Is Omnisphere 2 still worth it?

[LoveEnigma18]

Sorry in advance if this question is a cliche. But I am asking this to try to avert my GAS for it and also a question in general whether Omnisphere 2 is worth getting today.

- Considering there are lots of great instruments available these days
(synths: Massive X, Pigments 3, Equator 2, V Collection, etc. and tons of Kontakt libraries as part of Komplete or 3rd party libraries), what makes Omnisphere 2 special?

- Is it the huge number of high-quality ROMpler type of sounds or the possibilities with its engine?

- What (genres) is it actually best for?

- Can it replace all these instruments in terms of sound creation possibilities and number and type of sounds/presets?

I am sure Omnisphere 2 owners and fans will be slightly biased towards it, but I am looking for an unbiased opinion. If I own the above instruments, does it make sense to get Omnisphere 2 - of course from your point of view.

Summary of the topic: It is worth it.

[PieBerger]

Didn't do it for me personally. I bought it about 5 years ago, didn't really get on with it and ended up selling to a friend. Hugely overhyped synth imho, especially considering alternatives available now. Unless you have a burning desire/actual need for the huge library of proprietary sampled content, it's just not worth it imo.

[ghettosynth]

[SLiC]

I have most of the big name synths but for me Omnisphere is still the most impressive software instrument ever made. It’s far more than a Rompler there are massive 4 layer multitimbral synth engines with amazing fx and arps etc...Omnisphere still stands out as an ‘instrument’ that can make deep, interesting sounds no other Instrument (hard or soft) can, it’s easy to learn and easy to find sounds which is very important with a massive library! I also have the Moog tribute library, keyscape (my second favourite VST ) and Trillian, all of which run in Omnisphere making it the only VST I need to open and learn for a massive range of sounds.

[BBFG#]

Depending on what you have or don't have now could make it either worth it or expensive overkill.
You mentioned NI instruments though, and in the kontext of Kontakt, you could easily spend Omni's FMV price on one quality Kontakt library. And if you're a preset and/or simple preset layering person, then sure, it's probably worth it. But I often read how others more often turn to another plugin for their analog emulations. And almost as often it seems they only use that part of it to prove it could if they wanted to.
As far as the GAS, you could wait for version 3, and then pick up version 2 on a dump when Spectrasonics announces a 'grace buy period'.

MRP is $499. MAP is $479.00.
FMV should be closer to $430.00 new. And far less on a 'dump' during a new version announcement where some stores want to move the stock.
And remember that buying it used makes it NFR.

[Kinh]

Shit, it's still the most powerful synth out there.

[Kinh]

Hugely overhyped synth imho, especially considering alternatives available now.

such as?

[ecasasmusic2]

As a synthesizer it is very powerful and easy to use. You can do a lot with it and it sounds great. The waveforms and filters are top quality and you have plenty to choose. The effects are great. As a synth is not that complex, it is not as deep as, say, Falcon, they keep every section simple and clean rather than complex, but you can get great results in no time.


And the thousands of soundsources and top quality patches are great value. Most of that soundsources are very unique, you won’t find them in any other synth or library.

[cowby]

I bought it back in 2015 or early 2016....

At that time, I wrote in the forum saying that if Ominsphere has a LE version selling @$199 would be very great. That means, they sell the package with those sine/saw kinds of simple samples but not a full set of their huge library. Because in my case, I don't need the burning piano samples or other samples they made. I just need their sound engine (FM/Granular/etc...) with the FX racks.

With that in mind, Falcon from UVI is another alternative if you dont' use Omni's samples that much. But I must say I love Omni's UI better than Falcon. So when doing sound design, I go for Omni.

[PieBerger]

Hugely overhyped synth imho, especially considering alternatives available now.

such as?

Assuming, you don't want/need all of the sample content, then something like Pigments is a good contender imo. It does VA, FM, wavetable and granular just like Omnisphere, but the workflow/programming is miles better, for me personally and the sampler is a bit better too, you can load up to 6 samples for round robin effects, rather than just the one in Omnisphere. The filters are nice enough, the effects aren't quite as good imo, but I have plenty of good third-party offerings, as I expect most other people do too. It is considerably cheaper too, $99 on sale ($69 if you have one of their freebies).

Don't get me wrong, I don't think it's a bad synth, I just don't have a raging hard on for it like most people seem to here and in other forums/groups I frequent.

[chk071]

Hugely overhyped synth imho, especially considering alternatives available now.

such as?

Synth1!

[PieBerger]

At that time, I wrote in the forum saying that if Ominsphere has a LE version selling @$199 would be very great. That means, they sell the package with those sine/saw kinds of simple samples but not a full set of their huge library. Because in my case, I don't need the burning piano samples or other samples they made. I just need their sound engine (FM/Granular/etc...) with the FX racks.

It's a shame that they still haven't considered this 5 years on. At the very least, they could offer a chance to demo at home with such a version. $500 with no demo, $50 transfer fee and license becomes NFR isn't all that attractive. At least Falcon, which also doesn't have any demo can be easily sold on if it doesn't work out for you.

[chk071]

Hugely overhyped synth imho, especially considering alternatives available now.

such as?

Assuming, you don't want/need all of the sample content, then something like Pigments is a good contender imo. It does VA, FM, wavetable and granular just like Omnisphere, but the workflow/programming is miles better, for me personally and the sampler is a bit better too, you can load up to 6 samples for round robin effects, rather than just the one in Omnisphere. The filters are nice enough, the effects aren't quite as good imo, but I have plenty of good third-party offerings, as I expect most other people do too. It is considerably cheaper too, $99 on sale ($69 if you have one of their freebies).

I think the big difference is that Omnisphere comes with a 64 gigs library, which most likely makes most of Omnisphere's price.

That's also the least here really seem to understand. The synth part isn't that expensive, it's the sample library.

[PieBerger]

Hugely overhyped synth imho, especially considering alternatives available now.

such as?

Assuming, you don't want/need all of the sample content, then something like Pigments is a good contender imo. It does VA, FM, wavetable and granular just like Omnisphere, but the workflow/programming is miles better, for me personally and the sampler is a bit better too, you can load up to 6 samples for round robin effects, rather than just the one in Omnisphere. The filters are nice enough, the effects aren't quite as good imo, but I have plenty of good third-party offerings, as I expect most other people do too. It is considerably cheaper too, $99 on sale ($69 if you have one of their freebies).

I think the big difference is that Omnisphere comes with a 64 gigs library, which most likely makes most of Omnisphere's price.

That's also the least here really seem to understand. The synth part isn't that expensive, it's the sample library.

Absolutely, the high price tag is justified in the sense that all those samples took time to record and process etc, it's just a lot to swallow for those not all that interested in them. As commented above, some kind of LE version would be great, because the synth engine and FX are solid on their own.

[LoveEnigma18]

Hi guys, thanks a lot for all the comments. I really appreciate your time and advice.

The idea of LE version is excellent indeed. Definitely not interested in all the sample content considering I have lot of that covered in just Komplete alone. But it seems that Spectrasonics are unshakeable.