Access Music Virus kb

My virus kb is running 4.06 right now, but I haven't gotten around to downloading the 4.07 update/bug fix. The presets are. . .interesting. It's kind of unusual to see the patch designers' initials on the right of the display next to the patch name (RP=Rob Papen, CK=Christoph Kemper the inventor of the virus, etc.), but each patch designer has kind of his own sound. Basically the presets are kickass. They're some monster 909 style kicks, fat detuned pads, instant Paul Van Dyk trance arpeggios, meaty basses, and strange pulsating noises and rhythms.

It's not difficult to edit the patches, but it's not very easy either. Many of the synth parameters have dedicated knobs, but some of the major new features that were added to the synth's software (like a 3rd oscillator and 3rd LFO) have no knobs, so you have to wade through a pretty small LCD menu system. The virus does come with a custom version of SoundDiver, which helps you visualize these features, but I would still prefer the immediacy of dedicated controls. Overall it's still a lot easier to edit sounds than with a ROMpler of course, and you could argue that the most important parameters have dedicated knobs so this means more to some people than others I guess.

The manual is really not bad at all for a synth manual--it reads as though it was written by someone who is fluent with English, unlike some of the garbled nonsense (with verbs that are never conjugated properly or are completely absent) that passes for a typical Japanese synth manual.

The polyphony is 24 voices, and it's 16 part multitimbral. One "voice" can consist of up to 2 oscillators + a sub oscillator + a noise oscillator. If you activate the 3rd oscillator, the polyphony count drops slightly--to 18 if you are using all 3 oscillator patches. Ring mod, FM, 3 midi-syncable LFOs, up to 16 arpeggiators, 2 spectacular-sounding multimode filters (4 filter types and multiple routing options), etc etc.

I LOVE the keyboard action. Apparently the virus kb uses the same keyboard as the Waldorf Wave and the Kawai K5000S (except the black keys on the virus kb are different--they're flat like piano keys). It's aftertouch sensitive as you would expect for something in this price range. All of the knobs send MIDI CCs, and a huge number of parameters (probably about 40-50) can receive CCs.

The effects sound great in general, with surprisingly good sounding reverbs for a first effort (Access added reverb in version 4.0), great pattern/groove delays, and very solid chorus and phaser sections. The distortion sounds a little too digital, but all you need is a $50 guitar pedal and you're set. The only real drawback here concerns the reverb/delay--due to memory limitations you can only have one or the other, which is a big hassle in multi mode. Surprisingly all the other effects can act independently per midi channel in multi mode (like the Supernova II, except the SII can provide an independent reverb and delay per channel). Fortunately with 6 outputs (can be configured as mono or stereo pairs) you can use your external effects units or software plugins on the dry parts. The way the effects are implemented, especially in multi mode, is logical and very easy to follow. I figured out how to use the effects in multi mode right away, which is something I've never been able to do (I own 5 other synths/samplers) with my gear.

No expansion per se, but the Access team provides free OS updates every month or two. Apparently a major new release is due soon, but I don't know any specifics.

In a word, stunning. This is quite simply the best-sounding synthesizer I have ever heard, bar none. There is a depth and fullness to the sound that I have never heard in a digital synth (including Supernova II, JP-8000, MS2000, Z1, AN1X, etc), with a fast, aggressive attack, combined with a beautiful clarity and sparkle. Also, very few of the factory presets use the 3rd oscillator, if any, and once it's enabled, you can out-"fat" any VA easily, and many true analogs. The effects complement the sound very well, especially the analog boost and groove delay effects. The basses are phenomenal, the pads equally amazing, the leads outstanding; the liquidy sound to the filters makes these sounds really come alive and are what really makes this instrument sound so incredible. It reacts reasonably well to velocity and afterouch, although the velocity scaling is a little on the heavy side.

What kind of music? Well if you play with it in the store and don't like trance you might be disappointed at first because the factory presets tend to run in that direction. Don't be put off though, this synth can do anything--hiphop, D&B, techno, psy, ambient. There's a really strong online community for the virus, and you can download a huge number of VERY good patches that are intended for every genre out there--even rock/fusion (check out M@ Picone's set if you don't believe me). If you can tolerate the commercial "castles in the sky" kind of trance, there are some arpeggios in Cosmic Dreamer's set that I swear sound exactly like that song I heard the other night when my ears started to hurt from the reverb-drenched kick drum hits, as well as some great pads and basses without the cheese factor.

So far so good. Some people on the virus mailing lists reported random lockups and freezes about a year ago but there have been several rounds of OS bug-fix updates and I haven't heard anything bad at all since then. It's a beautifully crafted instrument, with solid wood end panels that I can knock on as soon as I finish this part of the review.

Absolutely fantastic. The virus mailing list is always the best source of information, and having 3 Access employees on the list including the founder makes things very easy. I have asked their lead support guy a few questions by email, and have received replies in as fast as 15 minutes. Usually it's more like a few hours because of the 6 hour time difference.

If it were lost or stolen I'd be in serious trouble. I would buy another one right away if I could afford it, but as it was I had to wait for months to get mine, and $2000 is a lot of money. In July 2000 I walked into the local music store, saw a Virus kb in the showroom, and played with it until closing time. The next day I came back ready to buy it, but someone had already bought the display model, and the store had no idea when they'd get another shipment--as it turns out they still haven't (though they do have virus racks). I placed orders with mail order places but had the same problem for months.

I seriously compared it with the Supernova II, which, objectively speaking has a few more features (and a better interface), but there's something about the sound of the virus, the way it plays, and they way it looks that made it stand out. It's hard to describe, but it "feels" like a musical instrument, not like a souped-up calculator or VCR like so many keyboards do nowadays (e.g. Roland, Korg, Yamaha). I wish it had a little more polyphony, and could do separate reverb and delay effects at the same time, but other than that I have no other real complaints at all. I really like Access' no-compromise attitude and attention to detail, especially when compared with Roland, whose philosophy seems to be "never give the customer exactly what he wants in order to lock him/her" into buying whatever it is that seems like a panacea, but always leaves out something critical (so you need to buy something else, which leaves out something else). I really like this synth, and even with the honeymoon period long since ended, this would be the last material possession I would ever get rid of!

It's a bit complex - but only because it's powerful. Considering it's power it's definatly got a GREAT user interface (the knobs are incredible).

Thte biggest featurset for your buck. The only synth that I'd rather have is a $4000+ Waldorf. But then again, that's $4000 - no thanks!

SOUND is the name of the game, and it's the Virus KB's claim to fame :-)

Not only are the on board sounds good, but there are a TON of free (or really cheap) sounds available on the Internet. Effects are VERY REAL, except the distortion needs a "little" tweaking (I'm sure the'll tweak it in the next OS update). Then again, for a digital distortion, it's probably the best I've heard.

The keys feel GREAT. Probably the best touch sensative keyboard that I've ever played with.

Never had it crash/break/etc. 100% rock solid tank.

Haven't needed it!

The best VA synth for a reasonable price - hands down the best investment I made last year on a single piece of gear.

i hate this thing.
every single preset sounds like an 80's tears for fears sound.
i listen to them and think "this sound is just stupid no creativity."
i can't make any original sick bass lines. and a stupid amount of drums that are directly spread out over the preset banks in no smart order.
this thing is hype and crap.

Using version 4.02. The presets are nice, the kicks are pretty sick and can be modified a lot. More presets are available from the web. I don't use a patch editor, because the interface controls are pretty solid, and use double key shortcuts for traversing submenus. The manual is OK, and it comes in PDF. As always, it could be more extensive (like the 700+ page VST manual) but it does a good job for it's length.

I think its polyphony is 24 voice. It's pretty sick. If you use all of those at once in combo with a bunch of other mods you'll produce sounds fat enough to require acapella mixing. ASHdja. The keyboard action is decent. The onboard FX are pretty damn cool, the distortions are both subtle and harsh, and can be applied to each part individually which is dangerous, in both the good and bad sense. The delays are dope, mad pattern and offset possibilities, and even though they cant be set for each individual part, you can adjust the sends. I would like to see that change, BTW. INDEPENDENT DELAYS! I don't know if you can expand, it, but it has 6 outs, and 2 *INS*. On a synth. For vocoder and ring modulator. I kinda wanked on other vocoders too much so I haven't tried it yet, but I think it's 30 band, which is I think even more than the EMS Vocoder 5000. It has wanker stuff like the aftertouch and such, I'd love to have a ribbon. No sequencer.

The filters on this thing are nutty, as well as the FM. I personally find them to be so distinct that I often recognize the board when I hear it in other recordings. This isn't a rock synth, even though I hear that guy programmed Britney Aguilera on it. It's a trance/electroindustrial synth, and its in short supply, so if you're a rocker looking for bleeps and bloops, buy a Fizmo or something. It feels and sounds like a Sequential Circuits Prophet 5 on crack. It's got a pretty decent velocity control section too.

It locks up sometimes. Less so on 4.02 than 4.01, but it still does. Access? Sometimes it goes dead. Rarely. But the nice thing is you only have to power cycle it, because it uses a EEPROM to store your settings.Sometimes it lets out these F*cking heinous CHIRP sounds like HAL9000 for no apparent reason, which is devastating to my nerves because sometimes I monitor through a pretty large PA system, and I'll be on IRC goofing off and it will scream at me, but I guess it just wants attention.

They rock, and fully support their product. Unlike most companies, they don't put total f*cking idiots in the line of fire to waste your time and protect theirs. They provide interesting links to new patches, groups, lists, etc. A company made up of clued people.

If it was stolen, I would track the bugger down and beat him to death with my defective Yamaha An1x. If I lost it, I would throw myself up against a wall, exchange some harsh words with me, and then punch me several times until I bled and cried. I've been doing electronic music for about 10, acoustic for about 20. I don't want to get into gear listing. I have less than some with bigger dicks, more than some with smaller dicks. And all I really need is my sampler and my Virus. I love the 16 part multitimbrality, the interface, the ease of use, the intuitive design, the efficient sysex. I hate that silly chirping noise, and the limitations on the delays. I also hate some of the presets. D&B Woover? Come on. And all analog snares must die. More kicks and wigged filtery basses!!!! Like the Microwave XT Ubass!

The kb was delivered with OS 4.01 installed. I updated to 4.02 after a
few days the main reason being a shortcut to changing the arpeggiator
tempo. The update process was easy to do and I encountered no problems.
The preset sounds are very good. The layout of the control knobs is very
logical and easy to use.
Although this is my first synth utilizing subtractive synthesis I had
no problems to adjust parameters to my liking thanks to the very well
written manual. There are examples for editing sounds which help you
understand the various parameters as well as give you a hands-on
approach to adjust/create sounds.
synthesis is wThis is mainly due to

Though I haven't fiddled

The Virus offers quite a lot of features. I suggest you go to Access'
website http://www.access-music.de to look at the Virus' impressive
feature lists or/and for a comparison of the Virus a/b/kb/indigo/rack
models. The keyboard feels nice although - being a piano player - it
took some time to adjust to the light feel of the keys.
Having aftertouch is nice, although a controller pedal fits my style
of playing better.

I really like the Virus sound. However, having never played a real
analogue synth I can't say how close the Virus comes to emulating one.
IMHO the Virus sounds great!

The kb feels solid. Until now I have experienced no OS hangs.
Also updating the flash EPROM was easy as can be.

Being able to install new OS updates via your sequencer and thereby
adding new features is great. As I am from Germany getting customer
support shouldn't be a problem.

Well, being able to take the kb to a gig is nice and was the main
reason for buying the kb. I really feel the Virus is a unique
instrument and can really add to a performance.
Some things that would be nice to have on the kb:
1. additional optical out (DAs sound very good, though)
2. WX socket for a Yamaha wind controller (I own one...)
3. I really like Clavia's pitch-stick idea on the Nordlead.
Anyways, having an extra nifty controller sure'd be nice (KAOSS pad,
D-beam)...

I would like to start off saying I had to wait several months for the virus kb, but in a nutshell, it was well worth the wait. Also, I have a Waldorf Q, and several people emailed curious to know how the 2 compare side by side, so I will try. Currently I have the OS 3.0. Simply put, this thing is probably the best sounding synth I have ever played. The presets are incredidle, though the fun lies within creating/altering sounds. The knobs and switches are intuitive for anyone who knows about VCOs, LFOs etc etc. The editing menus can be a little tricky at first, though after awhile, things fall into place. The manual isn't the greatest of manuals; I did like the Q manual a little better.

Features are extensive (won't repeat them, since most people have read about them), and the effects truelly sound really good; the distortion is quite admirable as are the other effects. The casing is wood and metal, and does not have the cheap budget look or feel to it. It is a very nice-looking synth. The keys feel nice, and are velocity and pressure sensitive. The arpeggiator is pretty easy to use, though I haven't messed with the sequencer too much yet.

This is what is important....how it sounds. Like I mentioned above, it is simply one of the best synths I have ever heard. No lie......The sounds are truelly amazing and addictive. It is everything you would want an anaolog synth to sound: fat basses, rich stringy pads, dirty distortion, etc etc etc. It pains me to say this, but yes, when it comes to sound, the virus slightly outdoes the Q. I don't know why (DSP engine??), but it does. It shouldn't because the Q out-performs the virus. It is good for any type of music, though the preset sounds seem to be more reminiscent of techno, industrial, groove.

Never had any problems with it yet.

Never used customer support. Though the upgrades seem to be easy. I am eagerly awaiting the OS 4 upgrade which should be out soon.

If it were stolen, I would definitely replace it. It is definitely worth the price paid. No question. As I said it is one of the most awesome sounding synths I have ever heard......you will never regret getting one. Overall, how does it compare with the Q? It is difficult because believe it or not, they certainly sound quite a bit different. As I had mentioned, the virus does sound a little better. The Q sounds are more complex and unusual as well as quite awesome (however, complex doesn't always equal better sounds). The Q is a little more solid construction and the knobs/rotaries are more extensive and easier to use.....the editing menus are a little easier on the Q, but that may be simply because I have had the Q a little longer and am more familiar with it. The other thing to realize, the Q is still not near its completion, so it is always changing via os upgrades. In a nutshell, the Q is a better synth, but the virus manages to somehow sound better. The virus is certainly cheaper than a Q (I paid $3200 for the 32 voice yellow Q). In addition to the virus an Q, I also have the following: Korg Trinity ProX, Korg MS 2000, Future Retro 777, Kork ER-1. I am also the proud new owner of a very old minimoog and am on the look out for an ARP Odyssey.