OMNISPHERE
COURSE NOTES
MODULE 5
LFOs AND LOOPED ENVELOPES
This module continues demonstrating parameter modulation by teaching some
continuous types, rather than the standard ADSR envelopes seen in the previous
lesson. There is a guide to LFOs, which are the most common type of cyclic
modulation, as well as looped envelopes, which allow you to totally customize the way
a parameter behaves over time.
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OMNISPHERE
COURSE NOTES
MODULE 5
2
LFOs
The LFOS section in Omnisphere’s edit window allows you to The main LFO controls are the depth, rate and waveform. The
adjust the settings of the 6 LFOs available on the instrument. depth simply controls the amount of modulation that the LFO
An LFO is a low frequency oscillator, meaning an oscillator with carries out, so can be brought down to decrease the effect if
a frequency so low that it can’t be heard as sound, but can required. The LFO rate dial can then be used to change the
produce audible effects when its level is used to modulate a speed of the modulation. By default, this is unsync’d, so can be
parameter up and down. Unlike an envelope, which typically set to whatever speed you like. However, if you click the SYNC
modulates a parameter up and down once, so is called one-shot, switch, then the rate dial switches to divisions or multiples of
LFO modulation is continuous, so makes a parameter modulate the bar, so you can make the modulation timing match that of
up and down constantly. In the modulation section above your session. This is useful if you want to create synchronised
the LFOS section, you can choose an LFO as the source for a filter patterns, for example, where the cutoff opens and closes a
modulation routing, certain number of times each beat or bar. < Home
then choose whatever
The LFO waveform also makes a big difference to the type of Next >
parameter you want to
effect produced, with a sine wave modulating up and down
be modulated in the < Back
smoothly, to produce a less abrupt sound, whereas a sawtooth
target box below, such
jumps up or down abruptly at the end of each waveform cycle
as oscillator pitch,
to produce a jerkier effect. The direction of the sawtooth also
after which you’ll hear
makes a difference of course - a downwards waveform makes
that pitch going up
the parameter lower over and over, whilst an upwards one
and down when you
makes it raise. Therefore, if the LFO is assigned to the filter
play notes.
cutoff, you’ll normally get the ‘oww’ effect happening repeatedly
with a downwards sawtooth, whereas an upwards one gives
you a repeating ‘waa’ effect. Clicking on the arrows next to the
waveform scrolls up and down through all the available options.
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OMNISPHERE
COURSE NOTES
MODULE 5
3
LFOs (cont.)
Other important LFO controls are the unipolar switch, the trigger The phase (offset) is
mode and the phase. By default, LFOs are bipolar, meaning they set using the slider
modulate parameters up and down from their current setting. at the top of the
However, if you click the plus symbol in the waveform display, waveform. This is
you can set them to unipolar, so they only work in an upwards set to 0 as default,
direction. This will mean that the oscillator pitch, for example, meaning that the
could be made to just slide up and down to values above the LFO waveform
played pitch, rather than pitches above and below it. begins at the start of
its waveform cycle.
The trigger setting defines how often the LFO retriggers. This
However, you can
is selected with the menu below the waveform. Set to Free, the
increase the slider < Home
LFO just keeps cycling and will therefore ‘pick up’ at whatever
position to make the
location it happens to be in when you play a note. You can hear Next >
LFO start later in the
this noticeably by playing repeating notes whilst modulating
cycle - the scale goes from 0 (0º, waveform start) to 1 (360º, < Back
oscillator pitch with a slow LFO rate. You’ll hear that the starting
waveform end). Keeping on the oscillator pitch modulation
pitch of each note changes according to the current position in
example, this will mean that you can change the initial pitch
the LFO waveform. However, if you set the LFO to Note, then
slide from an upwards one to a downwards one, for example,
the LFO will retrigger with every note you play, making the
depending on the type of waveform you’re using. Note that the
starting pitch the same every time. The other options are Legato,
LFO trigger mode also makes a difference here. If you have it
meaning the LFO only retriggers with notes that are played
set to Free then you won’t hear a difference, as the LFO will be
individually or in a staccato fashion and not for overlapping or
cycling of its own accord, whereas setting it to Note will mean
fast runs of notes, and Song Pos, which means the LFO retriggers
that the LFO will keep retriggering when notes are played so you
according to the bar and beat position of your song, which
can hear the different effects that the change in phase creates.
produces the best synchronised results.
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OMNISPHERE
COURSE NOTES
MODULE 5
4
ADVANCED ENVELOPE MODULATION
Omnisphere has 4 modulation envelopes that can be assigned On the display, the second to last point (before the envelope
to whatever parameters you like, in order to create any single gets darker) is always the sustain value, which the envelope
or repeating patterns that you can fully customize. These can will stick at whilst a note is held down, after the rest of the
be single ADSR patterns as seen in the previous lesson, or envelope has been carried out. To change the timing of each
more complex curves that go up and down any number of part of the envelope, it’s normally a good idea to click the
times. Right-clicking (ctrl-clicking on a Mac) on the graphical SYNC switch in the bottom right corner, which then makes the
display in the envelopes zoom window brings up a menu where numbers at the top of the display relate to beats in the bar, so
you can choose ‘Add’ to place an additional point on the creating patterns that are in time with your song becomes much
envelope curve, which can be dragged up/down and left/right easier. Furthermore, you can use the switches on the left to
accordingly. The other options in the menu can then be used to make editing easier, such as the SNAP switch, which makes the
change the shape of the curve to one of a number of different points snap to grid positions, making sure they’re always on the < Home
choices. You can then repeat the process to produce whatever nearest 16th (semiquaver) in the bar.
envelope shape you want.
Then, you can turn on Loop to make the envelope cycle
continuously, after which it will continuously repeat every time < Back
the sustain value is reached. Like the LFO, there are Note,
Legato and Song switches below for choosing when the
envelope retriggers, so you can set this to song position if you
want the envelope to produce repeating synchronised patterns
to go with your track. The EDIT menu, brought up with the
switch in the top left corner, then allows you to select a number
of options, such as halve and double the time for adjusting the
envelope duration. Finally, the CHAOS switch is a good one for
creating random envelope patterns - simply set the amounts
that you want the curve types or levels to be affected using the
two sliders and then hit CHAOS to make a random pattern.
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