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things i like about softsynths which i never appreciated before i got a virus:

1) the control surface of the synth can be potentially huge - bigger than any hardware synth. zeta's control surface is so big it doesnt fit all on 1 screen. you can also selectively map the functions you want to automate to your midi controller so its so much more versatile. virus control surface is a limited size. only the important features are given rotaries and buttons. the rest is hidden in this archaic sub menu that you have to flick back and forth between. very annoying.

2) no cables that fuck up. no having to debug synths. no MIDI issues relating either to faulty cables, conflicting drivers, MIDI thru etc. no possibility of direct MIDI sync issues.

3) no limit to the number of instances of a softsynth that you can run simultaneously. if you hit the poly limit. save the patch. add another softy. open the patch and you've doubled the poly. you can negate any limitation of the synth by using more instances. no poly limit. no limitations to the amount of effects you can run on it. as many oscillators and filters running as your PC can handle. the only limiting factor is your CPU speed and memory usage.

4) not having to count the number of voices you are using in case you get a dead note as a result of limited polyphony.

5) no rubbish multi mode. you want another multi timbral part? add another softy. no fucking around in annoying seriously flawed multi modes. no limit to the complexity of your multi timbral patches (except of course CPU load)

6) no global limitations to the effects used! fixed in the virus TI but for 1.5 grand, id rather put 1 grand into an ISA and 500 quid on a top spec PC to run more softies and keep my virus b handy! the ISA would start paying back the money i spent on the virus b slowly off the interest.

7) none of the parts of a softy fail. it doesnt burn out like old analogues. there are no mechanical parts that wear down and fuck up. softies can be updated, reworked, patched with the minimum of hassle and in many cases you dont need to buy an expensive revision.

8) softies sound pretty damn good! i definitely underestimated the sounds they can make. that alot of VA softies cost 10 times less than current iterations of the virus and nord lead only sweetens the deal even more.

things i like about my virus:

1) it looks spiffing on my desk - proper industrial. this big black and red mechanical monster with wires gushing out of it like a great umbilcus feeding from my delta 1010, sapping the life of my PC to belch out these evil, sludgy acidic sounds.

2) it matches my H R Giger Li II poster and red SG guitar really nicely - i got a good black and red colour scheme going on in my room.

3) it feels good having a tangible item. its real. its quite weighty. i polish it constantly. i feel chuffed to own it. i dont feel so chuffed to own vanguard cuz it doesnt feel real. its a bunch of 1s and 0s on my PC in my downloads folder.

4) hands on baby! synth work is so much more expressive when you can twist and flick those rotaries in time with the beat whilst bopping to your own tune. makes getting into the zone easier. more fun. makes it more intuitive to make your synth sounds come alive with automation. great stuff.

5) the satisfaction of owning one. from day one, access have been sending me subliminal messages from their website and their preset player saying (roughly) 'you desire an access virus, you want it - your life is not complete without it. virus is your baby - access your GOD. your first mission - access commands you to MAEK sum brutal TARNCE!' tbh, i would have had to have used a virus extensively in order to formulate the conclusions i have arrived at here.

quote:

Originally posted by kewlness Honestly, I think the best way to go is with a hybrid hardware/software system like the virus powercore for example. It has the power of hardware but the ease of use and simplicity of software which I hope someday is the direction more synth makers decide to lean towards.

Having owned the Virus Powercore for about 4 months I can say that it is quite nice. But after owning that followed by a JP-8000, I would MUCH rather prefer a Virus KB over the Virus Powercore.

Programming synths is much more fun with all of the knobs in front of you, also as stated, it looks damn sexy. Plus there is a certain satisfaction in recording everything and making all the wave-forms perfect.

I would much sooner spend $1500 on a Virus TI Desktop than $1000 on a Virus Powercore /w Powercore card.

I started producing with hardware, though. Unlike most of you who started with VST instruments. So it can be said that I'm much more used to it.

It seems that what matters most is making the most of the gear you have. That's when people really get creative.

thats it perfectly. alanzo seems to come more from a hardware based background so working in a hardware environment would feel pretty natural to him. i started out software and about a month ago got my virus b. but vanguard feels so much more natural to work with than the virus. i still consider my vanguard patches to be better sounding than my virus patches despite the fact that the virus b trounces vanguard on the spec sheets. at the very least i still use vanguard alot more than my virus. ill get better at programming it. but as you soooooo correctly point out, what matters is making the most of what you have got and not excuse the inadequecies in your music by saying 'i didnt have the proper tools' or 'if i had a [insert famous, expensive synth here] i could rock every club in the uk into piles of rubble.'

it just doesnt work like that

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