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Omnisphere for musicians?


eclipseML

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I've been really intrigued with omnisphere and almost everything on the software that i have heard on youtube video's. the only problem is that it seems most of the reviews I've read about it seem to be from film composers and jingle guys writing to those respective readers. Now, I bought the software, but before I open it up and install it, is this synth something that is actually suited for a musician as well? I write and play mostly metal, rock, acoustic music that could use a touch of VSTi lovin', and dabble a bit into kind of spacey atmosphere instrumental whathaveyou stuff. this would also be my first major VSTi outside of drum sampling.

 

If anyone owns this software or has spent any significant time using it, their opinion would be radical. Much thanks.

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I don't own Omnisphere, but I'm eyeing it as a future purchase.

 

The reason people say that it's suited for those professions is because they have tight deadlines and need lots of material fast. Omnisphere gives you a boatload of sounds that are usable for this right out of the box. Nothing says you can't use it for regular music; it's just that most of the stuff that's included gives you instant soundtrack material. Besides a big library, it's got a pretty capable sample-playback synthesizer underneath with lots of control.

 

Let's compare apples with oranges; if you'd get a free VST like Synth1, it doesn't have much in the way of on-board effects. It also doesn't do anything like layering by its own; if you want complex arpeggios while pad sounds swirl and evolve beneath it, all lathered in luxurious reverb, it means you have to create say, 4 or 5 instances of the plugin and use your DAW's effects to get what you want.

 

A pad sound like this cost me 3-4 NI plugins and effects to make; in Omnisphere you have something like it as a single preset, instantly recalled.

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Yep. I do own Omnisphere FYI. Omnisphere's strength is its sample-playback library and the layering architecture (IMHO it's virtual analog engine is so-so, but hey, it's included...).

 

There are a lot of presets that are instantly useful, but they do tend to lean towards the overdramatic type of things you hear in films. However, I've personally found the sample library to be useful in itself for creating more subtle atmospheres for music as well. It's a pretty powerful synth.

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the only problem is that it seems most of the reviews I've read about it seem to be from film composers and jingle guys writing to those respective readers. Now, I bought the software, but before I open it up and install it, is this synth something that is actually suited for a musician as well? .

 

I'll break it to ya gently: film composers and jingle guys are musicians too.;)

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Omnisphere is a very capable software instrument that has a wide range of available sounds out of the box and is very tweakable. I would say that there are certain minuses, the largest being that you cannot load your own samples. However the included library is quite huge and it would not be surprising to see it increased in the future. The included library is also sonically very good and varied.

 

Before you open the box, however, I would take a very serious look at Camel Audio Alchemy. Camel Audio is having a group buy right now (up till Nov 16 2009) and you can get it for half price ($125) because the number of people who signed up for the group buy is already very large. I would say that Alchemy appeals to me more as a synth for tweaking and making interesting noises. You can import your own samples or SFZ-files (these are like scripts for setting up samples, mapping to keyboard, velocity ranges, etc., and other parameters) and also do funky things like use imported images as sonograms for generating noises. If you want to hear pads for Alchemy like the kind Yoozer posted above (sounds awesome btw) then check out the sound samples for BigTone Alchemy sound pack for Alchemy which you can also get as part of the group buy for just $29.

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Just open it, it's a very good synth. I was recording with a mopho and sh-09 and I swear after all the mixing/eqing, a bass patch or two out of the box from omni sounded just as good and it took no time at all.

 

Of course people will have their opinions about the quality and nature of the filter, etc. Bottom line is it sounds great. For the price of a f**king microKorg, you really can't go wrong.

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I'll break it to ya gently: film composers and jingle guys are musicians too.
;)

 

silly me. of course they are. lets pretend that instead of musicians, i said something like "pop/mainstream songwriters" or "band musicians".

 

i know what you mean yoozer. i was having some fun with xpand2 for a bit just because it facilitated blending multiple sounds in one instance of the plug-in...but unfortunately it still sounds like xpand unless you put, like, ALOT of work into creating a patch.

 

Hey Gribs, Alchemy sounds amazing. unfortunately since i am new to synthesizing, i really didn't understand most of the interface demo, but the audio demos were great. i think i will stick with omnisphere since it sounds like i will enjoy it alot and i got it for a steal, but in the future, a second great virtual synth can't hurt. really, alchemy so far sounds like its up there with the coolest synths i've heard, and at the end of the day with my limited technical knowledge, i want something that just sounds really good.

 

i think what i need is something that has lots of simple patches, and lots of complex, dense patches that i can trim down to be complex but subtle. once i develop synthesizing chops, then i can probably create my own layered pads and sounds that sound great and well crafted.

 

hmm heres a thought. is it wise to jump into a synth like this without alot of experience? i've really only used xpand, and then a touch of reason and kontakt player here and there at school.

 

wow, the alchemy sounds and songs are still playing back from another tab and they just don't seem to get lame.

 

i type too much.:facepalm:

 

everyone's feedback is wonderful though. i appreciate it a lot.

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Omnisphere has a great plug-and-play preset library to start with. Go ahead and just open it already! It will take you about 4-5 hours to install so you might as well get started.

 

I forgot to say that you also get a wicked effects rack with Omnisphere.

 

I hope you have a decent processor and memory!

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i'm pretty sure my computer will do well. it has a 2.2GHz Intel Core Duo 2 blah blah processor and 4GB of RAM. the processor worried me for a while because spectrasonics' website recommends 2.4GHz but the omni box says 2GHz, but a couple of people i've met that have used it said it should be fine.

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Alright, I decided to install omni. I inserted the first disc, my computer thought for about 20 seconds, and then spit the disc back out. :facepalm: Ridiculous. I then called the Apple store and was told that my laptop disc drive should be able to read dual layer DVD's. They are going to take a look at it.

 

I thought I would share that little moment; it's funny that after all of that careful consideration the computer just goes "nope."

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Don't worry, eclipse. Those "little moments" happen to all of us.


And often more than once.
:thu::mad::D

 

Yeah, a somewhat similar story:

 

Friday I shelled out $79 for the Absynth5 upgrade. I went to install it and......

 

"This program requires Mac OS 10.5 or later." :facepalm:

 

So, I also had to pony up $169 for the "Mac Box Set" because they won't let 10.4 users upgrade to Snow Leopard for $29. :rolleyes:

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We are the music makers,

And we are the dreamers of dreams,

Wandering by lone sea-breakers,

And sitting by desolate streams;

World-losers and world-forsakers,

On whom the pale moon gleams:

Yet we are the movers and shakers

Of the world for ever, it seems.

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