quote:

Originally posted by Zombie0729 i really hope no one reads that and think it's valid.

What is so amazing about the virus? Is it all those expensive discrete analog components inside? wait a second there aren't any... Just a cheap DSP card and a bunch of knobs. For the price they charge you for this cheap synth you can build a whole god-damn modular patch cords and all. Don't get me wrong the virus has really worked for some people. I hear it all over records I like in one form or the other so I can't be a hypocrite... I like creamer & K records alot and they fuk with the virus heavy so at the end of the day a sound is a sound its how you flip it that matters. In other words it is up to the individual producers preference. Personally if I had 15 bills to blow on studio gear I would try to cop a se-1 or an ms-10 a juno 106 and a roland xx80 rompler and use softsynths for virus style sounds. But that is just my opinion. If you like the virus or think the virus represents greater value for your studio than those synths combined fuk with the virus and we can agree to disagree.

i think you will find most electronic dsp driven hardware cheap. The electronics are not what costs money. Those boards coast pennies. Compare it to medication. It doesn't cost much to produce them but they have to make up for all the r/d.

The Virus is a great synth and will the company be in business for years to come which is a good thing when you need to call someone if something doesn't work or even if you just get lonely and want to talk to a handsome European.

quote:

Originally posted by Mad for Brad i think you will find most electronic dsp driven hardware cheap. The electronics are not what costs money. Those boards coast pennies. Compare it to medication. It doesn't cost much to produce them but they have to make up for all the r/d. The Virus is a great synth and will the company be in business for years to come which is a good thing when you need to call someone if something doesn't work or even if you just get lonely and want to talk to a handsome European.

Well I am more of a JP8000 fan myself so I guess I got to find me a good looking japanese to talk to. Trouble is I don't speak japanese.

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Originally posted by Derivative Theres more to the Virus than just trance. Alot more.

Probably the wisest remark in this thread.

As far as programability goes, I've never understood why people think the Virus is difficult to program or requires much menu-diving. The layout is intuitive. Almost every parameter that you would use for sound design and/or real-time tweaking has a dedicated knob (or is a shift away), Virus Control makes it even easier if you want to go that route. There's very little menu-diving involved aside from functions like global parameters, arp functions, assigning names to patches and the soft knobs, etc. Speaking of the 3 soft knobs, they make real-time tweaking even better and are like having 3 extra mod wheels. The modulation matrix is very straightforward and dead simple to use from the front panel. So, I don't get it - maybe some people are just intimidated by its interface?

As far as presets go, I don't think that those are the Virus' greatest strength by any means. The huge number of presets may be a big selling point for many people, particularly those who are just getting into synthesis and want a ton of trance sounds ready to use out of the box, but that's hardly the strength of the Virus. And, as much as people love to bash the presets, I'd say that they generally range from meh to phenomenal, with a pretty small proportion of duds (again, just my opinion). That said, anyone who has a working knowledge of subtractive synthesis need not concern themselves with the presets if he/she doesn't like them.

The other common point of contention regarding the Virus is its effects. While I agree that some of the effects aren't the best (primarily the reverbs), I wouldn't say that they suck, and more importantly, not once has someone critiquing one of my tracks pointed out a Virus sound, let alone criticized the effects used for that patch (and, yes, I do use the Virus' onboard effects for most of my Virus patches).

Personally, I think it's just become fashionable for many people to bash the Virus and disassociate themselves from it - it's the Tiesto of synthesizers. That's too bad, though, because it is a workhorse synth, but it's only as good as the person using it.

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Last edited by cryophonik on May-13-2010 at 17:51

It's a workhorse synth at boutique synth prices.

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Originally posted by Existo22 It's a workhorse synth at boutique synth prices.

True, but it's not necessarily trying to compete with vintage or new analogs (e.g., Andromeda, Voyager), or other "boutique" synths, or workstations, etc. In many ways, it's in a class of its own due to its TI capabilities, its own characteristic sound and interface, etc.

Someone mentioned earlier that the Juno > Virus. Well, that's not a valid comparison IMO and it wouldn't take a feature/specification comparison chart between the two to see that they're two very different animals. So, IMO comparing a Virus to "boutique" synths is somewhat analogous to comparing a Ferrari to a Rolls Royce. Both are expensive as hell and overkill for most people, but they aren't directly competing with each other and their respective value is ultimately determined by the people buying them.

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i'm starting to think that the bashers in this thread have never owned a virus. you guys are comparing a synth that has no competition. this is my last post in this thread then i'm done.

Juno | Virus

oscillators 1 +sub | 3 + sub also FM Capable
waveforms 2 | 75
Envelopes 1 | 2
LFO 1 | 3
Mod Sources 2 | 275
Built in FX 2 | 110
Filters 2 | 6 (even has 2 in serial if you want)
Voices 6 | 100 + (depending on model)


oscillator is a DCO on the Juno so don't even give me the analog debate. you have NO control over the chorus parameter in the synth, you can only stack either all voices or none in mono. there is no unision, there is no selection on the sub osc for waveform, there is only one PWM option, only ONE ADSR for both filter & amp, can't run filters in parallel, only one LFO that can only be assigned to pitch or filter and CANNOT be sync'd.

i own both, they sound different no doubt but you can't say that the juno is a replacement for the virus, it doesn't even hold a candle. i LOVE my juno, i've used it on a lot of records but the advice people are giving in this thread isn't justified.

quote:

Originally posted by Existo22 What is so amazing about the virus? Is it all those expensive discrete analog components inside? wait a second there aren't any... Just a cheap DSP card and a bunch of knobs.

It is just a softsynth running on a cheap DSP with a bunch of knobs. I totally agree. But its a very well designed softsynth with great user interface and workflow in a gig worthy metal chasis with great potentiometers that are totally smooth and don't skip values with really nice buttons that don't die or go spongey. Oh and it has the best semi weighted keys of any synth ever made.

I also want to point out that I don't particularly like the sound of the Virus classic filters and the raw oscillators which I think are weak. Frankly, similarly specified soft synths like Albino, Zeta+ and Sylenth have better sounding oscillators and filters.

So why have I still got a Virus? The damn thing just works. It was by far the only instrument I ever used other than my guitars that could survive gigging. You will only ever begin to appreciate how amazing it is when things just work after you have gone through a tonne of antiquated, unserviced, unreliable synths that necessitated regular (and expensive) servicing and the hording of rare chips like cem3374s and xpander displays. It is seriously gay having to do stuff like that. I want to be a musician not Oscar the Grouch.

quote:

Originally posted by Zombie0729 i'm starting to think that the bashers in this thread have never owned a virus. you guys are comparing a synth that has no competition. this is my last post in this thread then i'm done. Juno | Virus oscillators 1 +sub | 3 + sub also FM Capable waveforms 2 | 75 Envelopes 1 | 2 LFO 1 | 3 Mod Sources 2 | 275 Built in FX 2 | 110 Filters 2 | 6 (even has 2 in serial if you want) Voices 6 | 100 + (depending on model) oscillator is a DCO on the Juno so don't even give me the analog debate. you have NO control over the chorus parameter in the synth, you can only stack either all voices or none in mono. there is no unision, there is no selection on the sub osc for waveform, there is only one PWM option, only ONE ADSR for both filter & amp, can't run filters in parallel, only one LFO that can only be assigned to pitch or filter and CANNOT be sync'd. i own both, they sound different no doubt but you can't say that the juno is a replacement for the virus, it doesn't even hold a candle. i LOVE my juno, i've used it on a lot of records but the advice people are giving in this thread isn't justified.

Is this thing on? Did you ever read my post?
What part of ''it is just my opinion'' you people don't understand?

The juno is a 400 instrument in the used market. A tried and true one at that. It really doesn't get much better for the money. You would proly need more money to build it from scratch. I said that a roland xx80 a se-1 and a juno 106 represent much better value that the virus ''ti'' and cover a lot more ground. I said it and I stand by it. Don't feel the need to convince me why your 40 dollar DSP synth is totally worth the 1500-2000 going price. At the end of the day it will be you in the studio using it not me.
Personally I would do different things with all that money but there are countless good records from producers I respect that feature this synth so it really works for some people. How boring life would be if we all wanted the same stuff.

quote:

Originally posted by Existo22 What part of ''it is just my opinion'' you people don't understand?

I don't think anybody here has a problem with differing opinions - hell, we're all just offering our opinions and no one person's opinion is better than another's.

However, with that said, this:

quote:

Originally posted by Existo22 ...your 40 dollar DSP synth...

...is neither opinion nor fact. It's just wrong and yet you referenced it at least 2 or 3 times as if that's the crux of your argument. Stating that you don't like the sound of the Virus, or think it's overpriced, etc. is fine, but I think it would carry much more weight if you based your opinion on reality, rather than grossly exaggerated fallacies. Just my opinion.

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Not to spoil the recreational arguing, but it's really clear, judging by the nature of the arguments Existo22 employs, that he's trolling. Everyone for the Virus has not only anecdotal evidence but is also citing facts about it, which support their arguments directly, while Existo's arguments exist predominantly in hyperbole couched in mildly relevant information; information that seems only to exist for the purposes of making his arguments look legitimate and that is relatively disconnected from the hyperbole it's supposed to be supporting.

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