Issue with MIDI Routing for Additional Omnisphere 3 Instances in Logic

Scaler 3 Support
1

Hello there,

I’m having an issue with MIDI routing in Logic when using multiple instances of Omnisphere 3.

For some reason, everything works correctly on the Main Track with Omnisphere 3. However, when I add additional Omnisphere 3 instances on other tracks, the MIDI signal does not pass through as expected.

Interestingly, if I add other plugins such as Alchemy or Zebra 2 on additional tracks after Omnisphere 3, the same MIDI routing setup works perfectly, just as shown in your tutorial.

Could you please advise why this issue occurs specifically with multiple Omnisphere 3 instances and how to resolve it?

Thank you very much for your help.

Best regards,

2

Hi @AlexKidd would you mind elaborating what you mean when you say:

Do you mean if you add Omnisphere to a child/motion track in Scaler 3, it does not play any of the MIDI data on that track? Or are you trying to play that Omnisphere instance with a MIDI keyboard?

Note that only the main track or user tracks can be played directly via MIDI input e.g. with a MIDI controller. All other track types will simply play the MIDI clips on that track.

3

Hey Tristan,
Everything works correctly with my other plugins. For example Diva and Zebra 2 receive the MIDI from Scaler on Channels 1, 2, and 3 with no problem.
However, Omnisphere 3 only responds to the main instrument track. If I use “Add to Track +” to create additional parts, those tracks don’t receive the MIDI from Scaler at all.
This behaviour seems specific to Omnisphere, so I suspect Spectrasonics may have implemented some kind of limitation or default setting that prevents external multi-channel MIDI routing to additional tracks.

4

Hey Tristan,
Everything works correctly with my other plugins. For example Diva and Zebra 2 receive the MIDI from Scaler on Channels 1, 2, and 3 with no problem.
However, Omnisphere 3 only responds to the main instrument track. If I use “Add to Track +” to create additional parts, those tracks don’t receive the MIDI from Scaler at all.
This behaviour seems specific to Omnisphere, so I suspect Spectrasonics may have implemented some kind of limitation or default setting that prevents external multi-channel MIDI routing to additional tracks.

It seems that Omnisphere only accepts MIDI from its own main instrument track. It does not respond to MIDI coming from additional “Track+” lanes in Logic.
That’s why Omnisphere works perfectly on the Main track, but as soon as Omnisphere is added as a Track+, it no longer receives MIDI, unlike Zebra, Diva or Kontakt which accept MIDI from multiple tracks.

So the issue isn’t Scaler or Logic; it’s Omnisphere’s limitation in how it handles external MIDI routing. Omnisphere is powerful, but old-school in MIDI architecture I guess :upside_down_face:

5

In short here is the issue and solution :

Issue

Using Omnisphere’s Stack Mode allows you to use up to 8 different patches (sounds) simultaneously, all triggered by a single MIDI track from Scaler. This is great for fast layering and creation.

However, it creates a crucial problem for mixing:

  1. Shared Output: All 8 patches usually exit Omnisphere on the same single stereo output track in your DAW mixer.
  2. No Individual FX: You cannot apply dedicated, external effects (like EQ, compression, or reverb) to just one of the 8 sounds without affecting the others.

The Solution

If you need to mix each sound individually, you must:

• Export the MIDI: Move the MIDI data for each sound (bass, lead, pads, etc.) onto its own separate track in your DAW.

• Separate Plugins: Use a dedicated instance of Omnisphere for each new track.

This process gives each sound its own mixer channel for professional, detailed processing