Last week there were plenty of tech announcements from the likes of Apple and Google. The one that caught my eye the most though was from Spectrasonics. After watching their presentation, both Tim and Sundar could learn a lesson or two, just saying. Anyway back to Spectrasonics, who announced Sonic Extensions which are not just new patch libraries for Omnisphere, bringing the engine to version 2.8, they also provide some new effects and bespoke macro controls.
Currently, there are four extensions. These are Undercurrent, Nylon Sky, Unclean Machine and Seismic Shock with more to follow in time. Although given the glacial speed Spectrasonics release things, it may be a little while. I am not complaining as when they do release stuff, it is just music gold. I gave a brief overview of what these extensions provide in this short video:-
As you can tell from this video they are deep, really deep. Nylon Sky immediately caught my ear as a stand out library, and that was just from the demos I heard in the presentation. If you have listened to my music, you will know I compose a lot of Ambient and Electronica. Over the last few days I have been exploring Undercurrent as a starting point to tour through these libraries:
This is just the tip of the iceberg as we have only just played with some of the patches on offer. Each Sonic Extension provides bespoke effects that can be used in your own creations and are not tied to the patch library. For Undercurrent we have Under Echo, an echo unit that sounds like no other. We also have Under Fire that combines distortion, compression and EQ all in one unit. These I will explore in my next video so you had better head on over to my YouTube channel and subscribe so you don't miss it. Whilst you are there, take a listen to a track I composed using just sounds from the Undercurrent extension. Even the drums came from this expansive sounding library.