omisphere... i dont get the big deal.

[glitchrock-buddha]

The iPad app is dissapointing in Ableton though. Doesn't allow any app tweaks to be recorded in Ableton (though Cubase works fine)

Sure it does. You just have to enable automation. But that's how Omni is with or without the ipad app.

[jestermgee]

The iPad app is dissapointing in Ableton though. Doesn't allow any app tweaks to be recorded in Ableton (though Cubase works fine)

Sure it does. You just have to enable automation. But that's how Omni is with or without the ipad app.

Can you confirm this?

I have no issue controlling omnisphere with the TR app. Controls move on screen in omnipresent and it affects the sound but if I map a control into Ableton when I make a move on the TR app it moves the control fine in Omnisphere but not in Ableton... If I move the control in omnisphere with the mouse it moves in abelton and TR.

[glitchrock-buddha]

The iPad app is dissapointing in Ableton though. Doesn't allow any app tweaks to be recorded in Ableton (though Cubase works fine)

Sure it does. You just have to enable automation. But that's how Omni is with or without the ipad app.

Can you confirm this?

I have no issue controlling omnisphere with the TR app. Controls move on screen in omnipresent and it affects the sound but if I map a control into Ableton when I make a move on the TR app it moves the control fine in Omnisphere but not in Ableton... If I move the control in omnisphere with the mouse it moves in abelton and TR.

hmmm, I was sure I'd done this. But now I'm doubting myself since it sounds like you've done exactly what I would do. I will check it out tonight when I'm at home. Keep in mind that you have to enable both "radius" and "scene" from the orb. You can only enable and configure one at a time so you time to hit "switch to radius mode" (if it's in scene or vice verse) and then enable and configure. So the orb should be two parameters in ableton's device view.

[ze2be]

I don't get the hype over women's vagina. I can get everything I need out of my hand at 1/20th the effort, hassle, and time. And the steep learning curve and fucking around with the unstable operating system just to get something ho hum out of the vagina before it crashes is a big joke.

Yet people heap nothing but praise on it.

[ze2be]

I love Omni, it replaced both my Virus TI2 and Zebra2 for me. You can completely ignore all the sample content and you still get a brilliant synth in it's own right.

I get what your guys are saying. And, say it uses 200mb ram. When using all 8 channels, that's just 25mb/each synth. Thats absolutely acceptable, as most good single synths use around that amount of ram. It could replace the Virus Ti very well.. Its this or Alchemy. Im not totally convinced with Alchemy, although I like it.

[glitchrock-buddha]

I love Omni, it replaced both my Virus TI2 and Zebra2 for me. You can completely ignore all the sample content and you still get a brilliant synth in it's own right.

I get what your guys are saying. And, say it uses 200mb ram. When using all 8 channels, that's just 25mb/each synth. Thats absolutely acceptable, as most good single synths use around that amount of ram. It could replace the Virus Ti very well.. Its this or Alchemy. Im not totally convinced with Alchemy, although I like it.

The first instance takes about 240 mb ram or so, each successive one takes about half that or just over. That's without any samples loaded though. I'll usually use a few instances in a track and only have a couple instruments in each instance. I do think that's a lot for not having loaded any samples but at least there's the memory server which lets you access ram outside your host in 32 bit.

The RAM demand from Omni is one reason why it hasn't replaced many of my simple vintage style synths like moogs and oddity etc. The advantage of Omni though is that you can use like a simple vintage synth and it'll sound great (especially with the Trilian synth library, oh my god), but you have way more versatility because there are so many diggerent types of filters and so many different sounding oscillators thanks to the huge sample source library of synths. Many synths tend to have a similar character no matter what, but the huge filter and sample library gives it lots of different sounds to work with.

[mholloway]

Most all of the negative comments I see on Omnisphere slam it for the "huge library," suggesting it's a mere ROMpler that encourages preset-use....I get it, sure, but what these people always seem to overlook is the huge, huge, huge -sample- content Omnisphere also comes with -- not presets, but waveforms to load into the INIT patch, many of which are sampled raw from classic analog synth, and many others of which are fine sample content, and ALL of which can be used to build from-scratch patches of your own, same as you'd do with any other soft-synth, but with vastly wider material to draw from. it's called the "Soundsource Browser" and I encourage any naysayer to check it out!

-M

[duro]

I love this beast. I've been using it now for 6 months and I use it in every track. Granted I don't write boom boom, wha-wha, dancefloor shaking, electro hypity-hype-step. So the cinematic patches it has are a welcome sound to me. Plus, when you combine this with Trillian, it's basically got every synth I could ever want sampled up the wazoo. I love bypassing the preset database, and going right to the Soundsources. Layer a few of these up, tweaky tweak, run it through the super fat filters it has, and load up some of the pretty clean on-board FX, and I've designed my own sound that makes the girlies go....Ooooo.

Now just to find the $$$ to clear my conscious and give up the eternal trial version I've been using.

[ze2be]

Can the tuning be locked, like Alchemy? Say you want to try a different tuning while flicking through a bunch of presets. On some tunable synths, this cant be done. Like Alto.

The size of the library is a weak point to me, not because I dont like nice sample library's, but because I dont want that space occupied on my system drive atm. Huge rompler/synth hybrids like Omni and Alchemy can use a lot of ram in some of the presets.


I run XP 32bit, and all my crashes this year are related to ram (ab)use. The crash peaks are around 1.8 gb of ram use, even though I have 3. (The 32bit OS ram limit with Live, as we all know) And that's even without using any of these monster synths! (Quad core Q6600, 2.4 ghz) Next year I will get a new pc system, install 64 bit Win 7, with equal large backup drives, desktop and laptop drives, as well as SSD system drives. I can not afford to get new disks right now, and I dont have the time to install and set up all midi controllers and software installs, library installs this and that, for a good while. (And I run dual boot on both laptop and desktop as well)

edit:typo

[9V]

"i told you not to bring your vendetta from omnisphere demo to KVR"

By the way: Omnisphere is not a rompler, it is a synth. The "samples" in omnisphere are not used as if it was a rompler. Absynth, too, can load samples: is it a rompler? No, of course. Sampletank is a rompler. And the best virtual piano is a mere 16 mb phisically modelled instrument (pianoteq), not a 40 gb rompler. I own all of them (and i love them).

[nathannn]

i get that omnisphere has a lot of sampled wave forms from other synths. thats also one of my points. its a lot of samples,
and when it comes down to it you are using other peoples recordings in your music. dont you guys worry about some one else using the same sound as you did in a song?
but the biggest point of all is how it is not revolutionary like every one is going on about.
and the overly done why use a real woman argument does not apply here. it would apply more to physical synths vs soft synths.

[Tarekith]

its a lot of samples, and when it comes down to it you are using other peoples recordings in your music. dont you guys worry about some one else using the same sound as you did in a song?

That's the point, it's not JUST a lot of samples like most people think. You can ignore every sample it comes with, and still have an amazingly powerful synth, one of the best ever made, without using anythign but the built in OSC's. And even if you DO use and like the samples (which most people will, since they are awesome), it's dead simple to quickly put your own stamp on it and make it fit your needs in a unique way. Especially if you use the Omni TR app and the Orb, a quick finger swipe will easily modify it into something completely unique. Don't like the results, just press the dice button and swipe again, easy.

I think one of the worst things Spectrasonics did was put so much marketing emphasis on the weird and crazy samples it has. All that burning pianos and hitting lightbulbs deal they highlighted when it first came out didn't do anything but make people think it's some glorified ROMpler or sample collection, which is exactly what they were trying to get away from.

[nathannn]

its a lot of samples, and when it comes down to it you are using other peoples recordings in your music. dont you guys worry about some one else using the same sound as you did in a song?

I think one of the worst things Spectrasonics did was put so much marketing emphasis on the weird and crazy samples it has. All that burning pianos and hitting lightbulbs deal they highlighted when it first came out didn't do anything but make people think it's some glorified ROMpler or sample collection, which is exactly what they were trying to get away from.

Yeah, I remember having this discussion with you a while ago. I will admit I did only try omnisphere for only a little over an hour which I know is not long in synth exploration time. After that long with other synths i pretty much have the interface figured out but not with omnisphere.
Maybe this is the type of synth that needs serious manual reading time devoted to it.
All these praises though are making me want to sit with it until I completely figure it out, and then I will be able to say that it is shit or not.
Another synth that I really hated when it came out was operator. I thought it was one of the cheapest sounding synths until I spent several weeks with it. Now operator is one of my all time favorite synths so maybe I will change my mind.

Another thing, like I have said before my post are not to be considered gospel nor are they to be confused with post from people who actually know what they are talking about. Im just a guy rambling about something I feel to be true only at the time of my postings. My mind is always changing.

[jestermgee]

dont you guys worry about some one else using the same sound as you did in a song?

Ah, that old chesnut...

Wouldn't the same thing apply to a hardware synth (such as a Moog which has a Moog sound), or a stomp FX, or a head Cab, or an FX unit, or any soft synth?

The answer to all these is "No, because you can tweak the sound and make it your own". Same with Omni.

Some of the recorded samples such as the choirs is a fair call but not to forget you could layer other sounds and synths right over the top or modulate things and add waveshaping and all that good fiddly stuff. It just gives you a big toolbox to play with and allows the user to either sift through presets or start building a patch from scratch.

But hey, if it's not your thing then no probs.

[Dan Dare]

I love Omni, it replaced both my Virus TI2 and Zebra2 for me. You can completely ignore all the sample content and you still get a brilliant synth in it's own right.

I'm with you on that, I find that just the raw synth engine sounds great for my soft synth needs. I dig into the sampled waveforms for more colour and the modulation is awesome.
I rarely use the presets but if I do I keep them really simple and it's just a starting point. I turn off the effects most of the time and add my own. I just find that doing this makes it sound less like a "preset".

I find it to be pretty quick and easy to use from scratch and that's when I get the results I'm most happy with.