That’s right, Omnisphere 3 is here. Let’s be honest, you can’t really call yourself a music producer these days if you haven’t at least heard of Omnisphere.
Here’s what you need to know
Pricing: What It’ll Cost You
Let’s get this out of the way first.
- New users: around $499 USD
- Upgrading pricing: $199 USD
The upgrade price is fair, but even at full price, that’s not bad considering what you get. Speaking of what you get, keep reading below.
What’s New in Omnisphere 3
An expanded library of 26,000+ patches, and somehow it occupies approximately the same amount of hard drive space as version 2 without sacrificing sound quality?
New Engine and Effects Upgrades
There’s a new multi-layer modulation system, more filter models, fresh wavetables, and full MPE support for expressive controllers (MPE = huge).
One huge advantage is now Omnisphere’s effects can be used as a separate plugin. That means all those lush reverbs, delays, distortions, and granular processors can now be dropped onto any track in your DAW, not just Omnisphere patches. That alone is a selling point (or upgrade) for many.
If you don’t have a MPE Controller, now might be the right time to invest in one.
Hardware Integration That Finally Feels Right
Omnisphere 3 now supports hundreds of synths right out of the box from top brands
- Roland
- Moog
- Novation
- Korg
- and many others
You can map controls, tweak filters, and perform with real knobs and sliders instead of endless mouse clicks.
System Requirements and Drive Space
Before you jump in, make sure your system can handle the required space, it’s a lot!
- You’ll need around 70 GB of free hard drive space for the library.
- Going with an SSD is strongly recommended so patches load quickly.
- You can scrape by with 8 GB of RAM, but if you’re serious about performance, aim for 16 GB or more.
- A modern multi-core CPU will also help.
Can’t recommend getting a good SSD drive enough, you don’t want 70 GIGS of your footprint drive eaten up.
Should You Upgrade?
There’s a few ways to answer this question.
1. If you’re good with Omnisphere 2 and still fits your workflow and you’re not craving new sounds, then no.
2. The upgrade is cheap, a drop in the bucket for many, it doesn’t take up any more space so why not?
3. Yes, if you want to stay updated with the latest and Omnisphere is a big part of your music production workflow.
Final Thoughts: If Omnisphere 3 Is Out of Reach Right Now
Omnisphere 3 is powerful, no doubt. But it’s not for everyone and everyone doesn’t have an extra $500 sitting around for a single plugin.
If you’re on a budget, don’t stress it. Don’t let FOMO hit. This plugin isn’t going to change your life. Also, there are plenty of affordable synths and sample libraries out there that have good sounds and are more affordable.
Keep an eye on Audio Plugin Deals VST plugin deals are shared regularly; FX, sampler libraries, Romplers, Kontakt libraries, mixing plugins, etc. You name it, we supply it.
