Virus TI vs. TI2

[sdrr00]

interested in getting a virus TI desktop, and can get a TI for alot less than the TI2. are there any features that the TI2 has that the TI doesnt? also, how important is that extra 25% power? how often does the motherboard "overload" that this increase in power is worth it? anything else the TI2 can do that the regular TI cant?

im assuming the TI and TI2 have the same sound engine and sound exactly the same (right?).. im kinda new to synths so i want to get as much info as possible before i make the decision

[merlin]

A.f.a.I.k the sound capabilities of the ti 2 are exactly the same as the ti1, so the ti2 does not have extra functionality the ti1 lacks.
Whether this will remain so in the future I cannot tell, but given that the sound engines are the same, I assume the original TI will be catching up with all the updates for quite some time to come.

Is 25% extra worth it? Does the TI engine overload much? Well, It is fairly easy to overload the sound engine with just one patch: take two hypersaws+sub+osc 3, put unison on 8, add lot's of fx, set the amp release high and there you go... Any synth will drop out that way and the Virus is no exception, although the raw processing power is already a lot higher in the original TI than in most other synths you get at that price.

WIll you ever need that amount of power? Will you ever use it? My personal opinion is that you won't....In a typical piece of music there will be one or perhaps two sonic elements which really stand out in the mix and "drive" the track. The rest should just fit in without distracting.
I own the original TI and I never needed more horsepower, 3 cores instead of 2 or whatever. A lot depends on how you use it and whether you program the Virus in an intelligent way. Once you know some basic do' s and dont' s, the processing power of the Virus TI1 is already unlikely to dissapoint you.


M.

[cl516]

On my path to purchase the TI2 desktop, I had a first generation unit as a loaner for a few weeks. The processing power thing DOES make a difference, but to be fair, Access also didn't have the same updated operating systems at that time. So was it a matter of TI1 not having enough juice or was it because the OS was sketchy?

With the latest OS now on my TI2, I can make slightly more complicated patches without glitches, and layering in multi seems to work better too.

[Atziluth]

If you can have a Virus TI for the half of the price of an Virus TI2, then go for the Virus TI, and save cash for something else.

But if the difference is minimal like $ 200.- so go for the TI2.

The bigger the price difference is, the better to take the Virus TI.

[ShortBus]

To me the choice is more about the paintsceme and the wallet. Ive played both the units and I dont feel like I noticed enough of a difference in power. I do like the updated look but Ive never had second thoughts abought buying a TI polar instead of TI2 polar after having a TI desktop for 2 years.-besides you can get a ti1 polar or keyboard for the price of a ti2 desktop.

[Celestry]

When I got my TI2 Polar, it had only just been released, so prices were still rather high....

After exploring the forums, contemplating the opinions of others and my own needs, I found that the best option was to buy a TI Polar, not TI2 Polar, as the extra power would never be tapped by a hobbyist such as myself, and at a difference of £500, it was a simple matter. Fortunately for me, they had no stock of TI1, so I ended up with TI2. I was over the moon, dancing like a loon to the beat of sudden fortune! Alas, the 25% power increase remains untouched, yet the updated looks I do admire.

I would make the same choice again, given a £500 difference, though most unlikely to receive a TI2 Polar second time around.

[Nobl1v1on]

I have been into all manner of synths, and the TI 2 has bit over the original TI. Infact, it holds a tie for first place with my Elektron Monomachine MKII. The increased powerful cannot fully be appreciated until you are using it with a software sequencer. You then start to notice how the TI 2 can just give you more of what you want, voices, and more stability. cheers

[absynth]

who knows what access is up to next? i don´t think they are making a ti2 with more power just for fun, so i guess more future features will require more power

so for me it was very clear to buy a TI2

[drvenom]

I am getting ready to purchase a virus, and like a lot of people, I am torn between which one to get. Here are the prices that I can get them for...

Snow: $1100 US

TI2 Desktop: $1800 US

TI 61: $2000 ($1400 used) US

TI Polar: $2000 US

As amazing as the polar and the 61 keyboard virusus look, I am afraid I must rule them out. So it is between the snow and ti2 desktop. I don't know if the price difference between the snow and the ti2 desktop is worth it. $700 is not an insignificant amount and I am not rich. I don't need the knobs. I have a korg radias and hardly use the knobs. I am more of a preset junkie. I'm really worried about playing a chord or two on the snow and then having the sound poop out because I ran out of polyphony, but is this really that common? What do you guys suggest I buy?

[soulidstate]

Hi. I used to own a Snow before my TI2 desktop.There's only a slim chance of running our of voices in the Snow due to it being a 4 part multitimbral which means you can only use 4 patches maximum simultaneously.As a matter of fact, the chances of running our of voice is more likely to happen in a Desktop because it's an 80 voice-16 part while the Snow is a 50 voice-4 part engine. The only limitation the Snow has is it has got 4 knobs only which you said is not an issue to you but it was an issue to me that being the reason why I sold mine. If you don't have any issue with it being a 4-part engine synth then the answer is clear, go the SNOW.

[Timo]

As a matter of fact, the chances of running our of voice is more likely to happen in a Desktop because it's an 80 voice-16 part while the Snow is a 50 voice-4 part engine.

That's not true. The fact that the TI Desktop has >80 voices at its disposal and the Snow has >50 means literally just that - the TI desktop has considerably more voices available.

For example, if you only used 4 timbres on the TI Desktop (similar to what is available on the Snow) you will have more polyphony than the Snow, meaning you can play longer unison chords, longer drones, etc. for those same four timbres, than on the Snow.

Rarely, if ever, would you use 16 timbres on a TI. Not even close to that. You just don't need that many Virus parts in a song, unless you're using multiple part layering (several timbres playing the same part) and intelligently mixing them. It'd sound too busy, and you'd most likely want flavours from other synths, not just all Virus.

[drvenom]

That's not true. The fact that the TI Desktop has >80 voices at its disposal and the Snow has >50 means literally just that - the TI desktop has considerably more voices available.

For example, if you only used 4 timbres on the TI Desktop (similar to what is available on the Snow) you will have more polyphony than the Snow, meaning you can play longer unison chords, longer drones, etc. for those same four timbres, than on the Snow.

Rarely, if ever, would you use 16 timbres on a TI. Not even close to that. You just don't need that many Virus parts in a song, unless you're using multiple part layering (several timbres playing the same part) and intelligently mixing them. It'd sound too busy, and you'd most likely want flavours from other synths, not just all Virus.

I don't know too much about the technical side of synths. Do you think the extra power of the ti2 desktop over the snow will make enough of a difference to warrant $700 US. Like I said, I like the look of the knobs and I even wish that I could get the ti keyboard, but I don't think I will need the knobs since I don't program synths. I mainly just use the stock sounds to make tunes. I hardly touch the knobs on my korg radias. I just wan't to make sure that I will be able to play all of the patches released in the future. I would hate for a good sound bank to come out and then realize that I can't use it with the snow because I don't have enough processing power for the sound bank. Thank you in advance for taking the time to read my post.

[absynth]

many knobs are good, remember you can use the ti2 also as a midi controller

and everything you can alter without touching the mouse is more musically

as i said also think about future updates which could need more power

[Timo]

I just wan't to make sure that I will be able to play all of the patches released in the future. I would hate for a good sound bank to come out and then realize that I can't use it with the snow because I don't have enough processing power for the sound bank.

Hi, well firstly none of us here (except Marc) know what will happen to the Ti|1 and Ti|2 in the future, if or where they will split off from each other and possibly go their separate paths, or whether the Ti|2 was only ever meant to be a minor refresh version of the standard Ti|1 model and the two will remain forever compatible. We don't know. So we can't answer what will or will not happen in the future.

What we do know is that the Snow is currently 100% compatible with the Ti|1 and Ti|2.

but I don't think I will need the knobs since I don't program synths. I mainly just use the stock sounds to make tunes. I hardly touch the knobs on my korg radias.

I think you will stand to get a lot more for your money if you jump in and have a go at tweaking. Better still, start from scratch with the basics, changing oscillator waveforms and getting used to the filters, and then amp/filter ASDR envelopes, etc.. It's extremely rewarding when you start to get the hang of it.

If you're looking for a synthesis 101, see here: http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Underground/2288/2ansynth.htm

I don't know too much about the technical side of synths. Do you think the extra power of the ti2 desktop over the snow will make enough of a difference to warrant $700 US.

Well, the Snow has >50 voices, and the Ti|1 has >80. The Ti|2 is supposed to have 25% more than the Ti|1, which brings it up to >100 voices.

So, both Snow and Ti|2 currently sound identical to each other. The $700 is up to you as to whether double the polyphony, knobs and extra timbre usage would be beneficial to you.

[drvenom]

Thanks for your reply. I think I am going to wait until I see a ti 61 keyboard on ebay. The last two have sold for about $1400. I think that will be my best bet. Besides, I think the keyboard version looks really sexy!

[Paprika]

I would really buy Snow if it had TI2 power. You really never need all these knobs and buttons, you never gonna use them as midi controller for external hardware or vst. Nowadays any decent midi controller has double amount of pads/knobs/sliders. You can't reassign the knobs (or at least I don't know how. Well, for example I need Noise/Ring knob tweak Ring modulation without pressing SHIFT buttons). Is TI2 more powerful than TI1 - just I don't feel it. I easily run out of power with 4 mid-complexity patches. No supersaws or heavy effects, just delays and eq sometimes. But I do need these 16 parts just to keep them on tap.

[Atziluth]

I am also running out of power, so I have to reduce the complexity of my dream sound.

The TI2 is a bit more powerful 25% but maybe it would help you in some cases and you wouldn't run out of power.

I would say test the TI2 in a shop, so you can see where the limits are....

[sdrr00]

does computer power have anything to do with it since the virus is also software controlled? or is the power strictly limited to its on board memory? would a good computer and sequencer help ease the burden and allow for more memory usage?

[Sonis]

does computer power have anything to do with it since the virus is also software controlled? or is the power strictly limited to its on board memory? would a good computer and sequencer help ease the burden and allow for more memory usage?

No because the same amount of processing will still need to be done on the virus. A faster computer would only potentiall help the VC plugin run faster (which likely hardly uses any resources at all anyways, so there' probably be no noticeable gain), it wouldn't help increase your polyphony on the virus or anything.

The virus doesn't offload any of the processing it does on to the computer.

[sdrr00]

why how good ar TI's effects that they take up so much power? how typical is overloading the motherboard.. is it that common of a problem when making complex sounds?

[Atziluth]

The effects on the Virus are fantastic, so rich and deep, really worth. So it's clear that it's consuming power.

It 's not a real probelm you just have to know where the limits are. And the virus indicates you the patch complexity so it's a good marker to the possibilities which are left.

[sdrr00]

on average how many affects can you apply before it starts eat up too much? im getting the feeling that the virus is pretty limited in complex synthesis

is the problem only when building one sound, or does it reach the limits when you have more than 1 virus track in a song? if you were to only use 1 virus track in a song, how limited would that one sound be?

because if the problem arrises only from multiple instances of the virus, then that could be overcome by bouncing each track to wav no?

[sniperdude]

I just bought a snow... its a nice synth. Just a pain in the ass to get working. I have Vista 64 bit, so I had to setup a dualboot XP32 on my current i7 rig which sucks.

So if you have 64 bit, be leary of Viruses in general. I like what I hear though. It's like a hardware version of Refx Nexus but WAY better.

[Atziluth]

@ sdrr00

No, the virus is not limited, it's a too powerful synth. The possibilites are endless with the Virus and I had never a better synth than the virus.

If you listen to the patches (presets) it's just amazing how it's sounds, you nearly don't have to do anything, you can take them right out of the box.

And those sounds are already complex and rich, so there are complex sounds in there, so why couldn't you do this as well?

If you use one virus track so there will be no problem, also komplex patches and analog filter emulation will work.
If you use 10 tracks so there will be drop outs (if you use complex patches). So here you have to deal and maybe to bounce some tracks, to get lower power consuming.

So it's really depending on the manner you use your virus.

Keep in mind it's a synthesizer and not a moonlanding maschine and the sounds as well the effects are calculated directly in the maschine live, when you press a key.

As I said not a real problem.... and still love the virus.

[gsilbers]

someone mentioned that the TI2 offered more stability.. is that true?

i have the TI1 61.. and never maxed it out. so i dont get the 25% more power reference, so maybe its related to plugin performance in the DAW and better arp sync etc??


id like to swap my dektop 61 ti1 for a desktop for space reasons and i am asking for the ti2 desktop as the price would be more fair, but dont know much about the "under the hood" of it.

if its more stable then that would suck for who ever is trading with me.

[Roby31]

nope, the "stability" part is pure speculation on whether the improved performances can cause less troubles to the voice allocation engine (as in causing less glitches, less hang notes and stuff).

the 25% more power is due to the fact the DSPs have been changed. these are slightly faster (probably clocked a little faster and some tweaks by motorola, imho) and so provide that little boost in expected polyphony