Omnisphere 2.5: Hardware Synth Integration and double voice architecture

[Echoes in the Attic]

There is another reality which is all of these hardware synths can only communicate with omnispherea via midi. So when you turn a knob on one of them, it’s sending midi messages to omnispheres, and then if you pull up the right profile in omnispheres it will react like the original synth in complex macro ways.

I can’t think of any reason that any old midi controller couldn’t be used to send the same midi messages, the results would be dependent on which profile is loaded in omnispheres. Lémur and other solutions May also be possible. I suspect we will see a lot of creative things happen once it comes out

This is what I'm saying! And as cool as it is to control Omnisphere with a synth, it is basically replicating the general structure and signal path and capabilities which that synth already has. It would be much more useful to get these profiles with generic controllers, because the layouts are quite simple so it would actually work quite well.

[noiseboyuk]

I can’t think of any reason that any old midi controller couldn’t be used to send the same midi messages, the results would be dependent on which profile is loaded in omnispheres. Lémur and other solutions May also be possible. I suspect we will see a lot of creative things happen once it comes out

Oooh now, verrrry good thought. I'm not crazy about iPad interfaces for music work, but it probably wouldn't take someone far-cleverer-than-I very long to get interfaces for Lemur or similar which essentially mimic the front panels of those 20 hardware synths, sending their messages on the same controls. It wouldn't be anything like as good a programming experience, but it would solve the problem for those of us without a synth to be able to tweak something consistent with the real thing, as discussed in many posts on this thread.

Have 20 KVR points!

(This might sound bonkers, but is there a Windows app that mimics Lemur or similar? It's probably pointless for most uses, but in this case could be pretty handy).

[Dewdman42]

In theory you could use just about any control surface software that can send midi. There are lots of solutions out there on all platforms.

[rod_zero]

There is another reality which is all of these hardware synths can only communicate with omnispherea via midi. So when you turn a knob on one of them, it’s sending midi messages to omnispheres, and then if you pull up the right profile in omnispheres it will react like the original synth in complex macro ways.

I can’t think of any reason that any old midi controller couldn’t be used to send the same midi messages, the results would be dependent on which profile is loaded in omnispheres. Lémur and other solutions May also be possible. I suspect we will see a lot of creative things happen once it comes out

They will work surely if you just replicate the MIDI CC # of one of the supported HW synths.

But using generic midi controllers isn't the point of this feature. In fact this is about getting away from generic MIDI controllers.

[aMUSEd]

So I guess we can also expect a new updated Omnisphere bank with patches using all 4 layers?

[Dewdman42]

There is another reality which is all of these hardware synths can only communicate with omnispherea via midi. So when you turn a knob on one of them, it’s sending midi messages to omnispheres, and then if you pull up the right profile in omnispheres it will react like the original synth in complex macro ways.

I can’t think of any reason that any old midi controller couldn’t be used to send the same midi messages, the results would be dependent on which profile is loaded in omnispheres. Lémur and other solutions May also be possible. I suspect we will see a lot of creative things happen once it comes out

They will work surely if you just replicate the MIDI CC # of one of the supported HW synths.

But using generic midi controllers isn't the point of this feature. In fact this is about getting away from generic MIDI controllers.

Sorta. They put in a bunch of new wave tables and programming to mimic the sound of the real synths. I think THAT was the real point of the update, getting new sounds and performance possibilities out of the software. For some odd reason they decided to pair that with midi maps to the actual synths they are mimicking soundwise. It’s quite possible they did that as a way to bring in synth makers as partners and avoid patent infringement. I don’t know but I doubt that most people that actually have those synths will want to use Omni to mimick what they already have. Rather those people would want to enjoy the sounds and performance possibilities of the other synths they don’t own. And that will still come down to them setting up a different midi controller of some kind

[Echoes in the Attic]

I can’t think of any reason that any old midi controller couldn’t be used to send the same midi messages, the results would be dependent on which profile is loaded in omnispheres. Lémur and other solutions May also be possible. I suspect we will see a lot of creative things happen once it comes out

Oooh now, verrrry good thought. I'm not crazy about iPad interfaces for music work, but it probably wouldn't take someone far-cleverer-than-I very long to get interfaces for Lemur or similar which essentially mimic the front panels of those 20 hardware synths, sending their messages on the same controls. It wouldn't be anything like as good a programming experience, but it would solve the problem for those of us without a synth to be able to tweak something consistent with the real thing, as discussed in many posts on this thread.

Have 20 KVR points!

(This might sound bonkers, but is there a Windows app that mimics Lemur or similar? It's probably pointless for most uses, but in this case could be pretty handy).

I've been saying the same thing since the start!

And yes there are windows midi touch apps, like XotoPad.

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

interfaces for Lemur or similar which essentially mimic the front panels of those 20 hardware synths

[noiseboyuk]

I've been saying the same thing since the start!

And yes there are windows midi touch apps, like XotoPad.

I must have misunderstood what you were originally suggesting. As many have said, using generic midi hardware controllers isn't very appealing, and that hasn't changed for me. But this feels like a very specific function, not to map generic controls, but to replicate the specific controls that each Omni profile is mapped to, on something like Lemur and not hardware. That was a lightbulb moment for me.

Thanks for the tip there, will scurry off to Google to check out the XotoPad.

[noiseboyuk]

So I guess we can also expect a new updated Omnisphere bank with patches using all 4 layers?

Do you mean the factory library? I highly doubt it. What on earth would be the point? There will be a few hundred new patches based on the hardware integration though, and that will obviously make use of more layers where appropriate.

I'm getting the distinct impression from multiple posters that people think that Omni has only ever been a 2 oscillator synth until now...

[Echoes in the Attic]

I've been saying the same thing since the start!

And yes there are windows midi touch apps, like XotoPad.

I must have misunderstood what you were originally suggesting. As many have said, using generic midi hardware controllers isn't very appealing, and that hasn't changed for me. But this feels like a very specific function, not to map generic controls, but to replicate the specific controls that each Omni profile is mapped to, on something like Lemur and not hardware. That was a lightbulb moment for me.

Thanks for the tip there, will scurry off to Google to check out the XotoPad.

Well I mean everything, touch screen apps, or a macro screen in Omni itself, or using a good generic midi controller with lots of controls like a Novation SL or Nektar Panorama (ie. not an 8 knob controller like Komplete Kontrol). These hardware layout have so few controls that it would be easy to make a sensible layout that is easy to learn on a Novation or Nektar. The worst thing that might happen is you might have an unused knob here or there. To me that's worth the potential of being able to use multiple hardware profiles on the same device.

[aMUSEd]

So I guess we can also expect a new updated Omnisphere bank with patches using all 4 layers?

Do you mean the factory library? I highly doubt it. What on earth would be the point? There will be a few hundred new patches based on the hardware integration though, and that will obviously make use of more layers where appropriate.

I'm getting the distinct impression from multiple posters that people think that Omni has only ever been a 2 oscillator synth until now...

I don't mean backdating what's already in the factory library, just adding new patches to it using the new architecture. They would be crazy not to, to show what can be achieved with the new features.

[noiseboyuk]

Echoes - I dunno, I still don't see it with any currently available hardware controller. Something in my brain does not compute - I think the physical grouping of faders, knobs and switches is integral to the programming experience. Everything will also have to be very clearly labelled, and that seems to be a weak point on most of the controllers. Some controls have labels, others don't....

I had a quick look at the XotoPad, not sure it would be great in this circumstance. Seems to only offer buttons or faders? So far Lemur looks like a clear win to me. Could be a good use of the 10" Fire HD thing I've just got and hacked to be Play store compatible - nice (relatively) big screen for the UI (currently £110 in the UK). This could be very cute indeed, having them all right there sat on the keyboard controller.

Also a casual google reveals that the Roland boutiques at least have downloadable midi implementation tables on the website, which will take much of the pain out of getting it going.

[dreamkeeper]

Well, nothing's stopping any 3rd-party dev from making a VSTi that's basically an 'external' macro controller for Omni. Figure out the MIDI messages that are sent by one of the supported hardware synths, design a GUI that's structured in the same way and let it send those MIDI messages to Omni - that's it. Omni wouldn't care where the MIDI is coming from. Seems, there's a whole new market right there...

It's then up to anyone, how to map their preferred generic controller to that 'macro'-GUI.

[Sjefke]

interfaces for Lemur or similar which essentially mimic the front panels of those 20 hardware synths

If you are happy with that, sure thing it will work..

I am more looking forward to the nostalgia of real knobs... and an analogue feel