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Originally posted by derail However, on that issue - using one synth for 8 different parts in the same track is going to make the whole character of the track the character of that synth. Each synth has it's own sound and it sounds fantastic when you have all these different sonic characters combining to create an incredibly beautiful track with many different textures. If you have some vsts, I would definitely recommend using them for some sounds, otherwise the track will be very Virus TI-ey and potentially much more..what's the word..."monotonal?" than it could be.

I disagree with this. The TI is capable of a very wide range of sounds. Lately, I've been using the TI for near enough everything apart from drums. On my last track, I got a lot of feedback and not one person thought that the sounds were samey or monotonous (not that the track wasn't without its faults ) and I doubt anyone would have guessed I used one synth for everything.

Thats not to say that the TI can do ANY sound. I'm sure that some FM synths would make a great pairing with the virus and this is probably the next type of synth I'll purchase...

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Thanks for the responses. I've taken several suggestions on board. I'd never actually committed anything to audio before the final mix, didn't really see the point but it's helped in this case. The problem was definitely max voices reached.

I don't agree with the suggestion that I should use multiple synths because otherwise the track will lack character. Thats ridiculous considering the diverse range of sound that comes from the synth. Who's going to listen to a track and go "sounds like he used 7 virus patches in this tune".

Not sure I understood about the external outputs etc.

cheers

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Just bounce to audio, it's very rare I play with the synth on midi for very long at all. The wav's can still be manipulated with vst fx/filters just not exactly in the same way. You can always go back and re-record.

Making a track entirely on a virus is entirely doable, much more than a lot of synths out there. I have made a couple tracks entirely with the JP as the only synth before... and there is so much more you can do with a Virus

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Originally posted by Luke Terry The wav's can still be manipulated with vst fx/filters just not exactly in the same way

Exactly. I used to use a few arpeggiator sounds through the virus to fill some frequency content in my tracks and then complain that I couldn't put effects on them separately as the Virus has limited audio outputs. But hey it's a friggin arpeggiator and it's barely changing in sound so why not bounce it to audio? As long as I loop it at short enough points so I can copy and paste it at exact points in the song, I have no problems. Then you can got to town with automated filters and whatever other effects on that .wav file. The virus doesn't have a huge amount of effects anyway (that can't be found elsewhere), so when your happy with the notes or midi arrangement throughout the track definitely bounce it to audio.

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My Virus KC has a very wide range of sounds. So does my Nord Lead 3, my Supernova 2, Micro Q and so on (my JP8080 not so much, but wide enough that it's still very useful for various applications). Some of my other synths are much more limited (like the TB303... it just sounds like a TB303... which is all I really want out of it...)

I'm not saying synths like the TI don't have a very wide sonic range. But each synth, hardware or software, has a certain character to it. And the more you get to know the character of each of your synths, the more you'll know where to turn for the sound you want. There is no such thing as a "my synth sounds exactly like every other synth, all combined into one" synth. it doesn't exist. The TI does amazing basses, leads, pads, you name it, and it has a wide range of these instruments. I'm not saying the TI only has one bass sound. But if I feel a particular track is crying out for a Nord Lead 3 bass sound, I go to my Nord Lead 3 because the Virus doesn't sound like a Nord Lead 3.

Yes, ultimately it's up to each producer to decide which of their synths to use in each of their productions, for which instruments. I don't consciously decide to not use my Virus for more than a couple of instruments, but for my production style there are other sounds I'm looking for which my other synths can give me.

If the TI is the only synth you have, then it's understandable. My KC was the first hardware synth I picked up and it had a wide range of beautiful sounds, so I used it for pretty much everything, since it sounded so much better than the software instruments I had at the time.

All I'm saying is, if you've only ever used a TI, consider picking up another synth or two if you happen to see them at a great price and you may be pleasantly surprised at how much wider your range of sounds becomes. Each synth, as versatile as it is, as wide a range as it has, has it's own particular character.