Omnisphere 2 Upgrade Education

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Since the announcement of Omnisphere 2 at this years’ NAMM 2015, we have had a lot of enquiries into what users are to expect with Omnisphere 2. This article includes a list of answers to these questions which keep popping up.

What is new in Omnisphere 2?

Jan 24, 2015  Seems there is a grace period free upgrade. Its £289 here in the UK for version 1. Version 2 is close to £399 new. I know what i'll be doing. Omnisphere 2 Upgrade Standard Upgrade: $249. For all Omnisphere 1 customers (Standard and Transfer Licenses) VIP Upgrade: $199. For customers who own Omnisphere, Trilian and Stylus RMX (Standard Licenses). Although Omnisphere 2 is available as a product in its own right, most existing Omnisphere users will be keen to take advantage of the $249 upgrade. As you’d expect, the Omnisphere 2 upgrade is available from Spectrasonics’ own web store, necessitating a 20GB download for the new Soundsource content included with the instrument.

There are many new and exciting features to Omnisphere 2. Our quick top 10 (in no particular order) most interesting features would be:

1. Audio Import – Use your own audio files as a soundsource in Omnisphere 2
2. Over 400 New DSP Waveforms for the Synth Oscillator – an increase of 100X
3. Over 4,000 new Patches, Soundsources and Multis
4. 25 new Effects Racks
5. Sound Match – Instantly locate any related sound in the library
6. Sound Lock – Lock parameters to keep these settings while you browse
7. New Interface – Redesigned wider interface with mini-browser available at all times
8. 10 morphing Wavetable Oscillators per Patch
9. Powerful new Granular Synthesis – Manipulate from subtle tweaks to beyond recognition
10. Enhanced Modulation Control – with new sources and many more targets

…and much more!

Omnisphere 2 Upgrade Education Login

Are Omnisphere 1 and Omnisphere 2 different instruments/products?
No. Omnisphere 2 is simply the next major version of Omnisphere. Everything from version 1 is included in Omnisphere 2 of course!

If I already own Omnisphere, is there an Upgrade to Omnisphere 2?
Yes. If you already are an Omnisphere customer, you are eligible for the Omnisphere 2 Upgrade!

How is the Upgrade delivered?
The Omnisphere 2 Upgrade package will be shipped on 30th April 2015. The upgrade package includes an upgrade code. The Omnisphere 2 upgrade will be a 17 GB download which will be made available through your Spectrasonics user account, once you have registered your upgrade code.

Will the Omnisphere 2 Upgrade be available as a physical product?
Not at this time. The Spectrasonics download service is highly reliable though… even with slower connections.

Will Omnisphere 2 replace my Omnisphere plug-in?
Yes. Omnisphere 2 is the next version of Omnisphere. The Omnisphere 2 Upgrade contents (17GB) will merge with the existing Omnisphere 1 library and become one product, replacing Omnisphere 1 as a plug-in.

When opening older projects which uses a patch from Omni 1, will they load the same?
Absolutely – it is still Omnisphere! Version 2 is fully backwards compatible with version 1 projects.

Omnisphere 2 Upgrade Education Requirements

Will custom saved patches/multis be effected when upgrading to Omnisphere 2?
They will open and operate the same as always.

Will the audio import in Omnisphere 2 be for single samples or multi-samples?
It is one sample of any length per soundsource. You can layer up to two soundsources in a patch and 8 patches in a multi.

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Keep in mind that Omnisphere’s focus is as a synthesizer and will never be a sampler with multiple velocities, key-mapping, round-robin, etc. – there are other instruments out there that do that very well.

The idea here is to easily turn your audio files and even your audio tracks/mixes into synthesis source for Omnisphere 2s powerful oscillators. You’d be amazed at how much you can creatively mangle one sound and make something amazing!

What if I recently purchased Omnisphere? Do I have to pay the full upgrade price?
No. The good news is that there’s a grace period free upgrade available from the Spectrasonics site if you have purchased Omnisphere between October 2014 thru to May 2015. This also means that if you do not currently own Omnisphere, you can buy Omnisphere 1 now and you can upgrade to Omnisphere 2 for free after April 30.

Will the full Omnisphere 2 be available as a download or on a USB drive for installation?
Yes, there will be alternative forms of installation available optionally to registered users in addition to the included set of 8 DVD-ROMs that comes in the box.

However, it’s important to note that all Spectrasonics instruments are sold exclusively as physical boxed product through authorized resellers like Time & Space. Currently, Spectrasonics is shipping its instruments including multiple DVD-ROMs.

However, Spectrasonics is keenly aware that many users no longer have computers with optical drives and there are numerous scenarios when the convenience of downloading or the speed of a USB drive would be a preferred form of installation for different users.

Omnisphere 2 Upgrade Education 2017

To address all the various user needs and scenarios, Spectrasonics is starting a new Support Services area of their tech shop that will offer Alternative Installation USB Drives and Additional Download Installations for optional purchase. These services are available directly from Spectrasonics for registered users. The price of the Alternative USB Drive service will be $40 and the Additional Download Installation service price is $10.

The great news for new users is that the Omnisphere 2 box includes a 25% Off discount coupon towards these support services.

What are the minimum system requirement for Omnisphere 2?
Same system requirement to current Omnisphere:

  • 2.4 GHz or higher processor
  • 4GB RAM minimum, 8GB or more recommended
  • Dual Layer compatible DVD-ROM drive
  • (Optional USB Drive/Download installations available)
  • 64GB of free hard drive space

Mac Users:

( You will have to check whether your processor supports Virtualization or not). Garageband app for ipad

  • OSX 10.8 Mountain Lion or higher
  • Intel dual core processor or higher
  • AU, VST 2.4 or higher, RTAS or AAX capable host software
  • Audio Unit plugin requires host with support for “Cocoa” based plugins
  • Native 64-bit and 32-bit on OSX
  • 6GB of RAM or more if using the Sample File Server

Windows Users:

  • VST 2.4 or higher, RTAS or AAX capable host software
  • Microsoft Windows 8/7/Vista
  • Native 64-bit and 32-bit on Windows

For more details on Omnisphere 2, check out the below Omnisphere 2.0 video filmed at the 2015 NAMM Show by our good friends over at Sonic State.