KVR Audio

recursive one · Post by **recursive one** » Fri Nov 21, 2014 9:55 pm

Just curious, I have both Dune2 and Spire and will unlikely ever get a Virus (but I keep having wet dreams of it, lol).

I'm interested not only in super/hypersaw stuff, but also in other aspects, like basic subtractive sounds, FM and wavetable thing. Spire does not have a dedicated wavetable section but, to my understanding, the ability to interpolate between basic waveforms and complex ones in realtime may also be seen as wavetable synthesis of sorts.

In other words, which one can sound closer to these Virus demos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GNMDX7d5g8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oUs-EiRd1E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agYO_VZNMhQ

Kriminal · Post by **Kriminal** » Fri Nov 21, 2014 10:22 pm

Of all the comparison threads, this one is easy. Dune.

To clarify, im not saying one synth is better than the other. But Dune sounds closer to the Virus, but only the good parts.

chk071 · Post by **chk071** » Fri Nov 21, 2014 10:23 pm

This guy did a comparison between Spire and The Virus TI Snow:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pM02l1_USjE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgKxugy3uHc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mj3qf0I1AjE

recursive one wrote:Just curious, I have both Dune2 and Spire and will unlikely ever get a Virus (but I keep having wet dreams of it, lol).

Me too.

Only hardware synth i really want. But then, Spire seems to be quite a bit down its alley judging by the vids, so... saying that i recently heard a Virus sound which sounded quite a bit like Dune too... i guess you can get quite close to it with Dune too, with the right patches.

cryophonik · Post by **cryophonik** » Fri Nov 21, 2014 10:46 pm

I've owned most Virus models and my TI2 has my main synth/controller for many years now. I also own Spire, Dune v1, and a bunch of other soft synths. I can't really speak for Dune 2, since I've only demo'ed it, but neither Dune 1 nor Spire really captures the overall vibe of the Virus sound IMO. Yes, some patches do, and all of these synths can be programmed to sound similar/identical, but when I think of the overall range of sounds that my Virus covers and its overall huge sweet spot, neither Spire nor Dune 1 really seem to cover the same breadth. Conversely, both of those soft synths have a range and characterstic sweet spot that the Virus doesn't really cover as well. I would say that the same thing goes for Sylenth, which often gets compared to the Virus. IMO, the one soft synth that consistently reminds me of my Virus is Z3TA/Z3TA2.

Ultimately, I think that there is way too much ado about the "Virus sound", which isn't all that definable IMO, given its huge feature set, oscillator/waveforms, filter types, etc. If supersaws are all you're after, you don't need a Virus for that - there are plenty of software options. The reason to own a Virus over a soft synth has much less to do with getting a certain sound, and much more to do with owning a fine musical instrument that is capable of covering a lot of sonic territory, solid construction, excellent playability (in the keyboard versions), fantastic developer support, excellent controller capabilities, hardware/software integration, etc. That's my opinion, at least. I think it's sorta ludicrous when people spend that much money just to use it for a few trance presets.

chk071 · Post by **chk071** » Fri Nov 21, 2014 10:56 pm

cryophonik wrote:I've owned most Virus models and my TI2 has my main synth/controller for many years now. I also own Spire, Dune v1, and a bunch of other soft synths. I can't really speak for Dune 2, since I've only demo'ed it, but neither Dune 1 nor Spire really captures the overall vibe of the Virus sound IMO. Yes, some patches do, and all of these synths can be programmed to sound similar/identical, but when I think of the overall range of sounds that my Virus covers and its overall huge sweet spot, neither Spire nor Dune 1 really seem to cover the same breadth. Conversely, both of those soft synths have a range and characterstic sweet spot that the Virus doesn't really cover as well. I would say that the same thing goes for Sylenth, which often gets compared to the Virus. IMO, the one soft synth that consistently reminds me of my Virus is Z3TA/Z3TA2.

Ultimately, I think that there is way too much ado about the "Virus sound", which isn't all that definable IMO, given its huge feature set, oscillator/waveforms, filter types, etc. If supersaws are all you're after, you don't need a Virus for that - there are plenty of software options. The reason to own a Virus over a soft synth has much less to do with getting a certain sound, and much more to do with owning a fine musical instrument that is capable of covering a lot of sonic territory, solid construction, excellent playability (in the keyboard versions), fantastic developer support, excellent controller capabilities, hardware/software integration, etc. That's my opinion, at least. I think it's sorta ludicrous when people spend that much money just to use it for a few trance presets.

Great post.

I guess a big part of the desire to own a hardware synth has to do with things like the hands on feeling, and the probability that you will spend more time to delve deep into it. With plugins, there's the risk of having a folder full of plugins, and mostly just scratching the surface of each one, especially when it's freeware. And with a physical product, you of course also have the element of building a relationship with it, which you don't have that much with something virtual.

zvenx · Post by **zvenx** » Fri Nov 21, 2014 11:01 pm

The Virus was the last hardware synth I wanted to own.... wanted to own one since the Virus B came out and as I was about to buy one, the next version came out and on and on, then for me a strange thing happened. At the point of Omnisphere and Zebra2, I realised I started to prefer the sound of those two than the Virus. They may sound nothing like them, but I realised I preferred their sound. So whereas before I would go into a music store (whenever I was in the US) and spend hours on a virus, I would maybe spend 2 minutes and go meh......
Its so strange about Z3ta/zeta2, I bought them because I kept hearing ppl say they are very virus like and as you know there is even a virus mode. Neither ever appealed to me and to be honest, I have them hidden in my Cubendo plugin list. ( To make my plugin list more manageable, I usually disable from showing plugins I rarely or never use).
Now I will try it again

rsp

Kriminal · Post by **Kriminal** » Fri Nov 21, 2014 11:11 pm

Someone made the virus mod for z3ta with really crap virus waveforms... i mean REALLY crap. Even if they were genuine, very little else in z3ta is 'virus like'

IIRC, howard 'transfered' some of his virus sounds into zebra2.... make of that what you will.

Aiynzahev · Post by **Aiynzahev** » Fri Nov 21, 2014 11:12 pm

The Virus is awesome. If you really know what it's capable of and you want it for what it does best, there is no VST that sounds the same. Neither Dune2 or Spire sound anything like the TI, but at least they give you the tools to get the hyper saw feature.

Neither are nearly as capable when it comes to wavetables AKAIK, especially not Spire. That is one of the big highlights of the TI.

My advice if you want the Virus, sell some soft-synths, save some money and buy the snow on ebay. At least then you'll finally know.

zvenx · Post by **zvenx** » Fri Nov 21, 2014 11:26 pm

Kriminal wrote:Someone made the virus mod for z3ta with really crap virus waveforms... i mean REALLY crap. Even if they were genuine, very little else in z3ta is 'virus like'

IIRC, howard 'transfered' some of his virus sounds into zebra2.... make of that what you will.

I think between that and eric sampling a lot of the virus stuff, helped satisfy my virus desire.

just played back the z3ta2, nope, not my cup of tea at all.
rsp

jiglesias86 · Post by **jiglesias86** » Sat Nov 22, 2014 12:46 pm

I never had a Virus, but for me, Spire and Dune sound really good. I purchased Spire because my Dune demo expired and I couldn't test it enough, but both deserve our attention. I don't miss my old hardware with it.

LimboLoves · Post by **LimboLoves** » Sat Nov 22, 2014 4:25 pm

Just save up and buy a virus.

djanthonyw · Post by **djanthonyw** » Sat Nov 22, 2014 4:44 pm

I think that Dune 2 is the closest option to a Virus.

fluffy_little_something · Sat Nov 22, 2014 4:57 pm

So, what's special about Virus? Is it the sound quality or the kinds of sounds it makes? If it is the former, I suppose there are several plugins with excellent sound quality. If it is the latter, judging from the description online the Virus can do various types of synthesis. So why not use a specialized plugin for the type one is interested in? Utterly freakish and bloated sounds are usually not very musical, so it is a bit like with having a Ferrari in the garage while living in a country with a speed limit of 90mph

4damind · Post by **4damind** » Sat Nov 22, 2014 5:02 pm

I use Dune2 and Spire very often and have also a Virus XL in the rack...
Dune2 sounds more polished, Spire has a bit more this rough sound like the Virus. IMO Spire sounds a bit closer to the Virus.

(But to be honest, I use Dune2 or Spire much, much, much more than my Virus

)

cryophonik · Post by **cryophonik** » Sat Nov 22, 2014 5:12 pm

4damind wrote:I use Dune2 and Spire very often and have also a Virus XL in the rack...
Dune2 sounds more polished, Spire has a bit more this rough sound like the Virus. IMO Spire sounds a bit closer to the Virus.

(But to be honest, I use Dune2 or Spire much, much, much more than my Virus )

I had a Virus XL for a few months and didn't use it much, either. The interface is just not inviting, so it sorta defeats the point of using hardware IMO. As mentioned, there are plenty of software alternatives that sound as good and are much easier to use than the XL. So, I replaced it with a Polar TI and, later, my TI2.

Spire or Dune2 - which one sounds more like a Virus?