Omnisphere (MHO)

[Greenstorm33]

So direct the response at layzer and say that, rather than generalize. I've posted in a lot of these threads. It's always the same when Omni's value proposition is challenged. People get offended as if it's their own child. I can post, literally, dozens of examples. Go back and read some of the threads that noiseboyuk posted a few pages back. You will see the same pattern over and over again. Some fans won't accept ANY criticism.

That may be, I haven't seen those threads. I do know that that narrative doesn't hold for this thread specifically. Also it's not just layzer, there are a few other similar posts.

Greenstorm33 wrote:
How is wanting a large number of presets any more hoarder mentality than wanting a bunch of synthesizers that cover different ground when you tweak them? Either way you're trying to maximize the number of sounds you can achieve, it's just a matter of whether you prefer presets or tweaking. Omnisphere may not be able to do anything you can't get elsewhere, but some people may prefer having a large quantity of presets at their fingertips rather than a synth that you can tweak to get those same sounds (and the presets in Omnisphere specifically might be to their liking), and I don't see why people have such a problem with that.



So, first, no doubt that there are different approaches to achieving a necessary variety of sound. However, arguing that quantity implies value intrinsically is something of a hoarder mentality. Also, I never said anything about a "bunch" of synthesizers. I think that you're conflating some ideas a bit here. Omni with presets and samples is no more going to cover the ground of Diva and Bazille than Synth1 will. So, even if you have Omni, if you want to cover that ground you are still going to need more synths.

Fine, replace "a bunch of" with "multiple." Either way you're finding value in quantity of different sounds achievable and are guilty of the "hoarder mentality." Hence my reductio ad absurdum to show why regarding having many different sounds available (whether through tweaking or presets, it doesn't matter) as a bad thing is silly. As far as Omnisphere not covering the same ground as Diva or Bazille, you're definitely right, and I don't think anyone in this thread has said otherwise. However, if someone is able to make the music they want using only/primarily Omnisphere, I don't see why that's a problem. It definitely doesn't make them hoarders or mean they're performing the musical equivalent of slapping clip-art together or whatever else has been said in this thread.

[incubus]

As long as it keeps you guys from hitting your kids, go thread.

[AnX]

most omni presets are....basic sounds drenched in effects.

The same can be said about the majority of synths.

[AnX]

As long as it keeps you guys from hitting your kids, go thread.

Oh, that reminds me, i must kick the mrs in the tits this weekend...

[ghettosynth]

So direct the response at layzer and say that, rather than generalize. I've posted in a lot of these threads. It's always the same when Omni's value proposition is challenged. People get offended as if it's their own child. I can post, literally, dozens of examples. Go back and read some of the threads that noiseboyuk posted a few pages back. You will see the same pattern over and over again. Some fans won't accept ANY criticism.

That may be, I haven't seen those threads. I do know that that narrative doesn't hold for this thread specifically.

Well no, I disagree. We've already seen quantum state explicitly that he doesn't like it when people insult Omni after asserting that it's people who can't afford it that don't like it.

Fine, replace "a bunch of" with "multiple." Either way you're finding value in quantity of different sounds achievable and are guilty of the "hoarder mentality."

No, I disagree. I think that you're equivocating. I'm specifically talking about the arguments relating to "infinite" possibilities, or GB of samples or thousands of sounds. That's a hoarder's argument to buy something. It's no different when people argue that you should buy something to cover some specific ground, e.g., the collectors of every possible emulation when you don't actually have some use for that at the moment. That's also a hoarder's mentality.

[Kinh]

omni users are pretty much like those warez people that download torrent gigs upon gigs of cracked software, woohoo, great! i got 50,000 synths! yeah, how many lifetimes do you have to use them all? its a form of greed.... theres a show about it, its called HOARDERS.

Yeah, I think we should all stick to the same handful of real-world, acoustic instruments. Nobody needs the near-infinite possible sound variations your average synthesizer offers. Heck, we should all buy the instruments from the same supplier and play them exactly the same way. No need to get greedy with all that articulation nonsense.

So first, I don't agree with Layzer about much of anything, but, even though he's exaggerating, he has something of a point here and your counter is a strawman. He didn't say that you don't need synthesizers, or really anything about acoustic instruments, he said that the typical Omni fan who's droning on about the number of presets or the size of the library is exhibiting hoarder mentality.

I've addressed this point before, but, I'll say it again, referring to "near-infinite" variation is silly because no matter how much variation that we have, when we look to a new product we are looking for variation that are existing products can't achieve. Synth1 is free and can achieve "near-infinite" variation, so, if that had value, in and of itself, you wouldn't need anything else.

So, why do you need Diva, or Bazille? Because no matter how good of a sound designer you are, the technology in Synth-1 will not allow you to cover the same ground as Diva or Bazille. Layzer may not agree, but he's wrong.

Similarly, the technology in Omni doesn't offer ground that can't be covered elsewhere because it's simply not cutting edge. Sure, if you want the burning piano, and you don't think that you can synthesize a suitable substitute, then you should get Omni. I don't know of any other burning piano samples that are widely available. However, not everything, in fact, the vast majority of samples in Omni, aren't really that unique.

What rubbish this is. Hoarder mentality's got nothing to do wit it. Its about having more options at your disposal. The sort of people who believe that have little imagination or diversity in the music they produce.

And its not that other's take it personally when you bag omni its more a case of keeping all the misinformation down so people are'nt illinformed. And ive noticed a few of your posts where you've given your opinions on things and you've been wrong especially about omnisphere. Ok it doesnt work for you and thats fine but in that respect you're a minority so maybe theres somethin you need to figure out as EVERY producer at the top uses it and yes i researced that.

[legendCNCD]

most omni presets are....basic sounds drenched in effects.

The same can be said about the majority of synths.

AND unlike most other synths, the sound sources and even VA OSCs sound good without the effects.

[legendCNCD]

What I have learnt so far from this thread:

Omnisphere is not a witch

and it won't give you herpes

Carry on

Heard it here first peeps. Omni can't do herpestep or witchwave

What!? I've done witchHOUSE style with it https://soundcloud.com/soft-knees/lost-tapes (not to take too seriously)

wait which house?

the one on the left, near abandoned, collapsed bridge!

[KTlin]

most omni presets are....basic sounds drenched in effects.

The same can be said about the majority of synths.

AND unlike most other synths, the sound sources and even VA OSCs sound good without the effects.

Exactly!
I don't know where this "Omnisphere's patches are just basic sounds drenched in reverb" nonsense is coming from. The majority of patches sound very good with or without the reverb. And it should be obvious that Omnisphere wouldn't be so popular and well-regarded if all that Spectrasonic did was just to put a lot of reverb on some crappy samples.

[Cinebient]

For sure could i "replace" the synth engine (or at least parts of it) with better ones (which i have too) but still it is also a good synth with good OSC, some nice filters, great wavetables, some granular stuff and a lot (not all) very good sound sources i couldn´t get anywhere else.
Don´t need it.....no problem. But for sure i can´t replace the sum of it´s part which Omni is without having to use a lot different FX and tools.
Like i mentioned (yes, several times) the performance tools within Omnisphere are for many people one of the most interesting parts. It is a workstation and offers things no (or very few) other synths/instruments offer (not even Falcon f.e.) or would needed a lot more time and steps to set up.
If you don´t need tuning/microtuning, play everything in 4/4, just use synthesis only and don´t need/like to perform also live, don´t use much things like velocity, aftertouch, MPE, sostenuto etc., thinking creating endless patches with the same tools doesn´t sound similar too, it might be the wrong tool.
For many others it´s gold.
It´s still bloat for you and you prefer cheesy 80´s wavestation sounds?....also great.
Again, have fun and all the best

[KTlin]

For sure could i "replace" the synth engine (or at least parts of it) with better ones (which i have too) but still it is also a good synth with good OSC, some nice filters, great wavetables, some granular stuff and a lot (not all) very good sound sources i couldn´t get anywhere else.
Don´t need it.....no problem. But for sure i can´t replace the sum of it´s part which Omni is without having to use a lot different FX and tools.
Like i mentioned (yes, several times) the performance tools within Omnisphere are for many people one of the most interesting parts. It is a workstation and offers things no (or very few) other synths/instruments offer (not even Falcon f.e.) or would needed a lot more time and steps to set up.
If you don´t need tuning/microtuning, play everything in 4/4, just use synthesis only and don´t need/like to perform also live, don´t use much things like velocity, aftertouch, MPE, sostenuto etc., thinking creating endless patches with the same tools doesn´t sound similar too, it might be the wrong tool.
For many others it´s gold.
It´s still bloat for you and you prefer cheesy 80´s wavestation sounds?....also great.
Again, have fun and all the best

Very well said. Agreed 100%!

[Hink]

For anyone impatient for this exciting new thread to fill up to 20 pages (it usually takes about a week... who has time for that?), the good news is that all this thread's posts and arguments are also available here:

Brilliant!

Mods should do this for every KVR thread ever, other than the first thread for a new instrument...

ummm...no

[quantum7]

For the record though, ever since I bought Omnisphere 2, my life has constantly improved. My wife is more affectionate towards me, my dog stopped pooping in the living room, and my son has grown nearly a foot in height. I have no way to prove 100% that it was Omnisphere 2, but the coincidences are just too much to ignore.

Your dog is probably pooping in your Omnisphere box instead of the living room, which explains why your wife is more affectionate.

Nah, I trained my dog to poop on my EW Play boxes instead. Now that software was truly a waste of money for me personally since I had constant problems with the Play software on my system. Love or hate Omnisphere, at least I've not heard many people complain that it didn't operate correctly.... like Play was infamously known for.

On my last album, "Transcedence", Omnisphere, zebra, and alchemy were used on about 90% of all the synth parts, so they will always have a special place on my DAW. Anyway, that's all I have left to say on the subject. All you guys with 10,000 posts, how do you have time to write music?

[wagtunes]

For the record though, ever since I bought Omnisphere 2, my life has constantly improved. My wife is more affectionate towards me, my dog stopped pooping in the living room, and my son has grown nearly a foot in height. I have no way to prove 100% that it was Omnisphere 2, but the coincidences are just too much to ignore.

Your dog is probably pooping in your Omnisphere box instead of the living room, which explains why your wife is more affectionate.

Nah, I trained my dog to poop on my EW Play boxes instead. Now that software was truly a waste of money for me personally since I had constant problems with the Play software on my system. Love or hate Omnisphere, at least I've not heard many people complain that it didn't operate correctly.... like Play was infamously known for.

On my last album, "Transcedence", Omnisphere, zebra, and alchemy were used on about 90% of all the synth parts, so they will always have a special place on my DAW. Anyway, that's all I have left to say on the subject. All you guys with 10,000 posts, how do you have time to write music?

I only have 8,000 and I've written tons of music.

[aumordia]

For the record I actually bought Omnisphere and was extremely unimpressed with it. I sold it at a loss, and then bought Orchestral Essentials 1&2 by ProjectSAM -- which I was impressed with, and which is more expensive than Omnisphere while including much less content.

So its not that $500 is too much for a plugin, it's that it's too much for Omnisphere. When I installed it and fired it up, all I could think was "this just sounds like the random crap I already have with Cubase... what's the point?"

The synth engine is fine, but nothing to write home about -- although the granular algorithm is confusingly bad (shouldn't this be absolutely spectacular in a "top-shelf" sample-based synth?). The sample library is chock-a-block with random crap without any standouts, although plenty of gimmicks ("We beat radioactive stalactites with a stick!"). And if you're just going to use those samples as grist for the synth mill anyway, then you don't need all the velocity layers and round robin.

Really it's the kind of thing you'd expect to see sold on the Home Shopping Network, and the absurd thin-skinned peevishness of some of its fans only reinforces that perception.

I actually do see one thing Omnisphere does legitimately better than anything else, but it wasn't useful to me. It's also incredibly obvious what this thing is, but I'm not going to point it out, because watching people melt down like jilted comic book nerds is too amusing. Plus the thing that clearly does separate Omnisphere from the pack also proves just what purpose the plugin really serves. I will give a hint, however: given what a critical differentiator this functionality is for Omnisphere, it is confoundingly half-baked.