouldn't want to tell anyone what they should or shouldn't like, but Omnisphere (previously Atmosphere and that was good) maybe should be an essential part of anyone's kit who writes music for money. It's a life saver on occasions. Many ways to use it. In my case I use it as a detailer. An additive that makes me sound a lot better than I should. A favorite spice you use for cooking.
> Combined with Trillian and Stylus and also Keyscape it's difficult to beat imo.


The problem with it is how much it has, and the ratio of mediocre patches to good ones. It's like digging for gold, but the gold is like three miles deep and it's all small nuggets. The last thing I'd *ever* want to do is be in a hurry and rely on it.

Having said that I'm a fan of it, but saying it's essential for anyone who writes for a living (and is under tight deadlines) might be misguided imo


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## aeliron (Feb 10, 2022)

ka00 said:


> Omnisphere ships with over 9000 patches. Best to start rating them all. I one-star the ones I don’t like, so I don’t have to look at them again if I sort my patch browser by rating. You will likely find a ton you like.


Would be nice if someone's else's ratings could be imported ...


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## Fleer (Feb 10, 2022)

sostenuto said:


> Personally covet youngest daughters F-Type. 😚


Still hanging on to mine in British Racing Green, noblesse oblige.


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## sostenuto (Feb 10, 2022)

Fleer said:


> Still hanging on to mine in British Racing Green, noblesse oblige.


_Her's_ _ far less noble USA glossy _ *black* ....... OTH _ Omni v2.8 glorious royal *blue* ! 

( fwiw _ long ago _ personal XKE Coupe was credible SILVER )


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## AmbientMile (Feb 11, 2022)

Casiquire said:


> ...The last thing I'd *ever* want to do is be in a hurry and rely on it.....


I find that the categories and search functions make it a snap to find things quickly. Add in the sound match features, and IMO its very fast!


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## Casiquire (Feb 11, 2022)

AmbientMile said:


> I find that the categories and search functions make it a snap to find things quickly. Add in the sound match features, and IMO its very fast!


I've heard people say that, and I'm happy for them, but i don't share in that experience whatsoever


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## AmbientMile (Feb 11, 2022)

I agree with a lot of what people are saying in this thread, both pro and con, about the "sound" of Omnisphere. But one of the best things I learned early on with Omnisphere is to get in a habit of turning off the FX settings of patches as I audition them. It radically changes a lot of the factory stuff. I think many people think that the sound is baked in and are surprised how much is done by Spectrasonics with the FX.


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## AmbientMile (Feb 11, 2022)

Casiquire said:


> I've heard people say that, and I'm happy for them, but i don't share in that experience whatsoever


I get that.


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## jcrosby (Feb 11, 2022)

Casiquire said:


> I've heard people say that, and I'm happy for them, but i don't share in that experience whatsoever


you can combine search terms with the word _and_. So if you typed: _ambient and bpm_ this would narrow the results down a fair bit, if you added a second _and _you'll massively reduce the patch list. So combing these three terms: _ambient and atmosphere and bpm_ I've reduced my patch list from 16,727 down to exactly 10 results.

You can also exclude patches with the word _not_, and get an either/or choice with the word _or_. (Although I get an error when searching _not_ currently, unsure if this is a database issue or a bug... And/or works though. I use _and_ searches all the time.)









Search Field - Omnisphere 2 - 2.8


Click anywhere in the Search Field to enter search text. Press the Enter/Return key to view the filtered results. The Search function will check Names, Tags,...




support.spectrasonics.net


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## acousticshade (Feb 11, 2022)

Interesting post and I agree with the OP. After using Falcon for years, I can just do stuff a lot quicker and the sound quality of both is best in class. While there are a lot of good and some great patches, the UI is VERY dated and the workflow compared to many newer instruments is just plain slow. It's missing some key features and there are some strange things like not being able to use unison with the granular engine.

I'm planning on hanging on to it as I'm sure it will grow on me. I'm hopeful that Omnisphere 3 will be a total overhaul so that workflow is on par with other instruments made in the last 5 years.


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## Chamberfield (Feb 11, 2022)

acousticshade said:


> After using Falcon for years, I can just do stuff a lot quicker and the sound quality of both is best in class.


I recently purchased Falcon on an impulse buy and have never been more disappointed - at least with the factory presets and add-ons. Everything sounds like it was programmed in 1995, even all of the add-on libraries. Everything harsh and digital and dated (not in a good way). I'm still searching for ONE patch that is inspirational. How can you possibly recon that with Omnisphere's Bob Moog library, all of the Unfinished UK libraries and countless others, not to mention the recent Sonic Extensions?

I realize that Falcon has a lot going on under the hood, and I hope to discover the sample tweaking options that make it worth while, but from a marketing and contemporary music perspective, it's a total disaster. If you buy Falcon you might as well be getting blank slate because every single preset is useless, whereas with Omnisphere you have a ton of inspiration to build from.


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## acousticshade (Feb 11, 2022)

Chamberfield said:


> I recently purchased Falcon on an impulse buy and have never been more disappointed - at least with the factory presets and add-ons. Everything sounds like it was programmed in 1995, even all of the add-on libraries. Everything harsh and digital and dated (not in a good way). I'm still searching for ONE patch that is inspirational. How can you possibly recon that with Omnisphere's Bob Moog library, all of the Unfinished UK libraries and countless others, not to mention the recent Sonic Extensions?
> 
> I realize that Falcon has a lot going on under the hood, and I hope to discover the sample tweaking options that make it worth while, but from a marketing and contemporary music perspective, it's a total disaster. If you buy Falcon you might as well be getting blank slate because every single preset is useless, whereas with Omnisphere you have a ton of inspiration to build from.


Well I would agree with you only on the older presets you get with Falcon Factory. The newer ones sound pretty good and the libraries are top shelf. BTW, Omnisphere is built on the same engine that powers Falcon, so sonically, they should leave a similar footprint.


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## KEM (Feb 11, 2022)

Honestly I just look for presets that have cool names and usually that works for me lol


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## russmyers93 (Feb 12, 2022)

Does anyone have any recommendations for Omnisphere courses to get to know it better? There's a lot to learn!


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## Henrik B. Jensen (Feb 12, 2022)

In case anyone wonders, I sold it. No regrets


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## dcoscina (Feb 12, 2022)

I’ve used Omni in every commercial project I’ve done. Sometimes a little sometimes a lot. But different strokes…

I also use Zebra and quite a lot of the Cherry Audio synths these days


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## Double Helix (Feb 12, 2022)

russmyers93 said:


> Does anyone have any recommendations for Omnisphere courses to get to know it better? There's a lot to learn!


PlugInGuru John Lehmkuhl has this "Omnisphere for beginners" video:




Learn "Omnisphere in 30 Minutes":




Introduction & Overview:




These ought to get you started. Also check the Spectrasonics and Ilio Web sites


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## Roger Newton (Feb 12, 2022)

Still trying to figure out how Omnisphere could be a disappointment. If Omnisphere was a disappointment to me, I would have trashed 2 thirds of my libraries by now.


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## sostenuto (Feb 12, 2022)

russmyers93 said:


> Does anyone have any recommendations for Omnisphere courses to get to know it better? There's a lot to learn!


Loooong list can be a put-off, but amazing content @ pluginguru.com _videos ...... plus many deep dives in his Livestreams (but maybe for later _ after early experience). 
Few have John (Skippy) Lehmkuhl's expertise _ enhanced by years at Korg in early days. 






Videos - PluginGuru.com







www.pluginguru.com


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## Fleer (Feb 12, 2022)

+2 for PluginGuru John 'Skippy' Lehmkuhl


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