The "Zebra2 plays Virus" challenge

[pschelfh]

I've saved my arp presets (5), will include them in an update for my Zebra2 soundbank.

Peter.

[pschelfh]

OK, 2 naked basslines from the Virus mp3 (1 and 2 resembled that much that I think it's the same tweaked preset).

! I used a (non-popup) download site, I didn't want to bother Urs !

Virus Bassline 1 & 2
Virus Bassline 3

Bass 1 & 2 (preset : Teknoid) :

Sine wave + FM
2 pole (60%) -> Saturation -> 2 pole (offset +100)
Filter Env. : Release 1/4, rest at 0
Amp Env. : Decay 1/4, Sustain 1/4, rest at 0
FX : Digital Distortion, Analog Boost

Bass 3 (preset : HPBass1) :

Saw wave + Sine one octave lower
2 pole (20%) -> Saturation -> 2 pole (offset 0)
Filter Env. : Decay between 1/4 and 1/2, Release full, rest at 0
Amp Env. : Decay between 1/4 and 1/2, Sustain 1/2, rest at 0
FX : Rectifier, Analog Boost, Delay

These are some general settings, not really of any use because they are specific to the Virus.

Peter.

[tony tony chopper]

! I used a (non-popup) download site, I didn't want to bother Urs !

you could use a gmail account, because all the rest is scam crap

[shogger]

With the activity this thread is getting, it's easy to miss posts like these. Sorry if I confused ya.

Sorry sir, but I still don't get it. I was talking about naming the the posted audios in a logical way. I thought it wasn't so cool to have 50 mp3's with names that all sound like VirusArpSuperDuper.mp3 while the poster might have used OnePingOnly and not a Virus.
I still don't see any relation to what you wrote as a comment as you quoted me?

What about naming all your audio samples from now on in a way that at least tells us the name of the playing synth?

Shogger

[bmrzycki]

Sorry sir, but I still don't get it. I was talking about naming the the posted audios in a logical way. I thought it wasn't so cool to have 50 mp3's with names that all sound like VirusArpSuperDuper.mp3 while the poster might have used OnePingOnly and not a Virus.
I still don't see any relation to what you wrote as a comment as you quoted me?

Why I quoted you was because I was hoping to take it one step further than you. I was posting in hopes that those who posted .mp3 files would also post the .fxp file along with the name of their chosen VST. Something along the lines of:

Code: Select all

+ vsti_user.zip
+-- vsti_user_arp.fxp
+-- vsti_user_arp.mp3

[bmanic]

Again, I think it's no use trying to mimic Manuel's mp3 as he clearly has used "mastering tricks" to sugar coat his mp3 examples (of course as he wants to sell the damn presets!) so I'll instead mimic anything pschelfh (could your name be any harder to remember?? ) makes with his virus.

Cheers!
bManic

[Tronam]

Again, I think it's no use trying to mimic Manuel's mp3 as he clearly has used "mastering tricks" to sugar coat his mp3 examples (of course as he wants to sell the damn presets!) so I'll instead mimic anything pschelfh (could your name be any harder to remember?? ) makes with his virus.

Cheers!
bManic

If you consider clever setup of the onboard effects on the Virus to be "mastering tricks", then ok.

[shogger]

Why I quoted you was because I was hoping to take it one step further than you. I was posting in hopes that those who posted .mp3 files would also post the .fxp file along with the name of their chosen VST. Something along the lines of:

Code: Select all

+ vsti_user.zip
+-- vsti_user_arp.fxp
+-- vsti_user_arp.mp3

Ah yeah, now I got it!
Good idea!

Shogger

[bmanic]

Again, I think it's no use trying to mimic Manuel's mp3 as he clearly has used "mastering tricks" to sugar coat his mp3 examples (of course as he wants to sell the damn presets!) so I'll instead mimic anything pschelfh (could your name be any harder to remember?? ) makes with his virus.

Cheers!
bManic

If you consider clever setup of the onboard effects on the Virus to be "mastering tricks", then ok.

Looks like you have not read the entire thread. Urs bought a virus TI, Urs also bought Manuel's presets. They do NOT sound the same as in the demo and it was concluded that it's not just his performance, there seems to be some added compression. Not to mention that Manuel is apparently exactly reliable when it comes to his word..

Cheers!
bManic

[Elijah.P]

but it has also been written by URS, that he said he used a limiter to avoid clippings

furthermore the MP3 Example of the original ARP posted here is mp3-coded TWICE
furthermore the original is made on a Virus b or c... do not know if it sounds 100% like the TI
furthermore you forgot about the recording hardware
so you simply just can not compare exactly
you would need the original WAV file

But hey, lets talk about these basses from his set mentioned somewhere above... this would interest me much more

[hifiboom]

at the end the magic of the virus will turn out to be low bit rate mp3 encoding...

[Tronam]

Looks like you have not read the entire thread. Urs bought a virus TI, Urs also bought Manuel's presets. They do NOT sound the same as in the demo and it was concluded that it's not just his performance, there seems to be some added compression. Not to mention that Manuel is apparently exactly reliable when it comes to his word..

Cheers!
bManic

I have been active in the thread since early on. All Manuel used was a limiter to prevent clipping when going through a wide range of presets from basses, to leads, to arps etc... If you listen to the original patch demo, you can see him quickly transitioning from one patch to another. Nothing fancy about those "mastering tricks", but I guess it just comes down to whether or not you trust what he says. Don't discount Manuel's own performance of the patch and how he chose to modulate the parameters while playing it. It's only been implied that there is something more going on (outside of any MP3 encoding artifacts that may be a factor as well). Noone knows for sure. Also, it doesn't surprise me that the TI will sound different than its older predecessors. The Virus a-c models are tad more "lo fi" when compared with the TI which also has upgraded converters to 192khz/24-bit etc... and probably an overhauled sound engine. The last time I played with a TI at a music store, it had a very different vibe to it than my older Virus. While the TI was still capable of the grunge of its ancestors, it was somehow "cleaner" grunginess, if that makes any sense.

[Howard]

the unstable parameter in Helix is just awesome and I haven't heard it on any other synth.

Roland Fantom series.

[bmanic]

Looks like you have not read the entire thread. Urs bought a virus TI, Urs also bought Manuel's presets. They do NOT sound the same as in the demo and it was concluded that it's not just his performance, there seems to be some added compression. Not to mention that Manuel is apparently exactly reliable when it comes to his word..

Cheers!
bManic

I have been active in the thread since early on. All Manuel used was a limiter to prevent clipping when going through a wide range of presets from basses, to leads, to arps etc... If you listen to the original patch demo, you can see him quickly transitioning from one patch to another. Nothing fancy about those "mastering tricks", but I guess it just comes down to whether or not you trust what he says. Don't discount Manuel's own performance of the patch and how he chose to modulate the parameters while playing it. It's only been implied that there is something more going on (outside of any MP3 encoding artifacts that may be a factor as well). Noone knows for sure. Also, it doesn't surprise me that the TI will sound different than its older predecessors. The Virus a-c models are tad more "lo fi" when compared with the TI which also has upgraded converters to 192khz/24-bit etc... and probably an overhauled sound engine. The last time I played with a TI at a music store, it had a very different vibe to it than my older Virus. While the TI was still capable of the grunge of its ancestors, it was somehow "cleaner" grunginess, if that makes any sense.

Ok, I admit, you have a good point. The mp3 encoding itself seems to be only 128kbit so that would already severely change the transients (they get a bit more "fluffy" which is kind of cool.. I always liked that about mp3 encoded synth sounds ). It also sounds rather hot, level wise that is, so he surely hit that limiter quite hard. Depending on what limiter he used (could be outboard gear as well I guess) it can change the initial sound a bit (waves L3 for instance, or any other multiband limiter).

As for Virus C sounding different to TI, I thought they said the C emulation was rather perfect, no?

Anyways.. there's no doubt that Manuel knows exactly what he is doing. All his demos are performed extremely well and the presets are simply stunning.

Cheers!
bManic

[fgimian]

OK, 2 naked basslines from the Virus mp3 (1 and 2 resembled that much that I think it's the same tweaked preset).

! I used a (non-popup) download site, I didn't want to bother Urs !

Virus Bassline 1 & 2
Virus Bassline 3

Bass 1 & 2 (preset : Teknoid) :

Sine wave + FM
2 pole (60%) -> Saturation -> 2 pole (offset +100)
Filter Env. : Release 1/4, rest at 0
Amp Env. : Decay 1/4, Sustain 1/4, rest at 0
FX : Digital Distortion, Analog Boost

Bass 3 (preset : HPBass1) :

Saw wave + Sine one octave lower
2 pole (20%) -> Saturation -> 2 pole (offset 0)
Filter Env. : Decay between 1/4 and 1/2, Release full, rest at 0
Amp Env. : Decay between 1/4 and 1/2, Sustain 1/2, rest at 0
FX : Rectifier, Analog Boost, Delay

These are some general settings, not really of any use because they are specific to the Virus.

Peter.

Hey thanks!! I will play around with this tonight. Certainly sounds very different to the original to me, it sounds a little more achievable now

Cheers
Fots