CONCEPTS - Soundsources

Soundsources allow Omnisphere’s synthesis to begin with sampled sounds instead of DSP waveforms. They are accessed by selecting Sample Mode in the Oscillator.

Soundsources are based on a ‘map’ of audio samples stored in the Core Library of Omnisphere in Spectrasonics’ proprietary STEAM format. A Soundsource can be as simple as a single sample stretched across the keyboard range or as complex as hundreds of chromatically sampled, velocity-switched multi-samples – like you’d find in a modern sample library.

Omnisphere’s Core Library Soundsources vary dramatically in size - from a few kilobytes to nearly a gigabyte each! Each Soundsource was carefully prepared and optimized by the Spectrasonics Sound Development team.

Larger and more complex Soundsources take a longer to load, but still load relatively quickly, since the STEAM Engine includes “streaming” technology to allow for playback of very large multisamples. Streaming allows for the samples to buffer off of the computer’s hard drive in realtime, instead of all of the samples having to be loaded into the computer’s RAM memory.

Soundsources in Omnisphere are similar to using “programs” in a sampler, but there are some key differences:

1.    A Soundsource contains not only all of the raw samples, mapping information, such as pitch, velocity, zones, and loop points – but also Soundsource images, notes and tags.

2.    Soundsources do not include envelopes, filters, LFOs, FX or any modulation settings. (which are stored in the Patch)

For this reason, you can load a new Soundsource into a Layer, without changing any of the Layer’s synthesis settings. This is extremely useful, because you can take any patch you like and have thousands of variations simply by changing the Soundsource!

Most importantly, the concept of Omnisphere is completely different than a typical sampler. Omnisphere is an incredibly deep synthesizer with a massive Core Library that will take a lifetime to explore!

The Factory Core Library of Omnisphere is over 42Gb and includes over 2700 Soundsources specifically designed to work well with the STEAM engine synthesis. The Factory Core Library covers a wide spectrum of sounds, from simple raw waveforms to psychoacoustic samples, morphing textures, and a best-of selection from our award-winning sample libraries. The STEAM engine architecture allows Spectrasonics to expand Omnisphere with new Soundsources in the future as well.

Spectrasonics is constantly improving and adding to the Factory Soundsource Library, so make sure you stay up to date with the “Check for Updates” feature.

 

NOTE: Although version 1.5 of Omnisphere doesn’t currently support user importing of samples, it’s a very popular request and we certainly wouldn't rule that out as a new feature for Omnisphere’s future.