Omnisphere 2.6 First Look & Review Of New Features

The first thing that strikes me after opening Omnisphere 2.6 is all the new integrated hardware profiles. Omnisphere now includes Hardware Synth Integration feature with full support for over 65 Hardware Synths! The update is free for all owners of Omnisphere 2. We have a totally re-iterated arpeggiator and over 600 new presets! And boy is this update exciting.

Let’s dive in and look at the new features.

Hardware Synth Profiles

It doesn’t matter if we own these hardware synths. We can easily access the wavetables and profiles from these synths just by selecting a hardware synth from the dropdown at the top of Omnisphere.

Among the new harware profiles we find Roland Juno-106, Roland D-50, Super Jupiter and the Alesis Andromeda.

Firstly, in the Omnisphere 2.6 first look video, I fired up some of the hardware profiles which instantly loads up the parts (1-4) with predefined oscillators. These oscillators are sampled replicas as heard in the original hardware synths. While the retro hard ware synths never could keep pitch, Omnisphere now gives you total control of keeping these sounds in check.

It’s a mind blowing feature which basically gives you access to all those retro synths at your fingertips without the hassle of fiddling with ageing gear.

Arpeggiator on steroids

One of the major upgrades to me with this new update of Omnisphere 2.6 is really the arpeggiator. This new iteration of the arp has some new features more commonly found in step sequencers. There is a new box above each step which on a right-click brings up a menu with tons of new on-step features. Each step can have it’s own unique pitch-glide, pitch transpose, step divider, Chord Voicing and Chord Inversion.

A wonderful new feature is to capture an arpeggiated sequence and export it to your DAW as a raw midi file with all the pitch-glides and step dividers included. While capturing an arpeggio you can even change the key and it will be burnt to the midi capture.

Omnisphere 2.6 – Conclusion

In conclusion, these are all very powerful features that makes sure that Omnisphere 2 still sits on the throne as one of the most powerful vst plugins on the market. I know I will spend hours creating interesting music and sounds with this updated beast.

If you want to learn more about the powerful sounds and features of Omnisphere I did another video talking about the key features that makes Omnisphere 2 one of the best vst synth plugins.

Thanks for reading this Omnisphere 2.6 article!

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In this episode we talk about how to make a track without losing mojo. We are take a further look into what Omnisphere 2.5 has to offer and create a Future Bass track from scratch. I urge you to keep momentum up and not get stuck in details.

Progress without worrying about picking the exact right sounds.

Keep things simple in the beginning while you are writing the song. You do not want to be exhausted by not finding the right sounds or exact arrangement.

Just go with the flow and create while you have the mojo! You can always go back in another session and revise, change sounds, flip samples and redo parts that you find boring.

Importantly, it’s a vital part of the creative process to come back with fresh ears. While you rest and think of other things your brain still works unconsciously on the song. Solving problems without your active participation.

At least for me, there have been plenty of times when I left a problem unsolved. Went to bed, started reading a book. Then when I put down the book and shut the lights, another light is lit within my brain. And I get an idea solving the problem, or a workaround I did not think about before.

We are working in Logic pro X this time. I like to work in multiple DAWs (Digital Audio Workstations) to keep things fresh and my mind sharp. It can ease up your creative blocks, and give you instant inspiration for new songs and sounds.

Composing the track with simple sounds.

With Omnisphere 2.5 we create a chord sound by using the granular mode, which I think is a neat trick that also works with the synth waveforms. =) We create a sub bass and a melody and some other sounds to fit the song. After setting the foundation of synths and a melody it’s time to create the beat. So we throw in some kicks and claps to build a chill beat to fit the track.

Layer your tracks with organic foley sounds to make it come alive.

To make things more interesting we layer the clap with some organic wood samples from my Found Sounds Pack #1 sample pack. 

This foley wood sound layered on top of the clap gives the summed percussive hit some wideness and stereo spread. It’s a great trick that I use in all of my tracks. Layer stuff = interesting sounds!

Create sounds that fill a specific frequency pocket will make mixing a breeze!

While creating the sounds we make sure that they fit a specific “pocket” within the frequency spectrum so that we get a well balanced mix. I show you how to make the 8 bar loop into a more fleshed out arrangement of intro – verse and drop / chorus.

Let me know what you think of the video format and I would love to hear what you make with these tips and tricks. I hope you like this video about how to make a track without losing momentum. Many thanks for watching!

Kind regards,

Mattias Holmgren / Creative Director @ Morningdew Media

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What I re-discovered when doing the Omnisphere 2.5 first look video

After trying Omnisphere 2.5 for a few days I rediscovered Omnisphere as a plugin instrument and it feels like a fresh re-invention of this excellent Power Synth.

Yes, Spectrasonics called it Power Synth when releasing the initial version of Omnisphere.

I would rather call it – The most used synth in modern film scoring. Because that is true, everyone uses it. In Hollywood movies you will find Omnisphere patches all over the place.

It’s not so weird that you find presets from Danny Elfman himself within the core library of Omnisphere. Great!

It’s time to go back to this wonderful synth that really changed the world for many composers out there. I know it changed mine!

New features of Omnisphere 2.5:

Firstly, there are several new additions to Omnisphere in this update that will give you new tools for sound design. Here is a quick description on the new features.

Hardware Synth Integration

This really is the big news of Omnisphere 2.5 update. This means that Omnisphere is now fully integrated and supports 30 hardware synths. With unique “Hardware Profiles” for each supported synth.

The hardware synth integration bridges the physical experience gap between software and hardware, giving us intuitive control of Omnisphere by using the familiar layout of our supported synths.

You will find “Hardware Profiles” for some familiar synths like; Moog®, Dave Smith Instruments®, Roland®, Korg®, Novation®, Nord, Access, Studiologic, Sequential®. And more will be supported in the future.

The hardware synths cover a wide range of types and price ranges for different types of users.

Boost Your Productions – Pristine Sound Packs

Expanded Synthesis Capabilities

Each patch can now utilize up to 12 envelopes, 8 LFOs and the Modulation Matrix has been increased to 48 modulation routings. Newly designed State Variable Filters are included which makes it easy to go from LP to HP filter with just one filter! You can achieve some pretty amazing sound design with the amazing envelopes of Omnisphere.

New Hardware Sound Library

You get a increased patch library with over 1,000 new patches created by Eric Persing and the Spectrasonics team.

New High Resolution Interface

Omnisphere 2.5 features a brand new GUI (graphical user interface). The update includes Retina/hi res graphics for 4K monitors. The design gives the plugin a nice facelift that feels modern and fresh. Making it easier than ever to scale and resize.

New Granular Layout

The new granular page now shows how the grains (sample playbacks) behave. Thus making it easier to control and design your sounds the way you want. I’ve seen this live view and granular layout before in a plugin called “The Mangler”. Therefore I am glad Spectrasonics included this kind of view in the interface of Omnisphere 2.5. Use the granular synthesis engine to find exciting material deep within your sound files.

Windows Multitouch Support

Omnisphere 2.5 now fully supports Windows X Multitouch computers and tablets. This means that the new Live Mode page can function as a deep functional stage interface when used fullscreen on a Windows computer.

Thanks for watching the Omnisphere 2.5 First Look and sound design video.

Transition techniques in music production

I recently did a thoroughly video and article giving multiple tips on how to create transitions in music production. Read more about Transition Techniques in music production here.

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