when you use omnisphere

[andrewbrewer]

do you ever feel guilty ?

LOL

[Tarekith]

No, but it is pretty much my main synth these days. It's too deep to even think about, the amount of content they crearted for it is staggering.

[anybody human]

Well, even though I don't use presets I do feel a little guilty that it's so easy to come up with ambient drones and washes. I also think it's funny how easy it is to spot it on EVERY tv soundtrack.

The thing that's really interested me lately is something they actually mention on the sound source zoom page, which is to try layering a sampled synth waveform and the virtual analog together. At first I thought this might be redundant, but it's amazing how "analog" it sounds. Other than a DSI Tetra, I pretty much use Omnisphere along w/Trilian waveforms for almost everything. Omnisphere is sick, so much u can do w/ it.

[arafel]

Omni & Trillian & Rmx... I dont want to imagine being without them.

Sounds from the Distorted Reality series from Spectrasonics is what I hear in almost every TV/ movie/ soundtrack. Its the first sample library I purchased.. and it is stilll in use today.

[andrewbrewer]

i feel like i've become an omnisphere junkie. there is a major instant gratification factor in those presets!

[glitchrock-buddha]

do you ever feel guilty ?

LOL

Al little yeah. It's just too easy to come up with cool stuff. And I don't like to use anything that I might hear on a commercial!

And yes, combining the dsp synth with sampled analog sources is great. Actually the DSP synth alone without any sources is an awesome synth too. The only thing that has always bothered me about Omnisphere is that I always want to route both sound source layers through a single filter and you can't do it.

Every time I use the Trilian synth sounds I wonder why the hell I have any other VA's.

They sure do have good presets though. Spectrasonics and Native Instruments are the two company's who presets are very good, almost too good because you always want to use them rather than create your own!

[arafel]

Glitchrock-Budha

You can filter both sound sources with a Single Filter in Omnisphere and/ or Trillian

Open Fx - Common (means both A & B Layers)
Add a Power Filter
'Configure' the Power Filters controls (Freq, Rez, etc) to add them into Abletons Parameter list and automate away!

Or midi-learn both Layers filter controls to the same Physical Controller and you can tweak both Layers Filters (A & B) at the same time with possibly dif filters on each Layer/ Sound Source.

[glitchrock-buddha]

Glitchrock-Budha

You can filter both sound sources with a Single Filter in Omnisphere and/ or Trillian

Open Fx - Common (means both A & B Layers)
Add a Power Filter
'Configure' the Power Filters controls (Freq, Rez, etc) to add them into Abletons Parameter list and automate away!

Or midi-learn both Layers filter controls to the same Physical Controller and you can tweak both Layers Filters (A & B) at the same time with possibly dif filters on each Layer/ Sound Source.

I should have said "modulatable" filter. Certainly I can add an effects filter to the Omni common part, which is similar to just adding a filter as a separate effect, but the important thing for a filter is to be able to respond to envelopes and modulation generated from notes sent.

There is a huge difference between routing through a single filter and controlling two filters for two parallel layers, even if you're using some common controls or the 'link' function in Omnisphere. My current workaround is to assign both filter controls to common macros in Kore for when I want to control both quickly. But what happens when you want to tweak the envelope? You have to tweak two envelopes instead. Or what if you want to modulate the filter by an lfo? Well then you have set the modulation source for one filter to the LFO, then also set the other filter as a destination with it's source being the same LFO as was set for the first. And if you want use a common envelope (like a multi-stage one) instead of the default filter envelope, same process of assigning both. And any tweaks you're either doing both or you're linking and unlinking all the time when sound designing. And the thing is, usually when you want a single filter sound, you're going for something quick and simple, so the back and forth isn't really ideal in that situation.

Trust me, I've discussed this at lengths with spectrasonics and they don't seem to think it's big deal (but more importantly they said it would be too hard to implement with the current code). They're living in the days of the CS-80. 2 Completely separate audio paths. Me I'm spoiled by my modern soft synths where 95% of the time synths with multiple filters can route their different sound sources layers or oscillators either in parallel or series or just through one filter - Think Analog/Ultra Analog, Sylenth1, Zebra, Alchemy, Poly-Ana, ACE, Albino, Rob Papen synths, NI Massive etc etc etc.)

But at the end of the day, I still love Omnisphere! I would just speed things up infinitely to be able to route both layers through a single modulated filter.

[arafel]

Glitchrock-Buddha

Ok... Got it. Quite right.. very different results (dual envelope controlled vs single static filter).
I will not underestimate your Omni knowledge again..

I remember a similar thread about 'filter modulation between layers' over at NorthernSound.
Spectrasonics did give sorta a brush off to the request.. like "two separate audio paths is similar to many great analogue designs"...blah blah.. short story.. ya cant do it.

Spectrasonics (luv em) rocks but has limitations... dont get me started on the whole "RMX will only import your own sounds if you Recycle them in REX format" - total pita.
Haha
Gripe for the night ova

[andrewbrewer]

amazing, see all of you guys are actually making your own sounds w/ omnisphere, and i'm having a hard time just getting past the presets! they're so capable and anything i make just doesn't compete.

though, i've gotten good results from SLIGHTLY modifying presets. but if i go far enough, something gets lost from the original -- mine is just not as good.

there is an art to those presets i tell ya!

[Machinesworking]

Will never buy Omnishpere. My songwriting in part is inspired by the sounds I can create in soft and hardware.
I'm also not partial personally to polish on my tracks, so a huge library of polished sounds isn't what I'm after.

Just a different take really, I respect Omni and all, just my music isn't helped by preset monsters as much as most people.

[Cyberstar]

No I don't if a sound fits my song I use it be it a preset or something I make from scratch.

If a preset doesn't fit it gets modified plain and simple I never limit my assortment of colors, because in the end the music listener (non-musician) doesn't give two shits if I spent 3 days making a sound or used a preset bottom line is making the song sound as good as it can be

[leedsquietman]

True. For many of us here though, the end listener is often the same as the producer and engineer, in this saturated world of music and so many other distractions (internet, video games, on demand TV, work, life in general) and not enough time to enjoy music as much these days, there is only a minority of people who successfully live through their music here and most of those people are having to tailor their sound to what is popular on the street, whereas old fart semi-pros and amateurs might as well enjoy their own music and take their time putting their own artistic edge on it by not just using rompler presets ...

[glitchrock-buddha]

It all depends what kind of satisfaction you want to get our of it though. Although I enjoy sound design, I'm also a keyboard player and when I want to just play or use sounds that inspire me to play, the Omnisphere presets can be great. Many of the instruments are like real instruments in that way, like picking up an amazing guitar. It just makes you want to play so much more. Nice multi-sampled instruments are great that way in that they feel like a full instrument in just patch. Omni has some patches like that that I could just play for hours, like glorious guitars. But it's not just a rompler though, any of those sounds can of course be manipulated with the full synthesis. Or you can ignore the sample sources completely and use it as a very powerful dsp synth.

I used to look at it as something that didn't interest me at all, but it was one of my best purchases I would now say.

[Earwax69]

it look cool for mainstream stuff but is it worth the price for music like IDM or something more lo-fi? There is no demo of that big package.