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Omnisphere!!


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She's shipping!

 

BUT...a little Gotcha...there's some GREAT upgrade pricing if you own all three of the other Spectrasonics plugs..but..there's a gotcha on the website...IF you've registered them with different names (in my case..two with Dave and one with DAVID...) you can't upgrade from the website....gotta send an email to Techshop, and they have to push a few magic buttons to get it to work.

 

it's a 50 GIG install, and you MUST have 2 gigs RAM minimum....

 

Can't wait to get my grubby little paws on that beast.

 

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Did anyone else notice the recommended (supported) system config?

 

Mac Recommendations:

• 2.0 GHz or higher processor

 

• G5 PowerPC compatible - Intel Core2Duo or higher recommended

 

• OSX 10.4.9 or higher

 

• AudioUnit, VST 2.4 or RTAS capable host software

 

• Native Universal Binary for Intel Macs

 

 

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL USERS:

• 2GB or more of RAM

 

• Dual Layer compatible DVD-ROM drive

 

• 50GB of free hard drive space

 

I've been a bit frustrated with Spectrasonics since Atmosphere stopped working properly (Leopard) in spite of their Rube Goldberg workarounds which caused more problems than they solved. However, I have so many tracks that rely on Atmosphere I had to buy in. My machine is a 1.8ghz G5 Powermac so it'll be interesting to see if I'll be able to use Omnisphere effectively.

 

 

cheers

 

Barry

 

 

http://www.soundclick.com/studiobjazzproject

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I think you'll probably have some issues with a single proc G5, pal. I'm even hesitant to stick it on the Quad G5 with 8 gigs of Ram..but I'll do it anyway, since I won't get my Mac Pro until closer to the end of the year (or when new ones come out..whichever comes first..lolol)

 

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Here are a couple patch tests I did. Note: patch tests, not musical compositions in any way. I finished installing my copy ca. 5 PM PST yesterday and some people asked for patch tests on another forum.

 

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_songInfo.cfm?bandID=827555&songID=6898325

 

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_songInfo.cfm?bandID=827555&songID=6899313

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I dont know if i'm only one, but i'm not really impressed with the Omnispere. Good way to start reply :oops:.

 

I mean i've checked videos and sound material, and i think sound design/sampling is awesome, but i havent heard word about modulation capabilityes or synthesis architecture under it. Please, tell me there's more to it, or is this just a another 50GIG Rompler ?.

 

Edit:

 

"Omnisphere offers a host of hybrid synthesis and new control capabilities including Variable Waveshaping DSP synthesis, Granular synthesis, Timbre Shifting, FM, polyphonic Ring Modulation, high-resolution streaming Sample Playback, Harmonia™, Dual Multimode Filter structure, Chaos Envelopes™, an advanced Unison mode, and the innovative Flex-Mod™ modulation routing system - to name a few." :lol:

 

This dosent mean i'm impressed :P . Unless someone can point me to video, where we dive into synthesis..

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route-electrique: I wasn't trying to impress you, just trying to be helpful. :) I didn't help design or beta test the product so I'm just coming up to speed like everybody else. I can tell you that Omnisphere does approach things quite differently, however. It may not have vector synthesis or wave sequencing like the Wavestation or Wusikstation but it has a rather unique approach to modulaton.

 

Here's the structure of an Omnisphere instance.

 

- One multi divided into eight patches.

 

- Each patch divided into two layers.

 

- Per layer and common FX available within each patch as well as send effects.

 

- Each patch can be output to its own stereo out..

 

Within each patch you'll find an open ended modulation system. No standard matrix. Just add new entries as you go. The list of sources and destinations is huge. I find it difficult to detail all of it so here are just some random highlights.

 

- 6 lfos are shared between the two layers but envelopes are specific to the layer. The LFOs are syncable and can be set to modulate each other.

 

- Multiple sources to one destination and multiple destinations are possible. The amount that you will modulate the parameter is displayed graphically and there is a text readout specific to the parameter (e.g. measure of time for LFO, measures of frequency for filters, etc.)

 

-Per layer filters, unison/harmonia, FM, waveshaping, ringmodulation and more.

 

- Preset management per area: unique ones for Oscillators, filters, modulation, envelopes, LFOs.

 

Each layer can set to either "sample" or "synth" mode. I spent hours making patches in "synth mode" alone but some additional parameters are availble in "sample" that I haven't mentioned yet, such as graintable synthesis settings.

 

All that with a 50GB library of raw sound material to work with and 4000 patches to get you started... definitely not just a ROMpler.

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Glad it could help. :)

 

Yeah, the tricky thing to get my mind wrapped around is which parameters are per layer vs. which ones are per patch. For instance filters are per layer but envelopes are per patch. So if I setup an envelope to modulate filter cutoff, then it will do so for both filters, though the filters may be of entirely different types and have different starting values.

 

Basically, it's a really different architecture and it's taking me a lot of time to explore all of it. The interesting thing, from my perspective, is what start happening when you take the different patches in Omnisphere and stack them (either using the stack function or by routing them to the same MIDI channel within the Omnisphere mixer). Then you can have up to 16 layers of a mixture of virtual analogue and sampled waveforms... it really is like a monster workstation synth.

 

I remember people were talking about how Albino 3 was really taking things further when they allowed one instance to have 4 layers of 4 oscillators and now you have features like that, or the per layer fx possibilities (a la the per element ones in Rapture) in the synthesis engine for a virtual instrument that's primarily been marketed on the strength of the included sound sources. I was honestly surprised an I thought I'd been keeping up on the development.

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Omnisphere just arrived here yesterday and it is immediately obvious that this is a much deeper, more sophisticated tool than Atmosphere, and accordingly will take some work to learn, if you want to do more than just use the preset patches.

 

Fortunately, Spectrasonics will be posting video tutorials, as they did with Stylus RMX.

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Hey Jay!

That is toughly analogous to saying, "Sarah Palin is just like Hillary Clinton with different lipstick."

LOL, I wasn't comparing actually, just trying to get a feel for what this thing does. And while I think Sarah Palin is an asshole, I am rather fond of her lipstick!

No, Omnisphere is sui generis.

That's the part I'm trying to figure. The list of features on the site is impressive, not individually, but in combination. I'm certainly not trying to knock it, just trying to determine if it's something I could use.

From the site:

Users can go deeper and deeper into the software and progress in their synthesis knowledge by simply exploring additional levels of sound manipulation options.

I spent some time studying the Interface Video on their site and I'm not seeing the "depth" that they're referring to. It does look awesome if you want to call up a quick preset and tweak it around a bit though. Lots of options there for that. I think I'm seeing this as a great synth for musicians that don't really want to be bothered with the nitty-gritty of building sounds from scratch. And that's a strength for it, not a weakness. I'll have to read the manual whenever they make it available for download.

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I'm a man of few words. Right to the point, eh?

 

:wink:

 

ok..seriously...seeing the Omni demo at NAMM, Eric dove pretty deep into the bowels of it, and still said "I'm just scratching the surface'. I think you'll totally dig the thing. I know I will. But...damn..it's gonna push me closer and closer to that Mac Pro. I'd buy the damn thing tomorrow, but KNOWING that it's been almost a year since they've updated them, there's GOT to be something around the corner. I'll hold out out till mid-novemeber, early december...

 

 

 

 

if I can....

 

 

 

:)

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I'm a man of few words. Right to the point, eh?

 

:wink:

 

ok..seriously...seeing the Omni demo at NAMM, Eric dove pretty deep into the bowels of it, and still said "I'm just scratching the surface'. I think you'll totally dig the thing. I know I will. But...damn..it's gonna push me closer and closer to that Mac Pro. I'd buy the damn thing tomorrow, but KNOWING that it's been almost a year since they've updated them, there's GOT to be something around the corner. I'll hold out out till mid-novemeber, early december...

 

 

 

 

if I can....

 

 

 

:)

 

believe there is a apple show half way oktober

look at sites like www.macrumors.com to keep up with the latest rumors

 

anyway I want omnisphere bad

didn't like the demos that much (where did all the energy go) but thanks anyway :)

 

ps. could be soundclick messing up the demo

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Champ, the demos are a) MP3s and b) used in a non-mix context. I would never post a song that sounded like that but as I say on my page, they are just patch tests. :)

 

To the other comments: the depth is there. It took me a while to dig into it and find it but I've tried Absynth, KarmaSynth, CS-80v, Rapture, Albino, Crystal and all whole lot of others and I can tell you that the synthesis function in this should be compared to those kinds of synths, not to to samplers. The modulation options are huge and there are lots of synthesis options to change your sounds.

 

Even if it didn't have the huge sound library, Omnisphere could go to-toe-toe with a lot of synths like Sylenth, Z3ta+, etc. and still be competitive. It's difficult to explain until you dig into it.

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To the other comments: the depth is there. It took me a while to dig into it and find it but I've tried Absynth, KarmaSynth, CS-80v, Rapture, Albino, Crystal and all whole lot of others and I can tell you that the synthesis function in this should be compared to those kinds of synths, not to to samplers. The modulation options are huge and there are lots of synthesis options to change your sounds.

 

Even if it didn't have the huge sound library, Omnisphere could go to-toe-toe with a lot of synths like Sylenth, Z3ta+, etc. and still be competitive. It's difficult to explain until you dig into it.

 

 

I feel like a mad scientist that has just been given a huge lab to create my "Frankenstein"!

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halfway through the install process-the tension level is rising,...

installing the library to my external, lookin like it will be a 4-5 hr install process.

and I must add, I was one of those people that bought atmosphere just b4 I switched to the intel macs so I'v had an unusable instrument apparently up till now.

I will post my thoughts 2morrow after i've had a chance to play a bit.

:arrow: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

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Hi all,

 

Spent a bit of time playing with this yesterday. As far as my system goes, it's an early 2007 Mac Pro with 3Ghz Xeon and 12GB of ram. I loaded 8 of the heaviest patches I could find and it was running pretty damn good for me. I had the activity monitor open whilst doing so, and I also turned off streaming in the Omnisphere setup page. I could see my ram getting sucked up as I loaded patches (obviously!), but it seemed very stable and my cpu did not seem too bothered by it at all. Admittedly, it was not an in depth test, just messing around really. Not sure what good this is to anyone, just fancied getting involved! It does sound pretty fine though, with some great fx options too! There is so much more to this instrument than meets the eye. I was lucky as in the fact I already had atmosphere ,trilogy and rmx, so the pricing was excellent. I still think the other upgrade options were fair too. A worthy addition to your sonic arsenal. (sorry, did that sound like a cheesy advert?).

 

 

Cheers. :lol:

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