Access Virus C... difficult to program for a newbie?

[Benno]

I am relatively new to synths but have been digesting as much info as i can. Im not a complete novice but ive heard the Virus C is difficult to program for beginners due to its buried menus. Ive seen the the TI which , due to its graphic representation on the computer screen, seems to be the answer im looking for. What i need are visuals so i can see how a sound is formed. Am i right in thinking the TI is the answer? Did any of you guys dive straight into sound design by buying a Virus?

Any info will be greatly appreciated

Cheers guys

[Hollowcell]

Hi and welcome to the forum. :D

I would say the VC would be a little difficult for beginners, but not overly. It would take a bit more study than some of the other synths around is all.

The TI does have less menu navigation, but it also seems to have many more options.

The Virus would be a bit to get your head around at first, and having access to so many user patches would create a lazy attitude to creating your own if you were having trouble learning the basics.

[Benno]

Thanks for the welcome! I guess that its important to me to be able to learn while i play rather than simply twiddle knobs and the best way to do that is visually.The most complicated thing to me will be the mod matrix, having a visual idea of where everything is going will be great. What i want to do is sit with my theory books and fiddle but rather than just twiddle, see graphicallly whats happening to the sound.For some one whos beginning, i cant stress enough how much that will help me. Do you think im expecting too much or will it fulfill my needs, the easy edit page will be a godsend though i know that! :lol:

[Hollowcell]

I'm not really sure what to tell you about the graphical editors actually. I have never used any graphical editors except the one for my Alpha-Juno. Bit on the old school side for that I'm affraid. Basicly knob position and hearing spells it out for me.

I don't think you are expecting too much though. I think if you sit down and manage to get your head around something like a Virus TI, then you won't have any trouble with any other synths in the future (unless you want to work out a DX7 or something).

Good luck with it all though.

[waketek]

The sounddiver Virus software will give you the visuals you need to see everything you are changing on the C. Just double click on the patch you would like to edit and up comes the magical graphics that can help to see what is going on. Here is a link to an old beta version of what the software kind of looks like. The version that comes with the Virus C is much better but this is all I could find since I do not have the time to capture a screenshot of my setup now. http://www.gearjunkies.com/news_info.php?news_id=104

The TI has the same software interface to see everthing visually but even better.

[waketek]

here is a better screenshot of what the current version looks like

http://namm.harmony-central.com/WNAMM04/Content/Access/PR/SoundDiver-Virus-OS-9-lg.jpg

[Blank]

Im sorry to say it man but you are going to have to use your ear...read basic synthesis and learn the manual...after that start with one knob at a time...you have to do it the way you make music, audibly! I came into sound design not too long ago and if you have a willingness to learn you should pic it up in a few months, everything after that is just perfecting your skills...

peace
Blank

The only other thing I could think of is maybe getting a osilloscope or something of that sort but for more complex sounds it would be hard because im sure sounds will look similar to eachother...

[jasedee]

Ummm.....trying to work visually within an audio context is going to land you in trouble.......

Obviously, sound will conjure up images and colours, but for you to try and understand sound by working visually is the complete wrong way to do things. It will end up being your ultimate demise and will hold you back from greatness (OK maybe I am being a tad melodramatic here..)

I have to agree with Blank here.......forget visual, use your ears!!!!! And only then, can you close your eyes and "see" the sound

:)

P.S get a Virus, they are so damn cool

[Juho L]

Visualisation is good in filters. It helps visualising what is actually happening. Naturally all the programming is done by listening but at first a concrete visualisation is a good tool.

Virus is bloody easy to program and it has very few menus. All the stuff you need frequently is behind one button or knob and the menu structure is simple (no billion branch menu trees, just single branch menus). Just a quick manual reading and off you go.

[jasedee]

Visualisation is good in filters. It helps visualising what is actually happening.
I completely agree.....You need to have some sort of picture in mind, but relying on graphic editing isnt necessary with the Virus, and bad habits are hard to break sometimes