Is the virus Ti really all that? (vs Z3ta, Sylenth, Zebra)

amcnally336 · Post by **amcnally336** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 8:30 pm

Hoping you all can help me.
I am seriously considering picking one up, but wanted to know how it stacked up against Z3ta, Sylenth, Zebra 2 and Albino 3. I have all of these synths and REALLY love the sound of them, particularyly Z3ta (I also have the virusZ3ta) and Sylenth. I have heard over and over how they are similar to virus ti. How does the virus compare to these? Does the virus simply wipe the floor with these synths? Is this a no-brainer in favor of the virus? I don't mind paying for quality, but I also don't want to shell out the cash if the sound is similar to what I already have. Any input or advice you could give would be MOST appreciated! Thanks very much!

beats me · Post by **beats me** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 8:41 pm

You can get great things out of softsynths and close to or either the same as the T1. You just need to learn the software. In my opinion it isn't worth the price tag, also considering you already have the softsyths people are using as substitutes for the T1. I think a lot of it is a perception thing and possibly having actual knobs instead of virtual ones and not taking a hit on your CPU.

kuniklo · Post by **kuniklo** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 8:48 pm

The Virus has a different sound character than the synths you list. It's a subjective thing.

nebulae · Post by **nebulae** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 9:36 pm

I agree with Beats Me. I sold my Virus C and went full software synths. Ultimately, the Virus digital to analog converters are really great, but if you have a good soundcard, then you should do just fine. If you want virus-like sounds, check out the presets at www.vstsoundbanks.com. I have the presets for Z3ta and Sylenth, and to me, they really get the job done for that huge virus sound.

So in short, with z3ta and sylenth, I see no real need to get a virus. If you want to spend some big money, get yourself a kick ass soundcard, like an RME.

thefool · Post by **thefool** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 9:43 pm

notice that the sound card has no influence on what comes out of the vst's or renderings

unless you are recording that is.

vstsoundbanks, never noticed them before. The preset demo's are huge! I think it would be worth to get them just to study the presets and how they are made

mr-e · Post by **mr-e** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 11:34 pm

Imo 99% of all sounds can be created with any subtractive synth with some added FM.
I love running across the room playing my Virus B synced to a yamaha rm1x sequencer along some drumcomputers.
I also love sitting behind my laptop playing with Operator both as synth and drumsynth.
In both options the sonic possibilities are 80% the same and the other 20% is more defined by inspiration than actual limitations of the hard/software.

Bottomline , if you already own that much vst's go for the Virus if you want to know how it feels like making music standing upright

, otherwise maybe it's time you figure out how synthesis works exactly: both albino and z3ta (combined with some FX) are capable of making almost every sound in the known universe ... and if you're stuck with a certain timbre that keeps coming back in all your patches , try some amp modeling like guitar rig or amplitube.

Damon_Chambers · Post by **Damon_Chambers** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 11:50 pm

just as a point of interest, there is the new virus "snow." its a smaller baby version of the virus c. i think its gonna go for 1200 bucks when it comes out.

still pricey, but if you go for hardware pr0n it looks like a good deal. i would LIKE to get it as it is nice and portable.

nebulae · Post by **nebulae** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 1:07 am

Damon_Chambers wrote:just as a point of interest, there is the new virus "snow." its a smaller baby version of the virus c. i think its gonna go for 1200 bucks when it comes out.

still pricey, but if you go for hardware pr0n it looks like a good deal. i would LIKE to get it as it is nice and portable.

Just to clarify, the Snow is a baby version of the Virus TI, not the Virus C. It has all the VSTi integration features of the TI (which the C lacks) but it's only one of the TI's two processors, so it has half the polyphony. Also, they didn't take this opportunity to upgrade the hard to USB 2.0, so it's still USB 1.1.

The other big advantage is the size...but for half a TI, I don't think I'd spend $1200, especially when street pricing for the TI is around $1600.

nebulae · Post by **nebulae** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 1:08 am

mr-e wrote:Imo 99% of all sounds can be created with any subtractive synth with some added FM.
I love running across the room playing my Virus B synced to a yamaha rm1x sequencer along some drumcomputers.
I also love sitting behind my laptop playing with Operator both as synth and drumsynth.
In both options the sonic possibilities are 80% the same and the other 20% is more defined by inspiration than actual limitations of the hard/software.

Bottomline , if you already own that much vst's go for the Virus if you want to know how it feels like making music standing upright , otherwise maybe it's time you figure out how synthesis works exactly: both albino and z3ta (combined with some FX) are capable of making almost every sound in the known universe ... and if you're stuck with a certain timbre that keeps coming back in all your patches , try some amp modeling like guitar rig or amplitube.

very well said...with just a few good synths, you should be able to do most any sound in your head. Z3ta, Sylenth and Operator will cover a whole lot. If you want a few more, I'd recommend Sytrus and Zero Vector. I'd recommend pretty much all of those over a TI, and again, I'd say spend the extra cash on a kick ass sound card with amazing converters and/or a quad core computer.

Tarekith · Post by **Tarekith** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 3:09 am

The reasons to go to with a hardware synth like the Virus have nothing to do with how it sounds compared to the other options you've listed. I've owned all of them, inluding a Virus KC, TI-K and Polar, and they all are 1st class sounding synths. That said, the build quality of the Ti-K is hands down the best I've ever played, it truly FEELS like a world class intrument. If you get a Virus thinking you'll suddenly have vast new audio capabilities above and beyond what Zeta or Zebra2 can do, you'll be disappointed.

But if you want a synth that you can spend a long time learning to play like a true instrument, you can't find a better choice IMO. I had to sell my TI-K due to family reasons, and I thought Zebra2 would be a simple replacement. While Zebra2 is vastly more powerful, I still miss the hands on aspects of the TI almost daily.

mr-e · Post by **mr-e** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 3:14 am

mr-e wrote:
Imo 99% of all sounds can be created with any subtractive synth with some added FM.
I love running across the room playing my Virus B synced to a yamaha rm1x sequencer along some drumcomputers.
I also love sitting behind my laptop playing with Operator both as synth and drumsynth.
In both options the sonic possibilities are 80% the same and the other 20% is more defined by inspiration than actual limitations of the hard/software.

Bottomline , if you already own that much vst's go for the Virus if you want to know how it feels like making music standing upright , otherwise maybe it's time you figure out how synthesis works exactly: both albino and z3ta (combined with some FX) are capable of making almost every sound in the known universe ... and if you're stuck with a certain timbre that keeps coming back in all your patches , try some amp modeling like guitar rig or amplitube.

very well said...with just a few good synths, you should be able to do most any sound in your head. Z3ta, Sylenth and Operator will cover a whole lot. If you want a few more, I'd recommend Sytrus and Zero Vector. I'd recommend pretty much all of those over a TI, and again, I'd say spend the extra cash on a kick ass sound card with amazing converters and/or a quad core computer.

Then again, if you don't own any vst's yet and you have the money , that virus really does sound sweet and those interpolating CC's make for some very nice filtersweeps
(you only have 128 midi values for any controller , which means when you sweep ex the cutoff of the filter from 30 to 40 , you get 10 steps --> internally the virus interpolates these values so you get a smooth curve instead ... I don't know if there are any other synths incorperating this)

nebulae · Post by **nebulae** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 3:22 am

Tarekith wrote:The reasons to go to with a hardware synth like the Virus have nothing to do with how it sounds compared to the other options you've listed. I've owned all of them, inluding a Virus KC, TI-K and Polar, and they all are 1st class sounding synths. That said, the build quality of the Ti-K is hands down the best I've ever played, it truly FEELS like a world class intrument. If you get a Virus thinking you'll suddenly have vast new audio capabilities above and beyond what Zeta or Zebra2 can do, you'll be disappointed.

But if you want a synth that you can spend a long time learning to play like a true instrument, you can't find a better choice IMO. I had to sell my TI-K due to family reasons, and I thought Zebra2 would be a simple replacement. While Zebra2 is vastly more powerful, I still miss the hands on aspects of the TI almost daily.

agreed on this ... a lot of people need that tactile feel. personally, I'm very comfortable with a cheap 25-key midi controller and a mouse, but a lot of folks get creativity from weighted keys and nice knobs, so don't discount that. However, as Tarekith mentioned, if you're expecting a whole different sound, you'll likely be disappointed, as most top tier softsynths have a lot of overlapping features with each other and with hardware.

tylenol · Post by **tylenol** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 4:17 am

mr-e wrote:Then again, if you don't own any vst's yet and you have the money , that virus really does sound sweet and those interpolating CC's make for some very nice filtersweeps
(you only have 128 midi values for any controller , which means when you sweep ex the cutoff of the filter from 30 to 40 , you get 10 steps --> internally the virus interpolates these values so you get a smooth curve instead ... I don't know if there are any other synths incorperating this)

I think most modern softsynths interpolate midi values too (certainly the commercial ones mentioned in this thread will), you can get really bad audible stepping/zipper artifacts if not. But there are multiple ways to implement this and the Virus' implementation may be particularly good, I don't have one myself.

sweetjesus · Post by **sweetjesus** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 5:18 am

Tarekith wrote:I had to sell my TI-K due to family reasons

your family prefers Waldorf?

Machinesworking · Post by **Machinesworking** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 6:19 am

For close to $2800 for a Virus Ti 61 though, you could get so much more,

Komplete 5 plus Kore 2 on sale for $999
Plus all Rob Pappin ($3-450?) and Zebra 2 $150... throw in a RME fireface 400 ($900) and maybe a Remote 61 SL ($499) for that price. In fact I bet anything you walk into a music store and throw out that list and if it's over, you'll be able to talk the sales rep down.

With Kore 2 (500 steps as opposed to MIDI) and Novations Automap, The virus pales in comparison.