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

[Pier]

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]

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]

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.

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[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]

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]

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]

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.

 

[TigerTheFrog]

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]

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]

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.