Hi all.  I'm a wind controller player and am looking for a new synth with great leads and pads that will still good when played monophonically (because wind controllers are monophonic).  I've heard some great things about both Rapture Pro and Omnisphere 2 but have also that O2 is incredibly taxing on system resources.  I'll be using Apple's MainStage as my host and as I'm already using a number of other synths and processing multiple live audio I/O, I need a great synth that's reasonable with system resources.
 
I guess I have 2 questions:
1. Does anyone have an opinion about the quality of Rapture Pro's leads/pads vs Omnisphere 2?
2. How does Rapture Pro compare with Omnisphere 2 in terms of system resource usage?
 
Cheers

I can't answer either of your 2 questions, but it responds well to my WX5. I also had good results with Fabfilters Twin 2, setting response to the breath controller across a number of modulation destinations was a doddle. I was running it in demo mode, but will purchase when I finally see in a sale for the right price.

Does anyone have any feedback at all about whether Rapture Pro's leads/pads are any good?  

Have you worked with the original Rapture at all? I found the pads to be very nice, at least equal to the ones that you could obtain from Albino 3 and/or Blue (just for example).  Once you dig into the guts of the interface, the synth engine is extremely powerful with a lot of modulation options.
 
The above being said, I've not yet tried Rapture Pro.  It's on my to-do list.

Rapture has always been one of my favorite synths but  one can't compare it to Omnisphere2... which packs a whopping 67 gigs of awesome/exquisite samples, an amazing and quite revolutionary engine and ... oh, there is just no way to begin to convey the depth and breadth of this instrument.  Perhaps it is the only "we could do everything" in a box offering which would be truly indistinguishable from any complex professional composition on the market today.  
 
I have loads of stuff... way beyond my sig...O2 is mountains beyond all other items I own. Period
 
Kamakazi, I have Twin... it isn't in the same league... it's cute and fun, but not a platform...and O2 is beyond all platforms.  I think you'll get this opinion from anyone who has it at KVR, V.I. Control, and elsewhere.  If you only got to own one vst instrument it would be O2...
 
Skippy at PluginGuru has lots of vids on the original omnisphere and now O2
 
 

I think I'm asking different questions from a synth than someone looking for big leads. I was referenced it due to the use of breath controller. This is implemented well in Rapture and even better in Twin, it's awful in AAS Ultra Analog.
 
I don't know about how modulations are dealt with in O2, having never tried it. Clearly O2 looks immense as a synth.  

Hey, Kamikazi, have thought of a breath controller for awhile for virtual orchestral pieces... have you used yours for that and how does it fair?  
 
BTW, both DimPro and Rapture are great synths... and should get you by while awaiting money for the monster O2 which should get you goin' for most anything imaginable...
 
As to system resources, it all depends on what you do... I have a fairly powerful rig and O2 is not a strain/Dive can still cause problems if I use several of her with some "Divine" patches.  However, you can go sooooo many places with O2 which I haven't even tried, it might strain a system with powerful multies and other things.  However, it is sample based (partly) which is pretty efficient. I have not gone rapturepro so can't comment there.
 
Maddcow, it would be worth posting your system specs and other info in you sig... just go into your user control panel and add them like mine below.  It will help folks respond better to many questions you might have.

I'm with Maddcow saying he's a Windcontroller player, he's using a midi sax, rather than a keyboard with a breath controller attached.
 
This is what I use and have for over a decade I think, I don't own a keyboard.

 
It's a very different way of plying midi to my mind, because it's forced to be monophonic, it means breath modulation is always synced to the note you play, and shaping the one note. I hdon't own any virtual orchestral stuff, so have never tried. But I imagine it would work very well, especially for wind a brass, it does with synths that allow breath routing to be controlled well. The breath controller aspect is very responsive.
 
Being not a keyboard player, I'm not sure how natural it would feel blowing into a Breath controller whilst playing keys. For what i've seen posted about it though, people that have them are big fans of them. I think it would be shaping the sound in a different way than with a Wind Controller (as opposed to breath) because you'd can shape clusters of notes. And where I play staccato, the breath controller modulation will fall to zero between notses, with a breath controller on a keyboard, you can keep moving the modulation even when nothing is played.
 
So they are a bit different in applications, but breath control modulation is a powerful option.

 I am one of many Mac users who were "left in the cold" for years until the recent update.  I only bought to revive old projects. After hearing the new stuff, it seems thats all it will get for me.
 
Omnisphere 2 VS Rapture Pro
I have both Omnisphere 2 and Rapture Pro.  Rapture is cute, but nowhere in the ballpark of Omnisphere .  Even with system resources: aside from Omnisphere 2 having a whopping 68GB sound library, it is very efficient on the CPU. I also invested in Trilian which adds another 36GB of bass and leads.  Nothing in the industry currently tops Spectrasonics where both CPU efficiency and sound quality/complexity need to be maximized.
 
Rapture Pro Review
My main attraction to Rapture Pro is the old/classic Rapture library. It is arguably the best portion of the entire product. Those leads and pads still have bite and serve well in some electronic projects. The new Pro library is a bit...underwhelming.  The leads and pads don't meet my standards.  There are too many presets that make me say WTF ...I also have the EMU expansions which work, but needed to be manually added...PITA for some weak sounds. The old Dimension Pro (included in Rapture Pro) still has sounds that compete with the new library.
 
Conclusion
If the choice is between Omnisphere and Rapture Pro, go with Omni. If you have older projects that use Rapture, then you'll have to determine how important rapture was to the project.  For me, the classic sounds were worth reviving in my old work.
 
BTW
I probably won't make a Rapture Pro video, but I do have two Omnisphere videos in HD...going through my favorite selection of sounds:
Omnisphere and Trilian
https://youtu.be/kExegDH1TSs
Omnisphere 2
https://youtu.be/WVapN3zbhRk
 
Hope this was helpful!
 
 

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