"We've been busy! :-) Omnisphere 3 is available October 21st."
00:00 Introduction
01:42 The Sounds
03:33 Global Controls
07:08 Mutations
09:10 Synthesis Features
09:42 Dual Frequency Shifter
11:13 Wavetables
12:53 Quadzone
16:30 MPE
20:53 Analog Synthesis Features
23:03 New Soundsources
23:46 Hardware Integration
26:26 New Effects
28:52 Closing
Omnisphere® is the flagship synthesizer of Spectrasonics - an instrument of extraordinary power and versatility. Top artists all over the world rely on Omnisphere as an essential source of sonic inspiration. This award-winning software brings many different types of synthesis together into one amazing-sounding instrument that will spark a lifetime of exploration.
Thousands of Fresh New Sounds, Faster Access, Same Size
Truly massive new factory collection of 18 stunning libraries of thousands and thousands of super creative and inspiring new sounds from the award-winning Spectrasonics Sound Design team.
Curated Rapidly find exactly the sounds you need within the highly curated new libraries, meticulously organized by type of use.
Remastered All of the original classic Omnisphere patches have been carefully remastered and refreshed with the latest v3 features and Effects.
Optimized With new lossless optimization technology, the stunning Omnisphere 3 sound library actually takes NO MORE hard drive space than Omnisphere 2.
New Adaptive Global Controls Quickly customize the overall sound of a patch with the new adaptive global controls that allow easy tweaks to the most important sound characteristics:
Tone, Ambience, Filter, Envelope, Vibrato & Unison. These smart controls automatically analyze the patch, so they always work with musical results…no matter what patch you select.
New Patch Mutations At the click of a button, Omnisphere 3 can now instantly create fascinating and useful variations of any patch - from Subtle to Extreme! Every mutation you generate is automatically saved and you can easily come back to them later.
"A piece created with YAMAHA CP-88, @MoogSynthesizers Grandmother, and @SequentialLLC Prophet-10. A track built as a beat and keyboard session.
The CP-88 is used to play piano, while the Prophet-10 performs synth pads with reverb applied through @strymon blueSky.
The Grandmother provides the bassline.
An ambient piece where soft percussive hits and a slow-moving synth lead float over a warm sustained harmony.
The @buchlausa Buchla Music Easel is routed through a @ChaseBlissAudio MOOD MK II, adding spacious delay; its simple phrases stack into gentle, multi-layered textures.
The backing bed is built chiefly from @SpectrasonicsVIDEO Omnisphere synth pads."
"A piece created with the @teenageengineering EP-133 K.O.II, OP-1 field, and @SpectrasonicsVIDEO Omnisphere, where looping beats intertwine with shimmering synth tones.
EP-133 K.O.II: A loop built from drum, bass, and electric-piano samples. The unit is synchronized to the OP-1 field via USB-C.
OP-1 field: A 16-bar synth-pad performance is pre-recorded and looped, with live synth-lead lines played on the internal keyboard. The CWO effect is engaged for occasional modulation, and the output is routed through @gfisys SPECULAR TEMPUS for shimmer reverb.
Omnisphere: Provides additional synth textures layered into the track."
"A piece created with a Nintendo Game Boy (with LSDj) and OP‑1 field—electronica built from a Game Boy melody, soft‑synth harmonies, and a rhythm driven into delay feedback.
Game Boy: Sequenced in LSDj and processed through the MOOD MK II.
OP‑1 field: Plays the rhythm, which is fed back using the CWO effect.
Harmony: Generated with @SpectrasonicsVIDEO Omnisphere running in @Ableton Live; the track is sent out through an audio interface, processed with @strymon NIGHTSKY, and re‑recorded."
"First look and demo of the newly launched Double Felt Grand piano for SPECTRASONICS KEYSCAPE. We'll play this beautifully delicate piano and I'll share the interesting back story to how I acquired this amazing VST sample library virtual instrument with an incredibly collection of acoustic and electric pianos."
"Happy Piano Day! On this 88th day of the year, we are very happy to announce our new Double Felt Grand Piano for Keyscape! - Available now as a FREE UPDATE to current Keyscape users.
We were honored to have the amazing Olivia Belli play her inspired pieces “As I Was” and “Spiderwebs of Clouds” for us and we’re so excited to share her masterful exploration of this special new piano. Enjoy this blissful musical moment featuring the Keyscape Double Felt Grand! :-)"
"Free update adds #1 most requested sound from Keyscape users
To celebrate International Piano Day (the 88th day of the year), we are thrilled to announce the release of a special new Double Felt Grand piano for Keyscape® — available now to users as a Free Update. This v1.5 release represents the first time that we have added a brand new instrument to Keyscape - and the “felt piano” has been the #1 most requested sound from Keyscape users.
Creating the Double Felt
Normally, the highly coveted 'felt piano' sound is achieved by draping a layer of felt vertically between the strings and the hammers of an upright piano. This softens the strikes and gives the upright piano an intimate, muted tone. Because of gravity, this technique is not feasible on a grand piano, since the hammers and strings are situated horizontally. The felt would simply lay on top of the hammers, preventing them from rising up to strike the strings. Attempts to attach the felt above the hammers, against the strings, yields less-than-satisfactory results and laying the felt on top of the strings mutes their sustain drastically.
Through careful experimentation, renowned piano technician Jim Wilson (creator of the unique Yamaha grand used in Keyscape for the LA Custom C7), discovered how to achieve this gorgeous muted sound on a world-class 7-foot grand piano. After a great deal of thought and experimentation, Jim ended up carefully cutting, fitting, and gluing two individually layered strips of a thick, natural felt to each hammer.
Sound/Software Development
Once the acoustic piano was prepared in this special way, our acclaimed Spectrasonics sound development team (led by producer Eric Persing) then painstakingly sampled the instrument at our newly developed private recording studio — which features some of the largest naturally ambient recording spaces in Los Angeles. To complete the experience, our amazing software team developed lush new DSP reverb algorithms that are exclusive to this new Keyscape sound. The final result is the unique Double Felt Grand: a warm, soft piano with the best aspects of a felt upright, but with the body and the decay of a grand.
New Keyscape Video
To celebrate Piano Day and the release of the new Double Felt Grand, we’ve also produced a new Keyscape video featuring a beautiful performance on the new sound by Sony Classical artist Olivia Belli."
"Stéphane Bonvallet is truly Spectrasonics’ French Connection.
It all started with a D-50 and an explosion of music programming around the planet. Stéphane was one of the first to own this legendary synth in France. His addiction to it and all things audio secured him a position in the dawning of this age of musical programming. Some say he could often be seen programming sounds with his eyes shut in a state of audio nirvana.
It's this kind of passion that keeps Stéphane the eternal optimist in all things pertaining to music and destiny. The allure of the industry eventually lead him to pursue a Masters in Sound Engineering. Studying music arrangement and jazz at the CIM, considered the premiere jazz school in Europe, Stéphane built his skill set through countless studio hours. His talents found their first home in French television work for Les Enfants de la Télé and La Fureur du Samedi Soir.
His association with Spectrasonics spans nearly a decade as a consultant, demonstrator and as a member of the renown sound development team for Omnisphere and Trilian."
"Omnisphere creator Eric Persing takes some time to answer user questions about Hardware Synth Integration. The ground-breaking new feature of the award-winning synth bridges the physical experience gap between software and hardware worlds, giving users intuitive control of Omnisphere by using the familiar layout of their hardware synth."
Introducing Omnisphere 2.5 Published on Aug 28, 2018 SpectrasonicsVIDEO
"At our Special Event at the El Rey Theater in Los Angeles, Spectrasonics Founder Eric Persing demonstrates the amazing new 2.5 update to Omnisphere - featuring the ground-breaking new Hardware Synth Integration capabilities and much more!"
Plugin Focus - Omnisphere 2.5
Published on Aug 29, 2018 Pro EMP
"In this video i walkthrough the New Omnisphere 2.5 update looking at the Hardware Synth waves and the New Granular feature."
Introducing Keyscape Published on Sep 2, 2016 SpectrasonicsVIDEO
Update2: and the official press release released September 12, 2016:
"'New 'Keyscape' Virtual Instrument from Spectrasonics Extensive 'Collector Keyboards' V.I. Software is Now Available
Burbank, CA - September 12, 2016 - Spectrasonics has announced that their major new software virtual instrument Keyscape(tm) is now available worldwide. Ten years in the making, Keyscape features the largest selection of collector keyboards in the world. The instrument includes an eclectic array of rare and unique keyboards that have never been sampled before. Each of the 36 sought-after keyboards were carefully restored and then deeply sampled and behavior modeled in unprecedented detail by the award-winning Spectrasonics Sound Development team. As the company's fourth virtual instrument, Keyscape operates both as a self-contained software plug-in and also integrates fully within the company's flagship synthesizer, Omnisphere 2. Keyscape has a suggested retail price of $399US and 349€, and is available now for delivery.
Technical Specifications
• Extensive library with over 500 "Best-in-class" sounds, 36 Instrument Models and Hybrid "Duo" Patches
• Deeply Multisampled sounds with up to 32-way velocity switching, Round Robins, etc.
• Custom Controls specially crafted for each patch allow intuitive sound modification
• Software features high quality, authentic circuit modeled amplifiers and effects
• Mechanical Noise, Pedal Noise and Release Noise behavior modeling
• Available as Download (77 GB) or Boxed USB Drive Edition
• Optional "Lite" installation (30 GB) for stage use
• Full Omnisphere(r) 2 integration
Keyscape is available to purchase now in either Boxed or Download Editions. The boxed edition features USB installation drives, and is sold exclusively through Spectrasonics' worldwide authorized dealer network. The Download edition is available exclusively from the Spectrasonics Webstore: https://www.spectrasonics.net/sales/techshop/?main_page=product_info&products_id=53
Keyscape has a suggested retail price of $399US and 349€. An extensive introduction video, full sound listings, background information on each model and over 5 hours of audio demos showing Keyscape are available at: https://www.spectrasonics.net/keyscape"
"Here's something fun! Our good friend Gulli Briem stopped by the studio today and brought his Hang Drum along with him. This was the actual instrument that we sampled for Omnisphere 2.
Eric started jamming with Gulli playing the Hang and Eric playing the same sounds from Omnisphere 2 with some of our Psychoacoustic Techniques applied. We rolled the cameras to capture the impromptu live jam.
Check it out and see if you can tell who is playing what!"
Update: And the press release for the v2.1 update:
"Spectrasonics Releases Omnisphere v2.1 Update
Power Synth adds simplified user sound sharing and Library Publishing for third-party development
Burbank, CA - August 4, 2015 - Spectrasonics has released Omnisphere 2.1 with a streamlined 'Sharing' feature for sharing user sounds and a new Library Publishing capability. Version 2.1 is an update to the company's recent v2 upgrade of its flagship software synth. In May, Omnisphere Version 2.0 was released with vastly expanded new synthesis and creative capabilities for sound design, along with significant user interface innovations, and thousands of new sounds. The new v2.1 update, a free download to Omnisphere version 2 users, includes refined patch and project sharing features for easily exchanging custom sounds between end-users directly or over social media, a Library Publishing feature allowing third-party sound developers to create easily installable sound sets for Omnisphere 2 users, as well as a much improved boot time for the plugin itself. Both the Sound Sharing and Publishing features can contain 'User Audio,' offering new horizons in patch creation and simplified collaboration.
"It's exciting to see the Omnisphere universe expanding with so much great sound development work in so many areas, from EDM to rock, and film and TV scores to games," says Spectrasonics' Founder and Creative Director, Eric Persing. "And now third- party developers of patch sets for Omnisphere 2 have a simple way to create and offer custom libraries that can include their own soundsources, and are easy to install for customers. There's no need for installers or complicated instructions for moving files around directories deep in the system folders. And because it's so easy to share sounds and ideas now, we feel this will be a huge boon for social media user groups discussing tips and patch creation. This is a big opportunity for our users everywhere. We look forward to seeing and hearing what develops!"
Sharing sounds is simplified in Omnisphere 2.1, the end-user can simply shift-click on a few Patches or a few Multi-patches and then save them to be transferred to a friend or musical collaborator who also has Omnisphere 2. Sharing patches automatically includes any user audio, which is especially convenient with custom patches. Sharing multiple types of Patches, Multis and user audio all at once is easier too, with Project sharing; the end-user can just collect a set of sounds in a project, and then share the project.
The new "Publish Library" feature in v2.1 was created for third-party developers of Omnisphere libraries. It allows developers to easily export, or "publish" a library of Multis and Patches, along with any associated user-created Soundsources, as well as graphic images for the custom library in a single .omnisphere file format. End-users can then easily install this package into their systems with a single step.
Beyond the new sharing features in v2.1, the Version 2 upgrade released in May, includes a host of new capabilities including the most requested Omnisphere feature: Audio import for user-created soundsources-along with major new oscillator features including over 400 new DSP Oscillator waveforms, morphing Wavetables, new granular synthesis options, over 4500 unique new sounds created by Spectrasonics' acclaimed sound design team-bringing the total to over 12,000 total sounds and patches, 25 new FX units, an enhanced User Interface, and innovative production/browsing features such as Sound Match(tm) to instantly locate any related sounds in the library, and Sound Lock(tm) to create endless useful patch variations by locking sound aspects while browsing other patches-among many other innovative features.
Omnisphere 2.1 Feature Overview
New Sound Sharing and Publishing capabilities in v2.1:
• Easily share patches and projects between users, which can include User Audio
• Publish a library of patches and Multis including User Audio, graphics and more
• Share Sounds over social media
Faster Boot Time for Omnisphere 2.1:
• Opening the plugin inside any DAW on Macintosh or Windows is much speedier
Vast New Synthesis Possibilities in Omnisphere 2:
• Audio Import - Users can import their own audio file as a soundsource in Omnisphere
• Over 400 New DSP Waveforms for the Synth Oscillator - an increase of 100X
• Wavetable Synthesis - Each Waveform is now a Morphing Wavetable
• Powerful New Granular Synthesis algorithm
• Deeper FM/Ring Mod capabilities for aggressive timbres
• 8 New Filter Types - New Power Filters, Vowel, Resonators
• New Unison Drift models Analog Polysynth behavior
• Expanded Modulation with new sources and many more targets
• Polyphonic LFO and Modulation Envelope options
• Soundsource Reversing
"After many years of development, we are thrilled to announce that Omnisphere 2 is coming April 30, 2015. This is the first v2.0 of any Spectrasonics instrument and it's truly a gigantic one! Visit www.spectrasonics.net for all the details."
YouTube Uploaded by SpectrasonicsVIDEO on Jan 31, 2012
"At the Moogfest in Asheville, North Carolina, four of the top Sound Designers in the world discuss their craft, philosophies, techniques and swap entertaining stories about their sound design experiences in a live panel discussion. Features Eric Persing, Diego Stocco, Richard Devine and Scott Gershin."
YouTube via SpectrasonicsVIDEO — May 28, 2010 — "Eric Persing shows a very cool live performance application of using Spectrasonics Virtual Instruments like Omnisphere, Trilian and Stylus with the iPad via a new third party app called "Air Display" - which turns the iPad into a wireless, external touchscreen monitor for Macs. BTW, this iPad app and the techniques shown in the video can be used with any software....but it's particularly interesting with software like the professional Omnisphere Power Synth that is far too powerful to run on the iPad natively."
YouTube via SpectrasonicsVIDEO "At Winter NAMM, keyboardist extraordinaire, Jordan Rudess, gives an amazing demonstration of what he's been doing with Omnisphere.
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