Ok think I've narrowed it down! A Virus C or a Nord X2?
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- KVRist
- 37 posts since 15 Aug, 2007 from Ireland
Please help! I haven't heard either of these first hand so I really dont know which one to buy. Im looking for crisp, sharp, melodic arpeggiated rhythms and nice leads. Not looking for bass!
A cracked scream and a silent shout...
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- KVRAF
- 37544 posts since 14 Sep, 2002 from In teh net
Get the rack versions of both and a cheap midi controller.
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- KVRian
- 1024 posts since 25 Apr, 2002
for crisp: Virus
for smooth: Nord
the Virus has more features. the Nord is sexier.
rack/desktop version and MIDI controller is the way to go.
for smooth: Nord
the Virus has more features. the Nord is sexier.
rack/desktop version and MIDI controller is the way to go.
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- Banned
- 1373 posts since 5 May, 2007 from Finland
Nord is a simple and good sounding va synth. Virus is very complex and powerfull good sounding va synth. Both also have their own kind of sound. You'd need to hear them both and see what they are cabaple of. I would propably go for the Virus, because of it's specs and better feature list.. and because i already have a 12 voice NordRack 
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- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 37 posts since 15 Aug, 2007 from Ireland
What about the Waldorfs? a lot of people have been mentioning them. the new waldorf blofeld especially
A cracked scream and a silent shout...
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- Banned
- 1373 posts since 5 May, 2007 from Finland
Couldn't say about Blofelds.. (are they even out yet?) But i really love my microQ. Little limited on the controlling side, but the sound is brilliant. Waldorf makes good quality stuff.
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- KVRist
- 133 posts since 17 Oct, 2006
Don't buy either one. If you are in the three thousand range:
Buy a Kyma system, then you will stop drooling for expensive hardware. Of course, you will need great midi controllers.
Link:http://www.symbolicsound.com/cgi-bin/bi ... ny/WebHome
And buy Komplete five, and their new "Packs" where Kore lets you morph between 8! different presets of Absynth, Reaktor, Massive, and FM-8, and Kontakt, and maybe all their synths in the Packs.
8 Different MORPHS of presets between five of the most versatlie best sounding VSTi's IN Real time, man, kyma can do that, but wow, were talking some expansion cards.
Any way thats all I have left N.I., Kyma and various soft synths I found on the cheap, or Won for free: Zebra 2, Blue, Galaxy m-51, Nebula M42, 4 gig version of Wusik, soon to upgrade to the over sampling anti-alaising version, and to perchase enigma engine.
Man I almost got sucked into a Roland GT-V synth, or a gork M3, but I realized, I'd rather spend it on more powerfull computers.
Kore+Komplete+Kyma+Quad Core computers= uhm, more than a person needs.
A person with a full blown out version of KYMA, Midi controls, they actually need, and some to just make it "feel" like hardware, can do ANY type of synthesis, it sounds great.
Of course we all need Wavelab or an alternative to master.
In Fact I think the best sequncer out there for us is Sequoia, and a touch of cubase just to make sure ALL the plugins work(even though I'm teetering between sonar 7 and cubase 4, lol can NOT afford Sequoia).
Seriously, with Kyma X it's sort of like using reaktor, only MORE powerfull, because NO ONE as of yet has taken the core technology(numbers and wraps etc.) from Reaktor to do all Kyma can, probably have come from N.I. itself, altough, DANG the MORPH across eight presets of EVERY instrument in Komplete, especially the modular's synths and samplers is way cool.
Don't buy either go UBER Software with a PHYSICAL controller like the KORE controller,.....
And or an OUTBOARD Music Computer like KYMA with awsome midi controllers, I reccomend alot of sliders not knobs, you can acutally with practice get ten fingers on knobs, or if your in the mood just use the forearm
Listen, I wouldn't type this much if I didn't honestly believe in what I'm saying, and actually trying to help.
Here is the Kyma Link again:
http://www.symbolicsound.com/cgi-bin/bi ... ny/WebHome
and N.I. isn't hard to find on the web lol, but I reccomond looking on Ebay for komplete+kore, they get cheap sometimes.
I got lucky and worked my ass off building my own computers, and finding good prices for both on Ebay.
I just don't like to see people spend money on things that aren't going to always grow and be with you, with new technology, and, just well, always grow with you, while making sounds just as good, and IMHO better, if not better, accept just as good, I don't feel like arguing lol.
Good luck, if you have that kind of money, man, I just hope you don't blow it on a couple of synths instead of investing in "technology", and sound that is always going to be around.
The only keyboard Workstation synth that really can lay claim to always being able to grow is the KORG OASYS, it has it's own Linux code written on it's own MB's but using standard industry chips. They give owners a new awsome synth every month they've written, and if they need faster chips or a higher sampling rate there is NO REASON they can't replace a standard industry board and chips. It was there time and effort to write it on idustry boards, and port most of their synth writing to linux, plus add to it. Of course its only $8000 dollars, lol, I saw a floor model for 4000$ once on the internet, but buy the time I got my funds in order, it was sold, sigh....
anywho unless you have 8000 bucks look at kyma, it's close to $4000 now, but if you're in virus C land, then ur close to a new Kyma.
I dunno, I sold all my hardware, and use MIDI on computer VSTI's, plus I now do most of my work on KYMA and edit a bunch of stuff in Kore, as of this moment, I am honest to god between hosts, its funny I'm actually using the midi timeline as my seq right now lol, which actually can be awsome depending upon what you place in it, miss my steinberg(don't trust em), don't know how to use cakwalk that good( don't suspect it's that hard to learn....
MIDI AND A POWERHOUSE FLEXIBLE SYNTH, KOMPLETE AND KORE, OR KYMA, and yes they are both as portable as a virus polar keyboard or less(kore is), kyma is portable too, people have been doing live experimental shows with it for over a decade, back when it was really not easy to use.
Symbolic sound made Kyma as easy or as complex as you want, and N.I. did the same with Komplete and Kore,
Symbolic sound has THE BEST tech, and customer service for electronic music ever, ask around.
All I know is a Virus C is in the price ranges of those two things, I've been their actually wanting a virus C, and I tried it out, it was nothing that special, not saying it's bad, just saying, meh, it didn't do anything new, they didn't have the C integration working on the computer screen, but Kyma and Komplete/kore are all over it.
Just ask yourself:
Successful electronic musicians usually are successful for a NEW sound, and the song.
Komplete and Kore or KYMA can always give you NEW sounds, virus C has already been used for years now, old news man.
Plus yeah you can buy any kind of midi device you want, and hook it up to whatever you want on the computer.
I just don't see how anyone can go wrong with absynth, Reaktor, Massive(their is your virus right there lol), FM-8, Akoustic Piano, Battery, and Kontakt 3, with a ton of samples for kontakt, and a Physical kontrol surface, now with packs that morph EIGHT of the already great presets together.
I hope you can morph them and save them, to make new ones like you can in reaktor......
Or with basically the ultimate MUSIC COMPUTER in Kyma, great sound, infinite posibilities, easier to use with kyma X, there is no type of synthesis it can't do, and they have alot more user models/presets than they used to.
Kyma X is acually freindly, you can draw your voice or any other noise live being morphed with another sample, additive synthsis, wave table synthsis, granular, and anything you can think of with "aggregate synthsis", in realtime, with a wacom pen, you can make a goose sound 59% like a sampled multilayer synthpad snipt of a song, then use it as part of a wavetable in wavetable synthsis, then go back and trigger it with ANY midi source, or program it's qualities like cutoff volume, etc. in a symple synth on the time line, and also use heavy wave shaping sampling what not and combine it with a drum loop live and switch back and forth to a regular loop, or thew DUCk/pad/wavetable/symple cutoff synth, drum loop of say 33 percent, sample all of it and run it live again with say, a nice piano piece at about 2 percent or whatever, it doesn't matter.
Or you could do heavy club drums supplied affect them, use its arp, sky is the limit.
Just don't want people who may not have another chance to drop three thousand plus on a synth to get something that NO TREND WILL EVER make them obsolete, and they'll never get bored with, however if you are a millionaire nvm lol.
Buy a Kyma system, then you will stop drooling for expensive hardware. Of course, you will need great midi controllers.
Link:http://www.symbolicsound.com/cgi-bin/bi ... ny/WebHome
And buy Komplete five, and their new "Packs" where Kore lets you morph between 8! different presets of Absynth, Reaktor, Massive, and FM-8, and Kontakt, and maybe all their synths in the Packs.
8 Different MORPHS of presets between five of the most versatlie best sounding VSTi's IN Real time, man, kyma can do that, but wow, were talking some expansion cards.
Any way thats all I have left N.I., Kyma and various soft synths I found on the cheap, or Won for free: Zebra 2, Blue, Galaxy m-51, Nebula M42, 4 gig version of Wusik, soon to upgrade to the over sampling anti-alaising version, and to perchase enigma engine.
Man I almost got sucked into a Roland GT-V synth, or a gork M3, but I realized, I'd rather spend it on more powerfull computers.
Kore+Komplete+Kyma+Quad Core computers= uhm, more than a person needs.
A person with a full blown out version of KYMA, Midi controls, they actually need, and some to just make it "feel" like hardware, can do ANY type of synthesis, it sounds great.
Of course we all need Wavelab or an alternative to master.
In Fact I think the best sequncer out there for us is Sequoia, and a touch of cubase just to make sure ALL the plugins work(even though I'm teetering between sonar 7 and cubase 4, lol can NOT afford Sequoia).
Seriously, with Kyma X it's sort of like using reaktor, only MORE powerfull, because NO ONE as of yet has taken the core technology(numbers and wraps etc.) from Reaktor to do all Kyma can, probably have come from N.I. itself, altough, DANG the MORPH across eight presets of EVERY instrument in Komplete, especially the modular's synths and samplers is way cool.
Don't buy either go UBER Software with a PHYSICAL controller like the KORE controller,.....
And or an OUTBOARD Music Computer like KYMA with awsome midi controllers, I reccomend alot of sliders not knobs, you can acutally with practice get ten fingers on knobs, or if your in the mood just use the forearm
Listen, I wouldn't type this much if I didn't honestly believe in what I'm saying, and actually trying to help.
Here is the Kyma Link again:
http://www.symbolicsound.com/cgi-bin/bi ... ny/WebHome
and N.I. isn't hard to find on the web lol, but I reccomond looking on Ebay for komplete+kore, they get cheap sometimes.
I got lucky and worked my ass off building my own computers, and finding good prices for both on Ebay.
I just don't like to see people spend money on things that aren't going to always grow and be with you, with new technology, and, just well, always grow with you, while making sounds just as good, and IMHO better, if not better, accept just as good, I don't feel like arguing lol.
Good luck, if you have that kind of money, man, I just hope you don't blow it on a couple of synths instead of investing in "technology", and sound that is always going to be around.
The only keyboard Workstation synth that really can lay claim to always being able to grow is the KORG OASYS, it has it's own Linux code written on it's own MB's but using standard industry chips. They give owners a new awsome synth every month they've written, and if they need faster chips or a higher sampling rate there is NO REASON they can't replace a standard industry board and chips. It was there time and effort to write it on idustry boards, and port most of their synth writing to linux, plus add to it. Of course its only $8000 dollars, lol, I saw a floor model for 4000$ once on the internet, but buy the time I got my funds in order, it was sold, sigh....
anywho unless you have 8000 bucks look at kyma, it's close to $4000 now, but if you're in virus C land, then ur close to a new Kyma.
I dunno, I sold all my hardware, and use MIDI on computer VSTI's, plus I now do most of my work on KYMA and edit a bunch of stuff in Kore, as of this moment, I am honest to god between hosts, its funny I'm actually using the midi timeline as my seq right now lol, which actually can be awsome depending upon what you place in it, miss my steinberg(don't trust em), don't know how to use cakwalk that good( don't suspect it's that hard to learn....
MIDI AND A POWERHOUSE FLEXIBLE SYNTH, KOMPLETE AND KORE, OR KYMA, and yes they are both as portable as a virus polar keyboard or less(kore is), kyma is portable too, people have been doing live experimental shows with it for over a decade, back when it was really not easy to use.
Symbolic sound made Kyma as easy or as complex as you want, and N.I. did the same with Komplete and Kore,
Symbolic sound has THE BEST tech, and customer service for electronic music ever, ask around.
All I know is a Virus C is in the price ranges of those two things, I've been their actually wanting a virus C, and I tried it out, it was nothing that special, not saying it's bad, just saying, meh, it didn't do anything new, they didn't have the C integration working on the computer screen, but Kyma and Komplete/kore are all over it.
Just ask yourself:
Successful electronic musicians usually are successful for a NEW sound, and the song.
Komplete and Kore or KYMA can always give you NEW sounds, virus C has already been used for years now, old news man.
Plus yeah you can buy any kind of midi device you want, and hook it up to whatever you want on the computer.
I just don't see how anyone can go wrong with absynth, Reaktor, Massive(their is your virus right there lol), FM-8, Akoustic Piano, Battery, and Kontakt 3, with a ton of samples for kontakt, and a Physical kontrol surface, now with packs that morph EIGHT of the already great presets together.
I hope you can morph them and save them, to make new ones like you can in reaktor......
Or with basically the ultimate MUSIC COMPUTER in Kyma, great sound, infinite posibilities, easier to use with kyma X, there is no type of synthesis it can't do, and they have alot more user models/presets than they used to.
Kyma X is acually freindly, you can draw your voice or any other noise live being morphed with another sample, additive synthsis, wave table synthsis, granular, and anything you can think of with "aggregate synthsis", in realtime, with a wacom pen, you can make a goose sound 59% like a sampled multilayer synthpad snipt of a song, then use it as part of a wavetable in wavetable synthsis, then go back and trigger it with ANY midi source, or program it's qualities like cutoff volume, etc. in a symple synth on the time line, and also use heavy wave shaping sampling what not and combine it with a drum loop live and switch back and forth to a regular loop, or thew DUCk/pad/wavetable/symple cutoff synth, drum loop of say 33 percent, sample all of it and run it live again with say, a nice piano piece at about 2 percent or whatever, it doesn't matter.
Or you could do heavy club drums supplied affect them, use its arp, sky is the limit.
Just don't want people who may not have another chance to drop three thousand plus on a synth to get something that NO TREND WILL EVER make them obsolete, and they'll never get bored with, however if you are a millionaire nvm lol.
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- KVRAF
- 5666 posts since 23 Mar, 2006 from pendeLondonmonium
I'd choose like this:
1. Are you into real time tweaking ?
Then get the Nord. Its interface is infinitely better for spontaneous edits.
2. Would you rather have a VA 'workstation' ?
Then get the Virus. The possibilities for sound design are greater but the interface isn't as easy as the Nord.
However, seeing that you already have a Roland 106 and Korg MS20 ( I assume this is the original one and not the controller for the MS20 software), then I'd choose the Virus. It should complement the other two very well. Also, the Virus multitimbral setup and its well designed effect routing could be all you need for a live gig.
@ noiselurker , I'm not too sure about this:
Also, you can't buy what you recommend ( Quad Pc, Kyma, NI Stuff) for the price of a Nord X2 or any of the Virus range.
1. Are you into real time tweaking ?
Then get the Nord. Its interface is infinitely better for spontaneous edits.
2. Would you rather have a VA 'workstation' ?
Then get the Virus. The possibilities for sound design are greater but the interface isn't as easy as the Nord.
However, seeing that you already have a Roland 106 and Korg MS20 ( I assume this is the original one and not the controller for the MS20 software), then I'd choose the Virus. It should complement the other two very well. Also, the Virus multitimbral setup and its well designed effect routing could be all you need for a live gig.
@ noiselurker , I'm not too sure about this:
I wouldn't call a PC purchase 'investing in technology that will be always around' ? It's the other way round. Your quad core PC might be binned in a few years, all the lovely software could be made redundant with a new operating system change, upgrade this , upgrade that etc, whereas, a good hardware synth will last at least twenty years if not a lifetime.Good luck, if you have that kind of money, man, I just hope you don't blow it on a couple of synths instead of investing in "technology", and sound that is always going to be around.
Also, you can't buy what you recommend ( Quad Pc, Kyma, NI Stuff) for the price of a Nord X2 or any of the Virus range.
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- KVRian
- 955 posts since 18 Apr, 2006
My vote is for the virus...
I have a virus ti (similar to the 'c') and it is very versatile and great for leads and appregiated patches. It transcends its stereotyped reputation...
I don't have a nord nor am I that familiar with it, so this is more of an endorsement for a great synth than a well thought out comparison...[/i]
I have a virus ti (similar to the 'c') and it is very versatile and great for leads and appregiated patches. It transcends its stereotyped reputation...
I don't have a nord nor am I that familiar with it, so this is more of an endorsement for a great synth than a well thought out comparison...[/i]
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- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 37 posts since 15 Aug, 2007 from Ireland
Wow, noiselurker, that was a lot of info! i really appreciate it and i can see you know what your talking about. there's a couple of things though. im not looking to spend anywhere near 3000! thinking more €500! and ive found a virus b for this amount. also, i've recently moved into a primarily analog hardware setup (and i love it!). for me, this is the sound i want. i've gone from using a software version of an MS20 to the real thing and i can say with 100% confidence, that there is no comparison. you may say that i'm living in the past, but i want the sound of old. there's so much new "digital" music out there now and it depresses me. i just dont like the sound. bring back basic hardware setups that innovators like juan atkins, anthony rother, drexciya etc, used to use imo!
obviously its all about taste and everyone has their own. i feel like i have the setup i want and i just want one more element to complete it. again, thanks for taking all the time to write to me and if i ever do sell off my hardware ill definitely look into the Kyma/Kore setup!
obviously its all about taste and everyone has their own. i feel like i have the setup i want and i just want one more element to complete it. again, thanks for taking all the time to write to me and if i ever do sell off my hardware ill definitely look into the Kyma/Kore setup!
A cracked scream and a silent shout...
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- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 37 posts since 15 Aug, 2007 from Ireland
hey himalaya
i have an original MS20
i would agree with what your saying. just updating to vista recently caused me so much hassle (went back to XP). things are always changing and before you know it, your computer cant keep up. i would prefer to not use a computer at all for production as something always goes wrong
yea im really thinking about the virus now. it could be the last piece of the puzzle!
i have an original MS20
i would agree with what your saying. just updating to vista recently caused me so much hassle (went back to XP). things are always changing and before you know it, your computer cant keep up. i would prefer to not use a computer at all for production as something always goes wrongyea im really thinking about the virus now. it could be the last piece of the puzzle!
A cracked scream and a silent shout...
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- KVRAF
- 5380 posts since 22 Jul, 2006 from Tasmania, Australia
Hey there,
I too think the Virus is a sweet synth. It's great for liquidy filtered stuff. I am looking at the Nord Modular for my next hardware synth. It seems like it's scope is wide. You can get more idea of it's sound easily too, as there is a monophonic software demo, although you probably know. The Virus has a pretty good arp, maybe second to Predator as far as features go. You can make your own gates with the TI, but I recommend Era2 plugin for programming arps over the Virus' inbuilt one. If you want me to make a certain kind of sound I can try for you, but there are mp3 demos of some sounds at the Access website. You could play with the TI at a specialist music shop, maybe, I think it's really similar to the C. I bought it without demoing though(it's reputation precedes), but it hasn't dissappointed for all types of synth sounds(nearly, at least those used in experimental electronica). Hope you have a lot of fun with your new synth, whichever way you go
.
Wishing you satisfying music, nix
I too think the Virus is a sweet synth. It's great for liquidy filtered stuff. I am looking at the Nord Modular for my next hardware synth. It seems like it's scope is wide. You can get more idea of it's sound easily too, as there is a monophonic software demo, although you probably know. The Virus has a pretty good arp, maybe second to Predator as far as features go. You can make your own gates with the TI, but I recommend Era2 plugin for programming arps over the Virus' inbuilt one. If you want me to make a certain kind of sound I can try for you, but there are mp3 demos of some sounds at the Access website. You could play with the TI at a specialist music shop, maybe, I think it's really similar to the C. I bought it without demoing though(it's reputation precedes), but it hasn't dissappointed for all types of synth sounds(nearly, at least those used in experimental electronica). Hope you have a lot of fun with your new synth, whichever way you go
.Wishing you satisfying music, nix
Last edited by nix808 on Sat Dec 01, 2007 1:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I wonder what I want in here
-actually, my lucky number seems to be 126
-actually, my lucky number seems to be 126
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- KVRAF
- 5666 posts since 23 Mar, 2006 from pendeLondonmonium
To make it easier, here's Paul Nagle's original Virus SOS review. Paul knows his stuff, being a gigging musician...anyway
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/1997_ar ... virus.html
This is not the full review, btw, you'd need to have the original mag, or sign up to eSub. In the original review he mentions how he had used the Virus during a live gig with the Virus supplying all sounds.
I used to gig years ago, and love the idea of one muliti-timbral analog synth, one beatbox, say Yamaha RMX1 or RS7000, and a hardware sampler, with flash ram or somethink -- Somebody pulled the power from my Emu ESI32 during one gig night, and I lost all 8 Meg of sound data...we were to play in five minutes...it took me 15 to load all floppies back in. Oh the stress....
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/1997_ar ... virus.html
This is not the full review, btw, you'd need to have the original mag, or sign up to eSub. In the original review he mentions how he had used the Virus during a live gig with the Virus supplying all sounds.
I used to gig years ago, and love the idea of one muliti-timbral analog synth, one beatbox, say Yamaha RMX1 or RS7000, and a hardware sampler, with flash ram or somethink -- Somebody pulled the power from my Emu ESI32 during one gig night, and I lost all 8 Meg of sound data...we were to play in five minutes...it took me 15 to load all floppies back in. Oh the stress....
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- KVRAF
- 5666 posts since 23 Mar, 2006 from pendeLondonmonium
Ahh, sorry, that was only a preview. The full review is here:
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/may98/a ... ccess.html
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/may98/a ... ccess.html
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- KVRist
- 44 posts since 18 Nov, 2005
Either one would be a great choice. The Nord doesn't come with fx and seems to have a certain boutique sound that sits well in the mix. The Virus has an equalizer and on-board fx. Both have been featured in 100s or recordings and are universally well-respected.
And the nice thing about hardware, over software, is that it's very easy to re-sell and they don't loose too much value over time. Plus, you can approach it as a self-contained instrument, and learn and practice it as such.
I love my computer, and I do see it as one big synth that I've customized... and for sample-mangling, rhythm/percussion, and recording there's nothing better. But for learning synthesis and just playing music... hardware rocks.
And the nice thing about hardware, over software, is that it's very easy to re-sell and they don't loose too much value over time. Plus, you can approach it as a self-contained instrument, and learn and practice it as such.
I love my computer, and I do see it as one big synth that I've customized... and for sample-mangling, rhythm/percussion, and recording there's nothing better. But for learning synthesis and just playing music... hardware rocks.