Review: Luftrum 18 for Omnisphere 2 by Luftrum & Arksun
Diverse categories of sound from which to work with
Extensive use of Modwheel, LFOs and Aftertouch
Terrific ARPs from which to build on
Nicely constructed Multis to draw inspiration from
Some of the Multi soundsources can be confusing as patches, contained within, were left with the name of “Default”
To get the most out of patches, you’ll need a MIDI controller with Aftertouch as many of the patches engage this feature.
A collaborative effort between Luftrum and Arksun, the Luftrum 18 library for Omnisphere 2 is a genre defying collection that will provide endless inspiration for those in diverse fields such as electronic composition, sound and film trailer design, and ambient chill. Multiple categories of sounds will challenge the composer to work with his/her own “inner sound” and bring those creative ideas to fruition.
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Review: Luftrum 18 for Omnisphere 2 by Luftrum & Arksun
Review: Luftrum 18 for Omnisphere 2 sells for from Luftrum & Arksun
Thoughts
Unlike Soren’s last release, Luftrum Lunaris, which was an impressive (to say the least) Kontakt library made up of multi-layered atmospheric soundscapes, Luftrum 18 is designed more like a construction kit. It is not meant to be an “out-of-box” experience. It is aimed more at the composer who wants to take the time to draw upon the “music within”, to be able to take the elements provided, to get what you want to say out of your head and into your DAW.
In his latest chapter, Soren teams up with sound designer, Arksun, who’s latest endeavor is a sound library release for the soft synth, Dune 2. He has also released other libraries, including some for U-He products. Soren, himself, has released a slew of libraries for different product lines including Kontakt, Omnisphere, Diva, Iris and Zebra.
What you get with Luftrum 18 are 128 well-designed patches plus several multis which are all built using the sound sources provided within the Spectrasonics library. Both sampled sources and oscillated synth waves are used to build the library. There are various categories of patches, including ARPs, Textures, Synth Mono, Synth Poly, PADS, Basses and Human Voices, to name a few. The lion’s share of sounds are included within the ARPs, Synth Poly, and Pads categories. Those that have been built by Arksun have a prefix of “ARK”; those built by Soren are prefixed with “LUF”. All 13 of the multis were constructed by Luftrum.
Luftrum 18 – Multis
The Stack Mode has always been a major strength of Omnisphere 2. You not only have the ability to stretch a patch across a specific range of keys, you also have the ability to fade in / fade out the sound over a defined key range. A clear example of this, pictured above, is within the patch, “Beta Arts”, where the 1st patch, “Ardbury Citadel” fades out from C4 to C5 and the 2nd patch, “Gentle Walk”, fades in over the same range. Overall, the multis that Soren has put together here are very indicative of the music you can create by combining the single patches. I highly encourage any Omnisphere user to take full advantage of the strength of the instrument…you will be amazed at what the possibilities are.
One of the cooler bass patches contained within the library (depicted below) is entitled “Nerd Programmer” (aren’t we all nerds to, some extent?) which combine 2 ARP Synth waves, one from a 2600 that is transposed down 12 semitones, and the other from an Odyssey. Each synth wave has a fast attack time with a slight decay and quick release giving the patch a very classic electro-acoustic bass sound. Also, as the description states, the Modwheel brightens up the sound and adds some vibrato. The brightness is achieved by opening up the cutoff in the filter and the vibrato by modulating the LFO depth on the Arp 2600 Square wave.
Bass – Nerd Programmer
The Arksun soundscape, “Quantum Shard”, is a dual-layer patch combining a synth wave, “Trashy Organ” with a sampled patch, “Magnetic Crystals”. Each layer has a quick attack time with the organ wave given a long sustain and the crystals given a long release which adds a somewhat sparkly finish to what is an, overall, dark and introspective patch…quite clever. The LFOs and an Envelope Modulation provide amplitude and panning movement while the Aftertouch slightly de-tunes the unison when a key (or keys) are held down.
Quantum Shard
The last patch I am going to look at, “Eight Years Orbit” may be, perhaps, my favorite of all the PADs in the library. As you can see below, 2 instances of Innerspace (Omnisphere’s version of a convolution reverb) are utilized affecting both of the layers. What this means is that you have 2 sampled layers being played through 4 distinct wav patterns within the Innerspace FX. Combined with the extensive use of LFOs and Aftertouch, it almost appears, as the patch progresses, that the sounds are almost acting independently of one another. I would definitely mark this patch as one to combine with a slow moving ARP in developing a multi.
Eight Years Orbit
Facts
Luftrum 18 for Omnisphere 2 contains 128 patches broken up into 13 sound categories & 13 multis broken up into 4 sound categories. It downloads as 6.4 MB. The library requires the full version of Omnisphere 2.
Review: Luftrum 18 for Omnisphere 2 sells for from Luftrum & Arksun
