Omnisphere AND Falcon owners - which one is best?

[Slaapstadseun]

Thanks Echoes in the Attic, that is an insightful analysis of the comparative strengths of these 2 products and has helped me.

[zvenx]

Thanks Echoes in the Attic, that is an insightful analysis of the comparative strengths of these 2 products and has helped me.

+1 too.
rsp

[Echoes in the Attic]

I'm glad it was helpful because I don't feel like I was really able to articulate what i meant.

But in short, I think Omnishpere has sort of a workflow more reminiscent of a hardware synth, whereas Falcon is more of a typical no-limits software instrument builder, like Kontakt, but with synth oscillators.

As for sound, I still can't find the right way of putting it. But Omnisphere seems to excel at the gritty stuff. It's synth side tends towards a harsher direction. Falcon tends towards a more neutral direction that would get plasticky before getting harsh. If that makes any sense.

[wagtunes]

I'm glad it was helpful because I don't feel like I was really able to articulate what i meant.

But in short, I think Omnishpere has sort of a workflow more reminiscent of a hardware synth, whereas Falcon is more of a typical no-limits software instrument builder, like Kontakt, but with synth oscillators.

As for sound, I still can't find the right way of putting it. But Omnisphere seems to excel at the gritty stuff. It's synth side tends towards a harsher direction. Falcon tends towards a more neutral direction that would get plasticky before getting harsh. If that makes any sense.

** DISCLAIMER ** This is just my opinion. It is in no way to be construed as fact or even accurate. It is just how I see both synths.

Falcon and Omnisphere are among my list of favorite synths which also include Zebra 2, Bazille and Synthmaster 2

Omnsiphere, IMO, has a more colored sound. Kind of reminds me of Serum and how the synth itself appears to color the wavetables that I've created for it. In fact, when taking the exact same wavetable and putting it in both Serum and Falcon, Serum's sound appears more "animated", "colored" whatever you want to call it while Falcon's appears to be more "natural" or as a previous poster put it, "neutral."

Omnisphere's sound isn't as "clean" as Falcon. You can hear the coloring, even in a simple sawtooth lead.

This is not to say that Omnisphere is better or worst than Falcon in this area. It is just different. Falcon is closer in sound as far as coloring to Synthmaster, which also has a very clean and neutral sound.

That's why I can understand when people say that Synthmaster and Falcon sound flat or boring. They're synths without makeup, whereas something like Electra 2, which I am in the process of making a library for, is like a woman wearing eye liner, mascara, lipstick and a wig. In fact, Electra 2 is probably one of the most "colored" synths that I own. it's hard to disguise that "plastic" sound. Compare it's supersaw wave to Falcon's. They're like night and day. Which one do I like better? Depends on the sound I'm looking for. That's why I don't own just one synth.

Falcon is capable of doing a lot more than Omnipshere can on a purely technical level simply because of its architecture. But there are sounds you can get out of Omnisphere that you can't get out of Falcon no matter how hard you try. The coloring isn't there, not to mention the huge sample library. And if you're thinking just import the samples into Falcon (not even sure you can) they won't sound the same, just like Serum's wavetables don't sound the same in Serum as they do in Falcon.

If one synth could sound and be anything we wanted, we'd sell everything else we owned and just own that one synth. Sure, some synths are similar in sound and almost redundant. But there are those synths that are quite unique. Falcon falls in that category as far as how flexible it is. Soundwise, it's actually quite generic IF you simply look at the individual parts. Even its granular engine, IMO, is not as good as The Mangle. But that's all The Mangle does so it's no replacement for Falcon.

In short...what do I love about each synth?

Omnisphere - The uniqueness of sound.

Falcon - The programming power.

And yet, neither can do what Bazille can do.

It's why I own a crap ton of synths.

But make no mistake about it, you'd have to pry both Omnisphere AND Falcon out of my cold dead hands as they are both at the top of my list of favorites.

[dmbaer]

I just published a fairly in-depth comparison of Falcon, Omni 2 and Halion 5. If you're interested, you can find it here:

http://soundbytesmag.net/threehighendhy ... omparison/

[Fleer]

I just published a fairly in-depth comparison of Falcon, Omni 2 and Halion 5. If you're interested, you can find it here:

http://soundbytesmag.net/threehighendhy ... omparison/

Yeah, that's a great review