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MillimeterSpectrasonics Omnisphere Review
Nov 11, 2009 12:00 PM, By Gary Eskow
Sound-design module offers power and relative ease of use.
Based on word-count limitations, we're going to gloss over Ominsphere's Filter and LFO sections, but when you start working with the program, make sure you explore these areas of the Edit page fully. We really don't have time to cover the Oscillator fully either. But let's suppose you have an inexpensive MIDI keyboard attached to your computer and a digital audio workstation. Sure, you can play a musical line by slowing down the tempo and poking around with one finger, and then quantizing the resultant masterpiece. But it's just not, well, big enough.
Do you see the last "button" on the right side of Oscillator screen, the one labeled Multi? Click on it, then select the Harmonia option. Omnisphere has just given you four more oscillators to work with! All you have to do is select the pitch relationships of each one to the original, and in an instant you've built a mammoth sound from a single line part. There's much, much more to the Oscillator, of course, so spend some time with it.
Omnisphere's effects are stunning; they're worth two to three times the price of the plug-in itself, in my judgment. They borrow heavily from Stylus RMX, which leads to a suggestion. Wouldn't it be great if Spectrasonics created a shell that all Spectrasonics plug-ins could inhabit? That way, if you wanted to put a flanger on your electric bass (Trilogy) and snare drum (Stylus RMX), you could load said effect on a send bus. Ah well, another discussion.
But wait, let's keep going. Stylus RMX can import samples to be used alongside its own, but Omnisphere lacks this capability. Spectrasonics is mum on the subject, but the company has let out hints that it might open up the platform in the future, which would be great. Given its tremendous sound-shaping flexibility and outstanding effects, Omnisphere could easily become the premier synth/sample playback module on the market. There are a number of issues to consider in this regard, however, including the potential loss of prestige that could come if Omnisphere's current status as an elite plug-in were altered. Spectrasonics may also feel that, given the huge library it ships with, Omnisphere already covers a vast sonic territory. True, but there is an identifiable Omnisphere identity and a common thread to this material, and it's a persuasive argument that opening up the platform to material conceived and recorded by others would be advantageous.
Staying in the here and now, Omnisphere establishes itself as world-class sound module out of the box. Highly trained keyboardists and sound designers will lose themselves making sounds with this plug-in, and with time, even the most modestly prepared audio lover will be able to construct soundscapes that add depth and dimension to film and video images.
bottomline
Company: Spectrasonics
www.spectrasonics.net
Assets: Great sounds; highly complex functionality dressed in an easy-to-absorb interface; outstanding price/performance ratio.
Caveats: None, save the closed architecture of the system.
Price: $499
Continue the discussion on “Crosstalk” the Millimeter Forum.