My Virus is not playing ball anymore… [SOLVED]

[Ruari]

Hi everyone

I've been quietly lurking here reading posts but haven't had anything constructive to add to anything yet, sadly, my trouble free TI time has come to an end :(

My Virus has been working relatively ok for me for a while now, towards the end of last week it's developed some really frustrating random problems.

I'm working on a track that has 7 TI parts in it, only up to 4 sounding at any one time though. I can't seem to play the whole project through without either some slight detuning, major detuning, missing delay, the TI giving up altogether halfway through & refusing to play any more sounds or it trying to play all the sounds all at the same time.

The patches I'm using & their "power ratings" are:

Prongo - 2 bars
Breezer - 3 bars
,~]>{ - 2 bars (don't you just love Charlie May's patch naming system)
DX-Pno2 - 2 bars
Sync303 - 1 bar
Dst302 - 1 bar (my own variation)
Dst302 - 1 bar (my own variation)

Sometimes Prongo will be late, I get clicks when Breezer & DX-Pno2 play together & whenever ,~]>{ plays - either alone or with another patch it can sound like a string being slowly tightened then quickly released - from time to time the delays are nowhere to be heard even though the VC shows they should be. The 303/302 patches are generally ok but sometimes they will all start sounding with everything else - even in the absence of any notes coming in.

I've tried disconnecting & reconnecting everything in different USB ports one by one, I've stopped using Time Machine whilst using Logic (sometimes this makes a difference - not always), I've tried 64bit & 32bit - 32 has less problems but they are still present & nothing I can do is completely solving the problem. I've even tried importing everything to a new Logic project file in case the original one was corrupt.

In this track I've got some audio tracks, 2 instances of Battery, 2 instances of FM8, Kore, Massive, Kontakt & some external synth action all routed through Logic, my CPU is only showing about 25-35% usage so I know that it can handle it.

I've never had a problem as bad as this with the Virus before, I haven't even begun to start mixing the track yet but if I can't sort it out I'm not going to be able to - has anyone got any ideas?

I'm on a 3.2GHZ i3 iMac with 8G RAM OSX10.6.6 running Logic 9.1.3 by the way.

[simog]

I have a problem that is remarkably similar to yours and I am running pretty much the same configuration bar the DAW (Ableton live 8) and a little less ram. Same imac though and I presume (TI2 Kbd) the same Virus!

I am only able to run two tracks off the Virus though, and time and time again it will hang a note or two and then either stop playing audio altogether or crash in a horrible audio mess!! Sometimes a soft reset of the Virus will postpone the issue for an hour, but generally it fails within about 10-15 mins of use.

Seem to have had more issues since moving to OSX 10.6.6 so not sure if this is related, although it did do it a few times before this update.

I know that 10.6.6 introduced a few bugs, one of which being a slow bootup which was spotlight and apple store related, so perhaps there is more to it than meets the eye?!

Unfortunately, I am using the virus less and less for projects these days due to the instability of Virus Control....which is a crying shame considering the price of the thing! Would dearly love to fix this, and hope that a Virus OS update (I believe I am on 4.0) will help, but it seems that with every update I have still got the crashing issue!!!

Spec :

imac core i3 3.06 Ghz
4Gb ram (soon to be 8Gb)
External Lexicon Alpha Audio interface (USB)
Virus TI2 Kbd
Ableton Live 8
Project : 25-30 tracks of mixed audio and VSTi's

Would love to hear from you if you have had any luck in getting your issue solved, or perhaps any feedback at all really on the issue.

[Ruari]

Hi simog

I'm using a TI2 desktop, I contacted Virus support about my problem. Jörg replied the same day suggesting that I'm possibly asking a bit too much from my Virus. He's asked me to do a little bit of trouble shooting but I haven't had the time to do it yet, which is why I've not updated the thread.

Here's part of the email he sent me

The amount of bars the patch complexity indicator shows only helps so much, since it also depends on how many notes are sent to each PART and also if they are using any UNISON setting (which can eat up available voices very quickly). In other words a good test here is to simply mute some PARTs to see if the TI then plays back the rest fine. If that's the case then the TI is simply running out of power significantly.I don't know if that will help you though if you're getting problems with only two tracks then it may be something else. It's worth getting in touch with support (http://www.virus.info/page/render/lang/en/p/15/do/Support_contact_and_resources.html) if you haven't already - they do seem to respond quickly.

Let us know how you get on.

[simog]

Hi simog

I'm using a TI2 desktop, I contacted Virus support about my problem. Jörg replied the same day suggesting that I'm possibly asking a bit too much from my Virus. He's asked me to do a little bit of trouble shooting but I haven't had the time to do it yet, which is why I've not updated the thread.

Here's part of the email he sent me

I don't know if that will help you though if you're getting problems with only two tracks then it may be something else. It's worth getting in touch with support (http://www.virus.info/page/render/lang/en/p/15/do/Support_contact_and_resources.html) if you haven't already - they do seem to respond quickly.

Let us know how you get on.

Thanks Ruari,

Seems a little odd that only two tracks cause the same issue you seem to have, but then I guess they are quite complex patches and the lead part is playing quite a number of midi notes (4-5) at once. Perhaps I too am asking too much of it. Still doesn't cover the crashing issue though...I am on 4.1.1.05 release so the latest one so far! Has been a problem for me since I got it.

Think I will put up a support request then and see if they can help me along a bit.

Thanks for your reply.

Simon

[mitchiemasha]

Detuning!! I've been using my lfo on pitch set to as fast as possible. For a gaga/red one style lead. 1 basic saw wave no effects. No power damand. Nightmare comes in when using another part/voice, no matter what power demand. The lfo slows down on my gaga sound and now causes serious detuning to the notes I require. I've yet to solve this problem, just been bouncing my parts to audio.

[techmaster]

I'm having similar issues as well, but mainly with stability. I can't even get through an entire song without the Virus completely choking. It either freezes, or gets stuck making a really nasty sound, and the ONLY thing that fixes it is to unplug the power cord from the keyboard. When this happens, all the lights on the keyboard stop blinking. I reset it, then start the song back up and it's fine for a minute or two, then it happens all over again.

This is seriously killing my musical productivity, and now I'm stuck trying to decide if I want to get rid of Logic or the Virus. And to be honest, Logic worked just fine until I got this keyboard. I had a Snow for a year with zero problems whatsoever, and loved it. So, I sold it and all my other gear, and bought the flagship keyboard, thinking it would be an upgrade. Unfortunately, now it's just useless to me. I guess I'm going to go watch TV. :(

Here's my specs:
Mac Pro 8 core 2.8ghz Xeon
10GB RAM
OSX Snow Leopard 10.6.7
HDD's: 320GB, 1TB, 1TB, 1TB
Video: Nvidia Geforce 8800
Audio: MOTU 828mk3
DAW: Logic Studio 9.1.3 32 bit
Virus: Virus TI2 Keyboard w/OS 4.5.0.16

[mitchiemasha]

[quote=techmaster;299300]I'm having similar issues as well, but mainly with stability. I can't even get through an entire song without the Virus completely choking. It either freezes, or gets stuck making a really nasty sound, and the ONLY thing that fixes it is to unplug the power cord from the keyboard. When this happens, all the lights on the keyboard stop blinking. I reset it, then start the song back up and it's fine for a minute or two, then it happens all over again.

This is seriously killing my musical productivity, and now I'm stuck trying to decide if I want to get rid of Logic or the Virus. And to be honest, Logic worked just fine until I got this keyboard. I had a Snow for a year with zero problems whatsoever, and loved it. So, I sold it and all my other gear, and bought the flagship keyboard, thinking it would be an upgrade. Unfortunately, now it's just useless to me. I guess I'm going to go watch TV. :(

Your issues there just sound to me that your putting more demand on your virus than it can take.

[grs]

Hi everyone
....I get clicks when Breezer & DX-Pno2 play together & whenever ,~]>{ plays - either alone or with another patch ...

Try putting sounds that interrupt each other on odd and even part numbers.

The TI sound engine has two DSPs, Odds hare one DSP and Evens have the other.

ie.
Part 1(odd) trouble sound A, Part 2(even) trouble sound B.
Not
Part 1(odd) trouble sound A, Part 3(odd) trouble sound B.

Sometimes I get this interaction and decide I like it. Sometimes it's better not to fight it. But obviously I'm talking subtle detuning or gargling not noise bursts.

[mitchiemasha]

Try putting sounds that interrupt each other on odd and even part numbers.

The TI sound engine has two DSPs, Odds hare one DSP and Evens have the other.

ie.
Part 1(odd) trouble sound A, Part 2(even) trouble sound B.
Not
Part 1(odd) trouble sound A, Part 3(odd) trouble sound B.

Sometimes I get this interaction and decide I like it. Sometimes it's better not to fight it. But obviously I'm talking subtle detuning or gargling not noise bursts.

wow, I never knew this, is it true??? if so thats amazing news for me. Possibly the best and most useful post ever on the forum.

[Ruari]

Try putting sounds that interrupt each other on odd and even part numbers.

The TI sound engine has two DSPs, Odds hare one DSP and Evens have the other.

ie.
Part 1(odd) trouble sound A, Part 2(even) trouble sound B.
Not
Part 1(odd) trouble sound A, Part 3(odd) trouble sound B.

Sometimes I get this interaction and decide I like it. Sometimes it's better not to fight it. But obviously I'm talking subtle detuning or gargling not noise bursts.
That is interesting, I'll try it out & let you know what happens.

Thanks :)

[virussnowman]

U shouldnt have any problems with a mac like yours, Nor logic 9.1.3. I mean its still a little buggy but Maybe it is the virus after all. Funnily enought I have the same set-up. I also had a similar problem when browsing through patches too fast. But that seems to have settled down. A Tip I do have for you, With your patches. If you click on matrix section,Under your slots, all the modulation your just not using, From the drop down menu's, rather than (modulation is a popular one) click & select [off], On the ones your 'not' using.This seemed to have done the trick 4 me. I know u shouldnt have to do this though but See how ya go=) If that doesnt work u can hit up access support. Usually their responses are swift. Either way if its fixed or not can u let us know if u pin point the reason as its always good to know. Cheerz. DW

[virussnowman]

Check out this link for more in depth view of whats just under the hood of ur virus, And various differences. This will shed some light on some interesting facts=)
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/dec05/articles/accessvirusti.htm

[Ruari]

U shouldnt have any problems with a mac like yours, Nor logic 9.1.3. I mean its still a little buggy but Maybe it is the virus after all.

This is what I keep thinking too, it's proper frustrating trying to work with it like this.

I've not had too much time to troubleshoot with it lately, but now I'm back to normal again I thought I would fire it up today to look at it. I did download the latest OS when it first came out hoping that would magically fix whatever was wrong with it, but all it's done is introduce a new problem.

When I've got Logic open along with the VC the Virus will occasionally spew random noise at me, Logics sequencer doesn't have to be running for this to happen either. It sounds like there's 100 arpeggiated notes being sent through it - usually I can solve it by hitting the panic (mono/sync) buttons but this doesn't always work. If it doesn't stop on the first panic press then that usually means the Virus won't respond to any incoming MIDI until I restart the VC.

I've emailed Jorg at Access support about it using the same ticket number as before as the last problem wasn't really solved - me having no time to troubleshoot rather than them not helping.

Either way if its fixed or not can u let us know if u pin point the reason as its always good to know. Cheerz. DWI'll keep you guys informed, cheers for the SOS link by the way :)

[Ruari]

UPDATE: It looks like we have finally been able to sort out my issues, the culprit - a USB hard drive connected via a USB hub :!:

I have no idea why this was causing a problem for the Virus, according to the computer the port the TI is on is separate to the port the hub is on. :confused:

Jorg from support (who is very helpful) says that USB drives can quickly eat up any available USB bandwidth, but in my non computer trained brain seeing as the ports are separate from each other I wouldn't have thought that would cause me a problem.

Anyway, the TI has been running flawlessly for the last couple of days so it must have been & if I have to disconnect the USB drive which is only used for Time Machine when working with the Virus - I can live with that.