Access Music Virus C

Newest OS with 1024. I've owned for 1 and half years. I dreamt about this synth for years before I finally got one. When I first got the synth, I actually felt intimidated by its cababilities. I wasn't fond of the presets, though I thought many did a good job of emulating other synths. I never used a librarian to edit although I do own super virus and when it does work(my comp is buggy) it is very straightforward. I remember the awesome feeling I got when I made my first real usable sound, I still love it. It's a synth that you can create an insane amount of character with and carry you away into la-la-land for hours and hours. I disliked the frumpyness of the manual. Took me some months but I feel pro with it now to make sounds that inspire. It constantly impresses me.

Keyboard is very cool, durable, hard plastic.
Took me awhile to get into the effects and get more out of them, but it was worth it, also capable of wierd stuff. I love the Rate Reducer and the Dual Filter is badass. I've had problems with MIDI, some of which may be my own problem. I owned an MPC500 for a year, and could not get these two units to communicate, looked into the problem found no solutions. I can't seem to get MIDI to work in Multi-Mode. The arpegiator has some usefull rhythms and can easily help you create atmospheres.

At times I can go on a rampage, totally ballistic, making sounds I only hear in my dreams. I love the range of the sounds possible-endless. I've used mainly it for EBM/teckno stuff.

I've had some other issues with it: I've had a few random crashes, maybe caused by adding too much balls too a sound, hasnt happend lately. Sometimes my screen goes crazy, flashes all kinds of numbers and letters in chaotic patterns. Can be very annoying, but happens less now. Use to happen when sequencing from DAWs.

They never responded to my email.

I've owned a few VAs and by far the Virus is my favorite. It has the polyphony I want and the creative expression I crave. I love to emulate FM and LA digital sounds and create all kinds of timbres! fun stuff, totally usable stuff too!!! I wish the multimode wasn't so 'unstable'. I've only used it for percussion really, that seems ok, but is insanely time consuming, if i could only get the Midi to work with it...It's too bad the TI didn't get an upgrade here, maybe one day Access will will release a new model and focus on making the Virus a better user friendly multi-timbral synth. The Virus C opened me up and helped me train extensively for synth programing,I've learned alot with it. It is the most self-gratifying, intuitive and fun synth I've ever used.

Quite easy do use. Over 30 knobs allow immediate access to most parameters, but there are lots of them still hidden in the sub-menus.
That sometimes sucks.

Polyphony 32 voices does not kill, especially when you go multitimbral. EFX really great. What was written before is true. I only wonder why didnt they provide it with a digital output (only analog). Very nice "random" function changing sound parametres in smaller or bigger steps (as you adjust it).

Sounds really amazing. Some factory sounds need a little tweaking, cause they seem dull, lack brilliance. I do dance music mostly. The synth is perfect for it. Now I understand why it is the king of dance/club/trance music. Way better than my old Yamaha an1x. Sits perfectly in every mix, no problem to connect it with VST synths sounds (wchich I also use). Great filters.

OK.

Haven't tried.

As a VA it's got a lot of great hands on control, very gratifying sounds within that realm or context. However, sonically it can't compete with a real analog in terms of depth. I own a Virus C as well as many true analog synths. I also own a Creamware ASB Minimax, and it is in the same boat as the Virus C in that respect. It sounds great on it's won but lacks the depth of the real thing. So, forget trying to think in terms of comparing these VA's to classic analog synths, you can't. But in the case of the Virus C, appreciate it for it's unique attributes and sound. it can go to some places other synths cannot. It is capable of some distinct sounds that are unique. That is it's power. Look for those un charted noises. Personally, I wouldn't be devastated if I were to lose it. I couldn't say the same about my Sh5.

I also own a Indigo 2 which shares the same features and OS. May seem easy to operate due to the many knobs but there is way much more under the hood and it is not so complicated to operate.

Presets are ...well presets. Some impressive some useless (to me)

Manual are hum...not conventional and for most people not very logically laid out.

Both model are 32 voice engine. Good quality FX especially the rythmic delays. FX are also easier to access that the the previous Virus (KB - Indigo 1 and Rack) which I also own. No Virus synths provides any kind of hardware storage , memory cards or expansion boards. Kind of pointless anyway on any analog emulation synth containing 256 ram presets, 768 rom presets and 128 user performances. Ever heard a MiniMoog user complaining about this kind of stuff?

No on-board sequencer but more has more than decent appergiator (non-programmble patterns, unfortunately).

Can play back 16 parts at once each with their own FX and Arp.

Let's make one thing clear: This is not a SAMPLE PLAYBACK machine. It is made to create analogish sound, not to emulate real instruments. That said, whatever electronic devices are used to digitally render analog sounds in ALL Virus, are plain superb. Filters are great. Unfortunately, this kind of synth is mainly associated with the techno/dance scene which is stupid because analogish sounds can be used in any situation, (Tomita-classical, Emerson-rock, Corea-jazz to name a few. Your imagination and good taste are the only limits.

I don't gig but I often jam with other folks which mean travelling around and none of them has ever let me down at home or outside. My only reservation is that the potentiometers are not bolted to the chassis but just hanging from the circuit boards. Even if the feel is solid enough, I would nevertheless, avoid being brutal while twitching.

Never dealth with the company to report a problem. I had multiple OS update done at my local store and everything always went fine on all occasions. (I do not use or own a computer)

3 months ago I decided to do a major clean up. I sold two Roland SH-32, three Waldorf's: Q , XTK & Q Rack, three Korg's: MS2000 & Microkorg & Wavestation, 6 E-MU's, two Clavia :Nord 2x, Nord rack3, Two Alesis Micron, one Rss Elevata, three Novation's: Nova, KS rack & K-Station, one Yamaha FS1r.

I kept a Alesis Ion, A Waldorf XT, two E-mu's: Vintage pro and Mo'Phatt and I also kept all the Access Virus synths I ever bought: C desktop - Rack - Kb 61 note - Indigo 1 and Indigo 2. That should answer the "overall rating Category"

Pretty straight forwards and easy to use.

Does what it does and handles it well. Not the be all end all synth as some have suggested. But non the less good.

Giving it a 7 as to be honest this synth has been somewhat usurped by a piece of software that in all honesty surpasses the virus for sound quality, though I shant name the software as it's my secret !!! Suffice to say it's not that expensive and it's also coded in Germany. It's a bastard to e.q. as well, the virus that is, and in my opinion offers nothing that cannot be done in software.

Built like a tank.

Superb.

O.k. Then... I guess my review differs from many here on this site. This synth is a lovely piece of design it most certainly looks the part sitting in my studio. However it is now dusty and unused and purely there for appearances sake as people coming into the studio seem to like to see lot's of gear. My advice to you would be to learn to program software wise as this is most definately the future of electronic music, hardware in my opinion is on a suspended sentence. Think about all the other gear you could purchase with the money you would save by not buying this... Maybe start to look at gear to record "REAL" musician's, quality mic's, compressors, pre-amps ect... so as to give that final polish to you all digital mix. Or just spend it all on TOP NOTCH software and mastering hardware. There is not a single thing this can do that I cannot achieve with software. But as I said earlier it does look the part... While I'm at it BUY A DECENT SOUND CARD !!!!! it continues to surprise me how people spend so much money on synth and often neglect the essentials. Ho hum. Oh yeah... and monitors.

I've owned a few synths in my time. My version is 5.5. I rate myself close to novice in terms of programming but this machine is begging me to tweak it! Oh boy, and i love what I can make it do.
The huge number of presets are mostly great. Hook it up to a good controller keyboard (I use my triton le) and use its knobs too to flick through the virus sounds. Some are quite symply stunning! My new age roots are quivering in the sun of it's sounds! i'd better take a breath. no manual with mine but the 'Analogue programming article on the virus website is all i need.

It looks and feels beautiful with plenty of red lights and good firm controls. It's midi capabilities are very good. the modulation matrix is quite complex but don't you want a synth thats this expensive to have hidden depths!? Access to its internal effects for say, modulating a guitar are at this point untried. My wife wont leave me alone with it long enough!

if you want a sample based synth like the triton, then get a triton. the virus exists to make old style synthesis new and relevant and to this end, it does the job perfectly well. it has that certain feel and sound that gives music life and texture.

it seems very dependable and very well built. if you use it live keep a close eye on it because it would be easy to steal and would probably be top of the list for a knowledgable evil muso- thief! You have been warned!

access are a helpful friendly company and i think they have the customers point of view catered for. Why they dont have all the manuals available to simply read plus more for each os upgrade is an irritation but ,oh welll!
i'm just lucky that i got this thing ridiculously cheap in a shop that didnt really know what it was!

this is a wonderful machine and will be featuring large on my new album soon!

A synth with as much programming depth as this is never going to be a cakewalk. However, all of the most commonly used parameters can be instantly accessed. The mod. matrix takes a little time to get your head round and the distinction between multi-single, multi, and single programmes never made complete sense to me. A bigger LCD might improve the ease of use.

The manual didn't do it for me. It looks as though they never got around to translating it properly, as there are sections still in the original German. It also meanders around repeating some points, and yet failing fully to explain others. There is a supplemental book 'programming analogue synths' which is excellent.

A very powerful synth engine. Loads of knobs. 6 audio outputs, 2 audio in (you can use it as an FX module). Vocoder, osc. sync, FM, ring modulation. Multi mode filters. Adequate polyphony (for me any way).

There is, however, only one global instance of reverb/delay (i.e. you can't send different voices to different reverb/delay algorithms at the same time). But you can, ofcourse, route some voices to different audio outs and use outboard FX instead.

No digital in/out.

The Virus has an expansive sound - a bit like the audio equivalent of a wide screen TV. It has a distinctive tone that can be quite lovely. It can sound dark and aggresive, yet precise and impeccably well behaved. The filters are probably what makes this synth stand out, managing to sound both vintage (esp. the modelled Moog filters) but still retaining their own character.

All the above I liked. I do, though, have two major caveats that prevent me from fully endorsing this synth.

Perhaps the biggest problem, especially for a 'simulated analogue' synth is that the character of the oscillators is somewhat lacking. They are thin and weak, and don't sound very analogue; and this leads to thiness in the whole sound, which can't be disguised through unison stacking and detuning. You just don't get that monumental analogue sound, there's no real doof, clonk, or fizz. Although the sound is wide and the surface beautiful, it doesn't have the depth of analogue. There's no meat in the sandwhich, or if there is its a thin slice of processed ham. The other problem is one of noticeable aliasing in the upper registers, which adds a harsh quality to high pitched sounds.

I have a Korg Oasys DSP card with onboard VA synths which sounds far thicker and far more analogue (I also own a Waldorf Pulse and an Oberheim Matrix - so I know what real analogue sounds like). The Oasys doesn't exhibit aliasing to anywhere near the same degree.

Whereas the Oasys can sound nearly utterly convincing as analogue, the Virus isn't quite there it has a sharper, edgier and perhaps more modern sound. This, ofcourse, isn't neccessarily a bad thing, its a question of taste. Just don't buy one, as I did, and expect it to be able to bellow and spit like a real analogue.

Access now have some real competition in the VA market with the Alesis Ion/Micron, the new Korg VST synth(I can't remember its name; the one with the USB keyboard), and manufactures of native VST's like Arturia. All of which sound much closer to real analogue.

Anyway suffice to say I was a little dissapointed with the Virus' analogue impressions and it was for that reason that we have parted company.

My advice is try before you buy and compare it to what else is out there now and don't be carried away with the almost histerical praise with which this synth has been greeted.

Rock solid, built like a tank. Never had any OS problems with it.

Very good customer support. New OS's with new features were regularly released. Loads of new soundbanks available on their website.

I've sold it and am replacing it with a Creamware Noah (mainly for the Minimax). I would advise looking at and comparing to the Alesis Ion?Micron (very good reviews, more analogue character) or the Noah, which is being sold off cheap - end of line, or the many native synths which are really catching up in terms of sound quality as PC's get faster.

I purchased the VC updated with the latest OS version. It adds a moog-emulation filter to the already powerful virus engine. Editing patches are simple as everything is logically laid out - oscillator, modulator, effects, filters and amplifier sections. Patch editor will help when you want to make 'accurate' envelopes for patches for professional CD production. But for all live purposes, everything is in the box then and there. The manual is good.

32 note polyphony is plenty for a VA synth. Except for atmospheric pads/chords, you will be using only one note at a time for modulated/arpeggiated sounds. Has enough effects to keep you going. Its vocoder is excellent. Its only drawback I would say is lack of programmable arpeggiator (that you can create from scratch). But I use this in conjunction with triton extreme so no problems there

Excellent range of sounds can be created. Its like the alphabet: with 26 alphabets you can create thousands of millions of words. Likewise, with several dozen parameters, you can tweak thousands and thousands of sounds. Some of the most powerful oscillators give it the absolute rawness and power. Trance superstars like Yahel use it: check out his tracks like DNA, intelligent life remix, going up (trance mix), voyage (the track that made 'tiesto' famous, because tiesto played it in his live sets), tribal maker, waves of sound.

Extremely reliable. Built like a mercedes, BMW, Audi or porsche

Excellent customer support. They email you in 24 hours.

I will never allow anyone to steal it, because if somebody dares to, it will be the end of his life. I use the virus C with triton extreme, and they complement each other well. Triton's advanced sequencer, arpeggiators, sampler, effects and drum samples combined with Virus's high quality analog sounds really make quite a team!

Pretty easy, but lots of functions are burried in menus. no wonder though, this is a very complex synth and offer far more option for sound sculpturing than its any other competitor. Presets are so-so, all are very alike. Not many instant-trance sounds, really. Most of the presets are designed for... I don't know what for. Most of the time I find myself tweaking hell out of them to get usefull sound. Manual explains what do every function means but doesn't tell you how to access it (what button to press).

HUGE features. Virus is way ahead of competition. Too many UNIQUE features can be found on this synth, that you won't find anywhere else. The only three things that are a minor minus are - 1) it have is probably separate delay and reverb, but then again, you rarely need them both simultaneously, so no problem; 2) arp is weak. 3) only 256 user patches. Otherwise everything is very well thought-out. Most important thing about the Virus is that it has TWO filters per voices. It also has funky "random patch" generator. Extremely flexible architecture.

The only problem is that it has lots of character - dark character, which is not always desirable. I have problems getting clean bright sounds out of it. Despite dozens of waveforms, the sound is always dark and somewhat muddy (due to the extreme fatness). Otherwise simply luxurious sound. The best for huge trance sounds (massive pads, ripping leads). Sounds very different to JP, Nord or Supernova.
I'd give it 10 if it hadn't always sounded that dark.

I have other VAs (JP8080, Nord Rack 2x, SupernovaII) but if I had to keep only one of them it would be Virus. Despite its character it's still far the most versatile synth, capable of the widest spectrum of ultra-hi-quality sounds. I wish presets were rewritable, cause most of them are not that usefull, imho.

OS 6.5 w/1024 sounds
Presets are good, but liven up when you start tweeking!
Editing is easy and the manual works you through programming a basic sound

Everything you could ask for in a synth

It's mainly for Electronic music(Teisto, Van Dyk, Crystal Method all use it,) but I saw the keyboardist for a nu metal group using a Virus KB.
Gets really expressive when start tweaking it live.

Seems very sturdy.
Has never crashed on me.

I e-mailed a question to Access and they responded that day and answered my question.

If it was stolen I would definitely buy another one.
I've been playing since '90( I started in an industrial band in SoCal.)
I have a ton of gear and I always like playing with the Virus.

I currently use OS6.
Compared with the my Novation Nova the Virus goes deeper, but the Nova is slightly easier to use.

Much has been said already.

It sounds as Heaven or as Hell.

It looks solid.

No experience with customer support.

It took a long time to decide whether I should buy the thing or not. It is a lot of money and I already had a Novation Nova, a CS2X and some soft-synths. I also think soft-synths sound better and better and if you - like me - dont't gig and only make some music on an amateur level, it hard to justify the money for a Virus. But ultimatly I've bought the Virus because:
- Soft synths take too much resources and are causing latency on my current computer set-up
- I love fiddling with real buttons
- I had the money
Now I have the Virus, I must admit that it certainly is a great addition to my set-up. Compared to the Nova it sounds more versatile. The Nova is great for the standard synth ('analog') sounds, but the Virus gives a bit more edge. Besides, I think that the Nova sounds a bit glassy (although in general, the Nova is an excellent synth).
I think I dont't buy more synths though (maybe a faster computer, a soft sampler and some sample CD's)

Virus just released the OS 6.5.
That might not be a big event in itself, but this time it was: there are new analog filters modelled after MiniMoog, with reproduced artefacts of analog circuity!

After upgrading I feel that my beloved Virus became totally new and got the real analog sound. This was not one of those deals when you wonder, whether you like old sound more or new sound more. This is a terrific MOOG filter, sounding like one.

If you about to buy Andromeda A6 or Moog Voyager, that check out the Virus with OS 6.5 :)

2 years no troubles!

Very very friendly website with lots of free downloads, tutorials and useful stuff.

Fantastic value

Fairly easy to use
Presets give a good variety

32 voice poyphony
Virus C engine
Nice variety of built in effects

The reason I must review this synthesizer is for the sounds. They have gotten this one right, it blows away all of the competition in the VA market.
- Bass is thick and rips throw the mix, or strong and fat like a jazz bass.
- Leads are "red" and rich sounding, you hear them on all the best dance/trance songs. Sounds like a 21st century minimoog.
- Pads and strings almost have an Oberheim like quality to them. Also some Prophet 5 type piano pads can be heard.
- EP's can be made, arpeggios are easy, the thing is very good sonically...

Seems sturdy

I don't know

I don't have one, as soon as I can afford it I will. This is the only VA machine that I would buy exclusively. As far as the Z1-MOSS Board with the Korg Triton, and the AN1x with the Yamaha PSR9000, I would work with those as well. Virus is the modern day classic though.

Running OS6.

Very easy to use for general modelling functions. Sometimes though, the menus can feel a little cumbersome.

If you would like to get more indepth with it, then it becomes a bit more difficult to get around. ie: internal aux routing for one. But once getting more familiar with the menus, it becomes smoother to use.

The features are great.

Routing from the external inputs is excellent, opening up so many possibilties.

Instantly syncing to midi clock, makes it easy to sync basicly any parameter.

The sounds are unbeleiveable!

The filters sound incredible, and being able to run external sound thru these filters is such a huge plus!

Using the saturation mode along side the analogue boost, distortion, third osc and the sub-osc, gives an amazingly powerfull sound (i just cant explain how powerfull in words!)!! I havent used any other VA that comes close to this punch (and ive used and owned a few)...

Im using the VC for mainly drum and bass/breaks. But you could use this with any style of music that needs powerfull synth sounds.

So far, so good. No trouble yet!

Excellent!! I'm a part of a few forums based on the Virus. Anything that cant be answered on these forums, gets answered from the guys at Access...

This thing is incredible! I cant really say anything against this machine...I have worked with a many synths and there isnt much that comes close in the VA department.

fine with sx through midi out. A usb would have been more icing on an already iced cake. with 1024 patches, finding a base for tweeking is easy, and it has tons of knobs on. It s aimed at a pro analogue programmer, but novices have no trouble getting started. Why not hav a bigger screen though?

as much polyphony and features as you wish esp with os6. The fx are ok, delay lags a bit, awesome phaser. Only problem is the delay/reverb section - a pity you cant have both running simoultaneously - o am i missing something?

Perfection in my book, it is a jack of all trades, master of most is how i would put it. Thee synth for trance/house. Has its own character, and excels in some sounds (driving filtered leads). These will be remembered like the 303's sounds. V expressive, excellent analog emulation, but it has something else on top of that. It sounds exciting. am heaing many presets being used on top 40 records. If its god enough for ..... Superb!

No problems at all. Sturdy as an ox.

Some reviews on here say its toilet. With new OS's out every 2 months, e mails responded to within a day, free soundsets available, a free analog synth tutorial, a free editor - WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT? No hidden charges for future upgrades. Briliant!

If your into dance music of any kind, and your dream studio would be full of Jupiter 8's/ junos/ arps/ and other analog synths, and you have #1000 - $1200 to spend, BUY IT! It emulates all synths across the spectrum very well, a programmers dream. It also has a personality of its own that is brash, agrresive and sonically evil, with a coat of beauty that will inspire most. I havent heard 100's of synths, but have owned:
xp50; jv2080; waldorf pulse; xv5050; mc505; akai s3000; alpha juno 1&2; 106; moog prodigy.
The access virus C is my favourite of all the above by a long way.
My only quibble is that there are no drumkits, but thats not what its for. It does everything it is supposed to brilliantly and doesnt pretend to be something its not. If you want a massive analog workstation, built for sounds this - is it with knobs on - literally. The only last gripe is that when i sit down my bedroom studio to write, I find myself having to listen to the sounds again and again cos they are so beautiful. Almost overwhelming. Its really is a landmark in synthesis and sound quality. Throw out your Juno's and buy it (and i never thought i'd actually say that!)

I'm currently using OS 5 and there's no complaints. This is my first Synth and although I was a bit daunted shelling out #1000 on my first foray into synths, 1 month later I'm well satisfied and can't put it down. I use it with Soundiver on a PC with Cubase VST and works really well, dead reliable and no error messages pop up ever. The manual I have to say is absolute dog eggs and was no help whatsoever although you do get a "programming analogue synths" booklet by a guy called Howard Scarr which is pretty good and he seems to know his onions.

The virus has loads of built in effects, the phaser it wicked, the distortion has loads of settings like soft, hard, shaper, rectifier e.t.c. It has EQ aswell and I've found this to really beef up the sound. The arpeggiator is just OK but I tend to stay away from them in general as I think they're overused.

The sound is what sold the Virus C to me and I'd looked into loads of synths. It's great for basses and organs and it sounds both crisp and warm at the same time. One major reason why I got this was to make Techno / Experimental and House and I think I definitely made the right choice. The Microwave XT would have been my second choice but not for a first synth, more of a compliment to an existing setup.

I've had no problems with it's reliability although I've only had it for over a month. Yes, you guessed it, I'm going to say it's built like a tank aren't I?. Honestly though, it is really well made and I remember it was the thing that struck me most when I unwrapped it. Wicked flashing red LED's and smooth, sturdy knobs. The power socket for the transformer plug is a bit wibbly though and you do have to go careful with the sockets at the back (well you would if it cost you 1000 balloons).

Customer support could definitely be improved. There's one guy at Access that answers E-mailed questions pretty quickly but I did feel a bit left out in the cold by them once I'd handed over the cash. The manual is crap, I wasn't bothered about the translation to English which some people mention, it's just a mish-mash of different subjects and there are no examples of stuff. It would be better if they talked you through processes more.

I would definitely replace it because I'm getting some absolutely wicked sounds out of it, really fresh stuff and although it can do weird noises, it's usable at the same time. It seems to get the balance right. There's a fine line between innovative sound and self-indulgent pap and the Virus C is definitely the former. I needed a synth that inspires and is cutting edge but one that didn't make me lose sight of the fact that I wanted to make cracking tunes with aggression and smoothness at the same time. I know I made the right choice!

i am using os 5.0 currently, and the user interface is very intuitive, even if you are new to (virtual) analog synthesis, like i am. the virus c truly has a "knob for every job," with very few submenus. any manual has its limits, and the manual for the c is no exception. however, for people who like to complain about manuals, they should keep in mind that these are usually translated from japanese or, in this case, german. hell, some of the paragraphs in the manual are STILL in german, but until i am truly bi-lingual, i have no right to bitch about it. the best way to learn about a synth is to dive in. editing patches is intuitive and fun with this synth, and there is always the 'random' option if you hit a brick wall. editing patches is what synths like the virus c are all about, so roll with it and learn as you go. i have not used the editor software, preferring hands-on editing instead. all those knobs and buttons are there for a reason, and with the c's interface, it has never been easier. tweak away and tear it up. the 1024 presets (downloaded from access' site), not to mention the other sound sets from access' site, are INCREDIBLE. see below...

i have the virus c desktop version. polyphony, effects, arpeggiator are all top shelf and professional quality. i looked at every virtual analog synth on the market [andromeda was way too expensive], from clavia to novation, and the virus c had no equal, from its appearance to its SOUND. do not get me wrong. these other manufacturers make great synths too, but the virus was just too damn strong.

11 for sound. the virus absolutely RIPS -- leads with TEETH, pads, basses. you name it. if you are looking for THAT sound you heard at the trance club last night, this is the synth for you. with unison mode and its oscillators, detune, suboscillator, etc, the virus c produces a STORM of fat analog sounds. many of the presets alone will leave you in awe. the c could be used for many genres, but it seems best for electronica/techno/trance. this little machine produces entire walls of sound -- it must be heard to be believed. pure synth heaven, from the oscillators to the filters. a wicked and inspirational instrument.

i only compose in my home studio, but so far so good. no glitches, meltdowns, or stuck notes. midi has been a piece of cake, and i am certainly no expert. solid construction and a very cool appearance. from bmws to synths, the germans do not make crap, that is for sure.

the website has been very helpful thus far, from free downloads to the tutorial on synthesis, which is quite informative. the more you learn about analog synthesis, the more you will get out of this excellent machine.

lost or stolen, i would replace the virus c immediately. worth every cent that i paid for it. i cannot emphasize enough how much this instrument KICKS ASS. a perfect edition to my studio, which consists of the virus c, yamaha motif 8, and yamaha aw16g. done. i need nothing else. the os 5.5 upgrade will allow you to overwrite other banks to store more user patches. as mentioned above, the sound of the virus edged out all other competitors, along with its interface and solid construction, from its knobs to the cool red display and blinking lfo/clock lights. the virus c resembles the flight deck of an aircraft, and will be a lethal addition to any studio. get one. you will not be disappointed. cheers! p744

This is a complicated synth. If you are fairly new to synths, this will cause you some trouble. The manual sucks unlike any other manual Ive ever read. Unless you are a rocket scientist, forget about uploading new sounds or updating the OS. You will find yourself going to newsgroups for answers that should have been in the manual. No wonder there are soooo many egroups on the ACCESS line of synths.

Lots of features....if you can figure out how to use them.

Sounds are excellent. They are VERY warm, almost like total analog. However, many sounds are very weird. I mean, you may never use them in a song. Maybe a sci fi movie. Not as techno/dance oriented as I thought. This is more of an ambient, b rated sci fi assortment of profound nonsense. Some good nonsense tho. I had this unit for about 3 months and ended up NOT using one sound while working on my CD project.

Didnt keepit long enough to find out. Its a small unit though.

N/A

Well I sold mine after 3 months of mentally masturbating to it. It has lots of potential, but its an ADVANCE synth. You must have good knowledge of computers, midi, etc. to actually touch the surface. This unit could have been made so much simpler. If you are looking for TECHNO magic, skip the virus C. Maybe the virus B or others better for techno.

It's a beast :)))))

Wish it had separate delay and reverb units , -1.

Best VA, better than many real (not all) analog.

A special comment on FX section. Reverb and Delay are my favorite
Viru's parts at present. I use Virus as Reverb/Delay unit for my
E6400Ultra, Roland XV-3080 and other synths, and here's what I say:
despite those other synths have own reverbs built in, after Viru's
Reverb they get life!! E.g. flat sample on EMU becomes nothing but
mind blowing pad or solo!
Reverb on Vrus sounds WAY different than many other synths
and is as good as in good dedicated FX uits. Virus can do
even warm tape-like reverb (YES, old warm tape-reverb sound which made
the face of Jarre's Chronology album)

Have Virus - try feeding your other synth into its Reverb and be
ready to leave the rest of your life in this configuration :)))))
Sadly, I realized the potential after almost a year of owning the Virus.

10 for FX unit alone.

1year past. No issues. Used 2 hours day/every day.

Expensive!!
But, you get enough satisfaction for your money, believe me.

I am relatively new to using synths and i havn't had to look at the manual once. This synth can be as easy or as complicated as you like, with extremely intuitive controls; Clearly laid out and easy to manipulate.

The presets are all a little cliche but do provide a good overall picture of the soundscape possible with the machine. Like most bits of kit, just experiment until you get something you like the sound of.

32 Note polyphony (which is more adequate than you may think), 16 Part Multitimbral and all the standard trimmings (Arp, Fx, etc), all of which are laid out clearly and easy to control.

This is definately the Virus C's strong point and can become a real workhorse in the studio creating lush pads, crisp leads and punchy basses all with a finesse that most synths can't touch.
I felt the 'movement' heard in the sound of original analouge synths was well represented, with sounds flowing over my speakers. This is the type of synth that once you've heard it you buy it.

I have been using this for 6 months now, and have experienced no problems at all.

Solidly built, certainly sturdy enough to gig with.

I havnt had to use the Customer support, although i hear it is good, and there are plenty of extras on the website, (synth programming tutorial, soundsets, etc).

Once heard it is quick to understand the appeal of the Virus series, but this update provides an extremely powerful and versatile synth, which is clearly and intuitively laid out. Infact this synth is, dare i say "fucking fun" to use.

Just buy one

The manual is great, I have found it very detailed, and extremely helpful. I found the synth basically easy to use, but there were still a few things which I needed to look in the manual for (like how to use the vocoder and running inputs through the thing) and I found the answers to my questions in there easily.

The polyphony is great for a virtual analog. It doesn't have the polyphony of a workstation, but that's not what it is. Compare it to the MS2000, and the polyphony is absolutely amazing.

The effects were just ok, I like some of the delays and the distortion and lo-fi effects, but I prefer the sound of outboard reverb and modulation effects. On the plus side, the thing is capable of an absurd amount of simultaneous DSP effects.

As far as expansion, Access always provides OS upgrades for free, a huge plus, as well as a bunch of free patches for download which are actually not just factory rejects.

The filters on this are great. It has some sore of anti-aliasing for the filters which smooths them to sound more like analog. To hear this, turn the Q up to 127, the Cutoff down the 0 and move the cutoff up in gradual steps. It doesn't have the digital quantizing that a lot of digital synths have, and I for one love it!

This sounds awesome. It's best for harder stuff I think, this thing is definiately evil. Which is good :)
I don't think it has a use outside of harder dance music though, but it suits my needs fine.

I would NEVER play with this thing live. I get stuck keys ALL THE TIME!!!! This is apparently a problem with the Access Virus B, not the C so I am very disappointed in the reliability of Virus C. I have to sample everything I do with it, and if I didn't love the sounds it made, out this thing would go!

This thing sounds awesome.
There's no other digital anlog modeling synth which compares.
BUT I GET TOO MANY STUCK NOTES!!!!

At first, playing with the Virus B at guitar center, no one knew how to use it. it took me an hour before i could get the knobs to respond, but when they did i felt the synth doing more than respond. It practically screamed at me what i wanted to hear. I just bought the virus C and recieved it 4 days ago. I have only used software synthesizers and other folks hardware synths. this is my very first synthesizr an i beleive i couldnt have chosen a better one. already 4 days and i made this incredibly tweakable hard trance Kick and an atmospheric becon type soundin drone. It's easy to use if you take the time to read the documents and understand how it works. i found the manual to cover the features very well.

32 poly, 16 mul.tim, good useful fx, full midi implementation, and a nice arp altho i could have done with faster BPM's to feed the arp.

As an example of how tweakable things are on this synth i will tell you that with those 2 sounds i mentioned in 'ease of use' and a single note held down the entire track on each sound while tweaking, i fooled people into thinking i layed down 20 tracks. not only are the sounds awsome and ever morphable but ive never heard better quality.

I havent had any problems with it yet. i dont do live.

Well, havent needed to talk to them. The site has lots of junk for a sucka mc to download.

It's already a favorite studio piece of mine. im hoping it and my yamaha a5000 will get along just fine. i think they will.

I'm using OS 5.0 and the presets sound really fantastic. Although Im not a fan of presets in general these ones are very useable after some additional programming. Man this synth is very powerful and if you are a hardened programmer like me then you'll find the programming of the Virus kc relatively straight-forward. I never really find the manuals to synths that interesting and I'd have to conceede this is by no means the best ive seen....HEY! virus users there is a VERY COOL guide called 'A Guide to Analoge Synth Programming' dowloadable from the Virus website. Ive read it and beleive it to be very informative for most people. It teaches you the basics/intermediate art to programming. Who says Virus support is bad? Man as far as modern companies go they are bloody hot.

The overall features of this synth are excellant. The built in effects are good and the midi implementation runs flawlessly. This synth has a very high quality build & feel compared to most and my favourite feature has got to be the semi-weighted v/a sensitive keys........man what a pleasure it is to play! All companies should follow take notice! (Except Novation)

Ah yes ....lets move swiftly onto one of the best aspects of this synth. Let me begin by saying Im not interested in dance/trance music...im more interested in what electronic music will sound like in 10 years time. The Virus C is one of the very few synths which is capable of phenominal soundscapes. Most of the synths in my studio are old analogues...and their life spans are coming to an end (Well not for another 20 years!). I'm fortunate to own all of the 'classic' 80's synths.....and in my opinion the Virus C has the most convincing 'analoge' sound yet heard from a digital synth. With skillful programming (You must try to get away with from all those tacky dance/trance sounds!) you can create 99% sonically acurate clones. The difference between real analoges and 'virtual analogs' is practically indistinguishable (<- Big word man). For me it is a real pleasure to own a digital synth which deserves the acolade of 'virtual analoge'. Congratulations Access! Ok to conclude you may be asking what is this synth good at......well in my candid opinion its superb at almost everything. It has a very beautiful, rich, expressive, atmospheric sounding synth. If I were to say this synth sounds 20 years ahead of its time maybe that would help. My advice would be to steer clear (as much as you can) from the stereotypical dancy/trancy type sounds and get programming yourself. Be creative ..thats what synths are all! I love this synth...and there really is nothing else out there that can touch it for pure excellance.

Can I depend on it hehe ...thats a good one. Short answer YES

For a modern company in a modern market ...I have found their support to be very muture and customer focused. All my queries have been dealt with efficiently and thoroughly. Excellant.

In my opinion this is the FIRST digital synth that justifies the acolade of 'Virtual analoge' My decision is purely based on the synths sonic characteristics compared to my real analogs.

Money very well spent, an absolute pleasure to play and the sounds are just AMAZING. The other 'Virtual analogs', the nords, novas, waldorfs etc etc are also VERY GOOD but, for me, they just miss the mark.

Yes and if some tosser did steal this synth off me ...I'd have to think to my self ...LUCKY BASTARD!

In my opinion a Virus works best at dance, trance & techno.
But i think the presets are not really that what they should be. I bought a set called
"REVOLUTION VIRUS" from www.sounds-of-revolution.com
i wish that this sounds are presets of the virus :-) - but better not, everybody might have it then....really great stuff - the mp3 demo on the page is quite bad - but the sounds are absolute phantastic !

greets !

The Synth is easy to programm. However the manual sucks, no examples, well you just have to sort it out by yourself.
The controls are ok, however a triton or kurzweil is somehow easier to use.

Two things that really annoy me:
1) you can only save sounds in bank A and B. Access could remedy this by adding patch software allowing you to burn your favourate sounds in bank C-H (ROM)
2) delay in multi mode is only usable for all single programms.

effects and sounds are great an stimulating. However 70% percent of the preset sounds are not what I need on my every day basis. I require this synth to emulate analog sounds like moog, prophet, jupiter, not for techno or industrial. This machine is capable of producing such sounds, but you have to work this out for yourself.

There should be more user specific presets.

Did not experience any problems.

Service resonds quickly, however the access homepage offers too little information and no real exchange of sounds.

It's a nice machine, but definetly only an expansion of my existing gear.

soooooo, many posibilities.....
the presets are so great that you can work with them to make great stuff.
manual is a pain in the ass. but i dont need manuals.

the 32 poly is nice but well, 128 poly would be nice...
effect are just great. and the C is better organised than the B.
midi is good and stable. the arp is fantastic.

forget moog, arp, cs80, ms20....

virus has it all. it's fat, thin, soft, hard, dry, wet,metalic, string...and realy wired stuff.

well compared to software, hardware still is the 100% thing. until now everything works fine (got it 4 weeks now).

within 2 days. but their homepage could have a nice board to exchange sounds and ideas with the virus community

it is absolutely the best synth on the market.

I'm Using OS 5.Trust me you've never heard presets like this before.Deep throbbing basses like a shiatsu massage,Swirling pads, Leads as Sharp as A Ginsu.All the presets are Useable,But just by tweaking a little bit you can get an insane new sound.The included sound diver is cool but doesn't interact well with XP(Does anything really interact well with XP though).The Manual Is hardly needed,This thing is easy.This is the Ultimate VA synth that all have been waiting for,I can't even begin to explain how crazy having 1024 patches on a synth this huge is.It does everything lighting fast too.The new 32bit RISC chip is the heart of this baby.For all you strict RA users,Stop covering kraftwerk,buy this and break some hardcore new ground.

32 Notes is better than what everyone else is packing in their VA's except for the supernova 2 pro which isn't nearly as aesthetically pleasing as my virus.The Effects are very comprehensive,Individual delays/reverb would have been nice but would have bumped this up to the 3,000 price range.The only Synth with better effects is the supernova2.One Gripe i have is that the midi connectors are upside down(Crazy germans),this makes it a little harder to reroute cables without looking.Everything else is great.

The Sounds are Pick of the litter.You can create everything you've ever heard and everything you've never heard.The modulation matrix allows for mindbending lfo possibilities.The sounds I've created with this would make a nord lead 3 cower in shame.

It seems pretty sturdy,I'd gig without a backup definetely.

Upgrading Was relatively pain free.Trading sounds is easy.The only reason it gets a 9 here is cause access didn't put a warranty card in my box.I'm sure they'll rectify the situation though.

If it was lost i would just follow the bass to find it.If it was stolen then someone would have to die :). If you ever touch my virus I'll kill you and your whole family,thats what jesus would do.
This is the new center of my world,I orbit around this on a daily basis.Nothing makes me nearly as happy as playing with my virus and triton,Nothing.I have been playing synth for 5 years,piano for 10.

I'm lucky enough to own 10 synths.....9 of them are vintage (True analog). In my opinion the The Access Virus 'KC' is a remarkable machine. This is the FIRST synth that i have EVER come across where the preset sounds are genuinely inspiring. For me and probably alot of users, the editing/creation of new/existing sounds is both logical and VERY powerful. I must give Access their due credit, they really have worked hard to encompass a vast array of powerful features at your fingertips and in my opinion they have succeeded. When it comes to manuals I tend to read them 10 years after buying the instrument!

Ok here is my opinion >>

1)Keyboard action is absolutely brilliant - very high quality and a great pleasure to play.

2)Polyphony is also very good - 32 voices is probably sufficient for 99% of applications. I cannot envisage anyone actually using them all up and if you did manage to......it wouldnt be very often.

3)The Built in effects in my opinion do sound VERY good and compliment the overall sound of the Virus C. I find them no more difficult/complex to impliment than any other standalone effects box.

Overall the Virus C (I have the KC) is a FULLY featured modern synth.....this has the effect of making it REALLY POWERFUL!

As I mentioned at the beginning I own Vintage analog synths. It is IMPORTANT to remember that this is a 'Virtual Analog' in other words it is a DIGITAL machine which attempts to recreate/emulate analog sound characteristics. This is my honest opinion;

The Access Virus has a VERY DISTINCTIVE & UNIQUE SOUND. I do not use this as an analog emulating machine (Although I must admit....It is F***ing convincing), I use it for FUTURISTIC sounds. Sound effects, bass lines and pads can sound TOTALLY AMAZING on this machine...this is what I find so appealing. The sound is sweet and rich (Forget the presets, forget all the demos youve heard - program this baby yourself). As far as DIGITAL synths go, this is the nicest/most versatile/most unique sounding synth to come out for the last 15 years.

I congratulate Access for creating a unique sounding modern synth......because of this distinctive sound I personally believe this synth will be highly sought after in 20 years time.

This synth has a VERY high quality feel and build. I suspect it will carry on for decades.

Ive had no issues with mine - I am an inquisitive sort of bloke and I emailed Access numerous time before I finally purchased my synth...they responded quickly and effeciently.

CONCLUSION;

THIS IS THE BEST VA OUTHERE...............BUY IT!

Okay, I'm just going to have to disagree with just about everyone here so far: I lived withg the Virus C for s few months before finally selling it on... am I mad? Let's see:

First off; the sound is awesome, I can find no fault with that...

Latest software with the 1024 patch update. First problem; you can't store sounds in any but the first 256 slots.

The multitimbral setup is hardly intuitive. i already own a SUpernova 2 rack and I can't understand why any manufacturer wouldn't instantly copy Novation's way of handling a synth multi timbrally. The Virus has so many extra key presses in order to save and if you've edited a sound in the multi programme you then have to go through the hag of finding somewhere to save it!

Terrible effects implementation, particularly in multi mode: again, look at how the SN does it...

The manual is terrible, it gives no examples of any proceedures and the translation from the native German is not the best.

32 note poly, 16 part multi-timbral: much better than all other v/a synths (Clavia: take notice)!

The effects are poor and badly implemented.

Beautiful sound. It can do just about anything and maybe that's part of the problem... to me the point of an analogue (style) synth is it's immediacy and ease of use, I defy anyone to tell me that the modulation matrix on the Virus is "easy" to use! In the time I had it I really wanted to get to know it inside and out, but in the end became frustrated as the Supernova 2 is so much more friendly to programme and use...

The Virus is almost 2 synths in one box; great some might say, more for your money, but I want my synths to fulfill specific roles within my setup. I beklieve the immediacy of sound creation and multi timbral working has been lost on the Virus.. sadly as the sound is wonderful.

Had a couple of bugs with regards to tune drifting on parts in a multi setup, had to turn on / off to fix. Otherwise quite sound.

Contacted Virus re the above problem and Joerg (their guy in the hot seat) is extremely helpful and genuinely seems to want to get problems sorted.

I sold it on and I don't miss it. That says it all i think. Beautiful sound but too much effort to setup.

This synth is a killer. Sounds incredible. My other VA-synths bite the dust. But I will still use them because of their qualities better than VirusC (Supernova (arpeggio's), NordModular (manufacturing an editing sounds), ModularV2 (Creamware) (same as NM but other synth-patches and modules).
The manual is compact but good. It lets you start in all directions.
I've got my VirusC a week now, I'm not in all sounds yet.

It works very good and smooth with my sequencer. I've got a few strange things, but I write that to my unexperience with my brand new Virus C.

Not realistic. No good for classical music! This is too bad ;-). But the sounds and effects of this beast are the best I've heard yet.

It's very reliable. (In my special case the adapter won't fit. It's perhaps the wrong adapter. But the shop will send me the good one.)

Never had an experience.

I would buy it again if it were stolen.
By the way this counts for most of my gear: Supernova2, NordModular, CreamwareScopeBoard (with Modularv2), Korg Karma. Not for my Electribe EA-1 (which is a good piece of gear after all).

If you are in a search for a 100% Moog, ARP, Prophet, CS80,
+ lots of unique sounds - this is THE ONE.

Virus completely stands out of the rest VAs.
Such a deal after all those flat emulations of real analogs
like Waldorf, Nova or JP8080.

Be careful before you buy a VA, check out _the Virus_,
and hear, how much better it sounds comparing to any
other synth you see in the same music store. I'm amazed
competitors are not bunkrupts yet :)

Not much can I say in the moment. Seems very!

This is like a Mersedes amongst cars or like a Moog amongst
RAs.

Received my Virus with the latest OS. The presets need some extra work imo to make them more phat. Sound quality is outstanding though, very bright and clear sounds. The patch editor (SD) is great to avoid all the menu structures (note im used to the triton touchscreen so im a bit spoiled hehe) and works well. The manual is clear and understandable though i noticed quite some layout errors in it (pieces in german, double printes etc, but the content is good and thats what counts.

Features are great, nice effects, EQ per channel is a major improvement, aftertouch is not that important to me. Midi is very straight forward though.. im not happy at all with the CC implementation that, if im informed well, is not conform industry standards. Standard controllers MFX1 send and MFX2 send are Volumen and Pitch on the Virus (somewhere around CC93-95). This causes big conflicts with my Triton sequencer. I can olny solve it by giving up the MFX sends on the Triton, i'll have to set them to the pitch and volume values on the virus :/

Sounds are great, like stated above, very clean and bright :)
Fell in love with it right away. Im mainly doing electro and minimal techno tracks, suits great.

No comments on this part yet, i think im having the doubtfull honor of having the first virus c with hardware problems. It crashed all the time when changing sounds. Its on its way to Access now and im getting a new one soon.

Great, fast answers and good help from Access reps.
Although all of us are still waiting for the C soundset.

Great synth, best i've tried so far. A must have!

5.0 build 209
presets are great, but only tease you with what you can really do. the manual, was surprisingly really good, and with all these knobs making sounds cant get much better, plus you can use soundiver

polyphony is good, 32 voices for a dance orientated synth is honest. the effects are insane. the interface is very intuitive to me. and if its not that clear the manual will probably clear it up for you.

some of the sounds arent my style, but some make you realize this pup has power. overall its insane to me. you start making your own, and wham.

actually they only give a 6 month warranty, but free os updates, they update it all the time. its construction is strong, i wonder how this thing would take a beating on the road? the side panels seem to be the only parts that would give out. i would never rack it, i need it right in front of me! i will admit 6 months on an expensive piece of equipment like this...is sorta chincey. they should def extend that.

their website is fairly easy and it seems you can easily find someone to help you, or a page to guide you.

its a great machine, i keep it under my pillow. its the best bang for the buck out there.

5.0
I love the LEADS ,remember me the old Prophet 600...

The polyphony isn't the best but i use other Access Machines
(Virus B & INDIGO)
This a lovely and sexy girl

The Sounds are Wonderfull go between Moog synths,Prophets and some olds Roland and the noises and sweeps go like the VCS3 !!

There aren't other virtual analog like the VIRUS C..(and i have Z1..JP8080,MS2000R,WALDORF Q Rack,Supernova,Sidstation ect.

I do Dance and the Access is the my prefered HOME-SYNTHETIZER

OS5. Never used an Access synth before, so I can't comment on changes from OS4.5.
The presets sound INCREDIBLE. Too much reverb, maybe, but that's easy to fix: turn the pot down.
It's very easy to program: there are lots of knobs, buttons and leds, and you can modify lots of functions without ever using the menus. Here the Virus beats the Supernova II rack version, which has some important functions embeded into the menus.
I don't like the manual. In order to make it valid for all Virus versions, there is no general illustration of the synth, and sometimes you don't know what control the text refers to. It's hard to follow the manual withouth the Virus at your side.

Awesome. I love the feel of the knobs (not so much the buttons'), and it's lot's of fun tweaking the controls. The response of the sound to this tweakings is VERY good (no SH32 zipper noise).
The effects are very good, and you keep each part effects in Multi mode... but for reverb and Delay. It's a shame you don't have all effects for each part, as in the Supernova II, where you get the exact sound of a patch in both modes.
No card expansions, but you can upgrade this little sexy beast via MIDI. Free software upgrades, and lots of patches in Access web.
No sequencer (who needs it?), but 16 independent arpeggiators. Liked best the Supernova II arpeggiator, though.

Well, well, well. THIS THING ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!
It's a VA synth, so you already know the sounds you get, but... what sounds!
It's a very inspiring machine. This beast is ALIVE, and the modulation options are formidable. Incredible.
People say the Virus sounds better than the Supernova II... and it's true. The Virus has a lot more character, it's rounder, more robust... (I still love the SN2, though. Both synths have it's place in a mix). I think I'll be using the Virus more than the Supernova II.

Well, it seems an sturdy machine, but I'll be using it at home, so... I suppose I would gig with it without backup... beacause I can't afford two Virus. :)

I didn't need any support, but subscribed to a couple of mailing lists and forums where Access employees (and other users, of course) answer any question.
So, no problem here.

If you buy a Virus C, you'll never regret it. Since I don't know the Virus B (I've read lots of reviews on it, though), I can't say if it's worth the upgrade.
An incredible machine for ANY electronic music. Really infectious. All resistance is futile.

Excuse my poor english.

I just got the new Virus c and it comes with the latest OS version. The prests are O.K., but some of them need a little bit of tweaking. Virus comes with a great manual that explanes step by step so you can go along and learn how to use the Virus C. In other words, users who don't konw a lot about analogue synth's will get a pretty good idea how analogue synth's operate.

The features in the Virus C are great. With 32 voice polyphony it's enough for me. The effects are great and pretty easy to use...

Quality analogue sound. This thing has class. I use it for everything basses, pad's, strings, etc... You can use it for any style of music you want. It doesn't matter if you play death rock, there is going to be a point of music when you will need to use analogue, and this is the thing.

Excellent...

Great...

buy it, you wont regret it...