A poll for Virus owners

[Synthman2000]

Each to their own preferences as always . I always feel that paying serious money for outdated DSP hardware feels a bit like a raw deal. You would probably need quite a powerful UAD system and then you are easily in second hand Snow pricing again.

DSP cards are not a model I wish to support in 2017 as it feels like a bit of a bind with the hardware, limitations from the DSP available, costs. Cannot quite put my finger on it, for myself it would feel like being cheated in some way so I have not considered the UAD system. CPU's are so incredible these days, you can do so much even on a 6 year old i7.

A Snow attached feels somehow authentic and as a bonus is desireable for second hand resale. Even though there are clear similarities.

Yikes.. I checked a Quad core UAD price. (for reference the current 4.2GHz 7700K i7 and a new motherboard would come in at just over 1/2 the price)

But ultimately if you like the UAD specifically and the plugs, you have to buy in. I do get it, it is just not for me being somewhat "bang for buck" minded.

[xalama qo]

I think you misunderstood me a bit...I was referring to the Virus TI as the dsp system, and just dreaming that a hypothetical TI3 could include expansion by dsp boards (similar to the old Waldorf voice expansion boards for the Q and MWXT) that go into the Virus, not your computer.

I was looking at buying some Powercore PCIe boards for a Virus-in-the-box, but an external TI2 would be a much better idea...unless that TI3 comes along

[RobGee]

If it's not a direct port by Access then it's pointless.

[aMUSEd]

No interest in an emulation - I have the real thing. The whole point of getting a Virus Ti was to be able to make huge evolving sounds without having to worry about taxing my CPU.

[Terrafractyl]

I would take a legit version from Access on UAD!
Already own a card so that is the only way I can see it happening. I actually voted the last option, as I eventually found what I needed from the virus in other synths. and yeah the workflow def had an impact on how much I used it also... but to be honest if they did release a 1:1 port I would probably seeeriously consider getting it.

I bowed out of the virus game before the TI2 so I'd have to check it for all the new things they added over the past few years. and it is one of those synths that is just better than the sum of its parts.

I'd actually be fairly surprised if someone in some dark dusty room somewhere wasn't already making a UAD versions or working out how to port that code to something other than sharc processors.
To me I reckon that code is still worth something, and Access will probably find a way to make some more $$ out of it. As their sales go slowly > there may be a point when it is worth their while.

[Vectorman]

I'd like to have it in software for the convenience. Virus Control works reasonably well on my system, but sync errors on starting playback happen fairly often, automation isn't as slick as with VSTi's, etc. But only if done by Access. I don't expect anybody else who doesn't have the source code is going to offer the full TI feature set while truly nailing the sound.

[xalama qo]

and it is one of those synths that is just better than the sum of its parts.

Strue!

And while we're at it, let's petition Clavia again to release Nord Modular G2 as a genuine uncrippled vst! That demo is still so handy, and ridiculously light on CPU these days.

[cryophonik]

On the other hand at least some Virus users still think that this machine is something special and is not easily replaced with plugins. I wonder what are the opinions of people who actually own or owned a Virus.

I've owned most of the Virus models and my TI2 has been a centerpiece of my studio for years. I'd say that many of the newer plugins are perfectly suitable for getting that characteristic Virus "sound", particularly in a mix. Where I think that they fail, however, is in emulating the breadth and huge sweet spot that the Virus offers. For that reason, a 1:1 plugin emulation would be excellent news for many people, but it wouldn't cause me to sell my TI2 hardware because...

...it is one of those synths that is just better than the sum of its parts.

[Devastator]

Porting the Virus code to UAD would be nothing more than an expensive form of copy protection.

A modern PC would have no problem with running a (good) port of the code with very little CPU load, as proved by how light the Nord Modular G2 (which uses very similar DSPs) demo runs (with what is likely very lightly optimised code).

[Terrafractyl]

Porting the Virus code to UAD would be nothing more than an expensive form of copy protection.

A modern PC would have no problem with running a (good) port of the code with very little CPU load, as proved by how light the Nord Modular G2 (which uses very similar DSPs) demo runs (with what is likely very lightly optimised code).

My understanding is that because the UAD works with the same Sharc processors, the port would be relatively easy. Porting it work as a native VSTi would be a much bigger undertaking, and one that would potentially eat into hardware sales.

[Devastator]

No, the virus uses Motorola (then Freescale, now NXP) 56K DSPs, not SHARC.

[Terrafractyl]

whoops, you are totally right. sorry don't know how I got that confused.

In that case, UAD is probably not an option either. maybe it will just never happen then.

[CharlyLN]

Strue!

And while we're at it, let's petition Clavia again to release Nord Modular G2 as a genuine uncrippled vst! That demo is still so handy, and ridiculously light on CPU these days.

Not really neccessary. Oscillot(M4L) takes a lot of the typical workflow from the G2. (And much more)

[xalama qo]

Oscillot is great, just a pity it's only for Live users.

[aMUSEd]

And also not a G2 substitute really - just superficially