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

[mcnoone]

I had the same underwhelming feeling when I got my hardware synth. (microkorg xl+ )
Yet after creating hundreds of sounds for it.
I realized that it was the poor skills of the sound design teams that did sounds for it, and it only needed my superior (yes I'm inflating my ego with this) sound making skills.
Maybe that wasn't the reason exactly.
But I guess you should try making your own sounds with it first before jumping to conclusions.
Maybe you can make better sounds with it, and then be a bit less than underwhelmed.

[Uncle E]

If it was possible to run Diva on the Virus' DSPs, I don't expect you'd get much polyphony. You're comparing a hardware synth with a large portion of its code written 10-20 years ago with undoubtedly some serious corner-cutting to squeeze it into the available DSP power of the day...to something that's doing realtime circuit simulation and computing its modulations several times faster than the Virus.

In fairness, those DSP's were far more powerful than CPU's back then and Access had access to a lot more power than you may realize. It's only been in the last few years that CPU's have gotten to the point where a native plugin could catch up with (or surpass, depending on how you look at it) the sound of the Virus and still be usable in a realworld setup.

[Uncle E]

I don't think Serum sounds much like the Virus either

I certainly agree that Serum can't do all the sounds the Virus can do. However, for the more aggressive modern sounds that I personally look for in a Virus, I actually prefer the sound of Serum.

[chk071]

If it was possible to run Diva on the Virus' DSPs, I don't expect you'd get much polyphony. You're comparing a hardware synth with a large portion of its code written 10-20 years ago with undoubtedly some serious corner-cutting to squeeze it into the available DSP power of the day...to something that's doing realtime circuit simulation and computing its modulations several times faster than the Virus.

In fairness, those DSP's were far more powerful than CPU's back then and Access had access to a lot more power than you may realize. It's only been in the last few years that CPU's have gotten to the point where a native plugin could catch up with (or surpass, depending on how you look at it) the sound of the Virus and still be usable in a realworld setup.

Are you sure? As far as i know, DSP on hardware synths always was quite moderate in comparison to computer hardware. After all, you don't have to process tasks you won't need for the mere DSP work in such hardware anyway. Also see here: viewtopic.php?t=370622

According to the figures Evil Dragon posted there, the processing power is quite a laugh.

[Uncle E]

I had the same underwhelming feeling when I got my hardware synth. (microkorg xl+ )
Yet after creating hundreds of sounds for it.
I realized that it was the poor skills of the sound design teams that did sounds for it, and it only needed my superior (yes I'm inflating my ego with this) sound making skills.

Plus, the Virus could arguably have the best interface for programming sounds in all history.

[Scotty]

For those of you have upgraded from a VIrus C to the latest version... am I missing a lot? The polyphony isn't an issue for me ... too many sound sources but I really like the tweakable of the synth especially with the new editor that is available for it. Just wondering if an upgrade is going to introduce some nice elements that I might learn to appreciate.

I had the same underwhelming feeling when I got my hardware synth. (microkorg xl+ )
Yet after creating hundreds of sounds for it.
I realized that it was the poor skills of the sound design teams that did sounds for it, and it only needed my superior (yes I'm inflating my ego with this) sound making skills.

Plus, the Virus could arguably have the best interface for programming sounds in all history.

[Uncle E]

Are you sure? As far as i know, DSP on hardware synths always was quite moderate in comparison to computer hardware. After all, you don't have to process tasks you won't need for the mere DSP work in such hardware anyway. Also see here: viewtopic.php?t=370622

According to the figures Evil Dragon posted there, the processing power is quite a laugh.

You have to remember how slow computers were until very recently. In the 90's when the Virus A was released, the 300MHz Celeron A processor I was using was probably not even 10% as capable as its Motorola DSP.

[Uncle E]

For those of you have upgraded from a VIrus C to the latest version... am I missing a lot? The polyphony isn't an issue for me ... too many sound sources but I really like the tweakable of the synth especially with the new editor that is available for it. Just wondering if an upgrade is going to introduce some nice elements that I might learn to appreciate.

Total Integration is the main thing. I couldn't imagine using a Virus without it now. However, if that isn't your thing, you're fine with your C.

[zerocrossing]

I don't think Serum sounds much like the Virus either

I certainly agree that Serum can't do all the sounds the Virus can do. However, for the more aggressive modern sounds that I personally look for in a Virus, I actually prefer the sound of Serum.

That's a good point. Serum can't do all the sounds the Virus can do (and vise versa) but in a DAW environment, you're not limited to one plug in. That's why I don't own a Virus. Yeah, I get all those layers... But they're all Virus. To me, that's boring. Now, if Kemper opened up the Virus to load other people's software... Now that would be something interesting. I thought the XITE-1 that I got from Uncle E might be exactly that. It kind of was, but in the end it was in such an awkward form for what I wanted to do with it that I got rid of it. (I can only stand a dialog box asking me if I wanted to optimize my project to get 5 voices of polyphony about 150 times before I go insane, but that's another story )

So, I took the cash I got from the sale of the XITE-1 and picked up a few goodies (System 1m, Moog Mother 32 and a MiniMonsta: all great purchases). The main thing was a new computer. I'll probably get Dune 2 and upgrade Oddity as well, but what I really realized is that anyone who says DSP can do something better is talking out there bung hole. It might be able to do it more efficiently, but algorithms are algorithms and my ears tell me that there are plenty of software synths that don't just sound as good as a Virus, but beat it at it's own game. I'll take Dune 2 and Serum any day of the week over the sound of a Virus. I really think the only reason to own a Virus is because you're the type who runs a ton of tracks and you need the computational power (voices). Ultimately I still think like a rock musician the way I produce and it's rare that I put enough tracks in a tune that I need that. Instead I want quality and creative range. In those two respects, I think your money is better spent in software or analog hardware, if that's your thing.

Now before the Access fans come down on me, I'll fully say that the Virus is a great sounding synth. I can see why it is a staple of that trance sound. I hate that sound. I was thinking it might be the hardware wavetable synth I was looking for, but I don't like that hyper-processed-hypersaw-perfect (but with aliasing) sound. It's not my aesthetic. If it's yours, may the Flying Spaghetti Monster bless you. (I'm in love with the fact that Apple's auto correct capitalized that for me!) I want something a little less polished sounding most of the time (think Prophet VS, though I'm loving the cheap and great sounding MiniMonsta) and for the times I do want that, plug ins by Tone2 will do that trick well enough for my needs.

[deastman]

The one advantage DSP has is the ability to work on single samples instead of larger buffers. I'm not saying that makes any difference in the specific case of the Virus, however. I still have my trusty old Virus A, and I still like it, although it rarely sees much use.

[xoxos]

isn't it alarming the incongruity between public responsivity and actual utility. it's almost as if the public were encouraged to make ignorant and debilitating choices for some reason by some mysterious unseen yet always present force.

[chk071]

isn't it alarming the incongruity between public responsivity and actual utility. it's almost as if the public were encouraged to make ignorant and debilitating choices for some reason by some mysterious unseen yet always present force.

Seriously... what?...

[deastman]

isn't it alarming the incongruity between public responsivity and actual utility. it's almost as if the public were encouraged to make ignorant and debilitating choices for some reason by some mysterious unseen yet always present force.

That follows my universal theory of everything, which is this: people are stupid.

[xoxos]

people are alright. it's force that's messed up.

Seriously... what?...

see? i bet you feel better already, being all lovely and uncertain instead of all that horrid assurance. you'll make a fine epistemological solipsist yet after years of molding and constant, creepy feeling attention.

[Scotty]

Integration matters. I have only one patchbay in my studio to select my mic pres, the rest of my external gear is wired directly through multiple adat interfaces. REgarding the Virus I am using the MysteryIsland editor and have my Virus C setup with the editor as a front end control etc. I'll have to check out someone's Virus Ti to see what else is on the table. Thanks for the response.

For those of you have upgraded from a VIrus C to the latest version... am I missing a lot? The polyphony isn't an issue for me ... too many sound sources but I really like the tweakable of the synth especially with the new editor that is available for it. Just wondering if an upgrade is going to introduce some nice elements that I might learn to appreciate.

Total Integration is the main thing. I couldn't imagine using a Virus without it now. However, if that isn't your thing, you're fine with your C.