And get this: The TI can be used as a control surface as well as a MIDI and audio interface, so it could easily serve as the “hub” of your studio. Unfortunately, at operating system 1.0.5 (as of this writing), there are major bugs that cripple the TI in key areas. On the flip side, there’s still plenty to love about this German import.
Overview
There are three models in the Virus TI line — a 61-note keyboard, a 37-note keyboard, and a tabletop unit, which can be rackmounted. (Early units reportedly had misaligned screw holes, but Access indicates that those available as you read this have new front panels that do align properly.)
We received the 37-note “Polar” model, so named for its frost-white future-retro styling.
Structurally, the Polar is a well-built instrument with surprising weight. Knobs feel solid, buttons firm, and the keys and keybed are noticeably improved from earlier versions. Being a former owner of the Virus Indigo (predecessor to the Polar), I immediately felt the difference in the keyboard action. There’s a certain satisfaction when digging into the keybed to engage aftertouch, and the keys themselves have a nice spring without feeling cheap.
Access isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel with the TI series. Rather, they’re building on the foundation of their original Virus line — in fact, a number of “best of” presets from past Viruses are included in the TI. Thanks to a new dual-DSP engine, though, the TI offers many more factory patches (512 RAM, 2,048 ROM), more than double the polyphony (80 voices under “normal” conditions), and up to 129 simultaneous effects.
All models feature six outputs and two inputs (all balanced 1/4"), as well as S/PDIF in and out, and a USB port for computer connection. In keeping with the TI’s “hardware meets computer software” design, the TI has a sleep mode instead of an off switch. Press the + and – transposition buttons simultaneously to go to sleep. When sleeping, the TI is still powered up, just not active. Personally, I’d rather have a switch. There’s just something disconcerting about relying on a combination of button presses to sleep/wake up the synth.
The Virus TI is perfectly happy to exist as a stand-alone hardware synth, but thanks to a piece of software called Virus Control, it’s possible to bring nearly every aspect of the TI into the virtual studio world as well. Essentially, Virus Control is a VST and AU compatible synth — but instead of using the host computer’s DSP, sounds and effects are generated using the TI’s DSP. Both hardware and software integrate with one another almost seamlessly. For example, if you twiddle the filter cutoff knob on the TI’s front panel, the software immediately reflects your moves.
Even cooler, you can choose to monitor the Virus through the host’s audio engine, which means you can process the TI’s sounds using all of your plug-ins and never have to patch an analog cable from the Virus to your audio hardware. Think about that: Audio bounces, parameter automation, EQing — everything you’d normally do with a soft synth, you can do with the TI — but the synth itself doesn’t tax your CPU, and the signal path stays within your host’s mixer. If you’re thinking this redefines the term “streamlined workflow,” you’re right on the mark.
Audio can only be routed from the Virus into a host, however, not the other way. You won’t be able to bus, say, a guitar track from Logic to the Virus effects engine unless you physically patch an output from your audio interface into the TI’s inputs.
Access claims the TI has sample-accurate timing, and this is true for playback of MIDI data, but not in the case of playing in real time. There’s considerable latency between triggering a key and actually hearing sound, even with very low sample buffer settings (256). Access says this is due to the need for the audio to travel in both directions in the TI, rather than in only one direction with a traditional plug-in/interface setup.
One workaround I discovered is to monitor through the TI’s analog outputs when recording parts into the sequencer. This way you avoid the latency of streaming the TI’s audio through the host software. After you’ve recorded a part, simply switch over to USB monitoring and add whatever plug-in effects you’d like.
Synthesis Engine Enhancements
From the B model on, the Virus has always featured three oscillators (plus sub and noise), with the ability to frequency-modulate osc 2 with osc 1’s waveform.
In other words, fairly standard subtractive-style synthesis, albeit with an incredible array of modulation options and oscillator waveforms.
Two new oscillator modes — Hypersaw and Table — have made their way into the TI. Table adds 72 wavetables to the existing 64 “classic” osc waveforms. These are descriptively named (e.g., E-Chime, Waterphone, Clusters, Robot Wars), giving you a rough idea of each wavetable’s sonic characteristics. It’s possible to sweep through the wavetables using an LFO tied to the table’s index parameter, which produces familiar PPG Wave-like textures.
The Table osc model is impressively exploited in the factory presets. There’s no shortage of metallic, clangorous pads, leads, and sound effects. You can hear some examples online at www.keyboardmag.com and at Access’s own website (www.access-music.de). It’s also possible to approximate wave sequence-type sounds by tying a S&H LFO to an oscillator’s wave select parameter.
In Hypersaw mode, each oscillator can employ up to nine sawtooth waveforms to produce monstrous tones. On top of this, you can still engage Unison mode to thicken things even more. Want fat bass and sky-wide pads? Look no further. And there’s no need to worry about polyphony issues — CPU-wise, one Hypersaw voice is roughly equivalent to one voice in Classic osc mode.
In Use
Here’s the deal: I’m a Virus junkie. I have been since its second generation (Virus B), which included the venerable Indigo. So, a bigger, badder Virus with a software editor/synth engine, a programmable arpeggiator, and loads more sounds? Yeah, I dug it. In fact, I used it on several music projects during the course of the review with great results.
This synth really arouses my creativity. Provokes it, even. That said, I think the TI was released prematurely.
As a stand-alone synth (i.e., not interfacing with a computer at all), the TI worked flawlessly. The problems I experienced were all seemingly related to its audio drivers or the Virus Control software.
At the risk of turning my “In Use” section into a list of bugs, here are just some of the problems I ran into:
Random audio crackling and popping, a sudden loss of audio output through Virus Control, the fix for which was to reinstall my audio hardware’s drivers (this happened at least five times), patches copied from the preset banks to the user bank being corrupted somehow (the LFO settings were wrong), and patch randomization causing horrible digital clipping on the left output channel. Headaches? You bet. I should also mention that Remote mode, which lets you use the TI as a control surface, wasn’t implemented at the time of this review.
There is hope, though. During the review Access released three software updates, each making performance more stable and/or correcting known bugs.
Conclusions
I have to applaud Access for taking on the job of bridging the divide between hardware and software synths in the way they have with the Virus TI. No other synth I’ve worked with offers the kind of resistance-free operation that makes the TI more of a creative partner than just another tool in my studio arsenal. Sure, there are still kinks to be worked out, and even features to implement. I’m optimistic that Access will provide timely updates, but only time will tell.
So is it worth plunking down a couple grand? If you’re looking for an analog modeling synth with a staggering amount of programmability and character, I’d say absolutely. Even with all of its 1.0 warts, the Virus TI is a wicked little beast that’s sure to bring smiles to even the most hardened synth players.