Access Music Virus TI Desktop

very easy

stunning sound

very cool

ok so read this and do NOT buy this synth IF you require Multi mode.

Read the specs - it says 16 part - upto 80 voice FORGET IT , thats the biggest lie ever told by a synth maker , this machine has a design flaw which means that if you otry and run to many parts ( like 4 on my ti ) at once what happens is the dps overloads and makes horrible noise , access have known about this for years but for some reason make out its user issues and you asking to much of the system , BE AWARE , this machine is fine in single patch mode but in multi mode its non usable , forget ideas of running 16 patches at once from it , multi mode in this device malfunctions and cant be used and 1000's of people have this same problem.Access for their part have tried to cover it up again and again.

good accept they lie to you , mislead and trya dn avoid the issues i mention subtly whilst making up a new os will fix it which wont - THEY MACHIJNE HAS HARDWARE FAULTS BUILT IN.

BUY A VIRUS C OR WAITH UNTIL ACCESS GO BROKE.

a flawed , badly designed , faulty synth that does not do what they claim it will /

Very easy considering the number of available parameters.

More features than most VA and real analogue synths.

Virus TI is no VST plugin. Let's not even go there. It is understandably comforting to some to reiterate that Virus is just as good as an average synth or a VST because they don't have enough $$ for the real thing in the moment. And I totally understand that feeling, been there.

TI had a wide palette of sounds. Saying "always sounds like Virus" best characterizes the user, not the instrument. I can make sounds that are nothing like Virus.

But the reason I wrote the review is the appearance of OS 3.0. Which added (1) Tape delay, (2) frequency shifter (3) character and (4) new distortion effects.

TI has never been that good. TAPE delay added a very pleasing authentic kind of ambience Jarre and Vangelis liked so much, for a good reason.

Ignoring the wild side of frequency shifter (you will get there on your own)... FS can do wonders to uncanning patches and making them silky sounding. Very pleasing sounding pads and bases can come out of this effects, and leads too.

Character- a new interesting series of effects that recolor Virus's sound (could help those who commented that Virus always sounded to them "like a Virus") Character changes sounds akin to equalizer, FYI.


Overall, OS3.0 is not a revolution. But these little additions are most welcome and surprisingly they do add an extra on top of existing functions.

Years of flawless service. No more comments ;)

Did not contact them.

I would probably buy another one if I ended up without my TI somehow.

Using virus TI 2.7.3. there are millions of presets. I edit everything through virus control. the manual is too big to read. I plug in, open up cubase, insert virus control as a vst, and then start turning the screen knowbs with mouse.

this synth has everything you could ask for. It's The Synth to have. I t's the only virtual analog worth the price you pay. myriads of effects, new features added with each os, 3 1/4 outputs and 3 usb outputs, input, spdif, midi.

the truth of the matter is that most synths aim for the virus sound but it is not replicatable in plugin form nor by any other company. Simply because the virus is so vast a machine (polyphony, effects, oscillators, etc) it's hard for any other company to make something comparable. This machine has the trance sound, there's sounds for r&b/soul, there's warm pads, prophet 5 type sounds, oberheim type sounds, moog lead sounds, and so on. I used this machine most recently to replicate the early funk sounds used by prince and the time.

works every time I fire it up and haven't had a problem since buying.

haven't had to deal with customer service.

I have moog phatty, dave smith evolver, andromeda, kurzweil k2600, motif, oberheim 1000, waldorf q, and many other older analog synths. Out of everything I have, the only two items that I couldn't part with would be the virus ti and k2600. I think for those with racks of analog gear, the virus ti can fit in just fine and do the garbage man work. for those with a laptop, midi controller, and some vsts - the virus ti can fit in and be your superstar. you're not going to find a more reliable, better sounding synth that can do as much as a virus. Once I got virus ti, there was no need for vsts (which aim to be virus-esque) like massive, Z3ta, albino, blue, sylenth, etc. I deleted all vst instruments except for a few (fm8, battery) and freed my cpu to better handle the other intensive processes.

Quite Good and user friendly
The manual is really awfull for my taste

Lots of polyphony and features
Can't be used as an Effects unit for Audio Ins

This is my main complain: do you remember that sentence: 'it's the economy, idiot!'
Regarding the Virus TI I would say: 'it's the sound, idiot!'
I know many people loves Virus' sounds, I think they are too digital, and lifeless. It sounds just as it is: a DSP synth wich sounds like a nice vsti plugin

Quite good

Quite good

I'm planing to sell it and buy a REAL synth like a Minimoog Voyager

OS 2.0.3
This is a very complicated instrument by its nature; I like it.

Manuals are not that good.

Polyphony 80+ is way better than that of Virus C's 24.

But it can be eaten up by only *couple of notes* on some patches.
Honestly, I wasn't expecting such things, but alas they take place. Virus allocates more CPU at expense of polyphony, which is a bit
awkward.

TI = total integration? Wrong.
I found Virus's integration very limited and rudimentary. Had a very hard time assigning different MIDI channels in Sonar. Why can't I simply find out that part 2 is on Channel 2, 3 on Ch3 etc?? What's the problem with TI software creators, how come Parts 1-16 turn out to be on the same MIDI channel # 1 by default in TI plugin, without a way to reassign them from within Sonar??
Well, maybe there's a way. But from the manuals and the website I couldn't find one, and I don't have time to waste for such things, so ...Ended up using TI as a regular MIDI module, with Edirol 24/192 interface's MIDI output.

Not nice here, Access.

Virus TI is the best synthesizer ever built, be it digital or analog.


Sound quality itself is unmatched, so I wouldn't spend time here.

Sound diversity and synthesis power of TI by far surpass those of other synths, including Virus C. TI finally got extreme transparency and complexity to its sound which was lacking on earlier Virii A,B and C.

Unlike Virus C, TI can finally recreate the true soundscape of Wavestation and D50. Amazing acoustic emulations are doable - guitars, oboe, clarinet, sax can be programmed to be very playable and expressive.
Nice organs. In essence, Virus TI can capture the fine details of nearly every synth around, but I doubt there's any synth that can capture Virus's own sounds.

To put things in prospective, I own or used to own these synths:

HW:
Korg N364
EMU Esynth
EMU E6400Ultra
Roland XV3080 fully expnded
Access Virus C

SF:
ImpOscar
VStation
Arthuria Mini, CS80, ARP2600
BassStation
Wavestation (KOrg)
Polysix (Korg)
MS20 (Korg)
NI FM7
NI Pro53
Absynth3
etc.

I used:
MiniMoog
Korzweil K2600
Korg 01/W
NordLead3

And Virus TI is #1. A must have for someone who really likes the synths.

If I have an idea for a sound, it's pretty quick to dail it in. The mistkaes one makes while dialing in a sound are also usually interesting or inspiring. The computer integration is excellent -- best I've seen.

Polyphony seems a little limited when you're going multi-timbral. They say 80 voices, but that's marketing talking. It would be great to be able to link several together. Maybe via the TI interface in the future. It's arpeggiator is a bit basic, but its oscillators, synthesis structure, and effects are off the map. I especially like the non-traditional controls like 'Impact', 'Analog' and 'Filter Saturation' -- Access did a great job with this synth!

It's the best VA I have. Huge sounds. The new formant and graintable oscillators are wild.

I used to only get those kind of sounds out of my Kyma. The Virus makes it much more affordable and immediate.

The synth can actually be used for all types of music - it has good Rhodes sounds too for instance. While it's very popular for dance music, I don't do dance music.

I do find the internal digital mixer lacks headroom. I'm often clipping and having to adjust levels when I'm doing something multi-timbral. I'd like a 16 channel multi-band compressor analog summing sort of effect on all the voices.

It crashes fairly regularly. I'm using the 2.0 operating system, and they've just released an update. When it crashes, you need to power-cycle it.

The USB connectivity also flakes out for me if it's left idle for a long time. i.e. I bring up the GUI but nothing I click on affects the synth.

The build quality looks high enough, although I'd have liked an explicit power switch and more individual outputs for each timbre.

Never had to use their support, but there is a forum (unofficial) which seems excellent.

It is so easy...browsing for patches, editing, recording automation, it is simply the Dog's Bollock's for everything, WOW

80 Voices polyphony. Too many features to list...It behaves exactly like a VST plugin, meaning you can eq, and effects without having to record audio! How cool is that!

Amazing. Virus Virus Virus.

OS 1.1.1. Very reliable now, however i am still new. Latency issues are resolved with slightly higher latency of 128 Samples...No crackles now!

They are brilliant.

Generally speaking, The Virus TI is fairly well balanced between simplicity and complexity when it comes to programming. The folks at Access did a pretty decent job of keeping things orderly and well thought out, which makes it easy for a novice user to dive in but supplying enough features to keep advanced users happy.

I'm using o.s. 1.0.9 with the Hotfix Update. Since I've only recently bought this synth, I can't compare this latest o.s. with previous versions, but it seems stable enough. There are a few bugs that still need to be hammered out, such as problems with synch issues, but these are mainly problems I've experienced using the Virus Control interface when it is plugged in to my sequencer as a vst. When used as a standalone synth, I havent run into any problems.

The manual is straight forward but can be a little cryptic at times.

It has 80+ stereo voice polyphony under average load, which is probably more than any one would ever really need. The effects section comes with delay, reverb, eq, chorus, phaser, distortion, and analog boost. Effects arent handled globally so youre free to assign them individually per voice. This is something that is really nice because, you can switch voices without any audible glitches. Midi capabilities are pretty standard if youre using the TI in standalone mode. If youre using it as a vst instrument however, midi is handled through usb.

This is my favorite part. The Virus has a distinct sound.. its a very rich and full sounding synth. I would say it compliments electronic genres best although I see no reason why it couldnt be used as a complimentary instrument for other types of music. Both the audio and onboard effects sound excellent and sit well in a mix. Out of all the synths I have owned, this is one of if not my favorite.

Its built pretty solidly and time will tell if I can vouche for its dependability.

Have not dealt with customer service yet, but it looks like Access makes an effort to keep users updated with upcoming o.s. revisions, so I guess thats a good sign.

For as new as this synth is, I give it high marks, even with the semi-shaky o.s. quirks. The sound and features more than make up for this and as a standalone synth it is one of the best Ive ever owned. Assuming Access gets the o.s bugs hammered out, this thing should be rock solid moving forward.

I'm using OS 1.09 and it seems really stable. My Ti hasn't crashed once and I get the feeling the bugs are beings ironed out generally. I for one do not have any gripes and it doesn't impede my work in any way whatsoever. Using the Ti is a revelation, I had a Virus C last year which in itself was very easy to use but the menu and layout on the Ti is greatly improved - everything is so easy to get to. I've never needed to use the manual but from flicking through, it looks a bit fragmented.

Tonnes of features on the Ti and it feels like a workstation together with the software. I've got soft-synths and other hardware modules but everything seems to revolve around the Ti. The effects are excellent. I rate the delay and reverb very highly but the distortion could maybe do with a bit more work. The phaser is excellent also. The Ti has loads of expansion capabilities because Access are very big on putting out updates on a regular basis.

Now this is the real reason I wanted to write this review. I'm sick of hearing the nay-sayers and jobs-worths harping on about the Ti not sounding "truly analog", shut up and get real analogs so we don't have to listen to your whining. The Ti sound glitters and sparkles but it has plenty of body too. I think the Ti takes the Access line of synths further into the digital realm and that's fine by me because the range of sounds and purity is outrageous. In three words I could describe this synth as being expansive, moody and inspiring. I've owned a Microwave XT and whilst the wavetables on this are dirty, harsh and steppy, the wavetables on the Ti are smooth and sophisticated. This is a superb synth for film scoring and I use mine for deep house and techie stuff, at which it excels. 10 MARKS &^%$#!!!

Yeah, I can rely on it. I haven't had any problems and it seems pretty stable (touch wood). The build quality is very good and is heavy and solid. The LCD display is gorgeous as are all the winking lights.

Access customer support is really good IMO. I've used them a couple of times and they've always got back to me in a day or two. They're always making new OS improvements / enhancements which are easy to install.

I've had a number of other hardware synths and a load of softsynths but this one is central to the sounds I make. So easy to use and great sounds seem to spill out of it every time I go on. You find yourself saving patch after patch of inspiring, never-heard-before magic. If I lost this I would hang myself from the rafters. If it were stolen I would hang the perpetrator from the rafters.

I'm using version 1.0.7 of the firmware, and am now able to fully integrate seemlessly with Ableton Live 5.0.2 on OSX.
My studio is now greatly simplified and highly mobile thanks to the Ti. Genelecs 8020a's, The Ti Polar, and a 15" powerbook.
It is so easy to use and intuitive that I haven't had to consult the manual yet! The onboard LCD is much improved over Indigo and older viruses, and there's 3 soft knobs now that make tweaking REALLY nice, especially when using the Virus Control VSTi plugin in your DAW sequencer app.
Still some bugs, but by the time you read this, they will be fixed. And none of them are show stoppers.

Quite simply, there is nothing out there that is even close to the Ti's VSTi implementation. I won't repeat what you already know about here.

This is a TRUE instrument. If there were no VSTi, no sound card, and no USB connection, etc., the synth is worth the money just for the sound, and for the keyboard action alone.
The keys I believe of the latest Fatar variety (not sure about this). The aftertouch is perfect....requires decent enough pressure to engauge it so as not to accidently do so, but VERY natural feeling still. The mod pitch wheel are classic Virus perfection, and the soft knobs and effects knobs make this synth a totally orgasmic experience. Let ALONE, the ability to play 16 parts simultaneously, each with their OWN effects settings, etc.!!! It's like having 16 Virus C's, only way better still, b/c you can use it so seemlessly with your DAW. It's what you've always wanted... total expression while laying down studio tracks. Best of both worlds.

Live....the the Virus Ti just using audio outs and my genelec's....well., it's mind blowing the sounds and textures you can get going. Good enough for a solo gig. Combine it with MicroTonic drums, SupaTrigga, and you are set.

Incredible hard case. Nice wooden trim (I have the Polar) under the keyboard. Very sturdy.
Early firmware had some reliability issues when in Ti mode......but those are all gone now.
Rock Solid, comes to mind.

Access are simply the best so far. They are responsive to bugs even on 'unofficial' mailing lists, and come out with firmware rervisions almost monthly, if not sooner.

Only thing that really sucked was that I had this thing on order for an entire year after it's announced arrival, before I got it. Worth the wait, however, and the guys at Access are muscians and synth-gurus to be sure.

If I had to go to a desert island with one piece of my studio, it would be the Ti.
Even over my entire DAW on the 15" PB. Even over the Genelec's. Even over the Motu Traveller.
As an instrument, I find as much expression and overall joy and childlike "WOW" playing the Polar, as I do the other instruments in my life, the Trumpet and the Piano. I even do the 'look back', like when you have a new car, every time I leave the studio.

And did I mention the pulsing Virus Logo on the back of the Polar can even be configured in the config menu? And I've had this thing for awhile now! I should be used to it, but instead, I feel that newly-wed in love feeling I've not felt for a piece of kit since getting my first Trumpet in 5th grade. Not to mention, my overall productivity in the studio just shot up by at least 30%. And the tracks......the sound incredible.

So go ahead, ask me how I really feel. :)

Well it's been a long wait for this. Is it any good then. Oh yes. It's the new star on the Virtual analog synth heaven. New smooth 24 bit converters give it the edge against all it's old siblings. It's supplied with 16 banks a 256 patches so everybody should find something. It will accept old soundsets from former models of which at least 25 are avaible for download from the access web site.
For the time being you should as soon as possible check the web site for latest OS since mine was shipped with a beta. Lots of troubles.
The OS is not in its finished state at this moment, there are still issues but mostly in respect to the TI features

16 part multi timbrale and it works. The TI feature is not there quite yet, it will also present you with the problems other USB soundcards has due to the bandwith. It will though work and I have for time being disabled my PCI based soundcard and are using the TI as my soundsorce. Midi interface and the VST plugin works but as soon as you push it glitches shows up, but that is not a problem because this i why I have my EMU PCI emulator card anyway.
The fun starts in the VST plugin that gives you acces(s) to all parameters. It's a real joy to use the arpegiattor in this mode, much like xphraze. This is really good.

The sound, that's really good. It's much more polished than f.ex. waldorf synth. E.g. the simulation of analog sounds are up with the best, but you can still get it to scream if you like.
Rompler wise it has some organ sound and keyboard stuff in it as well as some flute sound that's okay, but it not in that genre you expect it to shine.
Effects are up with the best on any other synths, but i still prefer external ( Have a T.C. 4000 reverb unit ), and you can expect it to compete with unit that cost even more than the synth.
Since the desktop needs a mother keyboard it's fair to say that it react to all controllers as expected.
In it's area it simply great.

It seems well built. Only issue is that the OS in not finished but as a hardware synth the only glitch i've encountered so far is that voices from one preset, from time to time hangs, into the next.
I've encountered the same on Alesis Andromeda 6, but it's no big deal in a studio enviroment and the OS is updateted regulary so I expect this to be solved.

So far no problems. They react to emails

This is good synth. It has a great future. If you have not had a chance to try it out go and do so, but be aware that this might soon set your cashflow back.
I would consider it against the Roland V-synth XT which in some respect has an edge. It has sampler capabilities, though limited, it has variphrase and the 2 VC card in it.
But sound wise the access filters i.m.h.o. gives the virus the edge and the TI feature is totally integrated into your host enviroment as well as the ability to act as soundcard.
Well I could not make up my mind so I have both. :-)
If you need a really good synth this one will not disapoint you.