Spectrasonics Omnisphere 3 Announced

October 16, 2025

An announcement was just made that Omnisphere 3 is about to release on October 21st and I have already started to field some questions so I will detail what our plans are here.

Until it releases and I am able to spend some time assessing it I will not know what is needed to update the current library but from what I can see, previous projects will work as this is an updated plugin not a new plugin so all previous NKS files should still work in the same manner meaning that all current NKS libraries will work just as they do now. 

There is a LOT of new content in Omnisphere 3, an additional 20,000 presets by the look of it along with some new control possibilities and this is where there may be some issues or the need for a whole new library…

All my current script methods for Omnisphere 2 need to be completely overhauled and updated which is a HUGE task in itself as these have been refined over the years and are specific to the Omnisphere 2 interface. This could easily take a month of work in itself to update and make work again. Generating NKS for the new presets will be the easy part however updating and adding any new controls is close to impossible in existing files as Omnisphere needs you to “enable host automation” for controls you wish to use with hardware so to add new controls will require ALL presets to be regenerated again and this will take months of work to complete so I will have to first spend time with the new plugin and decide what needs to be included in the new template if that is even considered.

Likely all new content will receive a new controller map for the NKS library while the current NKS files will be “legacy” and have the current controller options. I may look into updating this if I can find a way, will just have to see how things go and how popular the updates are with users given NKS is not the demanding feature it was 10 years ago.

It also states that Omnisphere 3 now offers “Hardware Control” for all NI keyboards. This is not NKS integration but Spectrasonics feature of allowing hardware based synths and controllers to instantly map and control the main parameters of Omnisphere, mostly the “Main” control page via the MIDI controls of any NI keyboard (not NKS control so no labels or in-depth control) and this method will not offer any browsing like NKS does, just “auto mapped” control of the performance features of Omnisphere the same as other supported hardware controllers which is an option in-built if you do not want the browsing or deeper integration but of course NKS adds all the nice browsing capability direct from the keyboard and additional deeper control possibilities which for a synth the size of Omnisphere is certainly beneficial and deeper control is often desired by many users so we will be looking into making an improved control template for the new library. 

Rest assured with Omnisphere being one of the most popular libraries I have supported I will be investing a lot of time to make sure there is a decent updated library for Omnisphere 3, it will just require some serious time to develop so hopefully I can count on both patience and support from users. 

Please post any questions or feedback below in the comment section below

UPDATE: 7 November 2025
 
Now Omnisphere 3 has released and I have had some time and also some feedback it seems there are some issues with the current library. Contrary to the claims Spectrasonics make that past content will work in Omnisphere 3 it does not appear to be the case fully and hopefully this is an issue they can resolve otherwise this will mean ALL libraries for Omnisphere (and 3rd party libraries), Keyscape and Trilian will need to be redone!
 
This is the worst case news I could have hoped for since this is now 10x the work needed and has me honestly questioning if this is worth my time since a quick calculation shows I would be lucky to even cover the hours needed to update the library over 12 months so it’s just not looking positive. I have set a goal for the end of the year to see how far I can progress and how much time it is taking to see if this is even possible to do. 
 
If you have updated to Omnisphere 3 and find any issues using the current Omnisphere 2 library, Keyscape or Trilian libraries please let me know what OS you sue and what issues you have found including any additional info such as the preset you are loading. 
 
UPDATE: 22 November 2025
 

So I have managed to spend a few weeks, update all my scripting, adapted everything to work with the new library formats and tagging and improved all the tag masking to convert all the Category, Type, Mood, Keyword, Group tags to NKS compatible tags, a massive undertaking but the process is now all working and can run without intervention.

However….

After some initial tests have all proved successful I have crunched some numbers and realised a rather serious issue here.

Omnisphere exports preset data in a very inefficient text format which for Omnisphere 3 with all the new features and 4 layers of controls, is 376kb per NKS file. To export all tagging and also add some extra tags to the files so I can manipulate the tagging of banks, each preset takes about 40 seconds to generate.

Omnisphere 3 comes with 41,000 presets

So if we were to just calculate 1 machine running 24/7 to export these presets would be 40 seconds x 41,000 / 60 minutes / 24hrs in a day = 1138 Days or 3 years to process.

Then if we look at the 376kb per file x 41,000 files / 1024 per MB / 1024 per GB = 14.7GB without previews, likely double that with previews so a total of 30GB of space would be needed just for the NKS files

So, this is now a serious problem I have to figure out if it is both worth the time and if anyone will want approx 15GB of NKS files on ther system. I can likely get the time it takes each preset down to about 10 seconds because at the moment in testing I am writing every extra tag into temporary tags so I can check the accuracy of NKS tagging so I won’t need to write Mood, Timbre, Keywords, Group etc as these are all converted to NKS character and “Type 2” tagging but I still need things like Version written to a temp tag.

Just starting to dawn how big this library actually is and it may require splitting it up but I first have to really calculate the time it will take, I haven’t even started on designing a new template yet….

Next problem is related to Omnisphere 3 as it appears there are bugs that have to be fixed. In my tests I have often had Omnisphere freeze or become very sluggish and unresponsive and seems others have also had these issues. This is not related to Komplete kontrol as the same issues happen using the stand-alone desktop version of Omnisphere too. One such issue relates to Host Automation assignments where you have to enable Host Automation for parameters that KK will control and upin creating a full map to use for the new template, loading the saved preset causes Omnisphere to freeze. I have managed to replicate and confirm the issue in Omnisphere desktop app and have reported the issue to Spectrasonics who have just confirmed the problem so I am now waiting for them to address this and a few other issues I have found before I can proceed.

There is a LOT of pre-testing needed for this, more than any other plugin since this needs to be done correctly as having to re-save all presets again because something was not considered would be the death of me. 

 
UPDATE: 21 December 2025
 

I am pleased to announce the library is progressing much better than I hoped. During my tests I noted some major issues with Omnisphere becoming sluggish and even unresponsive when loading presets and this turned out to be an issue in the Host Automation system which Spectrasonics have changed from Omnisphere 2 so I was able to pinpoint the cause and raise a ticket with Spectrasonics who were able to address this issue in just 2 weeks so hats off to Spectrasonics for their super fast support. At the time of posting this the fix has not yet been released. This will also address issues people have reported with the current Omnisphere 2 library not working all that great in some cases. I have a Beta release available if anyone wishes to update but keep an eye out otherwise for the next official Omnisphere update that should offer better performance for NKS browsing especially. 

I will also announce that after a solid 3 years of pointing out that Sub Banks in Komplete Kontrol v3 were an issue (not showing at all) finally NI have fixed this issue in the latest v3.5.3 release so update your version of KK if you are using v3 and you can finally see sub banks back again: 

I have been waiting for these issues to both be resolved before I would entertain even releasing an updated library and I am pleased that the time required to update the new library is not as great as I had initially feared. 

I am most of the way through a new library for the Omnisphere 3 content which I will release next year as the initial release. It has a brand new 50+ page control template which I offered up for Beta Testing to users and thanks to the few users that offered their feedback, I now have closed this Beta to focus on a release library.

The first part of the release will be the new Omnisphere 3 library content with “legacy” content available using the current Omnisphere 2 library. This legacy content however will be updated next year to include the new control template but will be done at a later stage so just be aware this will be offered in 2 parts. 

14 Responses

    1. Omnisphere 3 is no different in compatibility than Omnisphere 2 so everything that works with Omnisphere 2 will also work with Omnisphere 3 including the current NKS library. What will need to be updated is NKS files for all the new content which will take some time to complete.

  2. Great to see that all of the Omnisphere 2 patches are working in Omnisphere 3, so existing projects are finding the patches ok via KK + FSL NKS library. Good luck with adding the new libraries – looks like a mammoth job!

    1. Yeah nothing has changed in Omnisphere 3 at all in regards to compatibility, under the hood it’s the same plugin as Omisphere 2 and even 1. It simply updates the browser, adds some new features and of course a huge amount of new presets. Anything made using Omnisphere 2 (NKS, DAW Projects, Expansions etc) will all work with Omnisphere 3 no problem. The main task is to release updated libraries for the new content which is now 5x larger than it was with Omnisphere 2 and I need to develop a new way to auto-tag the presets because the method I have been using which is scraping the details from the actual Omnisphere browser then converting to NKS compatible tagging is far too slow so I need to update that to read it direct from the presets or it will take 6 months just to tag the library.

  4. Well Jason unfortunately you got us hooked. Whatever time you spend on this thing will be worth it. Omnisphere does not change that often so whatever you come up with will be around for a while; and the NKS keyboards do not even control all of the global controls of Omni 3’s new controller auto mapping. Knowing you, I am sure every one will be mapped and labeled. I cannot wait to buy it along with a patron donation because of the amount of work you have to put in. That was the first thing I thought about when it was released. How will Freelance fit in? Eagerly looking forward to what you do. Thanks for your work.

  5. Looking forward to the release. Keep up the amazing work and take the time you need to get it the best way you can. Your work means a heck of a lot and your products change how I work for the better, so take the time you need to get it workin g the way you know best.

  7. Guten Tag, ich habe schon sehr viele NKS Anwendungen gekauft und würde mich riesig freuen, wenn es, trotz der Umstände, bald eine Version von Omnisphere 3 NKS gibt. Beste Grüße Jürgen

    1. Cannot yet say at this stage, it will take a long time to make this one, likely not available until next year but will see how it goes. I am still not yet promising it will actually be released, depends very much on if I can maintain a part time role on development

    1. Yeah it is progressing well. I did have a small beta available recently, just removed it as I ahve now started work on developing the updated library which is progressing better than I first tested so likely there will be something after New Years, maybe Jan/Feb.

      I will be releasing 2 parts for it. First release will be a new Omnisphere 3 library that covers all the new content with a new controller map with Legacy Omnisphere content available in the current Omnisphere 2 library. I will then have an updated version of the legacy content with the new controller map available at a later date with upgrade options for users that have the current Omnisphere 2 library.

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