Studio Electronics Omega 2

I'm using OS 1.75 (march 2003). Still a few bugs like the arpegiator : it bugs the whole unit if you tweak knobs during arpegiating.

The presets are good starters : allround basses and leads, pads and blips. Some weird noizes to complete the overview of the Omega.

Editing is pretty simple and the menus don't go deeper than 4 push buttons. The manual is pretty straight forward ans thin but it's not Waldorf Q !

I won't get into details : everything is well described at studio electronics web site. What you have to know is that's software driven. Which means that LFO and Enveloppes are software. Fine by me, as EG are snappy enough and LFO stable as you might expects.
Filters : great to have the Oberheim recreation in 4 modes : low pass, high-pass band reject and band pass. You can buy Arp 2600 and TB303 to expend the expresiveness of the omega. That's one filter per voice : a pricey expension. I only own the basic version : OB and Mini filters

I'm into electronica, IDM as well as hard house and break/big beat. The omega covers them all with class and versatility.

It can be slick as well as gritty. from trashy noizes to creamy leads. Basses are phatt to a point it makes my windows shakin'.

I also own a M3X Macbeth Studio Systems, Nord Mod, Virus B, Nord Rack 2, SH101 : none of them can be serious pretenders when it comes to bottom end, even with the 16 stacked voices of the Virus or the Nord "whatever OSC's you want" Nord Mod.

The multi mode allows you to stack 2 sounds and that can lead you to places unheard of...

MIDI implementation is complete.

One regret here : the osc. pitch is incremented. Despite the knob controller you move step by step and cannot directly depitch a VCO in a constant way, like a knob sort of glide. You can achieve this with glide of course, or with the bender or by dedicating the free enveloppe to pitch.

To soon to tell. As I said, the arpegiator is buggy. I don't gig so I wouldn't care about a backup. Anyway, once it's tuned (or shallI say once t's turned on)it's tuned. Wich means 4 osc, solid as a rock. Or not if you want : there's a dedicated function to slighly outtuned them. Witty...

I'll wait till next OS update : there's a few things left aside or not programmed yet, but announced at SE.

I've a problem with my unit, wich consisted in a component that was bugging the Omega with the latest OS. I went to the mailing list and it ended up this way : Greg St-Regis called from California to where I live, and it's France... He patiently described the little surgery I had to go through to sort the bug off. This is what I call customer support !

A breeze to edit, a constant sonic orgasm to listen to... It surely is a pricey unit, considering it's only 2 voices. But it's worth every buck you would pay for, if you're into the edge of sounds, their phatness. 3 EG, 3 LFO, an astounding panning feature, multimode filters, 2 inputs to tweak incoming sounds i.e. mic, guitar, sizer, whatever... What more do you want ??? And it's analog ! Considering I own both VA's and truly analog gear, I can tell you there's a difference.

Planning to buy a 4 or an 8 voices right now...

There are a lot of amazing patches in the presets. They're warm, usable, fat, and intricate. About 50% of the presets I would personally use in a track--which is a lot for me. Even the patches I wouldn't use are still fairly interesting and show the amazing capabilities of this piece.

Editing and saving patches is easy. Programming is simple: pick a knob and start turning. There are some pages to flip through, but it was created so that all parameters are accesible within a few button pushes and that the main parameters are easily tweakable by one of the many knobs. Its pretty relaxing to work with and simple to figure out. To save sounds you must overwrite factory presets. The manual is adequate but a bit slim, could be more descriptive as to what the different parameters do.

In terms of multi-timbrality and number of voices, this synth is extremely limited for its cost, especially if you compare it to analogue emulation machines. But in terms of sound, this beast is the essence of true analogue beauty.

I think the best use for the Omega 2 is as a dual-timbral mono-synth. The multi mode works (to play one voice on one midi channel and one on another). It can be slightly buggy, but is fairly solid once it's set up. The sound creation is incredible. Its like having two minimoogs or a minimoog and an Xpander all in one box--but programmable and extremely MIDI friendly. Both voices also have audio inputs to route external audio, such as drums, through the filters. You can use up to seven different waveforms per voice (two triangle, two square--with pulse, two saw, and a sub). Sync the waveforms within a voice. Cross-modulate between two voices. Three envelopes and assignable LFOs. Stereo panning for each voice. An arpeggiator. I'm not gonna go into all the specs, you can read about that at the Studio Electronics site, but this synth seems to have very capable programming and MIDI implementation, much of which you can't do with older analogue synths.

In comparison to the SE-1x, I'm told the envelopes are snappier on the Omega 2, but I haven't used the SE to much extent. The SE has three oscillators but is not multi-timbral. The Omega 2 has two oscillators and a sub, but it has two voices. The SE has Ring Modulation; the Omega has Cross Modulation.

The Omega has been described as 'obese' and 'fat'--all completely true. It is built to stack detuned oscillators and punch its way onto your soundscape in a resonant analogue orgy of obesity. You'll also find warm gooey leads that will cause you to fall in love after one night with it. The sound is also very clean and quiet. I particularly like the velocity sensitivity and mapping it to the filter, something that can't be done on a minimoog or juno or roland XOX boxes.

Haven't had it for more than a few weeks but the thing seems really solid. There's still a few minor bugs, but they seemed to have worked out most of the stuff people complained about before. It hasn't crashed once on me.

The customer support is solid and no waiting. Its pretty much one-on-one with the people who designed it.

The Omega 2 is a powerful synth with an enormous sound. With only two voices and a sharp price tag, I wouldn't recommend this as a first synth for anyone. But in a studio setup this piece can serve as the foundation for a lot of awesome tracks.