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Access Virus B Desktop/Keyboard Price Paid: £405 (including delivery) for the desktop model on ebay. the virus B engine series of synths has been discontinued and now exists as the Access Virus Classic Desktop (which retails for £667.99). As such i would always recommend searching for a 2nd hand Virus B in good condition over a Virus Classic. Year Manufactured: 2002 Year Purchased: 2004 (Early December) Specs: quoted from http://www.accessmusic.de/specifications.php4?product=virusb: 32 knobs 62 LEDs Wooden side panels External power supply Dimensions: 470 x 185 x 75 mm weight net. = 2.85, weight incl. packaging = 4.6 kg -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 24 Voices/ 16 way multi mode 1024 programs [256 User / 768 ROM / 128 Multi] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4 oscillators per voice. 3 main plus one sub [when all oscillators are in use, polyphony may decrease, but not by more than 6 voices.] Sawtooth, variable pulse, sine, triangle + 62 additional spectral waves FM [Frequency modulation] for the Oscillators with external Input signals -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2 fully independent filters each user selectable as lowpass, highpass, bandpass or bandreject 4 filter routings in serial/parallel configurations up to 6 poles [36 dB] per voice -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3 LFOs [68 LFO shapes] Envelope operating mode and LFO- tempo-sync to midi clock 2 ADSTR envelopes [T=Time] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16 independent arpeggiators with numerous arpeggiator patterns and real time parameter access/modulation including swing & note length. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 82 simultaneous DSP effects like: Reverb [w. pre-delay sync to MIDI-clock] Retro Phaser [6-stage stereo phaser with 24 filter-poles Multiple independent distortion/saturation/Lo-fi FX per voice, including multiple distortion/shaper characteristics and variable gain. Chorus/Flanger with rate sync to midi tempo Simple or "Groove" Delay [preset polyrhythmic patterns] 32-band advanced vocoder Ring Modulator Analog Boost for true vintage tonal characteristics -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Complex modulation matrix with 3 source & 6 destination slots Complete parameter control via MIDI with "Adaptive Control Smoothing" for ultra soft parameter changes and no zipper noise Full 24-bit processing; 24 bit D/A, 18 bit A/D 6 individual high quality outputs 2 audio inputs to process your signals through synth filters, envelopes, FX, vocoder, FM, ring modulator, and more Flexible "auxiliary" model of internal audio routing for processing/reprocessing internal/external signals through the synth engine and and effects of other voices True Surround sound capabilities Free SoundDiver Virus editor/librarian for Windows™ and MacOS™ Easy operating system updates via MIDI Sound: 5/5. arguably the defining characteristic of the instrument, i find it difficult to give a perfect score for this because the characteristic sound of the virus isnt necessarily to everyone's tastes. it does however sound fantastic and the filter alone will blow you away. first off though, its not as bright as most virtual analogue synthesizers such as the Clavia Nord Lead 2. the Virus is darker and alot bassier (partly due to the sub oscillator in action). it can do most analogue type pads, leads, anything really. it can make beautiful sounds as well as aggressive sounds. but there is always a kind of darkness to it, or it can be made to turn dark and aggressive very easily owing to the FM capabilities of the synth (more of which later). i think this is due to the sheer weight of bass behind each note. the virus comes into its own with the sub oscillator on. it makes everything so god drat fat. for example, you can have this delicate plucked lead. on its own it may even sound a bit cheesy. a bit weak and feeble. with the sub osc on it would have this massive weight of bass behind it and it would sound much more...hmmm...ominous. its very subtle and very hard to explain. nonetheless if you like that kind of dark, restrained aggression - you will really like the virus sound. if not. maybe another synth is for you. Instrument Quality: 4/5. overall its built like a tank and it lasts. the rotaries are solid and have a rubber coating. they have just the right amount of resistance so that they feel very satisfying in operation. the chasis is metal and it can take alot of hammering. the chipboard side panels are a bit hollow though and they dent fairly easily so watch out when you are carrying it around not to bump it into things. the buttons are not quite so well built. they are plastic and they feel...well...plasticky but not in a good way. they feel very light to the touch and on mine of them has a tendancy to become very sticky at times. the OS is very stable too and ive never had it crash or glitch on me. overall though ive seen these things take a *battering* and they do last. as long as you have no aversion to cosmetically loving it up, you can gig with it and you can reasonably expect it not to bug out on you. Playbility: 4/5. ive used both the keyboard and desktop versions but i own the desktop. the keyboard version has 61 semi weighted keys that are velocity sensitive with aftertouch. as most virtual analogue keyboards go its very good. i would say better than the Novation Supernova II keyboard. it is far and away better than the Clavia Nord Lead 2 keyboard which feels flimsy in comparison and considering it is also semi weighted. note: the Virus Indigo keyboard is not the same the Virus kB keyboard. although i havent used an Indigo, the general consensus on the unofficial virus forum is that it is not as good in terms of action. as for the synth itself in operation, it differs from certain conventional instruments in the sense that it doesnt immediately flatter the player as some guitars are liable to do with a guitarist. do not expect it to be this godlike instrument that you can replace all your old synths with. doesnt work like that. it is also quite difficult to program. it is certainly more difficult to program than any virtual analogue softsynth ive used and its harder to program than a Nord Lead 2X. by quite a bit. that said, the Virus does have ALOT of modulation options so this is to be expected really. you will have to deal with saturation curves on the filter. the LFO can be routed any way you want. you can set it to modulate pretty much any other variable on the Virus. you can set the order in which each filter works, the dB slope of each filter and the way in which it is routed (in series or parallel). when you first get it you may be a bit overwhelmed. i definitely was. read the manual and it will seriously help alot although the manual is huge and is a bit abstract in places. another thing about the Virus that you must be aware of is that the way in which you program it. alot of the variables on the virus control another variable and affect its action which may also control another variable. this makes the action of one part of the synth affect the way in which another part functions. it is very easy to lose your bearing and if you build 1 sound, forget to store it and try to rebuild it from memory, it will very likely sound quite different. sometimes radically so. for example, the virus has 2 filters. the second filter determines the action and range of the first filter cutoff. it can be modulated by the filter envelope whose amount is controllable via the env amount rotary on the first filter. additionally, the entire filter 1 or filter 2 or the filter resonance can be modulated by the second LFO. similarly if you enable the synth's FM capabilities, the second oscillator controls the frequency of the first. and the whole oscillator section (pitch, pulse width etc) can be modulated by the LFO. what does this mean then? when i first got my Virus and i started programming, nearly every patch i made eventually turned into a bassy, sludgy distorted mess. at every point you have to be aware that what you are doing may effect something else or the action of something else on the control surface. you cant just dive in and not think about what you are doing or you will end up with a poo poo patch. this is difficult at first but it gets easier with time, patience and practice. i would not consider it particularly user friendly, even for those who are versed in the subtle art of subtractive synthesis and you wont get the good stuff out of it right away. that said, it is immense fun to play because of its expressiveness. the filter is the god drat best filter ive ever used. you will rinse this filter like you have never rinsed anything in your life. its so expressive and so smooth. i dont need to add anything more than that really - no other VA synth has a filter like this that ive used. nobody has yet been able to replicate the design of it either (hence why all software and hardware virus emulations have failed). it truly is access's dirty little secret  i love it.the synth's FM capabilities. the virus is fairly dark but it can get really aggressive with FM or it can become harmonic, bell like and serene (always with that weight of bassy warmth to it ready to explode). if you sync both oscillators with FM on, you get typical FM bell like strata. if you turn the sync off and tune the first oscillator out the virus will literally scream. this is another expressive side of it that i like. with the filter cutoff i have made a variety of...what i can only describe as dying machine noises. electronic screams. whipping noise. ill see if i can upload some samples to show you what i mean. when the virus goes full on. its gigantic. and very aggressive. the rotary encoders are very responsive and they *never* step. i gave this a 4 because of the inherant difficulty in coming to terms with this peice of kit. once you 'get it' its one of the most fun, expressive synths ive ever used. Overall Value: 4/5. why did i buy a Virus B instead of any other Virus model? i bought one because Virus Cs cost alot more. i got my desktop model from ebay about 4 months ago for £405 including delivery. now i still see C models on ebay going over £650 not including delivery for the desktop model. the difference between the C model and B model is minimal and in my humble opinion didnt justify the extra cost. owing to the characteristic sound i would probably have bought this anyway regardless of its feature set which is larger than most VAs (there are problems with this which i will explain below). Additional Notes: Regarding the Virus C model and how it compares with the Virus B model despite the extra £250. the Virus C has 32 note polyphony. B has 24 note poly. the C has a 3 band EQ which the B does not. it also has a new filter type (moog emulation filter) which the B model does not. the C layout is also redesigned slightly so more controls are actually on the control surface as opposed to being in submenus which you have to flick through on the B model. amongst these layout changes, the entire effects section on the C is now on the control surface (not in a menu). the 3rd oscillator is given a rotary (whereas the 3rd osc on the B is in a submenu). the virus classic is exactly the same as a B model except it has some different presets and its a different colour and yet it costs around the same brand new as an excellent condition 2nd hand C model. the extra features you get i do not consider worth the extra £250 extra you have to spend on average. ill explain. the virus is 16 parts multitimbral. that is, you can play 16 parts from the virus simultaneously. this sounds great in theory but when you do get a virus you will find that its multitimbrality is next to useless. with unison enabled you will only be able to get about 3 parts playing simultaneously before you hit the polyphony limit on both B or C models. currently im striking single patches (normally pads with unison on) that use up all 24 notes of poly on just 1 single part. another 8 voices is useful but if i had it, id burn it up so quickly its not even funny. secondly, there are not enough audio outputs on the virus to send more than 3 stereo parts to your host! you can send multiple parts on a single audio out but it sounds truly hosed up - each part doesnt sync correctly and some notes dont trigger correctly. note that the virus TI has only 2 audio outs - im not sure why they opted to do this. the 3 band EQ you get on the C is nothing you cannot do with post processing in your host. for example, ill wire my B through fruity's internal mixer and run a 7 band fruity EQ on it, or a parametric EQ. the moog filter doesnt actually sound like a moog filter. it does however sound good but again, i can find a better use for £250! the part i like most about the C that isnt on the B is the revised control surface. it makes effecting things on the Virus easier and more natural. the modulation slots are on the work surface too. i hate flicking through submenus. the B model forces you to flick through the submenus if you use its effects. i think most of the virus effects suck anyway so i dont use them much. the delay is ok but the delay time is far too short! only 0.5 seconds. the reverb is a bit muddy though. the phaser is very limited in its application and it has limited programmability owing to the fact its hidden in a submenu. the distortion curves are very good though. overall, i tend to use more VST effects on my virus parts as opposed to using the internal effects except for distortion. also, in multimode you cannot have delay/reverb per part. you can only apply delay/reverb to all parts playing. its called a global effect and is a limitation of both the B and C but not the TI. this just makes multi mode even more pointless than it already is. also, in fl studio you may get MIDI sync issues like i do. therefore, you may need to change your work habits somewhat to accommodate this peice of kit. ok. right about now you are thinking - this sounds really negative. and you are right. theres alot of stuff about the virus that i just think 'why?!' but...theres something about it. i cant explain it. its subtle too. but it makes everything worthwhile. when i first got it i expected it to be this supersynth that it wasnt. it failed to live up to my expectations on first impressions but i now acknowledge my expections were too high. however, the more you dive in and program it the more you get a feel for its expressiveness and character. you can never really get away from the brooding, dark kind of quality that it gives to all its sounds. at times you can bring all the aggression out with FM, hard distortion and a hard saturation curve on the filter whilst tuning the oscillators out. when its full on, its an evil little monster. but for most applications its dark quality is always there but is hidden or restrained. its a very subtle and interesting and unique quality which i havent heard anywhere else. despite its flaws this synth has character and thats why i keep it. i do want a Nord Lead. i want one BAAAAD. but im skint. and no way am i gonna sell my Virus B to get one - i would instantly regret it. its the most expressive synth ive ever used. dont expect to make supersaws on it. Virus supersaw type sounds dont sound like supersaws (although it sounds beautiful anyway, the virus can make trance type sounds very well but its not like Roland jp80X0 trance - its different. a little bit darker. a little bit more forlorn. and more 'pluck' oriented with a fuzzier top end. it doesnt sound as solid as the JP for that specific purpose.) that said there are certain things the Virus is capable of that no other synth can do exactly, a good example of which is lab4's evilution cd which makes extensive use of the virus in full on mode. overall the Virus B represented to me the best value for money whilst netting me the most virus sound for my cash. ive played on a Virus kC and it sounded almost identical to my Virus B. which is why i chose to go with the B and spend the extra money elsewhere. compared to the B i still think the C is overpriced for what you get. if you have the cash and dont have anywhere else to spend the extra £250 by all means go for the C - it is a Virus B exactly with bells and whistles on top. also, there are more Bs selling on ebay in top condition than there are Cs so they are more competitively priced. lastly - try it out before you buy it. theres alot of stuff about it which is loving annoying! i can understand why people sell them on, having started to program it and become disillusioned with the inherant problems of hardware and the little niggles that are just part of the virus as well as the difficulty in getting the *really* good stuff out of it. i only realised how convenient software was until i bought this synth put it that way. i now cherish convenience. i hope this review helps any prospective buyers. P.S. access tech support rules. the virus forum rules. all the problems i had - they didnt give a poo poo that it was second hand and they replied to most of my tech support emails the same day. everyone was friendly and helpful and overall alot of people made me feel like i made the right purchase. and i feel i did too. WanderingKid fucked around with this message at 18:57 on Mar 3, 2005 |
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Mar 3, 2005 18:44
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