KVR Audio

djrevise5 · Post by **djrevise5** » Wed Sep 23, 2015 2:01 pm

Not trying to start a fight here, but I just bought a virus snow after lusting after them for years, got it home and I am very underwhelmed with the sound. I have a lot of vsts that sound better than this! Just letting the people like me who thought that the virus has some magic sound, that they really don't.

Numanoid · Post by **Numanoid** » Wed Sep 23, 2015 2:03 pm

djrevise5 wrote:I just bought a virus snow

Give it some time

Also have you upgraded to latest Firmware? There is also a brand new patch bank available at Access that could offer some inspiration: http://www.virus.info/page/render/lang/ ... us_ti.html

SLiC · Post by **SLiC** » Wed Sep 23, 2015 2:14 pm

The Virus has been out a long time....I really long time in the world of VST's which have probably caught up and even exceeded most digital hardware synths, Diva, Serum, Dune 2, Spire, Reactor 6 etc....we are simply spoiled- but a Virus is hardware, should be rock solid for playing live, no DSP draw even with lots of poly and effects and you can play it with your computer turned off!

Numanoid · Post by **Numanoid** » Wed Sep 23, 2015 2:23 pm

An advantage is it's portability and easy to hook up to Computer/DAW

It's like NI Kore in a synth!

zerocrossing · Post by **zerocrossing** » Wed Sep 23, 2015 2:24 pm

SLiC wrote:The Virus has been out a long time....I really long time in the world of VST's which have probably caught up and even exceeded most digital hardware synths, Diva, Serum, Dune 2, Spire, Reactor 6 etc....we are simply spoiled- but a Virus is hardware, should be rock solid for playing live, no DSP draw even with lots of poly and effects and you can play it with your computer turned off!

Right. I did the exact same thing as the OP and I came to a similar conclusion. It's good, but not great. The only benefit comes from it's high poly count and high quality effects per channel.

It's old technology. I should say, old digital technology. It was a bad move from Access to just make the TI 2 series exactly the same as v1 but with higher voice count. Anyway, after a month or so I sold it. I got a KingKORG instead, which IMO is a much better sounding synth.

EvilDragon · Post by **EvilDragon** » Wed Sep 23, 2015 2:28 pm

Numanoid wrote:It's like NI Kore in a synth!

Not really, Kore can do so much more.

Robmobius · Post by **Robmobius** » Wed Sep 23, 2015 2:28 pm

djrevise5 wrote:Not trying to start a fight here, but I just bought a virus snow after lusting after them for years, got it home and I am very underwhelmed with the sound. I have a lot of vsts that sound better than this! Just letting the people like me who thought that the virus has some magic sound, that they really don't.

I don't agree...

thetechnobear · Post by **thetechnobear** » Wed Sep 23, 2015 2:29 pm

I love my Virus, but Im with @SliC its the immediacy of the hardware that appeals
the advantage of using a TI keyboard, many knobs so immediate access, and a lovely keybed, turn it on and go... I can spend hours just playing, or creating new sounds
(I hardly ever use the software, seems pointless to use the Virus as a hardware VST dongle)

also if you haven't tried, use the hardware outputs, not the USB from the VST... i find it has a slightly different sound, which I prefer.

I guess there may be some hardware controllers with enough dials to get this immediacy (?? anyone, with visual feedback? Push has the feedback but only 8 encoders) but Id then spent a huge amount of time trying to configure, and it would probably still not be as intuitive.

don't get wrong, I love software and it has endless possibilities, but neither is a replacement for the other.

chk071 · Post by **chk071** » Wed Sep 23, 2015 2:33 pm

djrevise5 wrote:Not trying to start a fight here, but I just bought a virus snow after lusting after them for years, got it home and I am very underwhelmed with the sound. I have a lot of vsts that sound better than this! Just letting the people like me who thought that the virus has some magic sound, that they really don't.

How exactly does it sound "worse"? Not as detailled? You don't like the character? Filter sucks? Oscillators sound bad?

Numanoid · Post by **Numanoid** » Wed Sep 23, 2015 2:34 pm

thetechnobear wrote:I hardly ever use the software, seems pointless to use the Virus as a hardware VST dongle

But how do you record with it.

I would think an advantage it has is easy DAW integration?

And as access still releases updates for it, it will work with latest Win and OSX versions.

IncarnateX · Post by **IncarnateX** » Wed Sep 23, 2015 2:41 pm

I thought there were consensus that The Virus is sooo last decade. Now it is all about analog revival magic, isn't it?

Numanoid · Post by **Numanoid** » Wed Sep 23, 2015 2:48 pm

If the OP didn't like the synth, and want to sell it second hand.

Not gonna get higher price with this post

xamido · Post by **xamido** » Wed Sep 23, 2015 2:48 pm

I agree, the oscillator and filter is a bit weak. But i'm using my Virus for live performance, and no other hardware synth have built in FX as good as the virus. That's where it excels for me.

The reverb is huge and warm, the delay is spot on, and the many distortion type is always welcome.

zerocrossing · Post by **zerocrossing** » Wed Sep 23, 2015 2:53 pm

chk071 wrote:
djrevise5 wrote:Not trying to start a fight here, but I just bought a virus snow after lusting after them for years, got it home and I am very underwhelmed with the sound. I have a lot of vsts that sound better than this! Just letting the people like me who thought that the virus has some magic sound, that they really don't.
How exactly does it sound "worse"? Not as detailled? You don't like the character? Filter sucks? Oscillators sound bad?

The bad:

The oscillators alias fairly badly for a synth of it's price range.

There is a "grainy" quality of the summed voices. (running the audio outs doesn't help much)

The filters are a bit boring.

The EGs sound a stiff and lifeless.

The good:

Wavetables are excellent and sound good.

Alternate wavetable modes are brilliant. (formant and graintable)

Modulation options are good.

VST ui is pretty good (though tiny, would love to see modulation routings all the time)

Effects sound very good.

rod_zero · Post by **rod_zero** » Wed Sep 23, 2015 3:04 pm

Virus won its reputation in the early 2000's when native synths were behind in features and sound. I would say that from 2006 onward with stuff like Massive, Zebra, Reaktor, Absynth5 it started to loose its edge and now it is starting to be in at the back.

And well I like hardware when its a self contained instrument and the UI is fun, the Snow is neother so it's just like a big dongle. The keyboard at least has some great keys. But the UI sucks IMHO, given how deep the synth is (verys imilar UI to the Nord Lead which has 1/10 of the virus features).

Wow the virus really isn't that special after all.