Is this the equipment recommendation forum?

I'm tempted to invest in an Access Virus TI. The descriptions online aren't all that telling and GC (by my house) only has a Snow, so I've got nothing to directly compare it with. What I'm wondering is how much I am sacrificing by going with a Snow instead of a Polar. There's a significant price difference (more than double) and I'm wondering if the sacrifice in cost by going with the Snow is something I'm going to regret in the long run. Could someone that has used both at length give me an idea of the features you'd be missing with the Snow so I can better gauge whether I get what I can afford now, or put the investment off for quite some time?

Appreciate it.

The main differences I've noticed are the number of parts and polyphony. The TI Snow is only 4 parts multi-timbral while the other TI's are 16 parts. And I believe the TI Snow is limited to 50-something voice polyphony?

Half the polyphony.

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get a virus ti desktop. the price difference is only ~$300-400, but you get all the polyphony, parts and knobs.

snow really needs to be $200 cheaper for it to be worth it.

quote:

Originally posted by echosystm snow really needs to be $200 cheaper for it to be worth it.

I agree - although I'd actually say the Snow needs to be about $400 cheaper to have a comparable cost:benefit ratio as the desktop TI. But either way, I agree that the Snow is way overpriced and you'd be better off spending a little more on a TI desktop.

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Sonar Platinum | Ableton Live 9 | Logic Pro X | Access Virus TI2 Keyboard | Kurzweil PC3X | Nord Lead 4R | NI Maschine

The Virus TI Desktop is the way to go.

Snow is small, has 1 DSP chip, and is tedious to program without using the software.

And none of the Virus keyboards offers any advantage except the keyboard. (Other synths has a all the knobs over a bigger surface, while on the Virus it`s just melted together.)

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quote:

Originally posted by No Left Turn The main differences I've noticed are the number of parts and polyphony. The TI Snow is only 4 parts multi-timbral while the other TI's are 16 parts. And I believe the TI Snow is limited to 50-something voice polyphony?

The polyphony is only enough for 4-8 parts though (Virus TI), or 2-4 parts (Virus TI Snow). Polyphony on the Virus is a bit odd. It differs depending on what oscillators and effects you use.

Does anyone seriously use all 16 parts though? I use multi mode alot but even then I pretty much never use more than 2 or 3 parts and not because of polyphony limitations. It just gets messy after that and mixing them all together and editing singles is slow and annoying.

quote:

Originally posted by Derivative Does anyone seriously use all 16 parts though?

Good point. I typically use 1-4 Virus parts and combine them with other synths, although I have a few unfinished works that use as many as about 8 Virus parts IIRC. I find the number of outputs to be the limiting factor since I post-process most of the parts in my DAW.

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cryophonik.com | facebook | soundcloud

Sonar Platinum | Ableton Live 9 | Logic Pro X | Access Virus TI2 Keyboard | Kurzweil PC3X | Nord Lead 4R | NI Maschine

The 3rd USB output with the new 2.7 OS in beta makes using more than 4 patches simultaneously a much more attractive option.

BTW, if you click on the download OS 2.5.1 link on the virus site, you get to the OS 2.7 beta with the 3 outs, atomizer and all that goodness.

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"When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading."

quote:

Originally posted by Sean Walsh BTW, if you click on the download OS 2.5.1 link on the virus site, you get to the OS 2.7 beta with the 3 outs, atomizer and all that goodness.

I've been following the thread on the Unofficial Access site regarding the 2.7 beta OS for a few weeks now. It sounds like a nightmare for many people, so I'm waiting for the official 2.7 OS release. The third output is going to be a VERY nice feature.

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cryophonik.com | facebook | soundcloud

Sonar Platinum | Ableton Live 9 | Logic Pro X | Access Virus TI2 Keyboard | Kurzweil PC3X | Nord Lead 4R | NI Maschine

I think it's on the 3rd iteration of the beta so far. I personally installed it over the weekend and haven't had any issues, but I haven't mucked around with atomizer yet.

Really excited to explore the possibilities though. I'm more and more in love with this beast by the month.

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"When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading."