Omnisphere - Post purchase Questions, Issues, Problems

[koolkeys]

Of course, if you take a few complaints on a forum like KVR as some sort of representation of the entire user base, then you have the wrong perspective.

Brent

Sure. You're right. You should take all pages of complaints on Northernsounds into account as well.

I said a forum LIKE KVR. As in, getting all your info straight from internet forums will soon cause you to be seriously delusional. It's nowhere near accurate.

Sorry, doesn't matter what forum you're talking about. It's still the same.

Brent

I knew exactly what you meant. It's called sarcasm but with a good deal of truth thrown in too

I don't know about what truth there was in it. But I did miss the sarcasm. My bad on that. No biggie though.

Brent

[GlennO]

Sorry, to spoil a good story with the truth , but:

1) 1.0.1d was released Sept 29
2) A few users reported a problem accessing the reference guide or checking for updates.
3) The problem was immediately identified as a rare system configuration issue unrelated to any specific host, and a simple workaround was provided.
4) 1.0.1e was released Sept 30 with the fix.

- Glenn

Omnisphere includes an automatic update checker. Just click on the logo to go to the credits page and click on "Check for Updates". It will show your update status for software, patches, and soundsources.

- Glenn

I'm not sure if they fixed this in 1.0.2b, but in the previous version clicking on "check for updates" crashed Live every time. Now that's ironic.

[Zero dB]

Pages of complaints? Almost all of the issues that have been reported there since the release have been resolved when the customer consulted the FAQs or contacted tech support.

I have to admit, I don't visit kvr as often as I used to when I developed Crystal, but there does seem to be an eagerness to believe the worst that didn't used to be here.

- Glenn

Honestly, I have no reason whatever to want to believe the worst. I purchased Omnisphere for use in a professional capacity - I do this stuff for a living. Really want it to work and have used in a couple of projects, but have had endless problems with it - mainly the RAM stuff I've mentioned leading to crashing and memory leaks.

I don't mean it facetiously when I say that I perhaps naively hoped these issues would just be fixed without me having to go into time-consuming detail with tech support. I believed this *because* I'd read about many people on Nothernsounds - all on PC it seems - having the same problems. I think I've read you and Eric responding to these people so I'm not sure why you say you're not aware of these issues. I'm not trying to be difficult at all, I'm just baffled and disappointed that there seems to be a lack of will to get the instrument to work smoothly on PC. I'm very keen for Omnisphere to work as intended... otherwise I will sadly be forced to sell the thing.

Thanks

ZdB

[Zero dB]

Sorry, to spoil a good story with the truth , but:

1) 1.0.1d was released Sept 29
2) A few users reported a problem accessing the reference guide or checking for updates.
3) The problem was immediately identified as a rare system configuration issue unrelated to any specific host, and a simple workaround was provided.
4) 1.0.1e was released Sept 30 with the fix.

- Glenn

No comment as to why we're not getting a PDF manual? Or are we? For a company with the amazing repuation and credibility that Spectrasonics has, the HTML refererence guide seems a little, dare I say it, amateurish. Main thing is, it's not nearly as portable or as nice to read as a PDF.

[GlennO]

With a sample-based streaming instrument, there is always some system configuration required to get the most out of it. I'd like to say that isn't necessary, but I'd be misleading you if I did. We provide default streaming parameters that work for most users, but your mileage may vary. Also, it's a plugin, which means it must live within the constraints of the host and all the other plugins you have in use at the time. Not to worry though, there are tips in the FAQs (see "Memory Issues") for immediate assistance. Or contact tech support and they'll be glad to help you.

- Glenn

[GlennO]

For a company with the amazing repuation and credibility that Spectrasonics has, the HTML refererence guide seems a little, dare I say it, amateurish. Main thing is, it's not nearly as portable or as nice to read as a PDF.

We take the task of maintaining that reputation very seriously. I believe you'll find the reference guide to be excellent:

http://support.spectrasonics.net/omnimanual/

We make extensive use of hyperlinks in the manual, so html is the native format that we deliver. But I take your point and we'll definitely look into delivering PDF. In the meantime, if you'd like PDF simply use the "print to pdf" option if you're on a mac, or you can use something like cutePDF on windows.

- Glenn

[zerocrossing]

KVR has developed quite a negative vibe these days. Everyone feels screwed over, developers are just greedy and don't care about customers, and if a company is semi-large or popular in the pro ranks, they are just ripping off their customers and taking home millions.

At least that's the vibe I get. It's 'popular' to stage a public outcry around here, regardless of whether there is logic behind it or not.

I don't see it like this. As a matter of fact, in stark contrast to the release of Omnisphere, Alchemy has seemingly become the darling of KVR. I was even going to start a post titled, "Alchemy Hype vs. Omnisphere Hype, which one's better?" Of the new releases I've been interested in I've only seen really bitter response to Omnisphere. I've heard no complaints about Helix (I have it and love it) and U-he seems to have actual bluebirds tying bows in his hair since his beta release of Uhbik.

I've been using software for a pretty long time (since 90?) and I think I have a pretty good handle on the state of a release and my gut feeling based on my experience and chatter is that Omnisphere was probably released a few months too early to get a jump on Christmas. It's no rip off, and I won't be selling it any time soon, but I think it's fair to say that considering the product's cost it's not odd to expect a more solid release.

[GlennO]

Not sure what you mean by "More Solid"? If you mean you believe you've found a bug in Omnisphere, then please contact tech support ASAP and we'll get right on it.

But, you can look at the release notes for the updates that have come out since September and see that the bugs in version 1.0 have been few and minor. That doesn't mean there aren't bugs out there remaining to be discovered, and I don't doubt that you've encountered a problem, but I believe it is accurate to characterize the Omnisphere 1.0 release as "solid".

- Glenn

[iaminsane+]

Hey Zero db, sorry to hear you are still having problems. As the OP of this thread I'll provide a few updates. Since the OP in Sept when i was on XP, I've moved fully over to a Mac Pro.

The great news is: I haven't had a single "crash" since then, and I've found Omnisphere a very useful and interesting sound source for my work. I am glad I bought it.

But with that said, i still have to deal with a few things i really don't like, every time I use it.

- I really hate the modal dialog that pops up. Some AUs/VSTs will load a sound with a single click (like Omnisphere) but many other don't. So I find it ever so annoying that Omnisphere pops up a modal dialog to slap me down, every time I double click a patch, or if I single click a new patch before the old one was loaded. I run dual monitors and place the ST screen on the right monitor. So when Omnisphere barks at me, I have to either navigate across 2 24" monitors to the dialog, or peck the return key. Neither, in the context of a significant user error or system message, is a big deal. But really... Omnisphere has done this to me hundreds of times now. I continue to assert this is really bad form on the part of the developers. I want software that rewards me, not punishes me.

The audition auto-play can go some ways towards negating the need to tap out a keys when auditioning, but it's really limited currently. Instead, allow me to record a few of my own midi files to use for audition. For example let me record a short bass, pad, and lead sequence of my own, and let me use these for auto-play. THAT would be really useful to me.

- I still believe the categorization capabilities is far from revolutionary. It's "ok" for a synth developed in 2008, but NI's Kore categorization is much much much better. Omnisphere defaults (and I can't find a way to change this) to Category, Genre, Complexity and Author. The last two and especially the Author (with ALL due respect to the sound designers!!!) add NO value to sound browsing. Type and Timbre ARE useful, but I can't seem to find a way to have omnisphere default to these. So... I have to change it every time... Ugg.

I see another significant problem with categorization coming. As you can only "edit tags" of a single patch at a time, it will get progressively harder to manage patch tags as the library grows (especially via use of shared presets) Can you imagine getting 50 patches from someone and having to go into the tag editor screen for each one individually? Yeah right. And everyone knows you should balance your checkbook every month.



Now, read my 2nd paragraph again.


happy new year and best of luck to all

[Zero dB]

Hey Zero db, sorry to hear you are still having problems. As the OP of this thread I'll provide a few updates. Since the OP in Sept when i was on XP, I've moved fully over to a Mac Pro.

The great news is: I haven't had a single "crash" since then, and I've found Omnisphere a very useful and interesting sound source for my work. I am glad I bought it.

Hey - thanks for the info. Appreciated. Will respond to the rest later, but suffice to say, this confirms my suspicions and what I wrote above. I'm v.pleased it's now working for you on a Mac... but this is kind of crazy. If Spectrasonics had advertised it as "just about works on a PC but, really, get youself a Mac to run Omnisphere properly" I would have run a mile. I have no plans whatever to move to the Mac platform and certainly wouldn't do so to get a VSTi working as it should.

Glenn - the evidence of my experience and of *many* others I've read on forums confirms that PC users ARE indeed having significant problems. Please, please get yourselves some PCs and various PC-based DAW software in-house and rigorously test Omnisphere on them. Like zircon I've been using DAWs for decades and, I believe, know what I'm talking about.

Thanks.

ZdB

[koolkeys]

KVR has developed quite a negative vibe these days. Everyone feels screwed over, developers are just greedy and don't care about customers, and if a company is semi-large or popular in the pro ranks, they are just ripping off their customers and taking home millions.

At least that's the vibe I get. It's 'popular' to stage a public outcry around here, regardless of whether there is logic behind it or not.

I don't see it like this. As a matter of fact, in stark contrast to the release of Omnisphere, Alchemy has seemingly become the darling of KVR. I was even going to start a post titled, "Alchemy Hype vs. Omnisphere Hype, which one's better?" Of the new releases I've been interested in I've only seen really bitter response to Omnisphere. I've heard no complaints about Helix (I have it and love it) and U-he seems to have actual bluebirds tying bows in his hair since his beta release of Uhbik.

I've been using software for a pretty long time (since 90?) and I think I have a pretty good handle on the state of a release and my gut feeling based on my experience and chatter is that Omnisphere was probably released a few months too early to get a jump on Christmas. It's no rip off, and I won't be selling it any time soon, but I think it's fair to say that considering the product's cost it's not odd to expect a more solid release.

Camel Audio and U-He are great companies. Both are MUCH smaller than Spectrasonics, and both are LONG standing members of this community and have had a bigger presence here. Although GlennO has been around longer than most people, it's not quite the same.

You see it all the time on KVR though. People feel "betrayed" by a company, or they show great hate for a company who charges a lot of money for something and then it turns out there is a bug or two. They make a bigger deal out of things than it is. I mean, really, from what I've heard the release of Omnisphere has been largely successful. And although I highly doubt you are trying to cause a stir because of that success(I don't think you are TRYING to cause a stir at all), many people here like to piss on success when it's related to larger companies. How many people made it a point to constantly remind people how sick they were of hearing about Omnisphere? They could have ignored the posts instead of bumping them, no? But instead, it was trashed by many who were never going to buy it anyways.

The truth is that we're spoiled these days. You say you have been using software since 1990. So you surely know that we didn't used to have the options we have today. We didn't have forums like KVR to gripe and moan publicly on. Developers couldn't release bug fixes the same day they were compiled. Heck, you couldn't even talk to the developer of the software like you can here in most cases. GlennO is a dev for Omnisphere, he's here, and trying to help. Not possible to be this interactive 15 years ago.

So we're spoiled. People get mad when they find a bug and decide that instead of reporting it through the proper methods, they will gripe and raise a campaign on an internet forum to garner hate for a company(just an example, not pointing out any company or individual). It's kind of sad.

Sorry for the long off topic post. Just trying to add perspective.

Brent

[koolkeys]

Hey Zero db, sorry to hear you are still having problems. As the OP of this thread I'll provide a few updates. Since the OP in Sept when i was on XP, I've moved fully over to a Mac Pro.

The great news is: I haven't had a single "crash" since then, and I've found Omnisphere a very useful and interesting sound source for my work. I am glad I bought it.

Hey - thanks for the info. Appreciated. Will respond to the rest later, but suffice to say, this confirms my suspicions and what I wrote above. I'm v.pleased it's now working for you on a Mac... but this is kind of crazy. If Spectrasonics had advertised it as "just about works on a PC but, really, get youself a Mac to run Omnisphere properly" I would have run a mile. I have no plans whatever to move to the Mac platform and certainly wouldn't do so to get a VSTi working as it should.

Glenn - the evidence of my experience and of *many* others I've read on forums confirms that PC users ARE indeed having significant problems. Please, please get yourselves some PCs and various PC-based DAW software in-house and rigorously test Omnisphere on them. Like zircon I've been using DAWs for decades and, I believe, know what I'm talking about.

Thanks.

ZdB

Just for the record, I have yet to have a crash on my PC with Omnisphere. Obviously it's not representative of EVERYONE. But it's not buggy on ALL systems for sure.

Brent

[Zero dB]

Just for the record, I have yet to have a crash on my PC with Omnisphere. Obviously it's not representative of EVERYONE. But it's not buggy on ALL systems for sure.

Brent

And you won't find anywhere where I've said that I've said it is representative of everyone. Read my posts.

[iaminsane+]

Glenn

I know you guys get a lot of love, but also take a lot of heat on Omnispehre. More than anything I want to say thanks for slugging it out here at KVR. I do believe Omnisphere is a great product now. Yes I have usability issues with it, but it sounds great, and based on my experience it was a solid release (can't speak for anyone else )

I trust you will make it even better.

[koolkeys]

Just for the record, I have yet to have a crash on my PC with Omnisphere. Obviously it's not representative of EVERYONE. But it's not buggy on ALL systems for sure.

Brent

And you won't find anywhere where I've said that I've said it is representative of everyone. Read my posts.

I'm not saying you did. Just reporting that I'm not having issues on MY PC. Which is why I said that it obviously isn't representative of all systems. So I think you just misunderstood. I'm reporting that there aren't crashes and bugs on all PC's.

Brent