# New Omnisphere user - needs some help



## Eptesicus (Jul 8, 2019)

Hi guys,

Just bought Omnisphere and really enjoying having a first little play.

One thing i am a little confused about though, is how the patches sound different in each layer.

For example if you load say, a choir patch, then add the same patch to layer B, it is very different and doesn't have the same parameters as the patch in layer A.

You can remedy this by changing the signal path to shared, but you still seem to have to do things like change the amp setting (follow mod wheel etc).

However this remedy doesn't work when you don't want the same patch - by that i mean that if i have heard a patch loaded previously, and then want to load the same patch in layer B in a different patch, it is going to sound different.

Perhaps i am getting confused with patches and soundsources but its a bit annoying for the following reasons:

For example, say i like how the patch "choir men swells oh" sounds. I then want to add this as a layer B or C to another patch. However (because perhaps it is just the soundsource), it doesn't sound as good as the actual patch. 

I guess my question is - is it possible to load a one layer patch into another patch as a layer, whilst maintaining the settings it has as a patch?

I hope that makes sense!

Thanks


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## proxima (Jul 8, 2019)

If I'm understanding you correctly, you are confusing the capabilities of soundsources and patches.

"A", "B", "C", and "D" are layers of one patch, each having one soundsource. The numbers 1-8 up at the top let you use multiple patches within one instance of Omnisphere (and can be controlled through "live" or "stack" modes).

Many patches have more than one layer, and a layer will have a signal path to its own effects. On top of that are often patch-wide effects. (choir men oos has all of its effects in the "common" tab).

You may find either combining patches with the 1-8 numbering or using copy/paste layer (in the "utility" menu) useful, depending on what you're trying to do. Hope that helps.


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## Saxer (Jul 10, 2019)

The layers A to D (comparable to oscillators but with the possibility to use samples as a source) are part of one patch. But: inside this patch each layer can have it's own effects chain AND all of them together can pass another common effect chain.
This patch with sound source A to D and the 5 possible EFX-chains can be one patch of 8 in the multi section. This can add up to a real CPU hog.

So if you copy layers out of a patch make sure you copy all the needed EFX if you want the same sound elsewhere.


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## Eptesicus (Jul 11, 2019)

Saxer said:


> The layers A to D (comparable to oscillators but with the possibility to use samples as a source) are part of one patch. But: inside this patch each layer can have it's own effects chain AND all of them together can pass another common effect chain.
> This patch with sound source A to D and the 5 possible EFX-chains can be one patch of 8 in the multi section. This can add up to a real CPU hog.
> 
> So if you copy layers out of a patch make sure you copy all the needed EFX if you want the same sound elsewhere.





proxima said:


> If I'm understanding you correctly, you are confusing the capabilities of soundsources and patches.
> 
> "A", "B", "C", and "D" are layers of one patch, each having one soundsource. The numbers 1-8 up at the top let you use multiple patches within one instance of Omnisphere (and can be controlled through "live" or "stack" modes).
> 
> ...



Yes i think i understand now. Thanks to you both. 

Next question. How do you gate something/put a gated rhythm on something?

I have tried using the envelope presets, but that seems to cut the samples too much so all you get is clicking/artifacts. 

is there anyway to quickly gate something like you can with, for example, 8dio's hybrid tools etc?


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## tomwolfe (Jul 11, 2019)

Eptesicus said:


> Next question. How do you gate something/put a gated rhythm on something?
> 
> I have tried using the envelope presets, but that seems to cut the samples too much so all you get is clicking/artifacts.
> 
> is there anyway to quickly gate something like you can with, for example, 8dio's hybrid tools etc?



Definitely the best way is the envelopes - you can change the shape of the lines to avoid clicking artefacts. Try opening an envelope preset, then right click by a point, and you can select different shapes for the curve. Try selecting Curve 1 or Curve 2, and then click the line between the two points and drag the line up or down to make the curve more/less intense. This should be a bit smoother than the steps!


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## Eptesicus (Jul 11, 2019)

tomwolfe said:


> Definitely the best way is the envelopes - you can change the shape of the lines to avoid clicking artefacts. Try opening an envelope preset, then right click by a point, and you can select different shapes for the curve. Try selecting Curve 1 or Curve 2, and then click the line between the two points and drag the line up or down to make the curve more/less intense. This should be a bit smoother than the steps!



Tried that but made very little difference.

Every time i try some sort of rhythmic envelope it just sounds terrible due to all the clicks(presumably the envelope is cutting through the wave).


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## tomwolfe (Jul 12, 2019)

Eptesicus said:


> Tried that but made very little difference.
> 
> Every time i try some sort of rhythmic envelope it just sounds terrible due to all the clicks(presumably the envelope is cutting through the wave).



Hmmmm. Ok, next question - are you using the Amp envelope to create the rhythm? You could instead try using a Mod envelope assigned manually to the Amp volume, and then using the Smooth function. This function is found in the left modulation panel when you make the connection, or on the mod matrix zoom page (the left hand slider). That might just smooth off those rough edges, but I don't think you can do it with the Amp envelope as it's hardwired.


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## Eptesicus (Jul 12, 2019)

tomwolfe said:


> Hmmmm. Ok, next question - are you using the Amp envelope to create the rhythm? You could instead try using a Mod envelope assigned manually to the Amp volume, and then using the Smooth function. This function is found in the left modulation panel when you make the connection, or on the mod matrix zoom page (the left hand slider). That might just smooth off those rough edges, but I don't think you can do it with the Amp envelope as it's hardwired.



yes i was using the amp envelope.

Doing what you suggested and using the mod envelope as the source and the amplitude as the target in the modulation parameters gets the effect i was looking for without he horrible clipping/clicking. 

Thanks!


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## jtnyc (Jul 12, 2019)

In case your interested in a great gating plugin there's Gatekeeper. It's a lot of fun -

https://polyversemusic.com/products...MI1-C6k5uw4wIVBhgMCh1XkQtkEAAYASAAEgJ4wPD_BwE


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## tomwolfe (Jul 13, 2019)

Eptesicus said:


> Doing what you suggested and using the mod envelope as the source and the amplitude as the target in the modulation parameters gets the effect i was looking for without he horrible clipping/clicking.
> 
> Thanks!



No problem! Need any more help just give me a shout and I'll do my best!


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