Review: Triple Spiral Audio – Deep Forest & Heartbeats by European Sound Collective

Since it’s release many years ago, there have been so many fantastic Omnisphere soundsets created for composers. The European Sound Collective, ESC for short, consist of 14 of the greatest European based sound designers who pool their sound design expertise to create some really special soundsets. Today I am fortunate enough to take a look at Deep Forest and Heartbeats, both for Omnisphere 2. 6.

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Heartbeats by European Sound Collective

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Heartbeats by European Sound Collective

Review: Triple Spiral Audio – Deep Forest Heartbeats by European Sound Collective

The ESC have created two very diverse soundsets. The first, Deep Forest, contains 119 presets and 20 multis that have been derived from 113 unique soundsources. This focuses on a diverse range of styles such as folk, cinematic and electronic. This is a collaboration with Emmy Award winning Eric Mouqet from the French band, Deep Forest. The second soundest, Heartbeats, is completely unique in that it is 212 patches of rhythm and percussion created from 150 loops. What makes it so unique is that you can create your own patches by mixing and matching the loops in any order. Essentially, it becomes an almost limitless resource for expertly crafted percussion loops that you would rarely find in Omnisphere.

Deep Forest Heartbeats sells for European Sound Collective – Deep Forest for Omnisphere 2 €29.70 European Sound Collective – Heart Beats for Omnisphere 2 €39.62 from Triple Spiral Audio

Thoughts

For coherency purpose, I will look at each sound set in detail. Deep Forest is split into nine categories and focuses on cinematic, electronic, folk and ethnic music. That combination sounds very diverse and initial impressions show this to be a really interesting, somewhat experimental yet overwhelmingly expertly programmed sound set. The initials of each sound designer is at the end of each patch in case you were interested! Here is what you can expect to find in Deep Forest.

Arp + BPM – 56 presets

The Arp + BPM section is the largest section of the sound set and for good reason. They are split into arps, pads, textures, fx, synths, basses, percussion and grooves. This gives you so many options when adding movement to your compositions and instantly the clever programming is evident. For example, the preset “Pourqui Pas” is a glorious, uplifting pad. Add the modwheel and gradually it becomes a bpm pad from subtle to obvious. I can think of so many applications where this would be useful. In terms of creative movement, this pad and others like it are absolutely exquisite. Another example is the bpm arp called “Into the Woods”. It is a cinematic arp that wouldn’t sound out of place in a sci fi epic and with the turn of the modwheel, it becomes a bass arp only. In each of these presets, the modwheel does something but not the usual open a filter or add something to the mix. The programming is exceptionally creative and builds upon already well crafted presets. The apreggios are all easy to use and fit in you compositions. Some are slightly more experimental than others yet I absolutely adore the arp pads and bpm arps especially. Already, there is plenty here that hasn’t been heard before and also some very creative Omnisphere programming.

Hits and Bits – 2 presets

The hits and bits category is represented by two presets only. These are both tempo synced and very cinemtatic and sci fi.

Keyboards – 8 presets

The keyboards are eight wonderfully designed playable keyboard instruments that I am blown away with. “Save Her” is one of the most emotional  and drama inspiring keys I have every heard in Omnisphere. While “fleeting Thoughts” is a sci fi, space age warm synth that is perfect for sound track scoring. Each keyboard here is inspirational and highly playable.

Noisescapes – 5 presets

The Noisescapes are diverse and atmosphere building. From the instant “something bad is going to happen” doom inspiring vibe of “Poisoning The Forest” to the downright whacky “Alien Elevator”, there will be something to set the immediate tone of your composition.

Pads + Strings – 22 presets

Pads and Strings contains 22 extremely inspirational, interesting and varied pads. Again some are classic, some experimental and there are also motion elements. Here, you can here the folk and ethnic influence in presets such as “Abandoned Village”. Others such as “Pearls Pad” are darker and more cinematic.

Synth Bass – 3 presets Synth Poly – 9 Presets

I like viewing the bass instruments together as a lot of the time a bass can be played in the higher register as a lead. The synth bass patch “Lost in Bass” is another example of amazing programming. It’s a low sub bass instrument yet when you engage the modwheel it becomes a glorious snarling lead synth, glides merrily around. “Droplets of Reality” is a cinematic percussive synth bass while “Hansel and Gretel” is a synth lead dripping with delay and dreamlike wonder.

Textures and Soundscape – 13 presets Trons and Optical – 1 presets

Finally we have 13 immensely playable textures and one tron and optical preset called “Never Heard” which begins life as an calm, ambient piano based texture and goes crazy when the modwheel is engaged. Again the overall sound quality and programming is exceptional here.

This soundset is perfect for anyone who wants a great palette of cinematic, ethnic, electronic and experimental sounds. As presets, they are lovingly crafted and use the creative functions of Omnisphere very well. When combined as multis, the results are excellent with some really fun and sonically pleasing instruments. In terms of originality, Deep Forest has some very unique timbres and programming, resulting in a really creative and inspiring soundset.

Heartbeats

Heartbeats is an Omnisphere sound set featuring 150 loops which creates 212 presets of percussive rhythms. It keeps everything in the correct tempo by being processed through Omnisphere’s granular engine. The idea here is that with the modwheel full down, only one rhythm is playing. Once you engage the modwheel a second rhythm comes into play. This means not only can you blend in some really great polyrhythms and create rhythmical counterpoint, you can also create your own presets by changing the sample sources. This is a soundset that essentially keeps on giving.

Upon loading, you have one one category, the arp and bpm category. This is where you find each preset and it is named “Beat 0071 + Beat 0003” for example. This means Beat 0071 is the main beat and beat 0003 is the auxiliary beat on the modwheel. Depending where you play them on your midi controller you can go from an almost lofi sound in the lower register to a super bright sound in the higher register.

To my ears, the percussion ranges from electronic samples, vintage drum machines and cinematic percussion. Some rhythms are perfect for electronic and pop where many have more leanings towards the cinematic and film music genres. I love how you can use the modwheel to sweep in interest into the percussion patterns and create some really awesome percussion lines. The sampling and programming are both excellent and this really is a sound set that needs to be used to understand it’s capabilities further.

I can see myself using this in cinematic composing, crime, tension and of course electronic music. It is extremely versatile and shows the ESC’s dedication to pushing forwards the boundaries of Omnisphere soundset capabilities. For me, this is unique, sounds great and will have a lot of uses in my day to day composing.

Both of these soundsets are vibrant, exciting and are pushing the creativity of Omnisphere programming. While I really appreciate the time and attention that has gone into programming these soundsets, for the end user, ultimately, they both sound exceptional. For me, they are both must haves if you are an Omnisphere user.

Facts

Deep Forest

112 Presets

20 Multis

113 Soundsorces

9 Categories

Heartbeats

212 presets

150 loops

You can create your own presets

Deep Forest Heartbeats sells for European Sound Collective – Deep Forest for Omnisphere 2 €29.70 European Sound Collective – Heart Beats for Omnisphere 2 €39.62 from Triple Spiral Audio

Demos of Deep Forest Heartbeats by European Sound Collective

Videos of Deep Forest Heartbeats by European Sound Collective

Contributor Pete Checkley reviews Deep Forest
Heartbeats by European Sound Collective
“Since it’s release many years ago, there have been so many fantastic Omnisphere soundsets created for composers. The European Sound Collective, ESC for short, consist of 14 of the greatest European based sound designers who pool their sound design expertise to create some really special soundsets. Today I am fortunate enough to take a look at Deep Forest and Heartbeats, both for Omnisphere 2. 6.”