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

Discuss music production with Ableton Live.
teknobryan
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Post by teknobryan » Thu Mar 13, 2008 2:33 pm

maybe it's just me but I didn't like the raw oscillators on the virus. The filter is nice but the raw saw is kinda bleh...

jamez666
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RE: Is the Ti any Good - Is the pope Catholic?

Post by jamez666 » Thu Mar 13, 2008 4:46 pm

I've had my Ti Polar for 6 months and it is simply amazing. Yes it's expensive but imho worth every single penny and then some. It you write house/techno/trance the presets alone will blow your mind (and there are zillions of them) You can also download for free more that 2000 from the access website. Creating your own sounds is easy, integrates into Live with the Ti VST Virus Control flawlessly (16 channels of Virus lushlesss striaght into Live) It's a seriously powerful beast. I use soft synths as well but they are just not the same.

Access are a great company too, unlike other hardware/sowtware companies they release FREE software/OS updates on a very regular basis. Not just bug fixes but each s/w update provides extra synth functionality. It's like getting a new synth every few months...the next FREE update is Atomizer...

http://www.sonicstate.com/news/shownews ... 66Atomizer

Highly recommended.
Intel Quad extreme QX9650 @ 4Ghz! , 8Gb Corsair, NVidia 9800 GX2 1Gb, Access Ti Polar, Livid Ohm, Akai MPD-32

nebulae
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Re: RE: Is the Ti any Good - Is the pope Catholic?

Post by nebulae » Thu Mar 13, 2008 5:54 pm

jamez666 wrote:It you write house/techno/trance the presets alone will blow your mind
What if I only to polka? huh? HUH? What then, motherfucker?!?!??!?!

Daim
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Re: RE: Is the Ti any Good - Is the pope Catholic?

Post by Daim » Thu Mar 13, 2008 6:24 pm

jamez666 wrote:integrates into Live with the Ti VST Virus Control flawlessly (16 channels of Virus lushlesss striaght into Live)
but all 16 channels to only one single channel in live.. that's total bullshit in my eyes

Machinesworking
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Re: RE: Is the Ti any Good - Is the pope Catholic?

Post by Machinesworking » Thu Mar 13, 2008 6:34 pm

jamez666 wrote: I use soft synths as well but they are just not the same.
Not knocking hardware etc. but your sig has seriosly the list of ho hum in soft synths, (in my perspective of course). Level an Access against Ni Komplete, Zebra 2, Vaz Modular, Zeta+ etc. and you might think differently.

The Virus has a distinct approach though, and if that's what you like then...

thelike5
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Re: RE: Is the Ti any Good - Is the pope Catholic?

Post by thelike5 » Fri Mar 14, 2008 3:01 am

Machinesworking wrote:
jamez666 wrote: I use soft synths as well but they are just not the same.
Not knocking hardware etc. but your sig has seriosly the list of ho hum in soft synths, (in my perspective of course). Level an Access against Ni Komplete, Zebra 2, Vaz Modular, Zeta+ etc. and you might think differently.

The Virus has a distinct approach though, and if that's what you like then...
Yeah, but his hardware is amazing...

Mesmer
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Post by Mesmer » Fri Mar 14, 2008 7:24 am

V-Synth GT.
That's all thanks :)
http://www.mesmero.net
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Hidden Driveways wrote:This doesn't answer your question at all, but I said it anyway simply for the joy of making a post.

Sibanger
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Post by Sibanger » Fri Mar 14, 2008 11:09 am

nebulae wrote:
Sibanger wrote: If my mate wants it back, I'll have to tell him to go and fuck himself,
or it got stolen or my house burnt down. :roll:
with mates like you, who needs robbers?
lol,

Even though I was sorta joking at the time, it made me feel kinda bad.
Big ups to my generous mate.:D

Oh, I still use soft synths aswell. I still love the Sylenth 1 and a couple of other favs.

The Ti's 16 into 1 channel is a bit of a bummer with Live.
If it was 16 separate channels, I would be much happier.

I fucking love the Sub Osc on the virus. Great for reaching way down in the sub bass spectrum.
Oh, and I have found a couple of great polka sounds in there as well. :wink:

I just love being able to touch my ( my mates, but it doesn't sound right) hardware.

amcnally336
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Post by amcnally336 » Fri Mar 14, 2008 2:58 pm

Neb,
Thanks for the presets...I'll check those out.

Has Access finally ironed out all the Virus/Live problems? If you do a search here or on the unofficial virus forum, you get PAGES and PAGES of "Help! Ableton and Virus issue/problem/crashing,latency(particularly w/ arpeggiator) issues. Many people say they sell their viruses due to all the issues! I am running Live 7. Are these still issues?

What, exactly, would be the feature sets that put the virus in its own league? People seem to cream all over the filters and the supersaw and the built-in effects. I have all my effects covered, and I know people really dig Zebras' filters(I know I do!), and the DSI Curtis filters are ANALOGUE! I know the Virus can do serious polyphony, but on complex patches you lose a lot of voices, don't you? Also, isn't some of that a bit overkill and a bit of a marketing ploy (if you know what I mean...bigger, better, more, more, more)? How do all those voices drenched in reverb sit in the mix? Don't you generally need to tone those things down anyway? Still, there are SO many artists who use the virus and get it to sit well...

Thanks again for all the intelligent discussion...I am sure many people have these same questions and that we are really helping a lot of folks make informed decisions! Good job, all!

thelike5
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Post by thelike5 » Fri Mar 14, 2008 3:30 pm

amcnally336 wrote:Neb,
Thanks for the presets...I'll check those out.

Has Access finally ironed out all the Virus/Live problems? If you do a search here or on the unofficial virus forum, you get PAGES and PAGES of "Help! Ableton and Virus issue/problem/crashing,latency(particularly w/ arpeggiator) issues. Many people say they sell their viruses due to all the issues! I am running Live 7. Are these still issues?

What, exactly, would be the feature sets that put the virus in its own league? People seem to cream all over the filters and the supersaw and the built-in effects. I have all my effects covered, and I know people really dig Zebras' filters(I know I do!), and the DSI Curtis filters are ANALOGUE! I know the Virus can do serious polyphony, but on complex patches you lose
a lot of voices, don't you? Also, isn't some of that a bit overkill and a bit of a marketing ploy (if you know what I mean...bigger, better, more, more, more)? How do all those voices drenched in reverb sit in the mix? Don't you generally need to tone those things down anyway? Still, there are SO many artists who use the virus and get it to sit well...

Thanks again for all the intelligent discussion...I am sure many people have these same questions and that we are really helping a lot of folks make informed decisions! Good job, all!
I don't know... I'm on the preorder list for a Virus Snow so I would be concedered an Access noob. I do know that Access has a new OS comign out (the one that includes atomizer)... hopefully thiat release also irons out some if these ti problems.

I can't imagine a ton of bugs with the Snow. It's made specifically for integration. I'd figure the new OS address these issues or they wouldn';t have released a product such as the Snow.

condra
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Post by condra » Sat Jan 24, 2009 6:59 pm

Sylenth owns

Chang
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Post by Chang » Sat Jan 24, 2009 8:34 pm

Total waste of money imo the $1,600 virus. Sylenth 1 + outboard 100% real analog filter to run it through and you'll hear fatness all day long. And save $1,000 in process.

chis
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Post by chis » Sat Jan 24, 2009 10:34 pm

Some thoughts from a skeptic, for what it's worth.

The Virus has always impressed me with its cutting, detailed, punchy sound. But I'm not convinced it's worth the pricetag. There are other options out there, first and second hand, that seem just as capable. The Virus seems like a "Porsche" of synths, to me. Impressive in many ways, but having heard them used in so many tracks, I've become disinterested in them. People bash the presets too much I guess. Consider a Waldorf Blofeld?

I spent £380 on a mint Waldorf Microwave XT and, after spending a little time to learn it, have come to the conclusion that - between it and my Pulse - I don't need any more synths. In fact I don't even bother to use software synths any more, none of them sound as inspiring.

If your interest in the Virus is down to its "legacy" of use by trance artists, here's a tip: try a Novation K of some sort. As a synth it isn't as well specced as the Virus, but it is JUST as capable of creating monstrously huge leads, thanks to its 3 oscillators - be sure to add a dash of noise.
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nebulae
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Post by nebulae » Sun Jan 25, 2009 12:01 am

Chang wrote:Total waste of money imo the $1,600 virus. Sylenth 1 + outboard 100% real analog filter to run it through and you'll hear fatness all day long. And save $1,000 in process.
Agreed...I run Sylenth through a tube preamp back into my DAW, and it's just as good. I tested both out side by side, and to me, Sylenth is just as good

aqua_tek
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Post by aqua_tek » Sun Jan 25, 2009 12:12 am

Only way i'd feel like i wasted my money with my TI Polar is if I didn't know how to work a synth and thus felt compelled to use presets. That's part of they joy of having a hardware synth... or any synth in general right?. Just getting into programming it. Otherwise it would be nothing more than an expensive ROMpler wouldn't it?

Another nice thing about hardware synths, they look nice in your room, and can make a great conversation piece, especially when it's dark and all the LED's are glowing nicely. Soft synths, not so much.

"ooh what's that?!"
"that's my virus synth. I use it to make hit records."
"that's awesome, like Deadmau5?"
"better than Deadmau5"
"make love to me"
^^ Sexy

"let me pull out my laptop and launch Live so I can show you my Sylenth".
"nah that's OK, but now that you pulled out your laptop, can I check my facebook real quick? Want to see what my ex boyfriend has been up to tonight"
^^ Not that sexy.

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