The video I was referring to is on the MacProvideo site, it is:
Richard Lainhart : Analog Synthesis in a Digital World
Lesson 37. Sawtooths and Extreme Low-Pass Resonance (04:03)
Just a little way in, the video doesn't show a time when it's playing so I can't tell you the exact spot, but you can hear the sort of stepping I was referring to very clearly, when he twists one of the knobs. However, when I was looking for the this spot in the video I noticed when he was sweeping other knobs I didn't hear the very distinct steps from one sound to the other. So playing with the Virus I noticed I could get the same sort of sounds that are in the video, when I twisted the "Wave Sel/PW" knob in the Oscillator section, so I guess I don't really understand what's going on here.
I know my terminology isn't right here. I sort of differentiate between "soft synths" and "virtual analog" synths even though in the end they are all digital in that the sounds are created by a digital computer rather than real analog Oscillators and voltage controllers. I think of soft synths as those things you load into your Mac or PC and are controlled by some kind of controller and "virtual analog" synths as stand alone systems that have a dedicated controller. I know in the end they are all essentially the same. You know people say they can hear the difference between analog records and CD's, saying that the sound is harsher on the CD's and not like the real instruments because the sound waves are "stepped" when they are digital and "smooth" when they are analog. All I know is that I think that CD's sound better because you don't hear all the scratches. But to tell the truth, my hearing isn't so good any more so I really can't appreciate the "smooth" sound of analog.
Still it would be sweet if one day I could get a room full of real analog synths to play with, but for now the virtual instruments are the best thing for what I am doing.
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