Top 10 Omnisphere Soundsets 2019

There are two mandatory virtual instruments that every working composer out there needs to have. Kontakt is everyone’s favourite sampler and sample library player while Omnisphere is everyone’s favourite virtual synth. It’s THE DADDY of virtual synths basically. We’ve been talking about Kontakt sample libraries out there in many of our posts but let’s give some much-needed attention to Omnisphere and its plethora of amazing soundsets. Here is our top 10 list of best Omnisphere soundsets for 2019. In no particular order.

1. The Unfinished – Omnisphere Colossus

You can’t have a best-of list of synth patches without The Unfinished. Matt Bowdler is a master of creating some rather unique score-ready soundsets for any virtual synth out there. Colossus is the first release for Omnisphere 2 and is aimed at cinematic underscore and it is also useful for atmospheric electronica, ambient and neo-classical styles. There is a plethora of sounds in this soundset, such as dynamic basslines, lo-fi drumloops, analogue and organic pads, emotional guitars, vivid synths, punchy basses, lyrical pianos, dramatic percussion, widescreen hits and impacts, expressive mallets and bells, ethereal textures and dark soundscapes.

2. Plughugger – Ultra One

Ultra One is a great collection of sounds based on the Virus TI synthesizer. The Virus is a polyphonic and multitimbral hardware synthesizer based on DSP rather than analog circuits, and might be the finest modern synthesizer of all time with an excellent tone and fantastic effects. This soundset features a collection of 260 patches divided into categories like bass, synth, textures, arpeggios, sequences and drums. Apart from single presets, there are also 50 multi presets. This is the best Virus recreation in a software format.

3. PluginGuru – OmniChill

This is a collection of amazing chill ambient sounds divided into textures, soundscapes, pads and ambient leads. If you are looking for a good analogue sound for that sci-fi adventure, this is the way to go. When you hear these sounds, you are taken to a galaxy far far away and you will stay there for many years to come. The library also includes 160 FX Rack presets that can be loaded into the A, B or Common effect layer racks. These can finalize a track with EQ, compression and limiting or can destroy a track with distortion and vintage sounding delays. These are helpful to speed up the programming process and can give your own programming added depth with professionally designed FX set-up. A must have for ambient chill and underscore writing.

4. Luftrum Sound Design – Luftrum 14

Luftrum 14 is another great example of how a proper ambient soundscape soundset is made. This thing just screams cinematic sci-fi. It contains 128 great patches from beautiful pads to suspenseful basslines, dreamy arpeggios, haunting soundscapes, underscoring elements and split-key instruments with 120 MB samples from the Luftrum Modular and Luftrum’s Prophet-6, including 43 FX Racks in a handpicked selection of delays and reverbs. Whether you are looking for new lush pads or you produce ambient, film or game music or just need to enhance your productions with fresh synth elements – this soundbank is a must-have tool in your collection. It sounds absolutely spectacular and it feels very analogue. You don’t need to process it with any FX because it sounds ready straight out of the box.

5. Triple Spiral Audio – Discovery Trailer

I have only recently discovered Triple Spiral Audio and I got hooked on their soundsets from the start. This one is great for all trailer composers out there, but the sounds in here are usable in actual scores as well. Here’s what the TSA guys said about this soundset: “The sounds in the soundset are filled with dark, distorted, pushing, edgy sounds, but also reflective, mysterious and wide and lush sounds are represented. All the sounds have modulation via the modwheel and aftertouch and in a lot of cases the pitchwheel adds some saturation and the CC2 often controls different modulation sources. The inspiration comes from shows from various trailer works done by labels such as Audiomachine, Really Slow Motion, Colossal Music and many more”. My only addition to this is you should definitely check it out!

6. Sonic Underworld – Omnisphere Zinar

What I love about the Sonic Underworld team is that they are constantly inspired by composers and soundtracks and they approached Zinar in that very fashion. They said that they were influenced by composers such as Jóhann Jóhannsson, Anthony Gonzales, Joseph Trapanese, Mac Quayle and Harry GregsonWilliams. This soundset is perfect for underscoring, featuring dark animated and lush atmospheres, pulses, bowed textures, haunting voices, ambient, guitars, keys, and many more. It sounds impeccable.

7. PluginGuru – Signs Of Life

This soundset is created from actual field recordings in Costa Rica. It contains 238 Patches, 20 mind-blowing multis with 123 new sound sources at the heart of this library. There are also 29 loops and 46 single hits as wav files. It’s fairly new to the market so if you are looking for a fresh set of organic sounds inspired by nature, here you go. There is also a BONUS Radioactive Signs Of Life – a 32 Patch Library included.

8. The Unfinished – Omnisphere Amara

Omnisphere Amara is a collection of 500 patches for Omnisphere. Its broad sonic palette engages with neo-classical, minimalist techno and post rock and blends them together to form a unique library of sounds. This is what Matt Bowdler said about it: “ Shadowy, taut, analogue pulses, sequences and rhythms extracted from classic synthesizers; pianos, strings and mallets deconstructed and then carefully patched back together; all hewn together to provide a rich and immersive library, full of punchy bass, sumptuous pads, expressive instruments and brooding textures. Omnisphere Amara provides big drama on a small scale”. And we couldn’t agree more.

9. Luftrum Sound Design – Expanse

Expanse contains cutting-edge electronic sounds for ambient and cinematic productions. It features 100 patches, 54 of which are nothing but pads that are simply made for ambient cinematic exploration music. These patches have been created to give you a palate of bright, deep and living sounds. As we said, it features a lot of pads, but there are also dynamic arpeggios, rich soundscapes and sub basses. If you are a fan of artists such as Synphaera and Carbon Based Lifeforms, this is the one you want.

10. Triple Spiral Audio – Discovery Horror Deluxe

This is your non-stop shop for horror sound. Inspired by composers such as Charlie Clouser, Trent Reznor and Mica Levi, this soundset is packed with 125 patches, 35 multis and 104 sound sources. It oozes with eeriness, haunting and mysterious sounds. If you want to scare some people, you’ll want to have this one!