NEW TI Users - Lets hear your opinions......
 

If you've just bought a TI we'd love to hear what you think of it! Any questions/comments/MP3's post them here!

I suppose you are all lucky bastards :lol:

DS

yes please, opinions welcome! as a future buyer I'd like to know from actual users, especially about the Total Integration issue, Virus control etc

please, please!!

...

8)

oops. i should pay more attention to already-started threads :oops: :oops:

Ill post some mp3's and opinions soon. im trying a few sequencers out with a variety of cards.

thanks then. are you trying FL Studio among those sequencers? I'm personally very interested in Total Integration and Virus Control.

Mine's just arrived...

Goodbye work, hello Studio!


Comments to be posted later this afternoon...

congrats mate... enjoy :D

still waiting here :roll:

cheers

blay

me too blay !! bah!

Okay, with only an hour of playtime, here are my initial thoughts - bear in mind I have never owned a Virus before, so the gushing which follows might not be what existing users of Virus synths want to hear about the TI - alas, it is all I can impart at this time:

Hardware

F*** me, what a monster! I have the TI Keyboard, which is a lot bigger than it looks in the pictures, and heavier! All metal chassis, which I am not used to at all having used a J-Pox8000 for so many years.
The semi-weighted Keyboard is nice to play on, and all the knobs feel robust.


Virus Control

I had trouble installing this software on a Dual 2.5 G5 for Logic 7.1. I had to install four times before it worked. The first pass it failed right at the end (it's about a 10 minute install time), the second time it claimed to have been successful, but the plugin wouldn't initialise properly once inside Logic. I installed again, and tried restarting the TI before launching Logic, still didn't work. Installed the fourth time and the installer suggested I log out of OS X to complete the installation before continuing, which I did - and still the plugin didn't work. So I restarted the Mac, and now it works.

So, although it's common practice to restart a machine after installing software, at no point did the installer prompt me to do so. Anyone with less patience might have been straight on the phone to support, so I suggest making it clearer in the installer that this stage is important.

Playing the synth with the plugin enabled resulted in horrible latency, until I took the I/O buffer size down to 32 (the lowest Logic supports), which is far lower than my EMI 2|6 required - so, I'm not sure what is going on there, perhaps there are more config settings I need to look at, but I'm useless with all of that stuff (any advice appreciated).


The Sound

As I say this is my first Virus, and despite being told countless times by a friend that I should sell my crusty JP8000 and get a Virus, I couldn't believe that it was _that_much_more_capable_ a synth.

However... just detuning the raw oscillators sounds amazingly powerful. I can program sounds on the JP - sounds that I am very proud of, so I will never sell it - but compared to the Virus it just seems... lightweight.

The TI reverb is lush, as are the distortion effects and filters... The overall sound of the synth is authentic. When I say authentic, I don't mean Analog sounding. I mean the sound feels alive - like it's not coming from a machine, but that it's alive in some fucked up universe of tech.

Happy me.


I'll post a track as soon as I can, but we're moving house in a week's time, which means the studio is being packed up very soon :(


pseudo


EDIT - My god how rude, I forgot to say: THANK YOU ACCESS!

Great review!
Many, many thanks

When you install the software package, actually two things do happen: an installation and an update of the Virus TI operating system. The installer does force you to restart the Mac after installing the drivers. This is true unless you deselect the drivers and virus control to be installed. The updater does simply quit as long as it's being called from the installer. If you use it as a stand alone updater (by launching the updater app in /application/access music/virus ti/ ..) it will force you to logout. it seems that under certain circumstances a logout is "not enough" and a restart is needed to being the TI's own drivers back into action.

I don't understand why you did need to install things multiple times but as long as it works now, i guess it doesn't matter so much.

best, marc

marc,

could it be that I'd previously installed the software without having the TI (a sneak peek), and therefore all I was doing was launching the firmware updater?

anyhow, it does work beautifully - so exciting to twist the knobs and have all the feedback in the plugin - a big pat on the back to the interface designer responsible for the virus control!

pseudo

First post to this forum and my first virus. I've been reading from the sidelines and sharing in everyone's anguish these past months, waiting and waiting and... err, waiting! My TI keyboard surprisingly arrived bang on the 3rd (thank you Turnkey - London) and... wow, what a synth this is.

First up, my existing master keyboard was crapping out big time, so I'm just glad to have the E flat 1 key back again! But this is the nicest feel keyboard I've played of late - not too light and plasticky like some cheapy synths, but not too weighted and sluggish either. I'm not a trained piano player, so don't get the 'weighted keys' bit, and I like my keys to 'bounce' a little for triggering drum samples etc. It's a sexy keyboard, no doubt. And aftertouch... oooh!!! a nice extra I've never had before. Great for those Roland Rompler Rhodes patches (three Rs?), and loads more no doubt.

But nothing, nothing could have prepared me for the synth engine itself. It has completely blown me away. I've hardly explored any of the thousand-odd presets - I just dial up one at random that sounds nice, and then just twiddle away for hours. Twiddle, twiddle, twiddle on a satisfyingly endless journey of sonic evolution. The ten-month wait (I put my deposit down last November) was totally worth it. Since this is my first Virus, anyone who already owns one will probably know all this already, but for a first timer - this is synth heaven.

It sounds like a gritty old analogue synth engine that has been multiplied, mutated, expanded and lovingly nurtured into the twenty-first century, with all the mod-cons that we now take for granted (FX, layering, polyphony, midi, memory etc) but without losing the character of an analogue synth. I couldn't begin to quibble over whether it sounds like a 'real' analogue or not - it just sounds great. But you know that already!

The arp is a joy. What funky sequences! That's not an arpeggio surely? Well, it'll do nicely. Oh, and it says you can program your own... Really? Some time later maybe!

The TI bit? I would if only I could stop playing the damn thing! First up though, could someone explain what's wrong with a good old midi lead? ?1.99 from Maplins... plug it in and away you go. How much more integrated you wanna get?

Not sure if I ought to, but... by way of comparison, I used to own a Juno 60 and others, still have a 101 and a clutch of other newby analogue modules, but they always sound like... well, themselves! The Juno only sounds good to me when it sounds like a Juno (yet it's all too easy to make it sound plain rough). The 101 will always be a 101. That's cool, but this Virus is like a chameleon. It can be silky, dirty, raw, deep, bright, gritty, lush, smooth, hollow, earthy, rich, grungy, phat... whatever.

Interestingly, I haven't managed to produce what I consider a bad sound out of it yet (that's 'bad' as in 'not good' by the way). Much more importantly however, I haven't managed to produce a 'boring' sound! Believe me, after decades of being subjected to Japanese obsession with shakuhachis, bagpipes, accordions and flaccid, slap-bass samples, as well as a load of not-very-good analogue modellers, the Access Virus doesn't even come close to understanding the word 'boring'...

My only complaint so far is the manual! What the... who wrote... err??? I wonder if it's a secret ploy to encourage us all to have fun experimenting, cos it sure don't offer up many secrets! Even Roland's manuals are better than this. (Is that the ultimate manual put-down I wonder? Sorry guys.)

I'm sure there will be loads of discussion in time about how well the TI bit integrates into whatever blah, blah, blah. But the bottom line for me is that I have finally, after years of searching, found a real gutsy synth that is modern, sophisticated, sounds good, feels good and is immediately accessible (no pun intended) with all that twiddly, widdly, front panel control. Thank you Access!

nice reviews so far. thanks guys.
Now deliver my TI!!!! :twisted:

yeah what is it with dodgy manuals and synths?

it's downright slack, they often sound like they've been written by ketamine heads or something.

rigamortis: What about a little respect ? You don't have to be so mean ;)

respect to whome, the ketamine heads?

:twisted:

Polar arrived today, sounds very very capable, feels good and looks great.
Need to dive deeper before giving any real feedback.

Howard Scarr wrote the manual for the TI, as he did for all previous virus models, along with the excellent programming analog synths tutorial.

It gives you the tools - it is up to you how you implement them. Nobody can write a manual on how to make good music.

I understand there are quite a few differences between the manual and the current OS, but remember they probably had them printed dec last year when they originally believed they would have the TI shipping.
As a preorder customer it is a little annoying that access did not print a new manual to ship with the new series - especially since the wait was so long in the first place.

Updated versions of the manual are available in pdf format from the access site. If you are still unhappy with that make a hardcopy and send access the printing bill ;)

cheers

blay

anesthetic heads? wtf... :roll:

This is the first Virus manual that Howard has written. To be honest, I can't see why anyone would have such problem with it - it is written in good English, and has practical walkthroughs at every step. I don't have a printed version, mind - there may be some incongruity in there between text and screenshots in that.

I thought that the Manual looked really good in format and clear in instruction, covering all the functions of the synth. I haven't read all the content yet so cant fully comment but looks fine in skimming through it.

sorry, i haven't actually read or seen the virus manual yet, i was reffering to other manuals i've had, such as roland v-synth, korg electribe mx etc.

they do funny things like refer you to the wrong page from the index, spelling mistakes etc.

The Virus TI manual cannot be technically faulted.....its very thorough. What would have been really great....would have been to have a longer intro detaling some geeky facts about the desingers.....hell....a pic or two of the factory and staff?

I love putting faces to synths....

Take Dave Smith and the late Dr Moog, they were very active in the public domain. Great PR. Why doesnt Chris or Marc (I know u do Ben!) attend these trade conventions etc? Correct me if im wrong....but do they?

When I first saw a picture of the guy who designed the Jupiter 8 I was really excited. I look at the picture and wonder what was going throuh their brain as they designed the monster.

DS

I just want to savour these moments. My post count has just hit the 1980's....

DS

My first post, hi to everyone :)

Just installed the TI (Desktop) and actually it worked well, no bigger problems on WinXP and Sonar.

But I must admit, the manual isn't helpful - I've already tried most of the written by myself. So I haven't found an answer on the following questions (maybe you have a hint for me)

Is it possible to plug and use (:)) the TI via USB but don't use the VirusControl VST? Or do I need to use the normal Midi interface then?

If I use the VST, how do I tell the TI to output the sound through the outputs and not the soundcard? Well, I've found a way by clicking around, but it'll be great to get a re-producable hint :)

Anyway, great synth, fantastic sound. Absolutely love it!

Cheers!
glen

This is fine - it is not compulsory to use VC. Just select Virus TI Synth as the midi port.

VC-Common Page - click on Main Out and select one of the non-usb outs

Just tried it and it won't work ... I don't hear anything. Is there a Midi Implementation table around, maybe I haven't found the right bank/program yet ...

Thanks :)

p.s. VERY great sounds, btw ;-)

Have you selected the Virus ASIO as the audio device? And what happens when you play a note - do you see a little 1/4 note in the TI's display?

Thanks :)

That's it!! Thanks :) I'd choosen the "Virus TI Midi" port - but it needs to be "Virus TI Synth".

BTW: Do you know, if a Sonar instrument definition file already exists?

Cheerio,
glen

You are one sick puppy. :P

Sonar Instrument Definiton File
 

Hey :)

I've created a "quick and dirty" Sonar instrument definiton file. Send me a PM for the file (but it isn't completed yet :) )

Cheers,
glen

Mini review...

Installer is crap, could of been and SHOULD of been a lot better.

Vcontrol is very very cool, but does has a few minor bugs here and there that will hopefully be ironed out in later revisions. The hardware outs being able to be controlled in the vcontrol AND delay compensated is super cool!! Total recall for patches is a godsend, full automation and patch browser all great.

The keyboard itself is lush....huge and solid, very well built. The keys are just the right amount of weight also, very nice keyb. Knobs, buttons and lcd screen all seem sturdy enough and well placed.

And the sound, well what can I say, its immense. Hypersaw damn god, with this up full with some unison and wide spread it just tears the walls down....sounds very much jp8000 which is cool, it also seems they might have sorted out the weak highend the virus used to have with certain saw sounds....nice one. Yep the sound is simply stunning, I could go through all the different names, lush, rich, gritty, harsh, soft, etc but to put it bluntly the sound quality is just jaw dropping....love it.

The 1000s of presets it comes with will keep anyone busy for days and just a few tweaks here and there can create totally new sounds.

The sound over USB gives some pops and farts now and then, even on my quad cpu machine so I think it needs a few tweaks there. The hardware outs, though work perfectly and its nice having 5 stereo outputs to play with all being controlled from the vcontrol.

ten

ten: I might have misunderstood but are you saying that you can use Vcontrol on the analog outs?!

If so, that is WICKED news!
I wasn't expecting that at all.
Great review as well :)

Yes you can...and they are delay compensated.....extremely cool :)

ten

That's awesome!
So in the end I might not really use USB for audio but just for the Vcontrol software link since 3 analog stereo out is enough for me :)

Wow, just played with the wavetables for a bit.....you could seriously make some mad evolving sounds with these.....very impressed again!

ten

TEN WROTE
[quote]
Yes you can...and they are delay compensated.....extremely cool

Well, originally when you had a hardware synth using normal analog outs there would be a delay in the sound from the synth into the sequencer depending on what rate your soundcard was set. Now you could use the audio track in direct hardware mode and the sound would be in sync but you wouldnt be able to put any effects on that track so it was a bit of a trade-off. They seem to have found a way around this here with delay compensation, very impressive, very happy :)

edit: actually this might just be cubase sx3.1s new external hardware delay comp....ive never used it before :) be nice if someone from Access could clarify? Does the TI software delay compensate on the hardware outputs in sequencers that support delay comp???? Or is it just the USB outputs that have this?

ten

OK slap me if this is a dumb question as I havnt fiddled with either yet.

But what is the difference between the Virus TI Midi and Virus TI Synth ports that are listed as midi ports in windows?