Access Virus Version C Desktop Synth

32 knobs. 35 buttons. 32-voice polyphony.

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Access Virus Version C Desktop Synth reviews

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26 People rated this product : * * * * * * * * * * 9 out of 10

 

5 People wrote reviews

Read all Access Virus Version C Desktop Synth reviews...
* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10

"Superb synth! worth every penny!"

Feature:
One previous reviewer (NO EXPERT) said that you cannot run delay and reverb at the same time. This person hasn't read his manual and is just frustrated. There is a thing called 'rerouting signals' on the Virus , you can reroute a signal back into the loop and have both delay and reverb at the same time! 16 multitimbrality will allow you to use the virus as a standalone electronic musician's synth! You could run pads, leads, basses, sfx at the same time with an external midi sequencer Compared to Nord Lead III, the Virus C is much better, because NLIII is only 4 multi-timbral); VC has onboard effects processors with 98 simultaneous effects, while NLIII has absolutely no effects processor! Virus C has excellent filters, esp the new OS has Moog emulation filter: simply the best digital filters on the market. Virus C has 32 note polyphony vs the 20 note on NLIII.

Quality:
West German quality.

Value:
As I mentioned, this product has more features than NLIII (except for sinus modulation), and is still cheaper. With NLIII, you have to spend additional$$$ for an outboard fx processor, maybe an additional NLIII (in order to get even 8 multi-timbrality).

Desirability:
Excellent build quality and looks. With its beautiful dark color and red backlit LED display, it looks really pretty. The Virus Indigo looks prettier because of blue LEDs, but this is not bad either! A Must have in any studio! (both for the sound and looks)

Sound:
Awesome, the sounds can be really mellow, or really dark and scary screams can be created! You can also create drum kits - just add a little noise to the oscillators. I really dig the sounds!

Support:
Excellent support compared to some Japanese brands like Yamaha and Roland. They reply your emails within 24 hours.

Overall:
If this is stolen, I will catch the burglar and strip off his pants and make him walk naked barefoot during a hail storm! It won't happen because I sleep with my baby on my side (I meant the Virus, not my wife!)

Submitted: 9/11/2004

Style of Music: Trance


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* * * * * * * * * * 10 out of 10

"Buy one, read the manual, and be prepared to lock yourself away for a few weeks!"

Feature:
Loads of modulation possibilities and everything else. People who say 'it can't do this etc' generally haven't read the manual properly. See above - you can have delay and reverb at the same time by choosing rev+feedback in the delay/reverb effects menu.

Quality:
Very well built, looks very good, its looks make you want to use it.

Value:
It can do a vast range of sounds, and everytime I try and do a sound on it, I realise more about it, and think what a good deal it was.

Desirability:
It's cool!

Sound:
The best VA if you want a certain sound. For example the nord lead is slightly 'sweeter' with certain sounds, but the virus is excessively musical and lively, and can do industrial style distorted sounds very well.

Support:
Excellent.

Overall:
Never sell it.

Submitted: 8/12/2003

Style of Music: Anything apart from garage


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About This Product!
Description
Docs, Multimedia
Equally comfortable in professional studios or beside a home computer, as well suited to clubs and concerts as it is to museum soundtracks, the Virus C Desktop Synth is heir to a legendary line of predecessors, and it inherits their incredible musical traditions with flying colors.

Speaking of colors, the stunning new red display will captivate you every time, and we haven't even gotten to the best parts of the instrument yet... A quintessentially vintage modern synthesizer, the stepped-up C offers an unfathomably vast array of sonic possibilities: 32-note polyphony, 4 oscillators, 2 filters, 3 LFOs, an expanded mod matrix with 6 source and 9 destination slots, 98 effects, and more! Not just a simulation of circuits, this instrument paints a stunning replica of the very detailed big picture which gives analog and acoustic instruments their "living" sound.

And it's as user-friendly as you want a synth to be. We know that no artist wants their tools to demand more attention than the music itself, so we rebuilt the Virus to bring inspiration to your fingertips. It unlocks creative freedom with improved access to the features you need, and makes music so freely you don't even need to read a manual. Let your imagination run wild with powerful undo/redo. If you're used to synths which always leave you wanting just a little more you're in for a fantastic surprise: it's as if the Virus reads your musical DNA to replicate your wildest electronic dreams.

With an unprecedented degree of synth power behind it, and the evolution of Access music in front of it, the Virus will forever shine in your musical universe as brightly as it does in Access'. Other virtual analog synths can't touch it- they proved that with the "a" and the "b"... What then, could be better than Virus but more Virus

Features:
32 knobs

35 buttons

69 LEDs

32-voice polyphony with 16-part multi-timbral capability

1024 programs (256 User / 768 ROM / 128 Multi)

Undo/Redo/Random features to defeat 'oops' and "writer's block"

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] with or without external Input signals

2 filters selectable as lowpass, highpass, bandpass or bandreject

4 filter configurations (serial/ parallel) for up to 6 poles [36 dB]

3 LFOs with 68 LFO shapes

Loop or Envelope LFO modes with midi clock sync

2 ADSTR envelopes [T=Time]

16 independent arpeggiators with numerous arpeggiator patterns and real time parameter access/modulation including swing & note length.

98 simultaneous DSP effects:
Reverb [w. pre-delay sync to MIDI-clock]
3-Band EQ per program/part [low/hi shelf + parametric mid]
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

2 Soft Knobs, individually assignable per program

Internal master clock that drives all arpeggiators, LFOs and delay times; automatic sync to external MIDI clock

Advanced Modulation Matrix with 6 source and 9 destination slots.

Complete control via MIDI (CC/Polypressure/Sysex) with "Adaptive Control Smoothing" for ultra soft parameter changes and no zippering.

MIDI Tempo sync capabilities for virtually every time-based parameter

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

Surround sound capabilities

Free SoundDiver Virus editor/librarian for Windows and MacOS

Easy operating system updates via MIDI

Wooden side panels

External power supply

Technical Info

Dimensions: 470 x 185 x 75 mm

Weight: 2.85 kg, 4.6 kg with packaging
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