Access Music Virus kc

OK this review is my genuine opinion and its quite bizare:

*The truth is I wish it was easier to use. I cannot be arsed to scroll through f*@?ing menues. At this price why the f*&$ should I have to waste time....time is money to a guy like me. Oh yeah, if your under pressure to finish a project, its not as if you can phone a freind and ask them to help you with some programming ...because they wont know what the f*&% to do with it.
*The KNobs and buttons across the surface are superficial.......what Access needs to do is cover the whole bloody synth in knobs and buttons.
*Midi works great
*Manual is shite
*My grandmother wanked all over it

I dont want any more f*&@ing effects ok. I need the oscilators to sound more powerful.

It would have been better if the keys lit up as you play them...cos i keep on forgetting what keys i just pressed down.

Polyphony would be great......this damn keyboard is mono and its f*&$ing hard to do chords when you can only press one key down at a time.

Taking into account this synth has 3 main oscilators and one sub etc etc it still sounds remarkably light. IM disapointed with the overall thickness......I wish it could be like my oberheim obx-a or Jupiter8...I guess virtual/digital stuff cant do it yet.

What the Virus kc does it does very well and and has a pleasent sound. The Virus can do everything.....but since getting it I seem to rely on my JP8 and OBxa more than ever.

F*&$ing loud bangs and higher octave distortion and pops and f*&%ing god knows what. Yeah you can tell this bitch is pure software....what f*&^ing bollocks is this.

As far as new synths go its probaly one of the best built but is absolutly f*&$ing bollocks campared to my JP8 and oberheim OBXA.

Access I lover the f*&$ers.

Overall its the probably the best synth in the world today and is genuinely very good.

I ordered a KB 2 years ago, and had to return it immediately because of constant LOUD clicking and chirping noise -dangerous to your ears over a PA.
I waited 2 f***ing months for a replacement -which did exactly the same thing.
I then again waited for God knows how long for a third replacement -which simply didn't make no sound at all.

Well, that became an immediate a money-back issue.

So -when the KC hit the market, I of course immediately asked my local dealer if he knew the KC to have similar problems. He replied in the affirmative, saying that his own model in the store sometimes had these kinds of hiccups and that he had an uneasy feeling everytime he sold a Virus. And the best thing: The manufacturer ALSO doesn't know WHAT the hell the problem actually is!

I wouldn't touch it anymore -which is sad because I liked the sound of it very much.

Currently using Os 5.0.

Presets sound excellant and inspire you to tweak them further. I would prefer less menue work and dedicated knobs for ALL parameters, as is the case on my Jupiter 8.

Excellant features for a modern day synth. It nearly has everything you need. Very good implimentation.

VERY distinctive sounding filters + effects. To my ears it still sounds a little digital....this is not a bad attribute. Capable at producing beautiful pads, lovely strings and basses etc etc. An excellant all rounder.

I've experienced no crashes or hangs on mine. It seems to have integrated itself nicely into my studio.

Very good after sales support.

As far as modern synths go, this is without a doubt the best.

Using software 5.0. I have to say that the presets are quite inspiring. Taking one's time to go through them really shows off the C's power and potential. I was surprised by some of the patches, going into the C thinking it couldn't do some things (like scream like a Lead2), and was pleasantly mistaken. Editing patches is pretty easy once you get a hang of it. I come from mostly Roland gear so the learning curve was a bit steeper than normal, but worth it. Since I use a laptop to sequence, I have the PDF of the manual, which is fairly thorough. There is some information you would think should be in a particular section, but is not, and it is sometimes boggling to find it elsewhere. However, I have never been one to use manuals anyway, and the tutorials are much more useful IMHO.

32 voice poly. Keyboard action is in a class of its own. Like I said, I come from Roland (and Ensoniq) gear, and the KC's keyboard is miracle in comparison. Although my old VFXsd was fun to play, it never felt as professional and responsive as the KC's. The virus has a useful number of effects, although while in multi mode verb/delay are global, which is pretty limiting. This is ok as I tend to lay tracks down dry anyways, and verb/delay them up later. Global verb/delay will give you enough wetness to to arrange and be creative. No expansion capabilities. It could do with a few more voices. Vel/aftertouch keys, which respond wonderfully. No sequencer, which is why I use a laptop. Sequences isn't missed very much (tho I hark back to the old VFX days sometimes...) I would give it a 10 but for having already experienced some note stealing.

Nothing realistic like a sampler, but that's not what I got the KC for. It does everything else extremely well. Pads are lush and organic, and leads are biting and dirty. Best genres are really anything you might want to spice up with electronic tones. Pretty much any modern music. I wouldn't say the C is limited to any genre - have yet to see Shania Twain do a Crystal Methodisque rendition of a country song... Oh but the sounds. When the C was on its way, I had a good idea of the kinds of power it could muster. Be forewarned tho, that no demo song of any kind will give you a real idea of how good this board sounds. I've been sequencing for over 6 years and I have never encountered a board so 'ready' to do what you want it to do. If you are familiar with German engineering, a good example would a BMW 328i. It just has a performance and feel to it that is oustanding, and difficult to put a finger on, but entirely unique to itself. You have to sit down with a good set of headphones and listen to the C yourself to really feel it. (AKA go test drive a 328i). Headphone socket a bit noisy, but o well.

Couple hangups and glitches. Panic button doesn't work. Not sure what's going on. This is after software update. I'm thinking of reloading the sq to see if that will fix the problem.

Not yet, but will.

Indespensible, unmatched. Compliments my setup very well.