Is Omnisphere 2 still worth it?

[bmanic]

On the other hand, I don't think there is a synthesizer cheaper than Omnisphere that can do everything it does.

Hell, Alchemy comes free with Logic and does significantly more than Omnisphere.

In pure synthesis, yes. But the included sampled sounds are nowhere near the quality of Omnisphere. Not even in the same ballpark.

They are two extremely different synthesizers.

Personally my be-all/end-all synth would indeed be Alchemy with Omnisphere's sound sample library. That would be THE best synthesizer in the whole world.

[LFO8]

On the other hand, I don't think there is a synthesizer cheaper than Omnisphere that can do everything it does.

Hell, Alchemy comes free with Logic and does significantly more than Omnisphere.

Whilst I love Alchemy too as a Logic user, it's not in the same league as Omnishpere in my honest opinion.

[pdxindy]

You can import whatever samples you want into Alchemy. Unlike Omnisphere, it does not have a 1 sample limit for user samples.

I don't care how good a sample library is, often it's not going to have the samples one wants and then you are SOL in Omnisphere.

[pdxindy]

On the other hand, I don't think there is a synthesizer cheaper than Omnisphere that can do everything it does.

Hell, Alchemy comes free with Logic and does significantly more than Omnisphere.

Whilst I love Alchemy too as a Logic user, it's not in the same league as Omnishpere in my honest opinion.

I suppose it depends on what you do. I mostly work with my own samples, and in that area Omnisphere is weak. So for my uses, Alchemy is in a higher league.

[LFO8]

You can import whatever samples you want into Alchemy. Unlike Omnisphere, it does not have a 1 sample limit for user samples.

I don't care how good a sample library is, often it's not going to have the samples one wants and then you are SOL in Omnisphere.

Have you ever used Omnisphere?

[zvenx]

For me part of the allure of Omnisphere is presets by imho the best sound design team on the planet, and the sound aesthitics of one Eric Persing.
Indeed it may not be everyone's cup of tea, but those two factors alone make it my personal desert island synth.
I didn't care for how many features alchemy up to 1.5 came with, sound aesthitically it never did anything for me. I probably used it twice in all the years I had it (and still do)
rsp

[yl0506]

Concerning the comparison of Omnisphere with one of U-He's synthesizers, it seems to me quite inappropriate. Because Urs has clearly decided not to enter the range of synthesizers capable of reading samples. Of course Bazille is much better than Omnisphere for FM, but it is also more specialized. Same for Hive, RePro, etc. By having all 3, the price is already much closer to Omnisphere, and without having access to its huge sample library. I should mention that I am also a fan of U-He, but the initial question was: is Omnisphere still worth it?

I find the comparison with Alchemy more credible indeed in terms of features. And it's true that Logic Pro has fully integrated Alchemy into its workflow, so the comparison can be made. I hadn't thought about it, even though I am a Logic user (it's my main DAW).

So why didn't I think of it ?

1. First of all because I had Omnisphere before Logic integrated Alchemy, so I had to get used to it.
2. I learned to use Alchemy, but I agree with bmanic's comment that the sample bank that comes with Omnisphere is much more exciting and inspiring to my musical creativity (although obviously this is a rather subjective judgment).
3. I must admit that I am also particularly surprised by the quality of Omnisphere's effects, especially those that come with the Sonic Extensions. It is both very easy to use and very powerful. It's true though that Logic Pro has many effects, so the comparison remains possible. Phat FX and Step FX, can do a lot of things.
4. I just find that whenever I want to have fun improvising on an already made sound that I want to touch up, I tend to go back to Omnisphere more frequently. I know that I will find an inspiring sound very quickly. And the modification of the existing sound is done very quickly.

After that, as I said above, I have many software synthesizers and I have affection for several of them (I am not stingy with affection!). It is true that all this makes a consequent budget, but well, it is also that : "a passion". Reflecting on my amateur practice, I find that I come back to Omnisphere more often than my other synths. So yes, it's still worth it, and as I said, if I had to keep only one, it would be this one.

Sincerely yours

[bmanic]

I don't care how good a sample library is, often it's not going to have the samples one wants and then you are SOL in Omnisphere.

This is very seldom the case.. and when you DO need your own samples, you can load one per oscillator so that gives you 4.

I have a feeling quite a few here just don't know how vast the Omnisphere basic built in library is.

[bmanic]

Here is a link to a basic demonstration of random Omnisphere Sound Sources.

This is using a fully initialized preset, one single oscillator, no effects, no filters, no ADSR even (just basic sustain at full, attack and release at minimal settings). Basically what you are hearing is just the sample library content.

32 minutes long max quality mp3 (77mb). I just hit the randomize sound source button and browsed through a few and played live on keyboard. Obviously this shows my own personal bias of sounds that I like so don't expect every genre and type covered. Still, this may be useful as I haven't seen anybody make a deep dive video on just the available sound sources.


Link (google drive):

https://drive.google.com/file/d/17IdWnC ... share_link


This is like 0.001% of the full library content. Now imagine that all of this can be affected by the built in synthesis, manipulating all the starting points, the harmonic content, FM, Granular etc. The best thing about all this is that it's super easy and quick to do. Omnisphere is by far one of the most gratifying synth programming environments for people who don't usually make their own sounds. Personally I find it a bit limiting in various areas but there is no denying the amount of sound variety you have on tap for 500$, even when not relying on the factory presets.

[Pillimees]

Personally, I don't care about price, I just care about having the right tools that serve me well and that I know how to use. Yes, there are certainly more affordable options for someone who only makes music as a hobby, but don't buy an Omnisphere if you think it's too expensive, it's that simple. Sorry if I'm rude, but here we talk about money all the time, although we could talk about music.

[pdxindy]

I don't care how good a sample library is, often it's not going to have the samples one wants and then you are SOL in Omnisphere.

This is very seldom the case..

Maybe speak for yourself. For example, my Kalimba has 24 tines on it. 4 samples in Omnisphere is not gonna cut it. My Kalimba is electric too. I can create all sorts of lovely variations going through my modular. I've got lots of my own samples from modular/semi-modular gear, various physical instruments, percussion kits from synths and voice. It's really fun!

It's just a fact... if you want to work with your own multi-samples, or import multi-samples from other sources, Omnisphere cannot do it.

[noiseboyuk]

It's just a fact... if you want to work with your own multi-samples, or import multi-samples from other sources, Omnisphere cannot do it.

Agreed. If multi-sample import is important to you, Omni isn’t a sensible choice. I never want to do that, so I personally don’t care. The only time I import samples is for granular fun, and single sample is fine for that.

[liquidsound]

It’s ridiculous that, perhaps, here we have people commenting on Omnisphere without owning one…

[vurt]

It’s ridiculous that, perhaps, here we have people commenting on Omnisphere without owning one…

you new here?

[liquidsound]

It’s ridiculous that, perhaps, here we have people commenting on Omnisphere without owning one…

you new here?

You look, sound familiar