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Spectrasonics Omnisphere 3 Is One Of The Most Impressive Synthesizers We Have Ever Seen

15 Oct, 2025 Software Synthesizers & Samplers

Ten years in the making, Omnisphere 3 arrives with ‘thousands’ of new sounds.

Today, Spectrasonics introduces Omnisphere 3, a major upgrade to their flagship virtual instrument and software synthesizer Omnisphere that’s packed with new synthesis capabilities, new effects, Adaptive Global Controls for instant patch customization, curated libraries, comprehensive MPE support, a massive sound library with thousands of new sounds and more.

The intro video features Spectrasonics Founder and Creative Director Eric Persing, who is one of the most influential sound designers and synth developers of all time. Here, he’s channeling the memory of Steve Job’s iconic product introductions for Apple, down to the the black turtleneck and ‘one more thing’ surprise. And it works.

The Omnisphere 3 intro video is one of the best we’ve ever seen for a synth. It discusses how powerful the new synth is, showcases features that are actually impressive and demonstrates them in use with examples that actually sound very musical. And it takes a ‘put up or shut up’ approach, not layering on a bunch of marketing hype.

Persing is joined by composer Julian ‘J3PO’ Pollack; producer and sound designer James Bernard; and artist Nashi; who each demonstrate key new features with musical demos.

Watch the video intro for a deep intro to Omnisphere 3, and read on for detailed info on what’s new.

Omnisphere 2 was already a powerhouse instrument with a colossal library, but 3 takes that to the next level. The factory library now contains over 26,000 patches across 18 curated collections spanning analogue and digital synthesis, acoustic instruments, ambient textures and cinematic sound effects.

(If you’re concerned that all of this may not fit on your hard drive, fear not: thanks to Spectrasonics’ new lossless optimization, the library takes up the same amount of space as Omnisphere 2, 64GB.)

All of the original Omnisphere patches have been remastered and refreshed to take advantage of the new features and effects, and a new organizational system has been implemented to make the process of discovering new presets faster and more intuitive.

Omnisphere 3’s sound engine combines sample playback with wavetable, FM and granular synthesis. Now armed with over 600 morphing wavetables, including a new EDM-focused collection, the synth engine has been equipped with a new oscillator drift function and a dual frequency shifter that’s fully modulatable and can be routed in parallel or series. (It’s also polyphonic, so each note can be frequency-shifted individually.)

The new Quadzone feature allows you to creatively manipulate the four sound layers that make up an Omnisphere patch in a number of ways, unlocking a whole host of performative possibilities. On the Quadzone Grid, you can split and crossfade timbres across the keyboard, assign layers to different velocity ranges, or use a MIDI-mapped fader to control which zones in the grid are audible.

Omnisphere 3.0 Features:

Omnisphere 3 offers a massive collection of 18 sound libraries, containing thousands and thousands of new sounds.

New Curated Libraries – Rapidly find exactly the sounds you need within the highly curated new libraries, carefully organized by type of use.
Greatly improved Browsing experience with new organization system.
Unique new deep-sampled sound sources, including Blown Ostrich Egg, Tonal Sand, Nyckelharpa, Celestaphone, Lyre Harp, Magic Wand Metallophones, Sul Tasto Cello, Percussive Snow, Piano Harmonics, Tongue Slap Flute and more.
Original patches have been remastered and refreshed with the latest v3 features and FX.
More sounds, same space! With new lossless optimization technology, the complete Omnisphere 3 factory sound library takes NO MORE drive space than Omnisphere 2.

Omnisphere 3’s new global macro controls enable you to customize any patch, quickly adjusting its most important characteristics without diving into a maze of menus.

A new Mutations function creates variations on any patch at the click of a button, intelligently swapping out the wavetables or sound sources used under the hood. You have the option to choose between two Mutation levels, so you can go for a subtle variation or a complete overhaul depending on the amount of transformation you’re after.

Omnisphere 3’s effects engine has been expanded with 35 new effects, adding up to a total of 93 processors that can be chained together and applied to both patches, individual sound layers and auxiliary sends in the FX Rack. Among the new additions are four types of reverb, four types of delay, a 1176-style limiter, a tube saturation emulator and multiband compressor, alongside some more creative and experimental sound-shaping tools.

One of the most unexpected and welcome new features in Omnisphere 3 is the Omnisphere FX Rack plugin. Spectrasonics has also made the FX Rack available as a dedicated effects plugin, allowing you to apply any of Omnisphere’s effects to other instruments and sound sources in your DAW.

With the Omnisphere FX Rack, Spectrasonics has made this possible, with the included Omnisphere FX VST/AU/AAX plug-in.

Omnisphere 3 brings support for MPE-compatible controllers, allowing for more nuanced expression across the instrument’s patches through additional dimensions of control such as per-note pitch bend and polyphonic aftertouch.

Spectrasonics has dramatically expanded Omnisphere’s hardware integration with more than 300 new pre-mapped profiles for synths and controllers from 36 major manufacturers, including Roland, Yamaha, Native Instruments, Moog, Arturia and many more.

Omnisphere 3 is a truly monumental update that brings a vast amount of creative potential and sonic firepower to a plugin that was already one of the most powerful “do-it-all” software instruments in its class.

Other Omnisphere v3 Highlights: