Two defective Ti2 keyboards in a row

[Jeff Gibbs]

Hi everyone, let me say first I love how my new Virus's Ti2 sounds and perform, BUT I got a defective unit from Sweetwater that had also looked like it had been a return since everything had already been opened.
Now my second unit has what Access says also are hardware issues--when the unit is resting the lowest C always comes on and stays on by itself, in addition to other frequent glitches. VERY disappointing and a time consuming pain in the arse with dozens of emails, tests, boxing and unboxing.
Trying to decide whether to bail on the whole Virus thing or maybe it's just random bad luck or maybe I should try a different vendor?

[Barnelby]

Well if it looked like the first had already been opened I would question the integrity of sweetwater before I questioned the virus. If I were you I'd treat the situation like a bad meal in a fancy restaurant. Demand another one ASAP, and if you're lucky in this case maybe it could come with a free side of DSI mopho or something like that :p

[MBTC]

Did they sell you an open box unit without describing it as such?

[Nobl1v1on]

I have dealt with sweetwater .... tell em the deal, I am sure they will rectify ...

Open box or not it is supposed to be FULLY functional

lars

[Jeff Gibbs]

Yes Sweetwater replaced the first one, and no they never told me it had been an open box. Now the second unit has a serious stuck note issue--comes on even if no one is playing it, and lots times when I am. Just weird. I love how the virus sounds, just wondered if anyone had any insight into why two bad units came along--maybe I am the only one to have experienced this. I do film scores and the Virus sounds sit very well in a mix. But I am little nervous relying on something that has been more trouble so far than all my other keyboards put together. Hopefully the third time will be the charm!

[suzzymackenzie]

when the unit is resting the lowest C always comes on and stays on by itself

Limiting, but you could still score a remake of 'Voyage to the Bottom of the C' ;)

Good luck with unit #3

Suzzy

[Jeff Gibbs]

Hahaha nice to see wit alive. Glad to see no one else has had this level of trouble apparently. If my new Virus is ill it will officially be considered an epidemic.

[Jeff Gibbs]

Just received the second replacement from Sweetwater, let's hope this one is flawless.

[feedingear]

Well your post count is on 13 so I would take that as a lucky sign!

[roadking02]

Lucky # 13!!! Hope everything works out with the new unit.

[Jeff Gibbs]

Just an update. The third unit seems to be working pretty well. There is an occasional tick sound when doing lots of tweaking while sounds are playing or when I overload by playing several resource intensive patches at once. Otherwise no problems. Sorry it took me so long to update but I have been on the road a lot this summer/fall. The Virus has really made me rediscover the original reason I loved synths--real time control and experimentation. The sounds design possibilities are the best for any synth I've owned. I now consider it indispensable and my Virus Ti2 sits center stage between my Voyager and Andromeda.

[MBTC]

It seems you're on the right track now, and glad to hear that. Sounds like you play live and I think thats where the Virus works best. I couldn't get the Ti2 desktop to integrate properly and on these boards it seems like "bad units" and "bugs" outweighs good experiences by about a 5:1 ratio. I love the Virus when it works well but I need them the work the bugs out before I can replace softsynths in a DAW-centric environment. AHEM... USB Latency? Hello. Ahem.

[feedingear]

MBTC, I think youd find that because this board exists not only as discussion about TI synths etc, but also to troubleshoot problems, theres probably a stack of TI owners that are having absolutely no issues whatsoever, who simply dont post here because they havent needed to yet.

[MBTC]

MBTC, I think youd find that because this board exists not only as discussion about TI synths etc, but also to troubleshoot problems, theres probably a stack of TI owners that are having absolutely no issues whatsoever, who simply dont post here because they havent needed to yet.

You have a fair point, and applies to many categories of technology I'm sure.

The one area that is kind of a black box for me is that when I look for other items that I would categorize as similar (lets say any hardware, software, or electronics that are relatively expensive... maybe a few hundred dollars or more), I can't go out on the web and quickly do research to get a feel for the overall reliability of the synth relative to similar products the way I could with other products. When it comes to things like cars, home appliances (TV, stereo, fridge, washer dryer etc) I have organizations like the consumers union that do extensive surveys on how the customer is making out with the purchase a few months down the road.

For synth hardware, I have nothing to go by for an opinion-at-large other than forums and you tube. Surely it would be different if I worked full time in a studio and had my hands on lots of kit, but I don't.

So, the only metric I really have is the ratio of people complaining about all of the technical issues compared to the folks that come here saying "I just got a Virus and I can't believe I waited this long to plunk down $3000". The feeling I get is that the consenus is that it's a great sounding instrument, but the ratio of those struggling with it to those utilizing it to the fullest feels rather bleak to me. I am of course drawing a comparison with vendor and enthusiast forums for other technology gadgets I own or are considering buying, where I view the forums and I see a lot of folks that are so enthusiastic about the product they just love to learn every aspect of it, then maybe 1 in 100 will have some issue. In the case of the virus it seems like at least 10:1 troubleshooters to users without issue.

I could be wrong, it's just a perspective and I admit to being a little jaded due to my own experience with the Ti2. I don't think my unit was bad, but given how much discussion I see here about defective units relative to fully successful users, I'd say Access could benefit by implementing six sigma or some other better manufacturing measure because the defect rate just seems higher than any hardware in any category I'm aware of.

Seems like you've had good luck with yours, which is great. I hope I can say the same some day.

[MBTC]

I could be wrong, it's just a perspective and I admit to being a little jaded due to my own experience with the Ti2. I don't think my unit was bad, but given how much discussion I see here about defective units relative to fully successful users, I'd say Access could benefit by implementing six sigma or some other better manufacturing measure because the defect rate just seems higher than any hardware in any category I'm aware of.


After I read what I wrote before, I realized six sigma or improved hardware manufacturing probably would not have had an effect on the particular issues I had. I believe the issues I saw were all buggy (or better yet) neglected software or driver related, and software quality techniques are vastly different than hardware. The comments about better hardware manufacturing applies more to some of the defects I've seen others discussing than my own personal experience.

[Jeff Gibbs]

I am the weird breed of cat who is a composer and hates sequencing and programming and loves to work out everything to play "live".
I have ten synths and the virus was the only one I ever had these sorts of issues with, except for an Ion with some pot and wheel issues. The Virus is so amazing in terms of creativity it is worth the trouble. I am still a little nervous about ability to max out the processor when layer resource intensive patches--hence the little popping sounds--when it comes time to record my next film score. But I can design the multi's to work around that.
I think all this discussion of issues for some of us is good for potential buyers to be aware of--both the tremendous sounds design possibilities and that it is a piece that can experience difficulties. My other boards just do what they do and have never had this sort of technical difficulties. But they don't do what the Virus does, not at all, and not with real time manipulation of just about everything on the surface. Soft synths are not even close--and I own many of them. The Virus is worth sticking with it through whatever issues arise--and for many or most they probably will never have a problem. Its my most useful and favorite synth right now out of a dozen options.

[jdmmade]

Hi Jeff I've been considering the Andromeda I already have the TI2 I love it and will never sell it. I can't seen to find good players on youtube for the Andromeda, so the demo are just shitty. How does it feel, programming and UI. Does it feel clean or sloppy and does it have that fat analog warmth? German synths are tricky little units. If you don't go through a run down or read the manual you'll miss a big key feature or a big modulation factor. Warning with the TI Jeff. The TI is capable of sounding analog, but the ADSR filters and the engine are totally alien compared to analog modeling. You'll notice with the TI you will have to exaggerate and even mimic waveforms and substitute certain filters and modulations and effects in order to get close to the retro sounds. Basically work harder to get that analog sound.