Spectrasonics has spent years developing what promises to be their brand new flagship virtual instrument Omnisphere. With a name this imposing, the Omnisphere had better deliver, and from the buzz of information released around Winter NAMM 2008, Spectrasonics has little to worry about.

Dubbed the "Power Synth," the Omnisphere combines realtime synthesis techniques, a very sizable library of "Psychoacoustic" sounds, and an innovative set of features; many of which are new to the synthesizer world. This instrument is based on the new Spectrasonics STEAM Engine core technology.

Of course, a project with this much work going into it deserves a Cloverfield-style release. Check out the Omnisphere Teaser website for the slow release of videos on the Omnisphere. As of the time of this writing, two have already been posted. Here's a word from Eric Persing, Founder and Creative Director of Spectrasonics:

“We have been working for many, many years; sampling unique sounds, experimenting, specifying the synthesis features and building the STEAM Engine to run it all. It’s been a very exciting process involving our team of software engineers, sound designers, musicians, and graphic artists from all over the world. We’ve been very deliberate in making it easy to use, and yet extremely powerful. Omnisphere is our new flagship synthesizer, and points the way to all our future virtual instruments. We are thrilled to offer a new product that will have a host of expansion capabilities in the future.”

The user interface on this powerful new synth is also designed with a user interface that operates based on progressive layers of "zooming" to experiment on the surface or really get technical depending on your level of expertise. This also makes it a great learning tool as you peel away synthesis secrets as if the Omnisphere was some sort of synthetic onion.

Omnisphere also offers a myriad of hybrid synth and control capabilities like Variable Waveshapinig DSP synthesis, Granular synthesis, Timbre Shifting, FM, polyphonic Ring Modulation, high-res streaming Sample Playback, Harmonia, Dual Multimode Filter structuring, Chaos Envelopes [WARNING: OPENING CHAOS ENVELOPES NOT ADDRESSED TO YOU IS A FEDERAL OFFENSE AND POSSIBLE CATALYST FOR ARMAGEDDON], an advanced Unison mode, and the innovative Flex-Mod routing system for modulation effects. Those are only a few of the notable capabilities.

Omnisphere's core library is filled with literally years of creative sampling sounds and experimentally inspired patches. Many sounds were created with a new Composite Morphing Technique which morphs instruments into other instruments, theoretically, by declaring that "it's Morphin time" before holding out some kind of power medallion with lightning graphics in the background.

Also featured are flexible arpeggiators that utilize Groove Lock integration with Stylus RMX, letting the arpeggios groove with the RMX drum loop feel. Live Mode triggers seamless patch switching, and Stack Mode makes mapping a performance a breeze.

If you remember Spectrasonics' Atmosphere instrument, try picturing revamped sounds with a library that's ten times larger. More details will slowly be released throughout 2008.