Motorola DSP563xx Emulator (BETA) (Access Virus, Nord Lead, Waldorf MW...)

[frag]

I don't get all this futzing around to install what are almost certainly illegal software clones of relatively inexpensive hardware synths. If you want the sound of a Virus, just buy a Virus B module. That's the best sounding Virus out of the entire Access range and isn't that expensive. Likewise, if you want the sound of a Waldorf Micro Q, just buy a Micro Q rack. Again, they are not astronomically expensive.

And if you like the sound of the Clavia Nord Lead 3, just buy a Nord Rack 3. The Nord Lead 3 has the best synth interface of any hardware synth ever designed. Why would you want to dick around with a buggy, illegal software clone when you could be using one of the finest hardware synthesizers ever made?

Sometime around 2010, software synths simply overrun hardware synths. They run on your CPU, they're cheap and simple to use. No cables, no HDD waste for audio recordings. You just render your mix in a couple of minutes. And if you know how to virtualize your OS with DAW & plugins, all these instruments can last you a life time - in a portable form!

I have Virus C emulator but rarely use it. Spire gives me much better VA sound. Diva sounds more "analogue" than original analogue hardware. It's just brutal... I can get Virus TI2, Micro Q, Nord Lead 3 in hardware versions, all of them together, but it's just IMPRACTICAL. Everything becomes way too complicated.

[chk071]

I have Virus C emulator but rarely use it. Spire gives me much better VA sound.

I found out exactly the same. As much as I like trying out the Virus or the microQ in the emulator, in the end, I rather reach out for my soft synths which have a lower CPU footprint, and more flexibility and features.

[osiris]

So you're saying it's illegal even after they've talked to both companies? Why would you spread malicious gossip? I've been on KVR for decades and it wouldn't even be up here. They have a working TI2 emu which they were asked not to release and haven't, and had to wait to release Vavra because Waldorf wasn't happy about the CPU usage. They called Uber illegal when it first started also. I had a MicroKorg and loved it but it was a PITA to hook up to the computer made worse by the fact there were no stores in town that had music interface stuff.
'the entire Access range and isn't that expensive. Likewise, if you want the sound of a Waldorf Micro Q, just buy a Micro Q rack. Again, they are not astronomically expensive. And if you like the sound of the Clavia Nord Lead 3, just buy a Nord Rack'
Virus B $850.00
Micro Q $450.00
Nord Rack $700.00
Must be nice to 'just buy it if you want it'.
Extra points for crapping on all my hard work.

[mothra]

So you're saying it's illegal even after they've talked to both companies?

I don't really use the plugins (owned both years ago and sold them for reasons) but they do rock, so please don't anybody take this as any criticism of the work..

Technically, unless there is a written binding agreement from either company, it is illegal and they can turn around at any second and decide to act on it. They may not have specifically said no or shown any interest in helping, but that doesn't mean they just gave away the rights for their IP.
(That's about as feasible as Trump magically de-classifying military documents because he thought about it)

It's like the whole 'abandonware' argument where old computer games are concerned. Somebody, somewhere, still owns all of that. Just because you get away with it for awhile, doesn't mean the evil empire can't rear its head and take it all away some day. Like EA anytime the old Ultima games come out of the woodwork heh.

Just don't start taking out ads for it in Sound on Sound or charging for it and it looks like they'll let it slide for now..

[bmanic]

So you're saying it's illegal even after they've talked to both companies?

I don't really use the plugins (owned both years ago and sold them for reasons) but they do rock, so please don't anybody take this as any criticism of the work..

Technically, unless there is a written binding agreement from either company, it is illegal and they can turn around at any second and decide to act on it. They may not have specifically said no or shown any interest in helping, but that doesn't mean they just gave away the rights for their IP.
(That's about as feasible as Trump magically de-classifying military documents because he thought about it)

It's like the whole 'abandonware' argument where old computer games are concerned. Somebody, somewhere, still owns all of that. Just because you get away with it for awhile, doesn't mean the evil empire can't rear its head and take it all away some day. Like EA anytime the old Ultima games come out of the woodwork heh.

Just don't start taking out ads for it in Sound on Sound or charging for it and it looks like they'll let it slide for now..

Making the actual emulator itself is not illegal in any way. Distributing the actual hardwares ROM files _is_ illegal and they are NOT doing it. You can perfectly legally extract the ROM data from your Virus or Q hardware and then run it with the emulator.

There is tons of precedent for all of this and none of it has been caught in court. One of the most notoriously litigative companies, Nintendo, has done a ton of lawsuits against emulators in the past and always lost the case.

Thus I can't understand how people think what the DSP563xx crew is doing as illegal. It isn't.

For us users, to simply search for the firmware rom online, download it and run it in our DAWs, not having extracted the rom ourselves from our hardware.. _that is illegal_.

The micro Q is a bit more confusing as the only file you need to run it is right there on the Waldorf website.

[mothra]

Making the actual emulator itself is not illegal in any way. Distributing the actual hardwares ROM files _is_ illegal and they are NOT doing it. You can perfectly legally extract the ROM data from your Virus or Q hardware and then run it with the emulator.

There is tons of precedent for all of this and none of it has been caught in court. One of the most notoriously litigative companies, Nintendo, has done a ton of lawsuits against emulators in the past and always lost the case.

True, as an almost 20 year MAME user I should remember that one. And I don't see the team recommending where to get the ROM's anywhere either. I wonder if Waldorf backed themselves into a corner with that one haha. With the firmware freely available from them, the emulator being 'safe' leaves them no way to really challenge that. They could always pull it and make you send them your MQ's serial number to hand it out hah.

Nintendo? They seem to win their cases against pirate software websites pretty regularly.. As for emulators,Team Xecutor lost a multi-million dollar infringement suit, and one of em got a few years in prison for it.

[chk071]

Making the actual emulator itself is not illegal in any way. Distributing the actual hardwares ROM files _is_ illegal and they are NOT doing it. You can perfectly legally extract the ROM data from your Virus or Q hardware and then run it with the emulator.

There is tons of precedent for all of this and none of it has been caught in court. One of the most notoriously litigative companies, Nintendo, has done a ton of lawsuits against emulators in the past and always lost the case.

True, as an almost 20 year MAME user I should remember that one. And I don't see the team recommending where to get the ROM's anywhere either. I wonder if Waldorf backed themselves into a corner with that one haha. With the firmware freely available from them, the emulator being 'safe' leaves them no way to really challenge that. They could always pull it and make you send them your MQ's serial number to hand it out hah.

I was a bit scared that they'd actually do that, noticing the increased traffic on their website and stuff, so, I downloaded the files for the Q and the microWave as well, just in case.

[inception8a]

Making the actual emulator itself is not illegal in any way. Distributing the actual hardwares ROM files _is_ illegal and they are NOT doing it. You can perfectly legally extract the ROM data from your Virus or Q hardware and then run it with the emulator.

There is tons of precedent for all of this and none of it has been caught in court. One of the most notoriously litigative companies, Nintendo, has done a ton of lawsuits against emulators in the past and always lost the case.

True, as an almost 20 year MAME user I should remember that one. And I don't see the team recommending where to get the ROM's anywhere either. I wonder if Waldorf backed themselves into a corner with that one haha. With the firmware freely available from them, the emulator being 'safe' leaves them no way to really challenge that. They could always pull it and make you send them your MQ's serial number to hand it out hah.

I was a bit scared that they'd actually do that, noticing the increased traffic on their website and stuff, so, I downloaded the files for the Q and the microWave as well, just in case.

Pretty sure Waldorf is aware. It's been stated they are present in some form on Discord.

[inception8a]

I don't get all this futzing around to install what are almost certainly illegal software clones of relatively inexpensive hardware synths. If you want the sound of a Virus, just buy a Virus B module. That's the best sounding Virus out of the entire Access range and isn't that expensive. Likewise, if you want the sound of a Waldorf Micro Q, just buy a Micro Q rack. Again, they are not astronomically expensive.

And if you like the sound of the Clavia Nord Lead 3, just buy a Nord Rack 3. The Nord Lead 3 has the best synth interface of any hardware synth ever designed. Why would you want to dick around with a buggy, illegal software clone when you could be using one of the finest hardware synthesizers ever made?

^^^ Pure unadulterated internet rhetoric. Cloned perfectly. But not as good as an emulation.

[chk071]

Making the actual emulator itself is not illegal in any way. Distributing the actual hardwares ROM files _is_ illegal and they are NOT doing it. You can perfectly legally extract the ROM data from your Virus or Q hardware and then run it with the emulator.

There is tons of precedent for all of this and none of it has been caught in court. One of the most notoriously litigative companies, Nintendo, has done a ton of lawsuits against emulators in the past and always lost the case.

True, as an almost 20 year MAME user I should remember that one. And I don't see the team recommending where to get the ROM's anywhere either. I wonder if Waldorf backed themselves into a corner with that one haha. With the firmware freely available from them, the emulator being 'safe' leaves them no way to really challenge that. They could always pull it and make you send them your MQ's serial number to hand it out hah.

I was a bit scared that they'd actually do that, noticing the increased traffic on their website and stuff, so, I downloaded the files for the Q and the microWave as well, just in case.

Pretty sure Waldorf is aware. It's been stated they are present in some form on Discord.

Ok. I know that they were in conversation with Waldorf in the past.

[Ex Machina]

And if you like the sound of the Clavia Nord Lead 3, just buy a Nord Rack 3. The Nord Lead 3 has the best interface of any hardware synth ever designed.

Wooden pitch stick and stone mod wheel or GTFO.

I'm not sure if this was meant as a good-natured joke or something less pleasant. (I had to look up what GTFO meant. I'm obviously not on these types of forums often enough to know all the acronyms nor understand their more nuanced meanings.)

But the wooden pitch stick and stone mod wheel on the Nord Lead keyboards are awesome. Plus, they just look really f-ing cool. The pitch stick in particular is pure genius. Unfortunately, all of my Nord Lead synths are modules so I can't enjoy the sublime feel and exquisite control that the pitch stick provides.

I console myself with the fact that my Virus TI2 master keyboard controller has one of the best synth actions I have ever played. I also have a mid-range Casio Privia electronic piano that sounds and feels okay. It's good enough to practice on. And then there is my trusty Juno 60 that I bought new in 1982 as my first synth and which I still own.

The Virus TI2 does feature boring standard mod and pitch wheels. But even those feel better than the wheels on most keyboards. Plus, the Virus TI2 keyboard looks great in a more refined way than the cherry red Clavia synths. The build quality of the Virus TI2 keyboard is also exceptional. It's super sturdy with beautiful wooden side panels and the knobs feel great. A bit of menu diving is required to more readily access a few of the synth parameters and system settings. But nothing like on some of the earlier Virus models.

[Uncle E]

Good natured joke. IYKYK. NGMI.

My Nord Lead 2 has taken a beating over the years and still works as well as the day I got it. Absolute legend. FWIW, when I saw The Prodigy perform, Liam Howlett was surrounded by nine keyboards and the only one played was the Nord. He was beating on it, too.

[Ex Machina]

My Nord Lead 2 has taken a beating over the years and still works as well as the day I got it. Absolute legend. FWIW, when I saw The Prodigy perform, Liam Howlett was surrounded by nine keyboards and the only one played was the Nord. He was beating on it, too.

I can't remember if the Nord Lead 1, 2, 2X and 3 keyboards are made out of metal or plastic. I'm almost positive they're metal casings, right?

The modules are definitely made out of metal and are built like tanks. I never had a single problem with my Nord Rack 1 that I owned for over 20 years. I now have a Nord Rack 2 (for 15 years) and a Nord Rack 3 (for 20 years) and they are also rock solid. I would love to get a Nord Wave 2 if it was available as a module. But I just don't have room for another keyboard. And I wouldn't want to replace my Virus TI2 with a Nord Wave 2.

The only additional keyboard I would consider is a Groove Synthesis 3rd Wave. Even though I own an original MicroWave I Rev A and a MicroWave II XT, the 3rd Wave sounds different and totally unique. It's a killer synth, IMO.

[Uncle E]

Discovery Pro > Nord Wave, IMO. Any differences in sound are more than overcome by the better sample management.

I had a Microwave I Rev A. 3rd Wave has that SSI filter sound. Like you said, very different. SSI synths sound flat to me.

[Ex Machina]

'A Virus A or B module isn't that expensive. Likewise, if you want the sound of a Waldorf Micro Q, just buy a Micro Q rack. Again, they are not astronomically expensive. And if you like the sound of the Clavia Nord Lead 3, just buy a Nord Rack 3."

Yes, that would be the honorable thing to do. But you seem to have other plans that involve facilitating the theft of other people's intellectual property. If you can't afford the following hardware synths then tough shit. Most people using this Motorola "emulator" are probably using cracks anyway. What's a few more thefts?

Virus B $850.00
Micro Q $450.00
Nord Rack $700.00

Must be nice to "just buy it if you want it."

Yes it is. Then again, I worked my ass off in college and at my first few jobs which made it possible for me to attend a top 10 business school so I could make the kind of money that allows me to afford these relatively inexpensive hardware synths.

Let me break it down for you in order to get through that thick skull of yours. We're not talking about a $20,000 Jupiter 8 or similarly unattainable CS-80. A Waldorf Micro Q rack isn't even in the same universe price wise.

Extra points for crapping on all my hard work.

Oh I get it now. If something is financially out of reach for me, I should just steal it. I'd love to own an iconic Aston Martin sports car. So I suppose I should make a few homemade molotov cocktails and firebomb the dealership in the middle of the night. I could then make off with a brand new DB12 during the ensuing chaos.

Despite your crybaby protestations, I'm not about to tearfully apologize for "crapping on all your hard work." Though I suppose thieves do work "very hard" planning their next heist.