Omnisphere - worth $500?

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

I presume whoever would like to do things quickly and efficiently would go for it.

this gets presented a lot as one of the only upsides (it's already happened in this thread, a few times). and, while your post is a well-rounded, and fair assessment, i wanted to counter this point

it is true that the type of working composer that this instrument 'seems' aimed at will indeed value speed and efficiency, but that is not coveted at the expense of the overall sound. it's the sounds that people use it for. that it is fast and efficient is down to the design and implementation of certain features, and not just as an afterthought, looking for some way to praise it - "well, it's expensive and doesn't really sound 'analogue', but all those professional composers care about efficiency more than sound.....

'quick' and 'efficient' are not words i ever want to associate with my music, and yet i value omnisphere greatly in my music. it's all about the sound and flexibility for me

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

For myself, I prefer to get wavs and resynth through Harmor and Absynth, but I realize that this is a lot of work for maybe not superior results so I can see why others might just get Omnisphere instead.

apropos of my above response, i wanted to drag this post back

using omnisphere does not negate the use of other tools in your music. omnisphere is not the default position for people who cannot be bothered to experiment with their own sound design (or want fast, efficient results)

i love omnisphere, but i also love getting lost in the possibilities of running sound through the many experimental options found in the reaktor universe

in another post you alluded to the idea of needing to be completely free of limitations. it's an admirable thing, however, omnisphere is hardly a limited instrument. it may not have sample import, but then neither do so many instruments, past or present, that have been very useful sonic playgrounds for those who wish to play

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

I remember reading somewhere that you can demo it on computers at retailers who have Spectrasonics products too.

Yes, but don't be surprised if they have it running on a MAC with a two core i5 with 4GB ram

until my computer went down last year, i was running omni on a late 2006 2.33, dual core macbook pro, with 3gig of old, slow ram. i could have shown you around the instrument with no real issues

That would have been nice. I do think much of their problem is also that it's painfully obvious that few in those stores know really anything about Omni or their computers that appear to not be regularly maintained as most of us do. It starts working slow or having other problems, they just turn it off and hope no one will ask them about it.

i have enough retail experience to know that it can be a real pain in the arse as employment. however, i really made the effort when i used to sell hi-fi, as i used to loved the products. you'd think that the type of person that ends up in music retail would have more than a passing interest, and that computer maintenance, and providing a good demo environment would be all part of a day's work

[ghettosynth]

I remember reading somewhere that you can demo it on computers at retailers who have Spectrasonics products too.

Yes, but don't be surprised if they have it running on a MAC with a two core i5 with 4GB ram

until my computer went down last year, i was running omni on a late 2006 2.33, dual core macbook pro, with 3gig of old, slow ram. i could have shown you around the instrument with no real issues

That would have been nice. I do think much of their problem is also that it's painfully obvious that few in those stores know really anything about Omni or their computers that appear to not be regularly maintained as most of us do. It starts working slow or having other problems, they just turn it off and hope no one will ask them about it.

i have enough retail experience to know that it can be a real pain in the arse as employment. however, i really made the effort when i used to sell hi-fi, as i used to loved the products. you'd think that the type of person that ends up in music retail would have more than a passing interest, and that computer maintenance, and providing a good demo environment would be all part of a day's work

Tragedy of the commons. It's everyone's responsibility, but, not everyone will accept it and some people will just make it worse. Moreover, in environments like a retail store, the first time you fix it there will be a high likelihood that it will become one of your assigned tasks for which the value is not recognized by management. This is, at its core, a management problem, but, maintaining the computer is just one path to sales of a product, and, as long as you are evaluating salesman based on sales, then one shouldn't be surprised when an expensive path is ignored.

Seriously, look at this thread and you will immediately see that most people don't need anything more than a boo-rah from Jordan Rudess to make a decision. So, as a salesman, why would you invest energy into the minority of customers that aren't so easily convinced? Those customers aren't making a decision based on a shiny box and testimonials, so, even if you do get it set up, if they aren't satisfied by what they find, they're still not going to buy. For the few hours you spend mucking around with a computer, you could tell six more people that Jordan Rudess is totally into omnisphere. You don't get extra commission for selling to a difficult customer.

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

I remember reading somewhere that you can demo it on computers at retailers who have Spectrasonics products too.

Yes, but don't be surprised if they have it running on a MAC with a two core i5 with 4GB ram

until my computer went down last year, i was running omni on a late 2006 2.33, dual core macbook pro, with 3gig of old, slow ram. i could have shown you around the instrument with no real issues

That would have been nice. I do think much of their problem is also that it's painfully obvious that few in those stores know really anything about Omni or their computers that appear to not be regularly maintained as most of us do. It starts working slow or having other problems, they just turn it off and hope no one will ask them about it.

i have enough retail experience to know that it can be a real pain in the arse as employment. however, i really made the effort when i used to sell hi-fi, as i used to loved the products. you'd think that the type of person that ends up in music retail would have more than a passing interest, and that computer maintenance, and providing a good demo environment would be all part of a day's work

Tragedy of the commons. It's everyone's responsibility, but, not everyone will accept it and some people will just make it worse. Moreover, in environments like a retail store, the first time you fix it there will be a high likelihood that it will become one of your assigned tasks for which the value is not recognized by management. This is, at its core, a management problem, but, maintaining the computer is just one path to sales of a product, and, as long as you are evaluating salesman based on sales, then one shouldn't be surprised when an expensive path is ignored.

Seriously, look at this thread and you will immediately see that most people don't need anything more than a boo-rah from Jordan Rudess to make a decision. So, as a salesman, why would you invest energy into the minority of customers that aren't so easily convinced? Those customers aren't making a decision based on a shiny box and testimonials, so, even if you do get it set up, if they aren't satisfied by what they find, they're still not going to buy. For the few hours you spend mucking around with a computer, you could tell six more people that Jordan Rudess is totally into omnisphere. You don't get extra commission for selling to a difficult customer.

ah well, f**k it then

i disagree on your assessment of this thread. (quelle effing surprise !!) as with most of these threads, the owners have to defend themselves against accusations of maintaining their position due to buyers remorse (or needing to find value that is not there), seeking convenience and efficiency in lieu of sound quality, fanboi-ism, and now, from you, that they are bereft of their own capacity for qualitative judgment, deferring to an endorsement by jordan rudess. as an aside, i'll tell you that, there aren't many things guaranteed to steer me away from an instrument MORE than an endorsement (or worse, a performance demo) from jordan rudess

no..as usual, the biggest noise comes from the detractors needing to make their case against omnisphere, rather than accepting that different things work for different folks, and that value is relative, and in the eye of the beholder. normally, the owners are quite capable of grasping the idea that what they value might not be of value to others. it should be a given, though most of us go the extra mile (having been burnt many times) to caveat everything we say with an "imo", or a "for me". but you still come, seemingly fueled by some grand need to expose us 'fanbois' as the elitist kuntz that we are. and just like a fly to a lump of shit, you (ghettosynth) seem to be in every one, throwing your weight in shit from behind your tired agenda

[Cimbasso]

Just earned $500 for a 30 second commercial which was 80% Omni. I'd say it's worth that money, yeah.

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

Just earned $500 for a 30 second commercial which was 80% Omni. I'd say it's worth that money, yeah.

perhaps you should have done it with something else. you might have earned a lot more. of course, it wouldn't have been so quick

[Cimbasso]

Just earned $500 for a 30 second commercial which was 80% Omni. I'd say it's worth that money, yeah.

perhaps you should have done it with something else. you might have earned a lot more. of course, it wouldn't have been so quick

I used just my custom patches, I don't use factory patches or loops. When you're on a 6-hour deadline, you need intuitive "ROMpler" which can get the job done.

[ghettosynth]

Just earned $500 for a 30 second commercial which was 80% Omni. I'd say it's worth that money, yeah.

That isn't the question that people are asking, that is, that isn't what "worth" means in this context. By that argument, no synths are "worth the money" to me because I don't make a nickle from any of them. I'd be better off spending that money on development tools or some other product that earns me money. Moreover, anyone can say that about anything that they earn money with even though they might have earned more money with a less expensive tool.

Don't misunderstand my post here, I'm not saying anything about Omnisphere, I'm simply saying that your argument, although not atypical, is not convincing to others who question the value of the product.

[trimph1]

Again.

Value is relative to the person who bought it.

You do not seem to get that point.

[ghettosynth]

Again.

Value is relative to the person who bought it.

You do not seem to get that point.

No, if you're addressing me, then you're completely missing my point. In general, the only reason that people who ask the question in the first place are interested in why it has value to you is that they can see that value for themselves. It is intrinsically a question of comparison, i.e., other synths do not cost $500, what about omnisphere makes it worth a high price?

Don't bother trying to answer that for my sake, I went through this some time ago, I'm long past my evaluation phase.

[noiseboyuk]

it is true that the type of working composer that this instrument 'seems' aimed at will indeed value speed and efficiency, but that is not coveted at the expense of the overall sound. it's the sounds that people use it for. that it is fast and efficient is down to the design and implementation of certain features, and not just as an afterthought, looking for some way to praise it - "well, it's expensive and doesn't really sound 'analogue', but all those professional composers care about efficiency more than sound.....

'quick' and 'efficient' are not words i ever want to associate with my music, and yet i value omnisphere greatly in my music. it's all about the sound and flexibility for me

Fortunately it's not either-or. The reason why Omni is so valuable to so many, and why after many years it still sells at RRP, is that Omni has it all and more. It has quality, depth and breadth sonically and in UI. Yes, it's incredibly quick to work with, yes you can get lost in it for hours sound-designing. It's OMNIsphere, after all...

[SeePlusPlus]

wether a synth sounds awesome, is relative,
wether a price is good is a seperate point, (closely related point) but also relative,

when calculating the value of a synth purchase
what you are looking for?
what do you need?

[SeePlusPlus]

[Touch The Universe]

go by msrp, not the random second hand purchase, more logical no?