Virus TI such a big deal

[KennaOkoye]

Why is this thing better than a VSTi I just don't get it. Is it thick sounding? As thick as my juno 106? And even that is thin lol. I don't get why ppl are paying 3k for this? I don't care about a sequencer most people o know who have don't even use the sequencer.

[boreg]

Why is this thing better than a VSTi I just don't get it.

a VSTi? Which one? I'd say, better than some, worse than others (besides, "better" is subjective anyway).

Is it thick sounding? As thick as my juno 106?

Probably not, but then, it has a few features that your juno doesn't.

I don't get why ppl are paying 3k for this?

Some people find hardware synths more inspiring/convenient to work with; some simply want to play without a computer. Apparently, for them it's worth it.

I don't care about a sequencer most people o know who have don't even use the sequencer

Huh? The Virus doesn't have a sequencer.

[KennaOkoye]

hmm, I understand a grand, but three grand. Crazy.

I would love to know what vst's its worse than. When I say quality I mean great sounding. For example I think most can agree that Sylenth1 is a quality VST because of how it sounds. does this sound better than the virus?

[meatballfulton]

Have you had a chance to work with a Virus TI for any length of time? It is expensive but has a number of things going for it.

1. The only synth on the market with full VSTi integration. Some others offer VST integration with their editors but audio is still handled on it's own.

2. Much higher voice count than competing VAs. Snow TI is 50 voice, other TI are 80 voice, TI2 is 100 voice. Compare that with the 8-24 voices of the competition.

3. Except for the Snow, 16 part multitimbral with individual FX on every part. No other synth on the market today has that FX capability.

4. The sound has been heard on an awful lot of hit records. And it does sound good.

It's not for everyone but it's not a complete ripoff.

[tallowwaters]

Why care? Why troll? Why ?

[soundxplorer]

I don't get why ppl are paying 3k for this?

The price is a head-scratcher for me too since it is essentially a software synth housed inside a controller keyboard (albeit a very nice controller keyboard). But Access developed a hard core following early in the game and they've maintained it despite pushing the price up so high over the years. I remember their very first desktop module being competitively priced with the Nord and Waldorf stuff at the time, but then later, by the time they released the Indigo keyboard I was thinking "why does it cost that much?!"
I think the Nord Lead was pushed out of the game at one point because it was priced it too low - so low that they couldn't make a profit on it. I know they are still making the NL2X, but they brought it back at a higher price. So from that perspective Access is doing the right thing to keep their company going. They need to make a hefty profit on low volume sales (low compared to other markets, such as keyboards aimed at the electric piano/organ emulation type stuff).

[boreg]

it is essentially a software synth housed inside a controller keyboard

Is it really? And which digital synths are not, then?

I wouldn't argue if we were talking about OpenLabs Neko, Muse Receptor or Hartmann Neuron. But a synth running an embedded OS on a special-purpose hardware is not what I'd call a "software synth".

[phesago]

Why care? Why troll? Why ?

Lol

I must admit your new avatar pic makes your edgy/dagger comments hilarious.

[soundxplorer]

But a synth running an embedded OS on a special-purpose hardware is not what I'd call a "software synth".

If someone has to write code for it (embedded OS, special-purpose chips, no matter) and that code is what does all the actual synthesis, then it is software synthesis. If you can download a new OS for your synth and then suddenly there is a new filter type included, then that filter is produced entirely by software. It doesn't need to run on Windows in order to be called software.

[cgren72]

You use software and hardware diffrently usually. at least i do. i used to have a virus b and it was really easy to make good sounds, and i assume the ti2 and new viruses are even better. the virus ti2 would probably be worth the money if someone was good with hardware interfaces with menus. I personally dont like menus in my hardware, so i sold most of it. i still have some hardware, but i make most of my music with software now. its easier for me to have all my instruments on the computer for editing, and it cuts the hassle of recording, but sometimes hardware is still more fun. i also have a "battery powered army" which is even more fun.
with all this said, if someone can stand menus, its probably easier and better sounding to use a virus or another high end synth.

[boreg]

If someone has to write code for it (embedded OS, special-purpose chips, no matter) and that code is what does all the actual synthesis, then it is software synthesis.

Then, by this definition, all digital synths are software synths.
If that's the way you see things, fine.

It's just that there's this common misconception that Virus is somehow more "soft" than other digital hardware synths. I've never heard this argument - "it's just a software synth in a box" - in the context of, say, Waldorf Wave or John Bowen Solaris. But discussions of Virus often have this label thrown around. Maybe it's the "total integration" aspect confusing people? (when in fact, Virus functions perfectly fine - or even better, one might say - without a computer).

[soundxplorer]

It's just that there's this common misconception that Virus is somehow more "soft" than other digital hardware synths. I've never heard this argument - "it's just a software synth in a box" - in the context of, say, Waldorf Wave or John Bowen Solaris.

The Wave was a hybrid. Digital wavetable oscillators, but it had analog filters.

The Solaris is all software as far as I can tell. Their web page seems to indicate it is:
http://www.johnbowen.com/solaris-overview.html
"The general concept behind the Solaris synthesizer is to implement something like a giant wall-sized modular system entirely in software...."

I haven't heard anyone claim the Virus is "more soft" than other VAs, and I'm not sure what that would even imply. There are no analog synthesis components inside as far as I know, only some D/A converters at the end - and nearly every other VA out there is "soft" in the exact same way, aside from things like the Waldorf Q where you can get optional analog filters shoved in there.

[meatballfulton]

I haven't heard anyone claim the Virus is "more soft" than other VAs, and I'm not sure what that would even imply.

It would imply, I suppose, that it is somehow less of an instrument. There is generally a derogatory tone when describing instruments as "just software".

[boreg]

The Wave was a hybrid. Digital wavetable oscillators, but it had analog filters.

Oops! Badly chosen example, then

I haven't heard anyone claim the Virus is "more soft" than other VAs, and I'm not sure what that would even imply.

I simply meant that in internet discussions Virus gets labeled as "software in a box" more often than other synths, as if people's perception of it is skewed. But since you acknowledge that nearly every other VA out there is "soft" in the exact same way, I've got no problem with that.

peace

[soundxplorer]

peace

Peace indeed.
I definitely didn't intend my comment to be derogatory, just factual.
Meatball made some great points about the specifications: multitimbral capability, separate FX for each channel, number of voices, etc. - when I think about all that then I can see how it costs more. I usually never think of such things because I don't really sequence with MIDI, I'm always just recording audio. I'm still interested in owning an Indigo one day. I don't even know what the specs of those are, compared to the newer ones - I just know that I don't need lots of voices anyway.