# Is Omnisphere still the best all-in-one choice?



## jsnleo

Hi, I’ve heard of it as one of the best synths more than ten years ago but I never got into the synth world. I’m wondering if it’s still the best all-in-one choice? I know something else will probably sound better in certain ways, or is more analog sounding.

Because I only tried some presets years ago, I barely remember anything. I remember there were many different categories iirc. Is there another synth that can also do it all, covers many categories?

I’m thinking of buying it but don’t know if it’s still the best choice when it comes to versatility, and man I never saw it on sale. Like I said I don’t have much experience in synth, so having good presets is kinda a big thing.

I know some other popular options are u-he, Arturia V Collection, Serum, Synapse Audio Dune and Legend, Sylenth1, VPS Avenger, SynthMaster... But again, is Omnisphere the one I’m looking for? Or any other recommendations? Thanks!


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## Synetos

I have Omnisphere, KeyScape, and Trilian. I really like all of them. Better? I dont know how to define that. Its certainly been good enough for me to use and enjoy playing. I dont really fiddle with the sounds all that much. I just find stuff I like and use it. Plus, there are add-on packs you can buy where others have tweaked sounds and layers. If you want to fiddle with your own sounds, it seems like it is good for that as well. Again, I dont, so I cant really say how it compares. It's not expensive, so I dont see that you have much to lose. I have never seen it on sale, but I think it is worth every penny I paid for it. 

I also have Steinberg Absolute collection. Power stuff there too, with all the soft synths. It's in a similar price range. 

I have spent thousands $ on Vienna Symphonic Library. While the samples sound good, I never get comfortable with the interface. That is probably my only regret in purchasing of VSTs in the last 10 years. I bought way more of it than I will ever use and should have nibbled before buying nearly every string and wind sample they had at the time. I had money to burn at the time, and burn it i did 

You are only talking $500 for Omnisphere. I doubt it will lead to any buyer remorse.


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## Nils Neumann

Omnisphere is a must have for me. Don‘t know of anything else that can compete with it in terms of the gigantic range of sounds in there.

If you have the funds, go for it. Don’t know anybody who has regret it.


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## dzilizzi

As someone who got it and doesn't use synths much, I would classify it as a synth per se. I don't use it that much either. But that is more because I don't really do music that has needed it yet that I didn't have something else that does the sound better to me. 

You can use presets with it or you can import your own sounds and layer them with the effects in Omni. You can make some great sounds with it. And you can play with it like a synth. But, if you just want a basic synth sound and not all the rest, I would get something a lot cheaper. If you have Komplete, you have all the synth sounds you need. If you do decide you want it, best deal, if you live in the US, is wait for a general discount code from Musicians Friend or Guitar Center and use that. If you buy it secondhand, it may be NFR. As the primary buyer, you can resell it if you find it isn't for you.


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## Nils Neumann

And one thing I love about it, is the best search option for sounds. I thinks it includes over 10.000 patches and you get extremely fast to the perfect sound.


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## Sunny Schramm

Have it but use it rarely too. I dont know why - the sounds are fine and you have mostly everything in it...maybe thats the problem for me - too much (same happens to me with reFX Nexus 3). And I dont like the GUI. Looks so old and uninspiring too me 🤷‍♂️ I know - its kind of stupid and sound matters but I´m a very visual, nerdy guy 😉


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## SirkusPi

I _strongly_ disagree that Omnisphere is the best all-in-one choice. There _is_ no “best” choice. Personally, if I were starting out and had a $500 budget, then, for the music I make, I would go with DIVA and Synthmaster and then select from various other synths, putting together a collection that I could get for the same price as just Omnisphere.

Of course, others can fairly disagree and just go with Omnisphere, but there is no one-size-fits-all, and no clear optimal approach. I respectfully submit that looking for the “one true path” with regard to synth purchases is a hopeless and impossible pipe dream, and you’ll have about as many opinions here as you do individual reponses.


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## R. Soul

If you consider yourself a film composer, Omnisphere is a must have.
It's got tons of unique weird soundsources you won't find anywhere else.

However, I find myself using synth like Serum, VPS Avenger and Diva more these days, but it's because I mostly find myself doing other things than film music, where these weird noises are not really useful. 

From a pure synthesis perspective, a lot of synths can match or even surpass Omnisphere, so you are really paying the extra for the huge (50 GB) sound sources.


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## Keith Theodosiou

It may be a bit expensive but to be honest it is HUGE and you get a lot for your money. I have loads of VI synths and that is one of the best for me still.
Such a vast array of sounds.


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## jsnleo

Synetos said:


> I have Omnisphere, KeyScape, and Trilian. I really like all of them. Better? I dont know how to define that. Its certainly been good enough for me to use and enjoy playing. I dont really fiddle with the sounds all that much. I just find stuff I like and use it. Plus, there are add-on packs you can buy where others have tweaked sounds and layers. If you want to fiddle with your own sounds, it seems like it is good for that as well. Again, I dont, so I cant really say how it compares. It's not expensive, so I dont see that you have much to lose. I have never seen it on sale, but I think it is worth every penny I paid for it.
> 
> I also have Steinberg Absolute collection. Power stuff there too, with all the soft synths. It's in a similar price range.
> 
> I have spent thousands $ on Vienna Symphonic Library. While the samples sound good, I never get comfortable with the interface. That is probably my only regret in purchasing of VSTs in the last 10 years. I bought way more of it than I will ever use and should have nibbled before buying nearly every string and wind sample they had at the time. I had money to burn at the time, and burn it i did
> 
> You are only talking $500 for Omnisphere. I doubt it will lead to any buyer remorse.



I was about to get the Keyscape but thought I’ve got enough piano libraries and don’t really need one more, though we always keep buying them. What I really like about the Keyscape (or everything from Spectrasonics) is it has all the different sounds I need, and probably more, so I don’t need to collect them one by one. And to be honest, some libraries sound better, and are more enjoyable playing them, but most of the times I don’t need all the nuances when making music.

About the Omnisphere, I believe it’s worth every penny, and I don’t mind paying that much. What really bothers me is it’s too “old” if that makes sense. I know it’s not true but I just have this impression that newer is better...


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## Sunny Schramm

jsnleo said:


> About the Omnisphere, I believe it’s worth every penny, and I don’t mind paying that much. What really bothers me is it’s too “old” if that makes sense. I know it’s not true but I just have this impression that newer is better...



Well - its in developement forever. Every new version brings a lot of new stuff and current techniques with it. I think it can keep up with every "new" synth/rompler/sampler easily!


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## wst3

Omnisphere is a pretty remarkable accomplishment. If you never stray from the presets you'll probably never run out of sounds. The hardware integration is a blast! And if you want to create your own sounds it is possible, although it is not your standard 2 oscillator subtractive synth<G>!

I do not use it every day, but I do not regret the investment, not even a little.

Nor do I regret waiting several years before buying it.

If I were just starting out, even knowing what I know now, I doubt it would be my first choice. I think I'd pick up great sounding synths that are easier to program, but I would still end up getting it.


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## Keith Theodosiou

wst3 said:


> I do not use it every day, but I do not regret the investment, not even a little.
> 
> Nor do I regret waiting several years before buying it.


Same here!


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## jsnleo

Nils Neumann said:


> Omnisphere is a must have for me. Don‘t know of anything else that can compete with it in terms of the gigantic range of sounds in there.
> 
> If you have the funds, go for it. Don’t know anybody who has regret it.



Did you find there are many useable presets? I don’t mind learning it but I prefer not to spend too much time tweaking it.


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## Keith Theodosiou

jsnleo said:


> Did you find there are many useable presets? I don’t mind learning it but I prefer not to spend too much time tweaking it.


There are hundreds of perfectly usable presets. Hundreds lol


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## Sunny Schramm

jsnleo said:


> Did you find there are many useable presets? I don’t mind learning it but I prefer not to spend too much time tweaking it.



definetely and for sure 👍


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## jsnleo

dzilizzi said:


> As someone who got it and doesn't use synths much, I would classify it as a synth per se. I don't use it that much either. But that is more because I don't really do music that has needed it yet that I didn't have something else that does the sound better to me.
> 
> You can use presets with it or you can import your own sounds and layer them with the effects in Omni. You can make some great sounds with it. And you can play with it like a synth. But, if you just want a basic synth sound and not all the rest, I would get something a lot cheaper. If you have Komplete, you have all the synth sounds you need. If you do decide you want it, best deal, if you live in the US, is wait for a general discount code from Musicians Friend or Guitar Center and use that. If you buy it secondhand, it may be NFR. As the primary buyer, you can resell it if you find it isn't for you.



Thanks! MF has sent me coupons many times, maybe I’ll ask them if I can get another one.


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## jsnleo

Sunny Schramm said:


> Have it but use it rarely too. I dont know why - the sounds are fine and you have mostly everything in it...maybe thats the problem for me - too much (same happens to me with reFX Nexus 3). And I dont like the GUI. Looks so old and uninspiring too me 🤷‍♂️ I know - its kind of stupid and sound matters but I´m a very visual, nerdy guy 😉



Me too. Presets are helpful but if there are too many I feel overwhelmed. I find the GUI too outdated as well and maybe because it’s been around for so many years and we’ve got used to it.


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## jsnleo

SirkusPi said:


> I _strongly_ disagree that Omnisphere is the best all-in-one choice. There _is_ no “best” choice. Personally, if I were starting out and had a $500 budget, then, for the music I make, I would go with DIVA and Synthmaster and then select from various other synths, putting together a collection that I could get for the same price as just Omnisphere.
> 
> Of course, others can fairly disagree and just go with Omnisphere, but there is no one-size-fits-all, and no clear optimal approach. I respectfully submit that looking for the “one true path” with regard to synth purchases is a hopeless and impossible pipe dream, and you’ll have about as many opinions here as you do individual reponses.



What do you think about the SynthMaster? It’s pretty cheap and on sale now!


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## jsnleo

R. Soul said:


> If you consider yourself a film composer, Omnisphere is a must have.
> It's got tons of unique weird soundsources you won't find anywhere else.
> 
> However, I find myself using synth like Serum, VPS Avenger and Diva more these days, but it's because I mostly find myself doing other things than film music, where these weird noises are not really useful.
> 
> From a pure synthesis perspective, a lot of synths can match or even surpass Omnisphere, so you are really paying the extra for the huge (50 GB) sound sources.



I’m not a film composer. There are just too many synths out there and it’s really hard for me to make a decision. I’m not trying to dive too deep and just wanna get an all-rounder so that I don’t need to get another.


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## Keith Theodosiou

jsnleo said:


> I’m not a film composer. There are just too many synths out there and it’s really hard for me to make a decision. I’m not trying to dive too deep and just wanna get an all-rounder so that I don’t need to get another.


If that's the case, you can't go wrong with Omnisphere


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## FinGael

I don't know if Omnisphere is the best, but it is great anyway. It is solid, there are a vast amount of useful factory sound of rich variety, the synth engine is quite powerful nowadays and there are so many good third party expansions.

In my eyes it has aged extremely well, because I think that now after the updates it is even better.


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## jsnleo

Keith Theodosiou said:


> It may be a bit expensive but to be honest it is HUGE and you get a lot for your money. I have loads of VI synths and that is one of the best for me still.
> Such a vast array of sounds.



Well you guys leave me no choice...


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## MarcHedenberg

i’m a bit stuck myself choosing between Serum and Omnisphere. I got to use Serum a few times at school and I love the interface so much. But Omnisphere has hardware integration with my Korg Minilogue XX...

Choices...


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## FinGael

MarcHedenberg said:


> i’m a bit stuck myself choosing between Serum and Omnisphere. I got to use Serum a few times at school and I love the interface so much. But Omnisphere has hardware integration with my Korg Minilogue XX...
> 
> Choices...



If options are those two, I would relax and acknowledge that you cannot screw up that much either way.  Both are great and you can buy the other one later....


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## jsnleo

wst3 said:


> Omnisphere is a pretty remarkable accomplishment. If you never stray from the presets you'll probably never run out of sounds. The hardware integration is a blast! And if you want to create your own sounds it is possible, although it is not your standard 2 oscillator subtractive synth<G>!
> 
> I do not use it every day, but I do not regret the investment, not even a little.
> 
> Nor do I regret waiting several years before buying it.
> 
> If I were just starting out, even knowing what I know now, I doubt it would be my first choice. I think I'd pick up great sounding synths that are easier to program, but I would still end up getting it.



Hmm I’m handing over my money...

I don’t know how many synths you’ve owned, but which ones do you think you don’t need after owning the Omnisphere?


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## jsnleo

FinGael said:


> I don't know if Omnisphere is the best, but it is great anyway. It is solid, there are a vast amount of useful factory sound of rich variety, the synth engine is quite powerful nowadays and there are so many good third party expansions.
> 
> In my eyes it has aged extremely well, because I think that now after the updates it is even better.



Thanks, now I feel reassured.


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## sostenuto

Several great choices along with Omni, but key is really becoming capable with them. Along with that comes level and number of truly strong tutorials continuing over life of the synth.
Combo of Spectrasonics videos and PluginGuru vids /livestreams have been vital over many years. 
I might feel the same with Zebra, Falcon, _xyz_, had I started there instead.
So many other great synths now, but imho, despite their amazing strengths, do not cover the spectrum of usage as well. ymmv ! 
Lusting for Keyscape now since Intro (long ago) .....


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## Jkist

Omnisphere is much more than a synth, and while its a good SYNTH, there are other synths much cheaper out there that do the synth thing better. What do I mean by the synth thing? I mean all the various types of synthesis and sound design (wavetable, FM, granular, etc)

So I guess it depends on your goals. Omnisphere is like a crazy sample library of a bajillion sounds, where you can lose plenty of time just browsing through presets and messing around. Its really fun that way. Then when you find something you like, you can tweak it even further for hours on end. Which is also fun. Don't get it wrong though, you can find sounds you like in Omnisphere and just pull them up and place them right into a song, it doesn't have to be that time consuming.

However, if you really want to dive into a little sound design and make your own sounds (which is not as difficult as you would think) you can invest much less money up front and come away possibly even more satisfied. Synthmaster One is great, especially at the price they are asking.

I would also make a strong recommendation for Serum and Sylenth1, mostly because:

+both are considered "industry standards" now, and have proven themselves over and over
+both are incredibly powerful (though Sylenth1 is admittedly limited by today's standards, but it sounds so good!)
+both are very straightforward to use IMO, and will translate into understanding other synths easily.
+both have immense support out there in the form of presets and youtube videos to help you learn.

So yeah, really just depends what you want. Omnisphere is just incredible, but that initial investment is a bit steep for most people. No harm in trying one of these rent-to-own synths for a few months and if you don't like it, you're out like $30 max. Even then, if you come back to it, you've already paid $30 out of the $180 or whatever, so its not even money wasted.


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## Ned Bouhalassa

“... so that I don’t need to get another.”


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## GNP

Omnisphere is definitely a must get. It's not the only thing around, yes, but I'd say it's a must get.
Especially if you know what to do with it.

Then, go get other things!


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## JohnG

jsnleo said:


> I don’t have much experience in synth, so having good presets is kinda a big thing.



Omnisphere is a good choice in that case. Thousands of presets and lots of fun to explore. Tons of immediately usable, high-quality sounds, ready to go with no additional effort or input. 

And, while the presets alone offer nearly endless variety, if you want to take it further, Omisphere is super easy to manipulate; you can sort of just figure out the controls without doing much / any research.


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## easyrider

I've Just bought Omnisphere...


:elephant:




vi-control.net


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## Bman70

jsnleo said:


> Did you find there are many useable presets? I don’t mind learning it but I prefer not to spend too much time tweaking it.



The thing about Omnisphere is, tweaking presets doesn't take any time. You can deep dive if you want, but it's also incredibly easy to just 'mess around', punch some buttons, and start grinning at the amazing sound that you just made that no one else has. Other synths I've tried like Zebra, I open it and just sort of stare, because I'm not a 'synth person' and don't know where to start. Omnisphere might not inspire with its GUI, but it inspires with its audio. The GUI is almost transparent in a way as it sort of stands aside to let you focus on creative stuff.


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## Pier

Bman70 said:


> Other synths I've tried like Zebra, I open it and just sort of stare, because I'm not a 'synth person' and don't know where to start.



Synthesis and sound design are deep topics but if you spend some time learning you will get results sooner than you think. Obviously nothing as immediate as using ready-made presets by a pro sound designer.

Personally for $500 I would just buy a couple of top virtual synths and some third party preset libraries. There's plenty to choose from depending on the type of sound you want: Zebra, Diva, Dune 3, Hive 2, Serum, Repro, etc. These IMO sound better than most Omnisphere presets and if you ever want to go deeper into sound design you'll already have the best virtual synths available.

For example check this Dune 3 library:



Or this one for Hive 2 from the same sound designer:



Or this one for Zebra that was used by Hans Zimmer:



Or this one for DIVA:


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## Nick Batzdorf

jsnleo said:


> I find the GUI too outdated as well and maybe because it’s been around for so many years and we’ve got used to it.



Really? To me the interface is the best thing about it (other than the huge variety of great sounds).

It's so straightforward that it takes a minimal amount of time to learn, and more importantly you don't have to re-learn it if you come back after not using it for a few weeks or months.


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## Nick Batzdorf

Jkist said:


> there are other synths much cheaper out there that do the synth thing better



Really?


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## Jkist

Nick Batzdorf said:


> Really?



Yeah I better reword that lol. Omnisphere is just stupid powerful. There are a FEW synths out there that do SOME things better than Omnisphere.

But at the end of the day, if you have the cash to spend, Omnisphere is kind of indispensible. It can do MOST of what other synths can do, but then it has an entire library of amazing samples and presets already. I am sure you would be very happy with it.

Best bet is to download as many demos as you can and see what speaks to you.


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## Reid Rosefelt

The simplest way to think about Omnisphere is that it comes with over 14,000 high-quality sampled sounds. The 14,000 are not presets--they are the source material to make your presets. You can combine any four of them into a preset, so that means that there are.... a lot of possibilities.
Also you can layer up to 8 presets at a time. Almost 60 effects, a sophisticated arpeggiator, numerous filters, multi-leveled envelopes on practically everything (miles beyond ADSR). 

So... 14,000 sounds? What are they? A lot of them come from Spectrasonics sound libraries that were developed over many years for owners of samplers. 

Hans Zimmer Guitars Vol 1 - $199 or $99 for selected library
Hans Zimmer Guitars Vol 2 - $199 or $99 for selected library
Heart of Africa 1 $299 full library $129 selected library
Heart of Africa 2 $199 full $99
Symphony of Voices - $499
Vocal Planet $399
etc etc. Learn more *HERE*
These products are still available for purchase at the above prices by hardware sampler owners. 

This is maybe why some people think that the price is more than fair. 

Secondly, Omnisphere was developed out of a product called Atmosphere, that was released on the UVI platform. It focused on sound design pads, textures. 

When Omni became Omni 2, among other things it added the ability to drag your own sounds in, plus granular synthesis.

Maybe understanding the above might help you wrap your head around what is in this thing. 

It's strong for things like guitars, world instruments, vocals, sound design, as well as the kind of synth sounds you hear in other synths, like pads, leads, and arps. It also integrates perfectly with Keyscape and Trilian, both of which include free patches that combine with Omni.

I wish I had bought Omni a lot sooner than I did. I use it every day.


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## Jkist

@TigerTheFrog wow, awesome post!


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## Reid Rosefelt

For a long time after I got Omnisphere, all I did was load it and play some of my favorite patches, like "Glorious Guitars" and the Jazz Vocal stacks. For fun. Even though I spent many hours exploring it and selecting my favorites, it was still overwhelming. If I'm being honest, when I was looking for a pad for a piece I was working on, I didn't go there, I went to a smaller library that was all pads, like one from FrozenPlain, SAS, etc. Who has time to hunt around in Omnisphere?

That all changed when I started putting together templates of my very favorite presets for acoustic guitars, overdriven guitars, pads-with-movement, peaceful pads, solo female vocals, choirs, etc. Everything in these templates comes out of searching through hundreds or even thousands of presets on everything I own, stacking them up against each other and picking my very, very favorite ones. 

Then, when I'm working on something, I pull stuff in from these templates and see what best works with what I'm doing. And you'd be surprised how often I choose Omni. Recently I was doing a video on Bela D's Sora. After looking at everything I had, I used Omni's "Waters of the Nile." Once I did that, the video worked for me. I've been working on a version of "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence" using JEO for a long time. I needed a chimey sound, so I spent a few hours making a Chime template, everything from Dulcitones to Sonokinetic's "Chime" to FM sounds. My final choice was a combination of Omni's "Elderly Bells" and M1's "Crystal." I'm not suggesting they are the "best," whatever that means, but they were the ones that fit into my arrangement best. 

Soundiron recently came out with Luminabells 2.0, an experimental percussion library that uses lightbulbs. And I'm sure all of you thought--I sure don't have that. But if you have Omni 2, you have Luminasonic 40 Watt, 100 watt, 150 watt, and 200 watt. You have four kinds of trills. You have a preset that combines a lightbulb and a stapler. You can combine your lightbulb sound with any three other sounds. How do I know about these lightbulb sounds? Because I was digging around looking for chimey stuff. Omni is a rich source, so you have to find your own way to plumb its depths, or a lot of it will go to waste.

For those of you who make trailers or EDM, I bet you have a lot of libraries that specialize in risers and other effects like that. Omnisphere has an entire folder called "Transition Effects." I wonder how many of you remember to try those sounds too. And I also wonder how many of the other transition libraries would offer the level of sound design tools that Omni has to make them your own.

It's impossible for me to explain why I love Omni, but I'll try. There is something about an Omni patch that is full-bodied and muscular when you put a preset up one-to-one against other stuff. It's a personal thing so I can't defend or explain it. To me, Omni patches are like Daniel Day-Lewis or Meryl Streep. Another actor walks in who is a perfectly good actor, even a great actor, but.... 
Maybe it's because the people who worked on these presets are superstars of sound design? Not just Eric Persing, but scores of people like John Lehmkuhl too. 

One thing I have discovered through making these templates is that I often choose patches from Keyscape Creative, the 1200 Keyscape+Omni presets you get when you buy Keyscape. So this is getting me thinking about buying Trilian. I'm happy with my bass sounds, so I've never really thought about doing it. But I strongly suspect that a lot of the presets from the Trilian/Omni "VIP" library are going to make it into my various bass templates.


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## vitocorleone123

I’d never just consider one synth to be “all in one” - but Omni is probably as close as you get. Falcon as well. But... all in one for what?

Different synths have different character - I find that it takes some additional work to make Omnisphere not sound digital, for example. Digital isn't a bad thing or good thing, it's just a thing that works or doesn't for you at the time. I also think there’s a paralysis of choice with it that happens. I find myself reaching for a palette of different top synths rather than Omni, to the point I might just sell it. Many of the presets feel old, and the UI feels a bit dated, but none of that makes the whole thing old or dated - but, if you're a preset person like Omni sort of encourages (but doesn't require), then you'll want to buy some presets every year.

I don’t do movie music.

I’d recommend starting with a quality subtractive synth and learning it really well first before Omni. If you already know what you’re doing, then Omni up.


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## AmbientMile

Form factor is a big key to my choices of plugins I like. I've been using Spectrasonics stuff since Atmosphere, and I just love the workflow. This is a key for my DAW choice as well. These days, they all do great things and sound great, so what works for one, doesn't work for all. I laugh when I see the 1000th person on Quora ask "what's the best.....?" whether it's a plugin or DAW. Same with controllers, there is no "best". It's what feels right for you. 

Back to Omnisphere, it just feels and sounds right to me. On the other hand, Synthmaster, Zebra and others sound great, but the GUIs don't gel with me. Not that I can't use them, I just feel more at home in Omnisphere and I can dial up a sound fast. Another thing that makes me chuckle is when people wonder if Omnisphere is too "old". I think that if Omnisphere is too old, maybe Hans and JXL should pull down those modular walls and chuck them in the trash because they are a slight bit "older" than Omni!


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## InLight-Tone

YES!


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## Ashermusic

FWIW, I tell my Logic students that Logic comes with everything they need to create good sounding music But if there is one third party purchase they should make, it’s Omnisphere.


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## Pier

AmbientMile said:


> Another thing that makes me chuckle is when people wonder if Omnisphere is too "old". I think that if Omnisphere is too old, maybe Hans and JXL should pull down those modular walls and chuck them in the trash because they are a slight bit "older" than Omni!



Analog synths will never go out of fashion, much like guitars or violins, but generally speaking romplers do not age gracefully for many reasons.

I'm not saying Omni is just a rompler or that it hasn't aged well, only that it's a valid concern for people that do not know the product.


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## AmbientMile

I get that and agree. But there are so many classic and varied waveforms (many from classic analog synths) in Omnisphere that it is more "ageless" than almost any other "rompler".


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## dzilizzi

The problem I have with many synths is you start with a basic sound wave (sine, saw, etc...) then fiddle around with the settings to get something you like. But by the time I've fiddled for a while, my ears hurt. I really don't like sine waves. 

With Omni, a lot of the sounds included are natural. Like a guitar or flute. Or you can import your own sounds you like in. Then the fun starts. You can filter, change the ADSR, mess with the modulation and LFO, etc... if you want on each layer. Or you can use the FX and ARP. I think the only thing I would like, and maybe I can do it, is to add certain FX to only one or 2 of the sounds, not all. Same with the ARP. But I threw together a really cool sounding patch in 10 minutes. I really do need to play with this more. 

The other synth(?) I actually like is Absynth. The presets are actually really usable. And you get a big mix of sounds with it. I haven't really played with it much as I have been happy with the presets. And it comes in Komplete, where you also get Reaktor and Massive. Reaktor is a whole world of it's own. It is almost a build your own instrument.


----------



## Bman70

dzilizzi said:


> I think the only thing I would like, and maybe I can do it, is to add certain FX to only one or 2 of the sounds, not all. Same with the ARP. But I threw together a really cool sounding patch in 10 minutes. I really do need to play with this more.



Not sure about the Arp, but under FX you have a Common rack, which I think applies to all A,B,C,D sounds. Then you have an FX rack for each A,B,C,D.


----------



## gsilbers

jsnleo said:


> Hi, I’ve heard of it as one of the best synths more than ten years ago but I never got into the synth world. I’m wondering if it’s still the best all-in-one choice? I know something else will probably sound better in certain ways, or is more analog sounding.
> 
> Because I only tried some presets years ago, I barely remember anything. I remember there were many different categories iirc. Is there another synth that can also do it all, covers many categories?
> 
> I’m thinking of buying it but don’t know if it’s still the best choice when it comes to versatility, and man I never saw it on sale. Like I said I don’t have much experience in synth, so having good presets is kinda a big thing.
> 
> I know some other popular options are u-he, Arturia V Collection, Serum, Synapse Audio Dune and Legend, Sylenth1, VPS Avenger, SynthMaster... But again, is Omnisphere the one I’m looking for? Or any other recommendations? Thanks!



Omni plays more into using real recordings of soundsources. which gives it a great sound for film composers. it also has synth stuff, but imo, these odd soundsources they use it what gives it an inmense potential. 
So it works for synth type of music (EDM, trap etc) but i think its better for cinematic, and lesses synth type of music. gives it a more organic sound. 


omni and u-he dont do sale simple because they play a different business plan than waves or others. 
they one one or two prodcuts which are really good. The sales thing works for companies wiht more prodcuts or ones that dont value their prodcut to delute it in sales.


----------



## Nick Batzdorf

gsilbers said:


> So it works for synth type of music (EDM, trap etc) but i think its better for cinematic, and lesses synth type of music. gives it a more organic sound.



I dunno, if you just add an envelope and filter to the default sawtooth "test" waveform it sounds like a pretty great analog synth to me!


----------



## dzilizzi

Bman70 said:


> Not sure about the Arp, but under FX you have a Common rack, which I think applies to all A,B,C,D sounds. Then you have an FX rack for each A,B,C,D.


That will help somewhat - I'd like to add reverb to some sounds. I also want to be able to arpeggiate one sound while leaving a second steady. It seems like the modulation should do it, but I will have to find the manual to figure it out.


----------



## Pier

dzilizzi said:


> With Omni, a lot of the sounds included are natural. Like a guitar or flute. Or you can import your own sounds you like in. Then the fun starts. You can filter, change the ADSR, mess with the modulation and LFO, etc... if you want on each layer. Or you can use the FX and ARP. I think the only thing I would like, and maybe I can do it, is to add certain FX to only one or 2 of the sounds, not all. Same with the ARP. But I threw together a really cool sounding patch in 10 minutes. I really do need to play with this more.



I've always wished it was possible to use samples in Zebra  

It would open up so many sound design capabilities.

Some synths can do that but they are no Zebra. From the top of my mind: Pigments, Rapid, Alchemy, ANA2, and Absynth.


----------



## dzilizzi

Pier said:


> I've always wished it was possible to use samples in Zebra
> 
> It would open up so many sound design capabilities.
> 
> Some synths can do that but they are no Zebra. From the top of my mind: Pigments, Rapid, Alchemy, ANA2, and Absynth.


It's actually really easy, though I think it will only take wav files. I have to go through my sample files and add them to Omni.


----------



## chimuelo

I’ve been using Omni to make immense 808 Bass patches recently.
It does everything well, but I wish it had Zebra’s Oscillator Range/Attenuate feature.

But EQ can help out when you have the Bass on part 1 and the kick transient on part 2, but want the high ranges of the kick filtered out.

Digital is just better for such parts even though I have great analog 3 oscillator synths, you just can’t tailor the sound like Omni or Zebra could.

Omnisphere always takes you where you want.
Its Waveforms are powerful.
People drive by my house with their nice booming stereo, but I can grab their attention with my dual RCF TT08’s and 12” Sub Making their 808 Bass recording seem polite.


----------



## bill5

jsnleo said:


> Is there another synth that can also do it all, covers many categories?


Most of them, IMO. It's way way more about the skill of the user than the synth.



> I’m thinking of buying it but don’t know if it’s still the best choice when it comes to versatility, and man I never saw it on sale. Like I said I don’t have much experience in synth, so having good presets is kinda a big thing.


They have about a billion of them.  But a lot of (most?) synths have so many presets you're not likely to run out of options with others either. If anything, there are TOO many - in the case of Omni, it'd take years to wade through them all, unless you can afford to sit around all day every day and go through them (even then, God only knows how long!). 



> know some other popular options are u-he, Arturia V Collection, Serum, Synapse Audio Dune and Legend, Sylenth1, VPS Avenger, SynthMaster... But again, is Omnisphere the one I’m looking for? Or any other recommendations? Thanks!


There is obviously no way for anyone to know if it's "the" one for you. It is one of the most versatile and powerful synths around for sure. It's also super expensive so take that into account. And it may be overkill for you too. 

Not knowing synths and buying Omni is kinda like not knowing how to sing and buying a top of the line Neumann mic. It's your money, but I would download some free synths (there are numerous good ones) and get a feel for what kind you prefer, workflow etc.


----------



## bill5

Synetos said:


> You are only talking $500 for Omnisphere. I doubt it will lead to any buyer remorse.


Says the guy who admits to blowing thousands on VSL and regretting it. 

$500 is an extremely high price for a soft synth and a lot of freaking money, even one as powerful as Omni, tho the OP appears willing to spend. Again it's great no doubt, but for us mortals that's a major investment which may be unecessary.


----------



## CT

I wish I could just buy the Atmosphere part of Omnisphere.


----------



## AmbientMile

dzilizzi said:


> That will help somewhat - I'd like to add reverb to some sounds. I also want to be able to arpeggiate one sound while leaving a second steady. It seems like the modulation should do it, but I will have to find the manual to figure it out.


Very easy to do. While the Arp is global on each part, each of the 8 parts of a multi has its own arp, so just create a multi with some parts having the arp turned on. Then just make the multi a stack and you are good to go. Look at Plugin Guru videos where he has 8 different drum sounds in a Multi and uses 8 Arps to make beats. Very cool and fun!


----------



## Nick Batzdorf

bill5 said:


> But a lot of (most?) synths have so many presets you're not likely to run out of options with others either



Right, and it's the same as with everything else (including ideas for cues): there are 50 billion great ones, and not a single one of them is the one you need right now.


----------



## bill5

It really is a sickness. They need a Soft Synthaholics Anonymous


----------



## KEM

I couldn’t live without it, personally


----------



## jsnleo

Hi big thanks to everyone. After a few posts I've already decided to get it. I've also watched some videos and to be honest I don't know why I didn't get it years ago. I don't know how many sounds I'll use, but it is so great to have those. Thanks again!


----------



## vicontrolu

Omni fan here as well.

The only improvable thing IMO is it takes forever sometimes to switch between patches. So if you have an arrangement for your pads and have already done a seacrh like pads-soft-cinematic for example, and you wanna quickly check how the presets sound by clicking the down arrow, the whole thing becomes sloppy compared to purely CPU synths like Diva, etc.

I guess having very fast RAM and a very fast drive (Nvme) could minimize the issue.


----------



## Nick Batzdorf

vicontrolu said:


> The only improvable thing IMO is it takes forever sometimes to switch between patches. So if you have an arrangement for your pads and have already done a seacrh like pads-soft-cinematic for example, and you wanna quickly check how the presets sound by clicking the down arrow, the whole thing becomes sloppy compared to purely CPU synths like Diva, etc.



As you say, that's because it's loading samples.


----------



## Pier

vicontrolu said:


> I guess having very fast RAM and a very fast drive (Nvme) could minimize the issue.



Get an NVMe SSD. If you work a lot with romplers and sample libraries it will change your life.

Faster RAM will help of course, but an SSD will make a much bigger difference (unless you are running a potato).


----------



## sean8877

Does anyone own Arturia Pigments 2 and Omnisphere? I already own Omnisphere and looking for something with a different "flavor" to compliment it. I don't do cinematic music, mostly pop, rock and some electronic stuff. It seems like Pigments might be mostly for cinematic or ambient styles, though I can't really tell from the demos. It's on sale now for $99.


----------



## Pier

sean8877 said:


> Does anyone own Arturia Pigments 2 and Omnisphere? I already own Omnisphere and looking for something with a different "flavor" to compliment it. I don't do cinematic music, mostly pop, rock and some electronic stuff. It seems like Pigments might be mostly for cinematic or ambient styles, though I can't really tell from the demos. It's on sale now for $99.



Pigments can do pretty much any genre. I briefly owned it and it sounds ok, but I didn't really click with it. The main selling point are the UI animations and the modulation options.

Not sure what type of synths are used in rock and pop... Pigments has a modernish precise sound, not very vintage. I guess Arturia got tired of making emulations of old synths.


----------



## Jkist

sean8877 said:


> Does anyone own Arturia Pigments 2 and Omnisphere? I already own Omnisphere and looking for something with a different "flavor" to compliment it. I don't do cinematic music, mostly pop, rock and some electronic stuff. It seems like Pigments might be mostly for cinematic or ambient styles, though I can't really tell from the demos. It's on sale now for $99.



I like Pigments for certain things, but for a lot of classic synth sounds, it ends up sounding kind of weak to me. Maybe I just suck with it. Try creating a basic supersaw texture with it. Falls flat compared to other synths IMO.

However, the way you can mix wavetables with samples is really cool, you can definitely make some unique sounds with it. Also creating complex modulation in Pigments is a freaking breeze once you understand the workflow.


----------



## SupremeFist

Ashermusic said:


> FWIW, I tell my Logic students that Logic comes with everything they need to create good sounding music But if there is one third party purchase they should make, it’s Omnisphere.


That's interesting. Is that because you feel Omni sounds better than Alchemy/ES2/Retro Synth/DMD etc, or because it's easier to use, or has more useful sounds because of the sampling aspect? 

For not much more you could eg advise a student to get Komplete, which comes with a ton of useful samples plus a bunch of killer synths.


----------



## sostenuto

After following this Thread; _might like to paraphrase OP's Thread title to_:
" If Omni2 is best all-in-one choice; what are most 'c_omplementary_' soft-synths ? "

Waffled over several good ones for long time. Have some ..... Repro 1-5, K12U, Massive X. 
Missing Serum, plus others mentioned above.


----------



## BeneJ

Isn't the Korg Wavestate a bit like Omnisphere in a box?


----------



## Nick Batzdorf

Pier said:


> Analog synths will never go out of fashion, much like guitars or violins, but generally speaking romplers do not age gracefully for many reasons.
> 
> I'm not saying Omni is just a rompler or that it hasn't aged well, only that it's a valid concern for people that do not know the product.



It doesn't look like a Moog, but Omnisphere is actually an excellent analog synth, meaning it can do subtractive synthesis as well as anything. You call up a synth waveform (I'm not sure whether they're actually samples or digital oscillators; it makes no difference) and run it through filters and envelopes.

And I'd argue that many if not most of its sampled waveforms - including the "real" instrument ones - aren't the kind that go out of style the way, say, an E-mu Proteus or the Kurzweil 1000PX did. You may well hear yourself coming and going if you stick to the presets, but it takes very little effort to transform them into your own sounds.

So I wouldn't really say that's a concern for people thinking about buying the product.

If I had to choose one synth, it would be the winner. The main reason is what I wrote above: you don't forget how to use it in the heat of battle, because its interface is so intuitive.


----------



## Pier

Nick Batzdorf said:


> So I wouldn't really say that's a concern for people thinking about buying the product.



Right, but my point is that you know that because you've used it.

That can't be said for the vast majority of romplers which I think is the category most people would use for Omni before using it.


----------



## Nick Batzdorf

Pier said:


> Right, but my point is that you know that because you've used it.
> 
> That can't be said for the vast majority of romplers which I think is the category most people would use for Omni before using it.



Ah, got it.

No, it's not a ROMpler.


----------



## vitocorleone123

sean8877 said:


> Does anyone own Arturia Pigments 2 and Omnisphere? I already own Omnisphere and looking for something with a different "flavor" to compliment it. I don't do cinematic music, mostly pop, rock and some electronic stuff. It seems like Pigments might be mostly for cinematic or ambient styles, though I can't really tell from the demos. It's on sale now for $99.



Pigments = good UI, great features, not so amazing sound.

I’d easily recommend a U-He synth (esp, Hive2) or Synapse Audio (eg Dune3), instead. Omni qualifies as well, but is overkill for probably most people.

I advocate for sound quality over feature quantity. That said. There’s a lot of satisfied Pigments owners.


----------



## bill5

SupremeFist said:


> For not much more you could eg advise a student to get Komplete, which comes with a ton of useful samples plus a bunch of killer synths.


"A bunch of killer synths" is pushing it, but it does come with several big hitters IMO that cover a lot of ground (and this from a self-confessed NI hater). And as you say so so much more bang for your buck overall. 

But frankly Omni is about the last thing I would advise students to buy due to cost, and Komplete similar, even though they offer a lot, as students tend to be broke. I'd advise them to try some of the best free ones and get used to working with synths that way. I'd also strongly advise be on the lookout for sales - I got Synthmaster for like a buck and the upgrade for I think $10-20. It's a great synth, and at that price a steal.


----------



## Patryk Scelina

KEM said:


> I couldn’t live without it, personally


Me neither. I remember I was delaying Omnisphere purchase because of it's price and I was buying lots of other VSTs. But when I finally made that step I was angry with myself that I didn't buy it sooner instead of tons of other, cheaper synths.


----------



## jononotbono

TigerTheFrog said:


> For a long time after I got Omnisphere, all I did was load it and play some of my favorite patches, like "Glorious Guitars"



😂 I’ve lost so many evenings just playing with Glorious Guitars. So understand this post.

Omnisphere 2 is one of the best things you can ever buy. You don’t buy this and start having any form of buyers remorse. You buy this and can’t believe you didn’t buy it sooner.


----------



## Robo Rivard

I don't own Omnisphere, but I did get the original "Symphony of Voices" library (and loved it!!)... My question is: is the sample pool for Omnisphere in 16 bits format, or 24 bits?... I'm sure the scripting is much better now, but what would be the point of working with "old", 16 bits libraries?


----------



## CT

I think I have to get Omnisphere....


----------



## Patryk Scelina

Robo Rivard said:


> I don't own Omnisphere, but I did get the original "Symphony of Voices" library (and loved it!!)... My question is: is the sample pool for Omnisphere in 16 bits format, or 24 bits?... I'm sure the scripting is much better now, but what would be the point of working with "old", 16 bits libraries?



I made a sample library for Omnisphere, all with 24 bit / 48 kHz waves. Works great


----------



## Bman70

jononotbono said:


> 😂 I’ve lost so many evenings just playing with Glorious Guitars. So understand this post.
> 
> Omnisphere 2 is one of the best things you can ever buy. You don’t buy this and start having any form of buyers remorse. You buy this and can’t believe you didn’t buy it sooner.



All I do is drag my random collections of samples into it, and sit and jam. A rhythmic envelope or Arp, a few layers and I can just go off like having an album happening in real time.  Haven't even begun to check out the factory sounds yet, but I'm saving my own presets like crazy. And I still have a PluginGuru lib and a The Unfinished lib I haven't investigated yet. 

p.s. not sure if it's US only, but ZZounds has a no-credit check installment plan for Omnisphere now (and Keyscape incidentally). They bill you 1 6th of it per month.


----------



## Keith Theodosiou

Someone just recently posted about the Omnisphere Hardware Intergration. I didn't know about this untill i read that post so i tried it using my Access Virus b and i was amazed!

I used to love Omnisphere, now i absolutely adore it lol!


----------



## C.Franzén

I think Omnisphere is an amazing synth and well worth the price. it has so much stuff that you will never feel uninspired when writing with it. I also love U-He´s stuff, mainly the Zebra and the Diva. Sometimes it can just be nice to have a couple of different ones to chose from, and that difference can in and of itself be inspiring. I think the flexibility in Omnisphere is really good - for instance I like to go to a simple glockenspiel preset and then turn on the arpeggiator and viola, you have a rhythmic part that sounds fantastic. I also like to distort and mangle pads and other stuff, so I would definitely suggest looking under the hood and dare to tweak. sometimes you stumble upon amazing things even when you're not sure where you are going. that, for me, is part of the beauty of synthesizers. so, yes I would definitely recommend it!


----------



## Thudinthenight

SupremeFist said:


> That's interesting. Is that because you feel Omni sounds better than Alchemy/ES2/Retro Synth/DMD etc, or because it's easier to use, or has more useful sounds because of the sampling aspect?
> 
> For not much more you could eg advise a student to get Komplete, which comes with a ton of useful samples plus a bunch of killer synths.



I'm curious about this as well. I have Logic Pro X and a few 3rd party synths, but no Omnisphere. Based on features and functionality, Alchemy seems like it's easily on par with Omnisphere. Omnisphere has the "orb" while Alchemy has that morph grid which is insane. The main difference I can see is that Omni has so much more raw material and more presets. You can create new Alchemy presets using the samples in the Logic sampler though.

One big downside to Alchemy is that it doesn't get much love from 3rd party sound designers. Probably due to it being confined to one platform. And Apple doesn't seem to be doing much in the way of new features.

I'll comment on a few others that I own too:

u-he ZebraHZ - my desert island synth, there was a steep learning curve but after watching the tutorial videos and reading the manual front to back I'm pretty comfortable designing sounds from scratch

u-he Diva - sound design isn't as fun, so I mainly use preset libraries, but it just sounds absolutely glorious.

Pigments2 - I got it on sale, but haven't used it much. The interface is nice but something just seems to be missing from the sound, though in theory it should be able to hold its own against the other two above. Maybe it's just not my style (I lean toward cinematic and not so much EDM)

Then I have demos for a bunch of others.

Omnisphere has always been intriguing though, just not sure it covers any new bases for me since there's no demo. I thing I would LOVE to have is Omnisphere's "sound match" across my other synths. Right now it's brute force effort of searching through dozens of libraries in multiple synths to find a sound that "clicks" for a certain purpose.


----------



## Thudinthenight

BeneJ said:


> Isn't the Korg Wavestate a bit like Omnisphere in a box?



I've heard that as well... I don't own Omnisphere but I do have a Wavestate. In a few respects they are similar based on what I've seen from Omni, for example you can create great atmospheric sounds from source samples. But the wave sequencing is its own thing for sure. It really needs an editor though. And you can't import your own samples.

The wavestate also could be a great hardware controller for Omnisphere - but unfortunately most of the knobs don't output any MIDI, except for the white macro knobs. And Omnisphere wouldn't be able to replicate most of the sounds in the Wavestate.


----------



## ashh

Bman70 said:


> All I do is drag my random collections of samples into it, and sit and jam. A rhythmic envelope or Arp, a few layers and I can just go off like having an album happening in real time.  Haven't even begun to check out the factory sounds yet, but I'm saving my own presets like crazy. And I still have a PluginGuru lib and a The Unfinished lib I haven't investigated yet.
> 
> p.s. not sure if it's US only, but ZZounds has a no-credit check installment plan for Omnisphere now (and Keyscape incidentally). They bill you 1 6th of it per month.



It's like the Internet of sounds, isn't it. A rabbit hole.


----------



## ashh

Thudinthenight said:


> I'm curious about this as well. I have Logic Pro X and a few 3rd party synths, but no Omnisphere. Based on features and functionality, Alchemy seems like it's easily on par with Omnisphere. Omnisphere has the "orb" while Alchemy has that morph grid which is insane. The main difference I can see is that Omni has so much more raw material and more presets. You can create new Alchemy presets using the samples in the Logic sampler though.
> 
> One big downside to Alchemy is that it doesn't get much love from 3rd party sound designers. Probably due to it being confined to one platform. And Apple doesn't seem to be doing much in the way of new features.
> 
> I'll comment on a few others that I own too:
> 
> u-he ZebraHZ - my desert island synth, there was a steep learning curve but after watching the tutorial videos and reading the manual front to back I'm pretty comfortable designing sounds from scratch
> 
> u-he Diva - sound design isn't as fun, so I mainly use preset libraries, but it just sounds absolutely glorious.
> 
> Pigments2 - I got it on sale, but haven't used it much. The interface is nice but something just seems to be missing from the sound, though in theory it should be able to hold its own against the other two above. Maybe it's just not my style (I lean toward cinematic and not so much EDM)
> 
> Then I have demos for a bunch of others.
> 
> Omnisphere has always been intriguing though, just not sure it covers any new bases for me since there's no demo. I thing I would LOVE to have is Omnisphere's "sound match" across my other synths. Right now it's brute force effort of searching through dozens of libraries in multiple synths to find a sound that "clicks" for a certain purpose.



Posts like this are the reason that I trawl these forums. Many thanks.

Your desert island synth? I've never seen such high praise for ZebraHZ. What makes you feel that way about it? Would you mind saying a little more?


----------



## Thudinthenight

Thanks to this thread I've been spending some time in Alchemy again. Holy crap some of the soundscapes are insane.


ashh said:


> Posts like this are the reason that I trawl these forums. Many thanks.
> 
> Your desert island synth? I've never seen such high praise for ZebraHZ. What makes you feel that way about it? Would you mind saying a little more?



Zebra has an extremely flexible sound architecture, with the power of modular without the clutter of cables. It only shows you the modules you're using, you can easily see the signal path, you get a number of synthesis engines (VA oscillators which can also do wavetables and wave morphing), FM, comb filtering, flexible mod assignments including logic functions and key maps, the list goes on and on... and the HZ add-on gets you Diva's sweet analog filters included.

There's also an included FX plugin called "Zebrify" which is a Zebra that uses external sound sources instead of its own oscillators. 

That said, it's a pretty old architecture so there's no MPE support, not so much audio-rate modulation, and not a whole lot of visual feedback on the interface, but Zebra3 is going to be out "soon" with a ground-up rewrite. But because it's old, it's also pretty light on the CPU.

There are other synths as powerful, but I like Zebra because it's the one I actually invested the time to learn!


----------



## ashh

_ It only shows you the modules you're using, you can easily see the signal path_

I was going to say that this is genius. Whatever it is, it certainly makes a lot of sense and sounds like the most helpful synth programming feature. I wonder why it's not more prevalent? I'll be checking ZebraHZ out, thanks.


----------



## dcoscina

For commercial work, it's the Swiss Army knife of plug ins for me. Its range of sound, and expansion capabilities are amazing. I also have Keyscape, Trillian, and Stylus so I get benefits from cross over sounds for them. 

I do like Uhe Zebra however mostly because its footprint is very low (but CPU usage is more- that's the tradeoff)


----------



## Thudinthenight

ashh said:


> _ It only shows you the modules you're using, you can easily see the signal path_
> 
> I was going to say that this is genius. Whatever it is, it certainly makes a lot of sense and sounds like the most helpful synth programming feature. I wonder why it's not more prevalent? I'll be checking ZebraHZ out, thanks.



You can try the free demo of Zebra2, which functions for a little while but then start randomizing the notes you play. You can get a feel for the sound design though.

I wouldn't say it's an "all in one" though especially if you need samples. There's no sample support in Zebra. But combined with Logic (which has Alchemy and the new redesigned sampler plugins) it could have been all I needed. But that didn't stop me from buying other plugins anyway!

But in the absence of THOSE things I'd definitely be looking at Omnisphere. I can see how it's especially useful if you have one of the supported hardware synths.


----------



## bill5

Thudinthenight said:


> You can try the free demo of Zebra2, which functions for a little while but then start randomizing the notes you play. You can get a feel for the sound design though.


You can also do that with Zebralette, which is free and fully functional, but a simplified version of Zebra.


----------



## Pier

bill5 said:


> You can also do that with Zebralette, which is free and fully functional, but a simplified version of Zebra.



U-He also has 2 other free synths btw:

Bazille CM
Tyrell N6
Obviously more limited in features than their bigger brothers, but very capable sound-wise nonetheless!


----------



## Thudinthenight

Pier said:


> U-He also has 2 other free synths btw:
> 
> Bazille CM
> Tyrell N6
> Obviously more limited in features than their bigger brothers, but very capable sound-wise nonetheless!



Both of those are great options. Not great "all-in-one" options of course - but good for somebody maybe with a ton of sample libraries that wants to dip their toes into synthesis.


----------



## bill5

Pier said:


> U-He also has 2 other free synths btw:
> 
> Bazille CM
> Tyrell N6
> Obviously more limited in features than their bigger brothers, but very capable sound-wise nonetheless!


2? They have about 100.


----------



## shropshirelad

I have Trillion & Stylus but they don't get much use due to a combination of their positively stone age interfaces and my failing eyesight. Can't believe the UI hasn't been updated by 2020!


----------



## sostenuto

shropshirelad said:


> I have Trillion & Stylus but they don't get much use due to a combination of their positively stone age interfaces and my failing eyesight. Can't believe the UI hasn't been updated by 2020!



But luv & use 'em anyway. Cheap multiplier glasses always around ...


----------



## vitocorleone123

I think we're reaching a point this year, give or take, where developers who don't update their UI to be resizable, at the very least, will find less business and more and more complaints. Not just Spectrasonics.

Developers who have scalable UIs that you can drag to expand or shrink (e.g., Valhalla) definitely get more use by me than those that do not. I've abandoned some plugins and refuse to try and use them unless and until they're updated.

Comfortably filling a goodly portion of a 1920 x 1080 screen should be the default. Scale up and down from there. Or be forward looking and make the default 4k, with the ability to go lower and higher.

/old man rant at kids who won't update his lawn


----------



## Pier

vitocorleone123 said:


> I think we're reaching a point this year, give or take, where developers who don't update their UI to be resizable, at the very least, will find less business and more and more complaints.



Totally agree.

As a developer I know that a complete update of the UI stack is not an easy task.

OTOH as a user I just won't buy a plugin that doesn't have a resizable UI in 2020. The UI and UX are fundamental to a good software product. I won't spend any more money on mediocre products.

It's incomprehensible that even big companies like Izotope, Arturia, etc, are releasing products (Stutter Edit 2, Pigments 2) that do not work properly on hiDPI monitors. I know because I've experienced those first hand.

And then you have small companies like TAL, Kilohearts, U-He, FabFilter, etc, which do things right.


----------



## shropshirelad

I completely agree, although in Arturias defence, all the V Collection instruments have resizable UIs and look fantastic. I use the brilliant Scuffham amp sim which recently received a superb update with resizable UI. This is a one man operation, which brings shame to the larger co's who don't seem to care about the user experience.


----------



## dylanmixer

I have 30 empty Omnisphere tracks loaded in my template at any given time. It's so versatile.


----------



## Thudinthenight

Well I just ordered Omnisphere. I noticed that my lowly Reface CS was one of the supported hardware synths so that pushed me over the edge, I can park it right next to my main controller.


----------



## Monkey Man

Congrats, man. It's one for the ages. :emoji_beers:


----------



## whinecellar

On one hand, Omnisphere is near-miraculous. I get why so many love it. It truly does have endless possibilities. 

On the other hand, I can see why that might be its Achilles heel for some: it can feel daunting. Options overload. And yeah, silly as it may be, the GUI is so dated and dare I say cartoon-like, it makes it less appealing to some whose brains are wired to tie visuals to what they hear. Which is a shame because it truly can do remarkable things. Personally, it’s rarely a go-to for me - I just don’t get on with the overall aesthetic of it. Dumb maybe, but I know I’m not alone. Whatever.

I just discovered Vengeance Avenger, which has my jaw on the floor. It is absolutely stunning. That gets my vote as a current favorite, among Nexus, Dune 3, and Spire - but I’m heavily drawn to expensive-sounding synth engines. But Avenger veers heavily into film scoring territory with some of its expansion packs - amazing stuff.


----------



## Synetos

whinecellar said:


> On one hand, Omnisphere is near-miraculous. I get why so many love it. It truly does have endless possibilities.
> 
> On the other hand, I can see why that might be its Achilles heel for some: it can feel daunting. Options overload. And yeah, silly as it may be, the GUI is so dated and dare I say cartoon-like, it makes it less appealing to some whose brains are wired to tie visuals to what they hear. Which is a shame because it truly can do remarkable things. Personally, it’s rarely a go-to for me - I just don’t get on with the overall aesthetic of it. Dumb maybe, but I know I’m not alone. Whatever.
> 
> I just discovered Vengeance Avenger, which has my jaw on the floor. It is absolutely stunning. That gets my vote as a current favorite, among Nexus, Dune 3, and Spire - but I’m heavily drawn to expensive-sounding synth engines. But Avenger veers heavily into film scoring territory with some of its expansion packs - amazing stuff.


Is it the GUI arrangement that you like so well with Avenger? 

How do you feel about HALion, and it's lineup of synths/sampling?


----------



## shponglefan

Late to party, but if I could only have a single VST instrument it would be Omnisphere. I own dozens of other VST synths and libraries. But Omnisphere is one that I most conistently come back to. I've been especially impressed with the continuous updates and especially the h/w integration they added in 2.5.

My only complaint about it is that the main visual interface is dated. I'm hoping if/when they release Omnisphere 3, they'll consider giving that an update.


----------



## sean8877

whinecellar said:


> On one hand, Omnisphere is near-miraculous. I get why so many love it. It truly does have endless possibilities.
> 
> On the other hand, I can see why that might be its Achilles heel for some: it can feel daunting. Options overload. And yeah, silly as it may be, the GUI is so dated and dare I say cartoon-like, it makes it less appealing to some whose brains are wired to tie visuals to what they hear. Which is a shame because it truly can do remarkable things. Personally, it’s rarely a go-to for me - I just don’t get on with the overall aesthetic of it. Dumb maybe, but I know I’m not alone. Whatever.
> 
> I just discovered Vengeance Avenger, which has my jaw on the floor. It is absolutely stunning. That gets my vote as a current favorite, among Nexus, Dune 3, and Spire - but I’m heavily drawn to expensive-sounding synth engines. But Avenger veers heavily into film scoring territory with some of its expansion packs - amazing stuff.



Avenger is on sale now for 20% off, I was looking at it myself. Might have to demo it.






Buy Vengeance Sound VST Plugins, Vengeance Sound Instruments and


Buy Vengeance Sound VST Plugins, Vengeance Sound Instruments and Effects, Download Online, Vengeance Sound Free Demo Plugins from Pluginboutique.com




www.pluginboutique.com


----------



## zvenx

Is it already 12 years later? 

Omnisphere would still be my desert island synth. Yes I think it is about the sum of its parts more than its parts (that is you could find a synth that is better at virtual analog (Diva, Repro...), one that is better at granular synth etc..... But I don't think none do all it does and sounds so great.

I like others don't use it everyday, but when I do it always brings a smile to my face.


Avenger sounds really good, but to me it is resource hog. Hope one day they can do even more optimization on it....It is a better sounding, more flexible/programmable Nexus 3..

rsp


----------



## Pier

whinecellar said:


> I just discovered Vengeance Avenger, which has my jaw on the floor. It is absolutely stunning.



Jesus... I always dismissed it since Vengeance are known for their EDM sample packs, but I just checked a video on Avenger and it is a beast of a synth.


----------



## whinecellar

Synetos said:


> Is it the GUI arrangement that you like so well with Avenger?
> 
> How do you feel about HALion, and it's lineup of synths/sampling?



First and foremost, it’s the *sound* - it just sounds insanely good and has so many types of engines under the hood. It sounds expensive - not sure how else to put it!


----------



## Monkey Man

shponglefan said:


> My only complaint about it is that the main visual interface is dated. I'm hoping if/when they release Omnisphere 3, they'll consider giving that an update.


Of course they will mate, just as they did with the Atmosphere->Omni 2 update.


----------



## Reid Rosefelt

Omnisphere _is_ resizable

From the utility button at upper left, you get a dropdown menu with the option to "Magnify Window."
















This is how it looks on my 4k monitor at the largest size. Once you change the size, it will become default and it will open up that way next time.

Keyscape has the same feature.


----------



## Bman70

Avenger does sound like a nice tool. My main requirement is ability to add samples, and it looks like it can. If they have a demo I'll probably check it out. 

I can't see how anyone would get tired of that blue Omnisphere GUI though.. All the others are cluttered and trying to put everything on one page. Omnisphere feels like slipping into a Porsche.. no, an Aston Martin. Simplicity and power and everything is right where you expect it to be.  

A few small quirks, I'll admit. But those are more because everything else is so intuitive that anything slightly less stands out.


----------



## Thudinthenight

Speaking of sales, Omnisphere is a whopping $24 off at B&H Photo right now.

$455 for the boxed version.

So for the regular price of Omnisphere, you can get Omnisphere with enough money left over for an expansion sound set or bottle of inexpensive bourbon.


----------



## shponglefan

Bman70 said:


> I can't see how anyone would get tired of that blue Omnisphere GUI though..



In terms of UI layout it's better than most. But the visuals are dated (e.g. faux-brushed metal, gradients). I just wish they've give it a refresh so it doesn't look quite so circa-2001.

What I really wish is more developers would take the Valhalla approach. Clean, simple, no extraneous visual elements, and good use of shape design, color and contrast.

edited to add: To give them credit, they did finally get rid of the giant handles. That said, there are still a lot of interface elements that could be improved visually.


----------



## Henrik B. Jensen

shponglefan said:


> In terms of UI layout it's better than most. But the visuals are dated (e.g. faux-brushed metal, giant goofy handles, gradients). I just wish they've give it a refresh so it doesn't look quite so circa-2001.
> 
> What I really wish is more developers would take the Valhalla approach. Clean, simple, no extraneous visual elements, and good use of shape design, color and contrast.


I was thinking the exact same thing about their UI. I also had the year 2001 in mind!


----------



## Geoff Grace

As long as the interface doesn't get in the way, I'm fine (and the Omnisphere interface doesn't get in my way). Once I've set up the patch, I'm done looking at the interface anyway.

I've got A LOT of synths, but Omnisphere is last one I'd want to surrender. It sounds great, and it's impressively versatile. If I can't make compelling music with the included 14,000+ patches, then something's wrong.

Best,

Geoff


----------



## AmbientMile

With the years I have invested in Omnisphere (back to Atmosphere), a redesign of the gui would be awful. I already know what everything looks like and where everything is. Having to relearn an interface for the same functions wouldn't make any sense to me. Now, if Spectrasonics overhauls Omnisphere with new features and functions, then I wouldn't mind a new design. But a new gui is LOW on my want list.


----------



## Henrik B. Jensen

AmbientMile said:


> With the years I have invested in Omnisphere (back to Atmosphere), a redesign of the gui would be awful. I already know what everything looks like and where everything is. Having to relearn an interface for the same functions wouldn't make any sense to me. Now, if Spectrasonics overhauls Omnisphere with new features and functions, then I wouldn't mind a new design. But a new gui is LOW on my want list.


Makes total sense. I didn’t consider this from a long term user‘s perspective.


----------



## sonicatoms

AmbientMile said:


> With the years I have invested in Omnisphere (back to Atmosphere), a redesign of the gui would be awful. I already know what everything looks like and where everything is. Having to relearn an interface for the same functions wouldn't make any sense to me. Now, if Spectrasonics overhauls Omnisphere with new features and functions, then I wouldn't mind a new design. But a new gui is LOW on my want list.


That's understandable. We all have muscle memory and it's always annoying when you need to unlearn what you have learned. But on the other hand it is sometimes necessary to reinvent something to make new features intuitive and make room for them. Sometimes you can't just add more and more apples to the same basket.
Music software is actually quite stable in terms of GUI evolution.

This is perhaps not the best example on this forum but in 3D software world you can see changes a bit better. 3DS Max for instance is a software which adds more and more features without changing it's core and it just getting more and more messy. Blender 3D on the other hand is an open source 3D software which is redesigned from ground up every few years. It hurts when you have to switch but with every redesign comes significant functionality boost.


----------



## jsnleo

Well guys, I’ve received my Omnisphere but I’m a little bit overwhelmed. Have no idea where to start and just playing with the presets will take me years...

I’ve also bought the Keyscape and Trilian. I’ve been wanting to get the Keyscape but always told myself I’d had enough piano libraries.

Anyways I gotta find some Omni presets. It’s just too powerful for someone like me.


----------



## sonicatoms

jsnleo said:


> Well guys, I’ve received my Omnisphere but I’m a little bit overwhelmed. Have no idea where to start and just playing with the presets will take me years...
> 
> I’ve also bought the Keyscape and Trilian. I’ve been wanting to get the Keyscape but always told myself I’d had enough piano libraries.
> 
> Anyways I gotta find some Omni presets. It’s just too powerful for someone like me.


Take your time. If you don't want to discover it by yourself, I remember there are 2 or 3 video courses on Ask Audio about basics and sound design in Omnisphere. I'm sure there are some free ones on Youtube as well, but those on Ask Audio shows step by step all windows and features of Omnisphere.


----------



## Markrs

jsnleo said:


> Well guys, I’ve received my Omnisphere but I’m a little bit overwhelmed. Have no idea where to start and just playing with the presets will take me years...
> 
> I’ve also bought the Keyscape and Trilian. I’ve been wanting to get the Keyscape but always told myself I’d had enough piano libraries.
> 
> Anyways I gotta find some Omni presets. It’s just too powerful for someone like me.





sonicatoms said:


> Take your time. If you don't want to discover it by yourself, I remember there are 2 or 3 video courses on Ask Audio about basics and sound design in Omnisphere. I'm sure there are some free ones on Youtube as well, but those on Ask Audio shows step by step all windows and features of Omnisphere.



lots of tutorials on YouTube. I personally recommend one by Jack from Lean Musician  his otherUdemy/ Skillshare courses are also very good.


----------



## Geoff Grace

Since you have Keyscape too, don't forget to download the Keyscape Creative patches that make great use of Omnisphere's power with Keyscape's samples.

Best,

Geoff


----------



## Bman70

jsnleo said:


> Well guys, I’ve received my Omnisphere but I’m a little bit overwhelmed. Have no idea where to start and just playing with the presets will take me years...
> 
> I’ve also bought the Keyscape and Trilian. I’ve been wanting to get the Keyscape but always told myself I’d had enough piano libraries.
> 
> Anyways I gotta find some Omni presets. It’s just too powerful for someone like me.



I'm excited on your behalf!  
When I bought Omnisphere last month, I simultaneously purchased a Plugin Guru preset pack, as well as one by The Unfinished. Highly recommend those. However, I've yet to use them since I immediately got absorbed in importing my own samples. 

To start off, the Arp and Rhythmic Envelopes are always fun. Envelopes are great on pads or sustained sounds. In the lower right, you'll see Amp should be lit up by default, then just open the Envelopes dropdown. There are four envelopes that affect all your layers, and each layer can have two of its own.


----------



## Thudinthenight

OK, so my Omnisphere USB package arrived yesterday and I installed it.

After playing with it for a bit (while also trying to work and assist kids with remote learning) I've come to a few immediate conclusions:

1) Holy sh** I should have bought this earlier, maybe instead of a couple other sample instruments I bought during summer sales recently.

2) One of my favorite aspects is how every single patch has some informative text commentary, like how to get the most of that patch, or some background information on the sampled instrument. It really shows the time and effort put into the library.

3) Multis are a lot of fun

4) My Wavestate is feeling a bit jealous (though different tools), it's hard to compare 2GB of sample material vs. 60+ GB

5) The interface is very clean, doesn't overwhelm you with info you don't need. It looks "dated" in some respects but I wouldn't completely redo it, just add some more visual feedback perhaps but keep the layout the same. Pretty easy to get around if you know the basics of synthesis.

6) Multis are a ton of fun (again), latch mode is sweet, and the Orb is crazy


Minor complaints:

A small number of patches are throwing errors. Primarily guitar patches for some reason. I might have some corrupted files, I have emailed support.

Reface CS hardware integration isn't SUPER useful, and I actually like the sound from the hardware synth better than the Omnisphere version. Some of the controls don't do the same thing as the hardware because FM and Ring Mod aren't a 1-to-1 mapping. BUT you can assign multiple LFO's which you can't do with the hardware. I would rather have a much knobbier synth for hardware control (Roland SE02 would be nice).

Summary... an extremely impressive package, Alchemy no longer compares, and I have no excuse not to be writing music except that I keep just endlessly messing with presets!


----------



## AmbientMile

Yeah, Omni is a rabbit hole of presets. As I said in an earlier post, I go back to Atmosphere, and I'm sure that I haven't tried every patch yet. Endless fun for sure!


----------



## AmbientMile

Oh yeah, for those that just got Omnisphere, go play with the patch "Glorious Guitars". Not the most useful (since everyone has heard it), but its a blast to play!


----------



## Monkey Man

Congrats @Thudinthenight !

Rock on, mate. :emoji_beers:


----------



## Daniel Bailey

shponglefan said:


> To give them credit, they did finally get rid of the giant handles.



I used those handles all the time when I had to load up my car


----------



## DoFuzz

Hi

I just managed to buy a "second-hand copy" of Omnisphere - so I'm happy to be stuck with it - and after some great help from Brian (Spectrasonics support) everything seems to work fine and already many smiles just auditioning preset sounds ... so far so good.

Cheers, DoFuzz


----------



## el-bo

DoFuzz said:


> Hi
> 
> I just managed to buy a "second-hand copy" of Omnisphere - so I'm happy to be stuck with it - and after some great help from Brian (Spectrasonics support) everything seems to work fine and already many smiles just auditioning preset sounds ... so far so good.
> 
> Cheers, DoFuzz



My desert-island instrument. Have fun!


----------



## sostenuto

DoFuzz said:


> Hi
> 
> I just managed to buy a "second-hand copy" of Omnisphere - so I'm happy to be stuck with it - and after some great help from Brian (Spectrasonics support) everything seems to work fine and already many smiles just auditioning preset sounds ... so far so good.
> 
> Cheers, DoFuzz



Such a massive ( _pardon the pun_ ) amount of quality, video tutorials to get you to any level of competence you choose. A huge source is pluginguru.com on YT and his site. One of most capable creators and users around. His many Livestreams are often filled with great content, especially prior to his own UNIFY development. Enjoy !


----------



## Ashermusic

I will say what I told one of my Logic Pro students yesterday: if you are going to purchase one thing and one thing only to supplement all the software instruments that are part of Logic, it should be Omnisphere. It is the Swiss Army knife of software instruments.


----------



## peladio

It absolutely is..probably the best virtual instrument and synth ever created


----------



## ookami

I bought Omnisphere, back when it was released, it was my first Synth and I was using it every Day.
I do not know at all how I could ever stop using it, but I did when I didn't install it on my MBP to which I switched in 2011. And now all these Years later I just found the CD's and installed it back on our Ryzen 9 Machine, and boy what should I say :D
It is still as impressive as it was back then, how in the World could I live so many Years without it!!!


----------



## ReleaseCandidate

Ashermusic said:


> It is the Swiss Army knife of software instruments.



That's true, altough maybe more of a Leatherman. With all pros and cons of a one-in-all solution.
Also it's preset heaven, there is no other synth with that many presets available.


----------



## DoFuzz

Hi guys,

thx for the additional info on videos and the stuff I need to get more familiar with being a mere guitar player  .... so lots of stuff to learn!

Cheers, DoFuzz


----------



## mrfuzztone

Surprising that a lot of people don't seem to know that Omnisphere has full synth capabilities. It certainly is not just sample playback software.
Besides the presets that come with Omnisphere, there are a zillion other presets from lots of sound designers such as: Luftrum, The Unfinished, Sonic Underworld, PluginGuru, Rocky Mountain Sounds, Hollo Sound, RDH, Planet Omnisphere, VintageSynthPresets, New Loops, Subsonic Artz, Triple Spiral Audio, and a lot more ...
A good tutorial class on Udemy.
Diva and Zebra are both great. People seem to overlook Synapse Audio Dune 3. Dune 3 has great sounds but could use a preset browser upgrade. Lush 101 also sounds very good.
Full Bucket has good sounding synths for free or a donation.
I am an old guy who is lucky enough to be able to buy software synths and presets and spend time on them. Amazing stuff is available. I have a LOT of software synths. JP6K also good and many more.
Of course I have Repro 1 and 5, XILS 505, VPS Avenger, Roland JP-3X and 106, Korg stuff, the Arturia synths, Sylenth1, Soniccouture Attic 2, TAL-U-NO-LX, OB-Xtreme, Spitfire eDNA, and ...


----------



## labornvain

jsnleo said:


> Well guys, I’ve received my Omnisphere but I’m a little bit overwhelmed. Have no idea where to start and just playing with the presets will take me years...
> 
> I’ve also bought the Keyscape and Trilian. I’ve been wanting to get the Keyscape but always told myself I’d had enough piano libraries.
> 
> Anyways I gotta find some Omni presets. It’s just too powerful for someone like me.


 The best advice I can give you in using Omnisphere is to save every patch that you stumble across and really like as a favourite.

Here are the instructions on how to do this.









Favorites - Omnisphere 2 - 2.8


The Favorites feature in Omnisphere provides a familiar and convenient way of rating and organizing sounds in the library. You identify Favorites by applying...




support.spectrasonics.net





Because there are so many patches in Omnisphere, it's really easy to find a patch that you love, and then never find it again.

So whenever I'm browsing through patches, even if its not the kind of sound that I'm looking for at the time, If I happen across a really cool sound I will star it.

I really wish I had thought to do this from the beginning.


----------



## jcrosby

mrfuzztone said:


> Surprising that a lot of people don't seem to know that Omnisphere has full synth capabilities. It certainly is not just sample playback software.
> Besides the presets that come with Omnisphere, there are a zillion other presets from lots of sound designers such as: Luftrum, The Unfinished, Sonic Underworld, PluginGuru, Rocky Mountain Sounds, Hollo Sound, RDH, Planet Omnisphere, VintageSynthPresets, New Loops, Subsonic Artz, Triple Spiral Audio, and a lot more ...
> A good tutorial class on Udemy.
> Diva and Zebra are both great. People seem to overlook Synapse Audio Dune 3. Dune 3 has great sounds but could use a preset browser upgrade. Lush 101 also sounds very good.
> Full Bucket has good sounding synths for free or a donation.
> I am an old guy who is lucky enough to be able to buy software synths and presets and spend time on them. Amazing stuff is available. I have a LOT of software synths. JP6K also good and many more.
> Of course I have Repro 1 and 5, XILS 505, VPS Avenger, Roland JP-3X and 106, Korg stuff, the Arturia synths, Sylenth1, Soniccouture Attic 2, TAL-U-NO-LX, OB-Xtreme, Spitfire eDNA, and ...


Amen to that. In addition to having a killer library of samples Omnisphere is a full blown synthesizer with the same oscillator options you'll see in any other subtractive synth. It also has 400 wavetables and does FM, RM, has sub-oscillators (4! per oscillator, all of which can be assigned to different wavetables. Try that in Serum/Massive X/Pigments, etc, etc....) and it has the lushest unison of all the synth VIs I own. The last one's obviously subjective. But IMO Omnisphere's unison crushes anything other synth short of maybe Falcon's Thorus.

Pretty sure people who don't like Omnisphere tend to be people who stick to presets...(And it's not like the presets are bad ) My guess is these people just get overwhelmed by the amount of presets, which ironically the perfect argument for opening up the hood and learning how to make it do what you want. 

Granted the engine is intimidating, but once you get under the hood Omnisphere has an insane arsenal at your disposal. It's anything but 'just a sample player'. Anyone who says that hasn't put any kind of effort into making their own patches or editing existing ones.


----------



## bill5

mrfuzztone said:


> Surprising that a lot of people don't seem to know that Omnisphere has full synth capabilities. It certainly is not just sample playback software.


? Really? I don't think I've encountered anyone who knew about it that didn't know it did. In fact, if anything, it's the reverse; they think that's all or mostly what it is. When I first heard about it, that was my assumption as well.


----------



## shponglefan

bill5 said:


> ? Really? I don't think I've encountered anyone who knew about it that didn't know it did. In fact, if anything, it's the reverse; they think that's all or mostly what it is. When I first heard about it, that was my assumption as well.


Because Omnisphere is reknowned for having a huge sample library, some people assume it's just a rompler. I've seen a lot of people make that comment over the years, although it usually comes from people who haven't used it.


----------



## bill5

I guess that shows you what I know about it. I thought it was reknowned for being a huge synth.


----------



## AndreBoulard

if i had nothing to have and wanted to buy something! my first one was omnisphere hands down. here is too many things about it that i just cant recommend it more. first purchase makes you not only super versitile right of the bat but also gives you the ability to compose in so many different style which basically you can not find anywhere else. you can do epic to the most softest things. the dynamics that ominsphere gives you in return is priceless. some could invest thousands of dollars in so many different things and omnisphere would supply mostly stuff you need in one place with no even breaking the bank for what you get. 

it is insane and its simply impossible to go wrong with this. they put so much love to this company and their instrument which you can see into it everytime you start composing with it.

i do not use its much because i have spent so much money on several other things but 500$ first hand instrument no brainer and is a must have in my list. 

the combination of native komplete ultimate and this, your set on so many levels thatyou would need to really dig into hours of research to find what you really need.

if i were to get one or the other omnisphere would be a close match to komplete ulitmate and its half the cost.


----------



## Trash Panda

I could have saved a lot of time on synths by just getting Omnisphere and calling it a day. Only buyers remorse is not getting it sooner.


----------



## Mr Greg G

Do you guys also have crackles when loading the Armando Pluck or Big Boomer presets? I found old threads about this issue with these presets but couldn't find a solution.


----------



## Bman70

Where else could you have this much fun with a kitchen utensil?  
This preset was made from tones I recorded from a glass measuring cup, which makes a sort of singing bowl tone when rubbed. I put the samples in two Omnisphere layers, added some filters, and set the modwheel to bring in textural ornaments, brighter timbre, and a rhythmic component. At some point you just have to decide to stop tweaking, because you can always add or remove layers, filters etc. Really a practically unlimited sonic playground.


----------



## darthdeus

labornvain said:


> The best advice I can give you in using Omnisphere is to save every patch that you stumble across and really like as a favourite.
> 
> Here are the instructions on how to do this.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Favorites - Omnisphere 2 - 2.8
> 
> 
> The Favorites feature in Omnisphere provides a familiar and convenient way of rating and organizing sounds in the library. You identify Favorites by applying...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> support.spectrasonics.net
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Because there are so many patches in Omnisphere, it's really easy to find a patch that you love, and then never find it again.
> 
> So whenever I'm browsing through patches, even if its not the kind of sound that I'm looking for at the time, If I happen across a really cool sound I will star it.
> 
> I really wish I had thought to do this from the beginning.


I'd also suggest just hitting the shuffle button and going through a few random patches and rating them every now and then. There's just so much stuff in Omni and since a lot of the patches are similar I found it quite unbearable to just go through them one by one linearly (it gets quite hard to "objectively" rate them when you're onto 10th guitar in a row lol). But with shuffle it's a lot of fun and you often discover some new interesting sounds.


----------



## Monkey Man

Bman70 said:


> This preset was made from tones I recorded from a glass measuring cup, which makes a sort of singing bowl tone when rubbed.


Did you loop the samples first, and if so, how?

Thanks mate. Nice effort.


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## Bman70

Monkey Man said:


> Did you loop the samples first, and if so, how?
> 
> Thanks mate. Nice effort.


No the looping is done in Omnisphere automatically it seems... the dragged-in samples were just 7 seconds long, but holding the keys down / sustain pedal makes notes as long as you want. Actually I'm curious how you would turn that off, since it probably would be nice to have it only play a few seconds for some uses. Back to the manual I guess .

Edit: Not so simple, the note is 7 seconds long if played at the exact pitch recorded. Lower keys make longer notes, higher pitch shorter. It just happened to sound good so I left it at default.


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## Monkey Man

Exactly. You had me all-excited there for a moment.

I know there are apps out there that you can loop in, but I wonder if one could use, say, Falcon to embed loops and use the resulting .wav files.

If so, I wonder what the restrictions are. My preferred method is often the forwards-and-backwards one 'cause it avoids having to marry up "joins" as a playback engine moves from end-point to start-point. I fell in love with this method back in the EPS / ASR-10 days and I don't know if Falcon (the only "sampler" I have now) does it.

Just putting' this out there. Thank you again, mate.


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## Bman70

Monkey Man said:


> Exactly. You had me all-excited there for a moment.
> 
> I know there are apps out there that you can loop in, but I wonder if one could use, say, Falcon to embed loops and use the resulting .wav files.
> 
> If so, I wonder what the restrictions are. My preferred method is often the forwards-and-backwards one 'cause it avoids having to marry up "joins" as a playback engine moves from end-point to start-point. I fell in love with this method back in the EPS / ASR-10 days and I don't know if Falcon (the only "sampler" I have now) does it.
> 
> Just putting' this out there. Thank you again, mate.



If you apply "granular" in a synthesizer that has it, that pretty much will make the sample last longer than you'd want to use, making loop less necessary. I held a key down and my 7-second sample played for 50 seconds before it started to fade. 

But, granular changes the sound quite a bit. It sort of parses the sample section by section and digests it using some algorithm to spit out audio. Colossally powerful tool though when you want to just explore your sample. Besides Omnisphere, there are some more standalone granular synths like Venom and Portal.


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## doctoremmet

I bet Falcon can do this. MSoundFactory too.


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## Monkey Man

Bman70 said:


> If you apply "granular" in a synthesizer that has it, that pretty much will make the sample last longer than you'd want to use, making loop less necessary. I held a key down and my 7-second sample played for 50 seconds before it started to fade.
> 
> But, granular changes the sound quite a bit. It sort of parses the sample section by section and digests it using some algorithm to spit out audio. Colossally powerful tool though when you want to just explore your sample. Besides Omnisphere, there are some more standalone granular synths like Venom and Portal.


Granular's a different beast altogether of course; it _drastically_ changes the sound.


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## doctoremmet

Monkey Man said:


> Granular's a different beast altogether of course; it _drastically_ changes the sound.


Absolutely. What you’re looking for basically is some form of intelligent mutli-sampled key mapping / timestretching. Wasn’t “elastic audio” a thing, a few decades ago?


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## Monkey Man

Yeah, it'd be nice if Omni had formant-intelligent mapping across the keyboard, Emmet.

Back in the '90s I was convinced that it was the future for samplers 'cause in theory one would be able to get away with a single sample per-instrument, ignoring layering of course. I underestimated the explosion in memory and storage space that ensued, which I s'pose took the pressure off development of that approach.

Nevertheless, no, that's not what I'm looking for. I was just curious how folks looped their samples prior to importing into Omni 'cause the VI lacks the functionality that allows one to set loop points. It plays them back just-fine, but if you create the samples yourself...


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## clipnotic

jsnleo said:


> Hi, I’ve heard of it as one of the best synths more than ten years ago but I never got into the synth world. I’m wondering if it’s still the best all-in-one choice? I know something else will probably sound better in certain ways, or is more analog sounding.
> 
> Because I only tried some presets years ago, I barely remember anything. I remember there were many different categories iirc. Is there another synth that can also do it all, covers many categories?
> 
> I’m thinking of buying it but don’t know if it’s still the best choice when it comes to versatility, and man I never saw it on sale. Like I said I don’t have much experience in synth, so having good presets is kinda a big thing.
> 
> I know some other popular options are u-he, Arturia V Collection, Serum, Synapse Audio Dune and Legend, Sylenth1, VPS Avenger, SynthMaster... But again, is Omnisphere the one I’m looking for? Or any other recommendations? Thanks!


Omnisphere is one of the best synths, because it can do almost everthing and I use it on many tracks, but I also use Dune3, Sylenth, Avenger, Nexus ... because all of them have their own strengths. But that also depends on the music I make. For Trance and "modern" EDM stuff I mostly use Sylenth, Nexus and Dune3. For DnB, Industrial, Dark Electro, IDM I often use Serum and Rapid, but for Ambient, Cinematic and Orchestral stuff Omisphere with some 3rd Party soundsets.


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## Monkey Man

Of course, Omnisphere can cover those genres pretty-well too.


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