Making some patches with the Access Virus TI

[@prasannanag6195]

Just ordered one, can’t wait to mess around with it! Great video

[@Stadsjaap]

Awesome! You're literally the first person I see doing and discussing front panel programming. Everybody uses the VST... so annoying for hardware gearheads like me! Thanks mate! 👍

[@MIDERA]

Yeah, I actually think it’s super easy to use and edit. I use the vst for storing patches only. The virus ti is so good. They’re all great though. Even the virus B. You can kind of get pseudo supersaw waves with poly unison on the B. In fact, I’m not sure how it’s different than supersaw waves. Obviously it can’t do the wave table synthesis stuff or the analog filter types, but it’s still lovely :) I can’t believe how good the Virus is. I kind of wonder how amazing it was when the A and B came out, or even the TI! I hadn’t really been into synths back then.

[@Stadsjaap]

@@MIDERA Ain't that the truth! In terms of influence the Virus range is in 303 territory. Such great machines. One free sample pack of Virus sounds in the 2000s and I knew I had to own one one day. After that day came, it ended up being criminally underutilized because front panel programming seemed like such a chore. Like you said in the vid... maybe we get bored of the things we love. That hit hard. Thanks for making me fall in love with mine again. If you ever feel like making more front panel noodles, you'll definitely have at least one fan waiting.

[@MIDERA]

Cool. Maybe I will do that soon. Would you want a front panel noodling with no talking? Or would you want me to talk through a patch I make?

[@ReinoRankaisija]

Tbf making patches in the VST feels way more cumbersome to me. The only advantage it has, in my opinion, is when you need to select a specidic wave table or something from a long list. Very helpful when you can just see them.

[@wouterwiels4593]

@@MIDERA I just looked and listened again to this video, and, for me, this is the most valuable footage I know of with regards to hands on synthesis and sound design on the Virus TI. Please noodle ànd talk on the next patchscaping vid. Another fan waiting here! An above view angle with no talking could be interesting for another of your great musical improvisations, on the TI (or on the Matriarch for example) . I love the aesthetics of your actual improvisation videos (depth of field, colour and light), their great, but an above view would give more insight on your hands on modulations and... settings ;-) So with talking when patchscaping and without when improvising (I'd really love one with the above view on the Matriarch... supposedly you still have one...) Have a nice day!

[@wouterwiels4593]

Great to see you 'patchprovise'! Every now and then I check your website 'patches page' though, hoping you'd add a Midera Virus bank... But with these vid's you push me to go make patches from scratch myself! You make me keep on loving my TI ! (And made me getting a Spectralis as well... ;-) ) Thanks!

[@MIDERA]

ha, I don't make a patch bank because all of my patches are labeled: sdfhwer hwrkly hdhkl 35%#( Etc... I suppose I could fix them all up on the VST. What was I thinking! Oh - you got a Spectralis too!!!! NICE!!!!!!

[@chrishlavaty]

Staring at my TI Polar now. What a beautiful looking and sounding synth. Capable of so much. Built in effects, oscillators go everywhere, and the mod matrix! Definitely the one piece of synth hardware I would keep (with a digitakt or octatrack) if I liquidated the studio.

[@MIDERA]

Yeah, the polar is beautiful. I love this synth quite a bit! Definitely one of the best. It would have been cool if the 61 key version had knobs going all the way across. I’d have probably gotten that one instead. I do understand why they did it this way (easier to make multiple versions. Anyway, fantastic synth!

[@willswitchcraft]

great that you've done this video. (I get people requesting more in depth Virus 'How To' videos from me on a regular basis)

[@MIDERA]

Nice! I wouldn't say this is a 'how to' it's more like a 'hmm... what should I do?' sort of video, lolol.

[@Tom_G_Hausler]

Best Synth ever❤❤got the Virus C and TI Polar 😅😊

[@MIDERA]

Nice!

[@80Jay71]

My attention to the Virus came when I started listening to Feindflug. Now I have a Hydra and I still am unqualified. :)

[@MIDERA]

The virus is for sure my favorite still.

[@thedarkestrainbow]

Virus is for sure superior to Hydra in many ways. I say that as a Hydra owner.

[@80Jay71]

@@thedarkestrainbow I believe you. I had the Hydra for a few months only and never dived that deep into it. I've never played the Virus myself. Only heard different bands use it.

[@swanofnutella4734]

Midera convinced me to get a Virus last year*. ...I do not regret it. * Well sort of. In conversations in the comments of his videos, he got me looking into them. I made my own decision. I've since only scratch the surface, but I've used the Virus extensively in a large portion of my tracks. Mostly just doing subtle tweeks of existing presets and previous owner patches. Chill ambient or wild, rowdy aggressive stuff, the Virus always adds a pro finish that ties so much together. The ram banks were full. Only recently have I managed banks so I can explore making my own patches. I love it. I will always be grateful for Midera persuading me to look into the Virus. Cheers.

[@MIDERA]

Hey thanks! Yeah, I love my virus ti, still my favorite synth, even though I have a lot. I made a video tonight using the Virus KB, and I kind of think it might sound a little better, but the UI of it isn't as nice and I actually prefer the Polar where all the controls are right in front of you, as opposed to all the way to the left on the KB. But they're all good. Which virus did you get?

[@swanofnutella4734]

@@MIDERA TI2 desktop. A keyboard would be nice, but space is an issue, I already have the Hydra as my one keyboard, that I can barely play anyways (guitarist) So at this point if there IS a desktop version of anything I'm taking seriously, that's what I target. I would make an exception for a PEK, Fizmo, & others like that if they were within my grasp. I gotta say some of those Virus Keyboards are gorgeous. The Ti (1 or 2) Whiteout is probably the most beautiful synth in the entire world imho. That's a keyboard I would not kick out of bed. In relation to the Evolver brought up on that other thread: Even before the Virus I did acquire a desktop Evolver. I love it. Insane thing. Already on some tracks. But I have some issues to overcome there. Midi feedback in the clock receive mode I want to utilize. Might be a daw (reaper) specific issue. Improved hands on control and 3 more voices would be nice. Main computer took a dump on me last week. Storage drives are fine. But till I get it back from the shop, I'm not progressing even at my usual snail's pace. In any case, sorry once again for rambling. This video is great. They always are. Cheers.

[@MIDERA]

@@swanofnutella4734 Yeah, the Virus TI whiteout editions (and the Prophet 12 white editions) are just plain gorgeous. I think the Polar is amazing though too. Actually, I really love the look of the KB and it has the best keyboard I've ever used, it's better than the later editions too. Same specs, but not the same keybed. Fatar changed the TP/8s somewhere in 2005 or something. Anyway, a shame about the Evolver desktop. I have one too, but only use it alongside my PEK for a 5th voice, but stupid that they don't allow you to throw the output of the DE into the PEK. You can, but it's not the same as the rack version. That's just annoying. Cheers.

[@swanofnutella4734]

@@MIDERA The Polar is gorgeous too. There's even a rare desktop that follows the same color scheme that's to die for. I'm not generally a big fan of the small keyboard form factor, though now I've come to take the new TEO-5 under serious consideration as it ticks a ton of other boxes for me. A desktop version of that would be wonderful but I'm not holding my breath.

[@MIDERA]

@swanofnutella4734 I’ve never heard of the desktop white version. Sounds nice! I kind of wish they had some browns in the color, like the Snow has… maybe you’re actually thinking about the snow? Nope - I looked it up and found what you’re talking about. Looks amazing!

[@expandingknowledge8269]

In a lot of ways this synth's sound reminds me of the Kawai K5000, although different architecture. Sweet!

[@MIDERA]

Interesting... I've never used the K5000. I've heard it's got the best keybed out there (Same as the Virus B and Supernova II)

[@MrDaigoRiki]

I’ve got a virus C. Nice demo, thank you!

[@MIDERA]

Thanks! Virus C is great. Although they all are!

[@expandingknowledge8269]

Very nice powerful synth, but getting a little long in the tooth. I love making patch's, enjoyed your exploration my friend!👍👍

[@MIDERA]

I don't know why it's considered long in the tooth. I still think synths from the 70s are great.

[@happylittlesynth]

What exactly is wrong with it? It still sounds better than most on the market. Release dates don't matter. Plenty of people still use Minimoogs and it's old...so what?

[@henrymcintosh3]

I love my Virus Indigo!

[@MIDERA]

Is that the Virus C? Thanks!

[@henrymcintosh3]

@@MIDERA I believe it is like the C. Did you hear about the recent plug-in simulation of the Motorola DSP? By the Ususal Suspects. All virus synths. Just need the rom. Plugin is free. They did a really good job.

[@MIDERA]

I did hear. I guess you need to download the OS from online, but guess what Access just did? They took their site down!

[@AdamsOlympia]

I'm on the fence about getting either the TI Polar for $1600 or a new Iridium Core for the same amount. Leaning slightly more toward TI, which looks like it'd be more fun to program. I've never had access to any multitimbral synth -- so 16 simultaneous patches at once + 80 voices is insane to me. I probably wouldn't use my Deluge's built in synths again if I had this bad boy.

[@MIDERA]

Take this with a huge grain of salt. I'm massively biased towards the Virus TI Polar. I've had this thing for 12 years. I love it. I'd never heard of the Iridium Core until tonight. I've heard of the Iridium though. It never ever appealed to me. I don't know what it is about that stuff, but it just feels... not interesting, to me. I suppose if something appeals to you about it, it's worth it, but the Virus still holds up today and is a great sounding synth. The issue is that it's pretty old now for a digital synth. But with all the gear I own, it still ranks within the top 5, possibly my favorite, synthesizer I have owned. I don't really know what an Iridium would do for you, and although they have touchscreens - I don't have a single touchscreen synth in my studio because I absolutely don't find them interesting and don't want one. I would consider avoiding a synth with a touchscreen simply because it has one. Not sure I could be swayed otherwise. There's something about displays being for information only, and no need to rely on the screen for making adjustments. I'm sure you'll make the right decision - but please don't base your decision on my recommendation. I'd look around and see what other's suggest. Quick note though - 80 voices is 'max' like if you added no FX or any other tricks. You can easily cause that 80 to drop down to 6-8 voices if you add enough things. I don't know what limits voice count, but it might be easier than you think to do it. If you're totally needing better voice count, consider the TI2, although I've heard comparisons and it seems to not sound as good as the TI1.

[@AdamsOlympia]

@@MIDERA Thanks for your thoughtful advice!. I’ve been watching countless videos and browsing forums for months but this helped nudge me over the last little hump; So I *finally* took the plunge today on Ti2D. It was just $100 more than the TI1 Polar I had in my cart, so went with that and a Keystep Pro. Never been so excited for new music gear! Been gassing for over a decade for a Virus, so this is a long time coming. Iridium looks to be no where near as fun or engaging for live performance, and It won’t do anything that Pigments or Omnisphere can’t already do for me, but I’ve never heard a VST sound like Virus other than DSP56300’s free emulation-which can be janky and unstable in my experience. Iridium’s touchscreen only bothers me for being a common point of failure - one that could be very difficult to replace in 5+ years. Most of the functions have corresponding encoders though, so I don’t think it forces you to use it like an iPad synth. . I just didn’t have a lot of faith that Iridium would hold up after over a decade; while Virus are built like a tank to survive the rigors of touring; , tried and true rock solid tech.

[@AdamsOlympia]

@@MIDERA tbh, DM12 and Hydrasynth are the only HW polys I’ve owned till now..They’re not exactly oozing with character like the synths you’ve featured throughout your channel .. Perfectly fine for basics / bread and butter , or harsh, unapologetically digital sounds-but I’ve been looking for something with a little more personality for quite a while now. I don’t have hands on experience with a wide range of gear that you do, but I can tell that you put a great deal of consideration in your choices - and that you have great taste in sonics and UI. Partly why I took your advice without any extra sodium ;) I

[@MIDERA]

@@AdamsOlympia I played a DM12 in a store, and a Prophet 6. I found myself enjoying the DM12 more, although the P6 looked nicer. Haven't tried a Hydrasynth though, but it has always interested me!

[@GuidoGautsch]

I use the Deluge with the Polar and it's the best combo. You can sketch out a track on the go with the internal synth engine of the Delly and when you get home, you can just turn that track into a MIDI track using the mutlimode on the Virus and go to town. So much fun!

[@expandingknowledge8269]

Is your pitch bend mapped to LFO?

[@MIDERA]

Hmmmmm.... I guess I should check. That would be strange! I even reached out to Access years ago and they never mentioned it as a possibility.

[@MIDERA]

I checked. No. Gotta just open it up and take a look at some point!