Omnisphere 2.5

I guess the proof of the pudding will be in the eating, but this looks very promising.

Brilliant!

Wish they could tell in advance is it will also integrate with the Prophet x or Quantum.

great - hope the implementation is as good as it sounds - can't believe no one else out there has done this with their software yet

Hope they knock it out of the park with that modeled OB-6 filter too! Love them doubling the layers as well as the integration.

Still no MPE support?

Edit: I guess there is still some hope:

Would love to see MPE support and Roli Rise integration (although the Rise has few controls). Would also love to see more support for older synths but I guess the chances of them adding support for something as old as a Fantom X are slim.

Would be nice if they added some kind of scripting engine that would allow users to program integration themselves. On a Windows PC .NET would be perfect for that, or just an API/SDK that allows you to write your own DLL or something.

They don't support NKS?

Can't you just use the MIDI Learn function of your DAW?
I've been controlling various soft synths with my OB-6 for a while now.

Nope. But there's this: Omnisphere 2 NKS Browser for Komplete Kontrol \ Maschine

Of course i can. But take something like the KK S 61 mk2 where you have the parameters pre-mapped, not to mention browsing presets. I don't know if this new OS update will have anything to do with browsing sounds - but there's nothing wrong if Spectrasonics offers a free update to current omni 2 owners, and i'm interested to know whether it will work with one of two possible future synths in my studio.

I really hope they include the Virus in their hardware compatibility list.

It would be a huge omission if they don't.

D.

SonicState video with Eric Persing gives an in-depth look at Omnisphere 2.5. Explains the concept very well... and has me much more excited than I originally anticipated.

YouTube

I guess it would be kind of cool if they added the Virus since I use one too, though with something this deep, there's no escaping having to do a lot of things in the GUI.

Definitely intrigued by the new State Variable Filter (and hoping it sounds great - I've thought before how cool it would be to have The Drop's filters in Omnisphere, for example, so it's an area where updates are nice to see). And also the new analog sound sources. And of course the new 4-layer architecture.

I need to finally take the time to explore the Orb and see if there's a way to set it up to behave sort of like a vector envelope to control layer mixture. Especially now that there will be 4 layers and the potential to do Prophet VS-type 4-layer crossfades.

Well done spectrasonics - really innovative and great sonic state overview. Free upgrade as well

Native NKS support would be nice. I know there are templates available but having the support out of the box seems like a no brainer considering how many people use NI products in conjunction with Omnisphere. Full MPE support is also at the top of my Omnisphere wish list and I hope Spectrasonics makes it a reality. In fact, both NKS compatibility and MPE support seem like would take priority over mapping Omnisphere to hardware synths as both are almost entirely software related/dependent. Let hardware synths be hardware synths and map the software controller to software. Idk... just thinking out loud here.

Cool, it has Rev2 & Minilogue layout mapped.

This is the most baffling upgrade ever.

So it’s not simply MIDI CC mapping of the hardware to Omnisphere but replicating that synth in software?

Why? The real thing is right there, in your hands already.

I always knew that my Roland System-1 is a great softsynth controller.
Need to go to the Spectrasonics booth tomorrow to get more info.

It's not replicating the synth to a meticulous detail. You get an "Omnisphere take" on the layout of your hardware synth. It's actually a pretty interesting idea. Having a certain layout of controls calls for different approaches when creating sounds, so this is basically, at least as I understand it, different "ways to drive Omnisphere", to get some sounds really fast, then you can tweak it additionally later if you're so inclined. Pretty nifty.

Still I'd love it if they added MPE as well, and NKS support too.

It reminds me exactly of me and Excel. I'll spend days at work designing some new functionality that looks amazing. However, very rarely does it add any true value to the business.

Me: look at this new pivot table that feeds into this conditional formatted chart.
Director: great, so what do I do with it?
Me: er...

I’m not sure I get this thing properly. One thing is, you can use all those hardware synths to control the parameters on any Omnisphere preset. On top of that, they added a Omnisphere take on all those implented hardware synths? And on top of that, you can use the presets of all those hardware synths like any other preset on Omnisphere without having the actual hardware synth?

To sum it up...they added lots of possible hardware controllers and presets of those?

Still I dont understand why I would use a lets say Sub 37 preset when having the real hardware. Of course you can do much more with Omnisphere like polyphony etc. But use a simple mono preset when I can have the real deal from the respective hardware synth itself?

Gotta be honest: I sort of wish they had just gone whole hog and created their own dedicated Omnisphere controller keyboard (like Panorama for Reason, but better)...

+1 on the MPE support, although i'd be happy with a way to have slew on the pitch bend input.
I like this idea of bringing soft and hardware closer together, although i am not sure i'd actually use it that much,i have a midi controller keyboard for a reason.
OTOH, quick tweaking of envelopes is allways handy, or layering of soft and hard synths.

I played a layer-patch of the Ob6 with Repo V the other day, boy was that glorious using the repoV's warm prophet quality as a filler and using a pedal to have that brash OB sound rise up out of it, shjweeet!

It could a great feature for live performances where you only bring one piece of hardware with you

Did you notice the glint in mr Persing's eye when he mentioned: "of coarse we'll be making a Prophet X preset in the future" A bit of sportsmanship, "Nice one Dave, hold my beer. "lol

Is it me or is superbooth crazy this year? I just want to buy everything people are presenting.
And i just thought i'd checked off all important items from my G.A.S. list. d'oh!

I’m suddenly very interested in Omnisphere 2.5!

F’n brilliant. This is such a worthwhile endeavor for softsynth developers so users don’t have to mess with dodgy and incomplete mappings to their hardware synths & controllers.

I can’t possibly overstate how awesome this is for ergonomics and creative enjoyment!

Keep it up Spectrasonics! You’ve also added a lot of value to our existing hardware synths along with Omnisphere. I can’t wait to experiment with the many current hardware synth profiles you’ve developed that are in the house here. Also looking forward to the MatrixBrute addition and utilizing its incredible mod and sequence matrixes with O.

This is pretty f*cking cool! Love the concept in-practice using Roland's plug-outs and my newly acquired Aira System-1m. One more reason behind my decision to get a System-8!

This appears to go even deeper than traditional MIDI learn mappings, as the gent in the video with Nick was eluding to.

Having this all done in the most complete, sensible and creatively facilitating way - by the Omnisphere developers - ahead of time for us means we can just focus on making music.

So, when you reach for a knob on the hardware synth it’s ready to perform it’s labeled function, which may also trigger and control a whole series of behind the scenes algorithm events in Omnisphere (that might not occur with a simple MIDI learn mapping to that same knob).

The possibilities for this kind of integration are truly mind blowing in that it hasn’t been explored or exploited like this before, that I’m aware of. There is that German genius fellow that has developed amazing custom hardware controllers for softsynths like Diva, but this takes that notion and turns it on its head. Instead of a 1:1 hardware:softsynth integration it’s 20:1 then 100:1...

I see this as a real paradigm shift for softsynths (in my world anyway).

There’s a very interesting psychological affect that can happen when one is controlling synth sonics from a hardware synth controller vs a mouse or touch screen (I.e. at typical computer interface). The sonics - now at your control now through the knobby interface - become more “real”... in the sense that one begins perceiving the sounds as being generated from the hardware synth.

It’s quite fascinating actually.

Of course, the softsynth sonics need to be up to the task, but, that’s a given.

Thoughts?

Watching the video on this really got me excited! I have 3 of the synths on this list already and can't wait to try it out! This makes a lot of sense. This is how you sell more Omnisphere and hardware. I hope the Quantum makes the list as well.

Out of all the stuff I've seen at Superbooth I gotta say this seems
like the most interesting. It will get a lot more people tweaking sounds
vs just being a preset person.

The Prophet X also is cool.. but way outa my comfort zone price wise.

Anyone catch a target release date?

If they don’t make a Monotron template I’m selling my Omnisphere license.