Do you lovely people know of any goood websites related to the virus range of synths. I know of access musics page, and also Infekted.org. Are there any others? I've got a virus classic if that helps.

try here for any soundbanks that is... Vengeance Sounds

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Theres not a whole lot of resources on the Virus and programming the synth outside of the unofficial Virus Forum which I now think is Infekted.org. It used to be Sunesha.nu/virusforum but I think thats dead now.

Fuck presets. The best way to get into the virus is to dig in and experiment yourself. A number of the presets in the factory banks are largely unusable for the purposes of writing a convential dance tune but they all have some interesting trick that makes them sound the way they do. So I recommend taking an interesting sounding patch - looking at the variables and then scrolling to C127. Rebuild it yourself starting from a blank patch.

Its a good exercise because you get to see what the patch sounds like from the ground up and what variable creates what effect. Once you can recreate the patch easily from scratch, you can start changing some of those variables during the sound design process and check out some of the different ways in which you can shape the sound.

Don't rely on using the presets as they are or you will never learn even a 1/10th of the capability of the synth. It is a a very flexible instrument although these days I don't really like the sound of it - for making analogue sounds anyway. I much prefer impOSCar for building classic analogue mono/duophonic sounds. Virus filter sounds nice but it doesnt sound or behave like an analogue filter. The moog filter on the VC doesn't sound or behave like a moog filter at all. The oscillators are so weak and I just don't understand why. Both the oscillators and filters don't saturate very well and I think it sounds shit for overdriven analogue sounds.

The LFOs and envelopes are amazing though and theres amazing complexity to them. The LFOs are insane - between the 3 of them of the VB and Virus Classic you can modulate practically any variable on the synth - even using non standard waveforms (wavetables). Its got all the trimmings - all the waveshapes on the Virus plus sample & hold and sample & glide.

I've had my virus for about 7-8 months now and I barely feel like I've scratched the surface of programming it. That's fine though since it has so many usable presets; usually what I do is find some sort of preset I like, then randomly much the shit out of it until I end up with something cool and unique sounding, then work with that. The thing really is a fucking beast, I love it to death.

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Thanks for the replies. Yeah, I dont plan on being a preset whore. I've already made a couple of patches, which are fairly crap but usable. Practice will improve of course.
I also get into mangling the presets, coz that seems to yield good results. Overall I'm happy with it, it's gonna keep me happy for long time.

I bought a virus b a few months ago and im having fun learning it.

just like Derivative says. starting from blank patches is the best way to learn. it has been working for me althought im a long way off knowing everything. the virus is a complex synth indeed

just a quick question
can anyone give me info on the wavetables?
like which ones work best for certain sounds? im guessing some of you guys have been using the virus for years and must have learnt a fair bit about them?

ralpheeee, check the links section at access-music.de

www.soundonsound.com archive has an article about programming Virus.

quote:

Originally posted by Head Grit just like Derivative says. starting from blank patches is the best way to learn.

You can learn much (and often faster) by dissecting existing patches you like. You don't always have to reinvent the wheel, you know.

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I;ve got a VIrus C myself and its an amazing bit of kit. Sounds awesome, so powerful and as said before, so many variables. I dont know of anysites myself. Ive had it 5 months or so and have just taught myself how to use it all. Its the best way i reckon. Know the ins and outs for yourself. Ultimately it'll make you a better person

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quote:

Originally posted by jivamukti You can learn much (and often faster) by dissecting existing patches you like. You don't always have to reinvent the wheel, you know.

yeah thats sort of what i meant.
i should have written it more clear

starting from blank patches try to recreate some of the presets.

but dont ever just use presets and tweak basic stuff like filter cutoff or you'll never learn

same as these people who just download midi files of trance tunes and remix them. try recreating the midi and you learn