Need some advice

[krismiller1982]

I already know there will be a large bias towards the virus in this forum. But hopefully I can get some honest straight forward answers. I would like to know the benefits - besides tactile controls - of having a virus over plugins like Zebra or Sylenth. I've seen many conflicting posts on other forums where people say they pretty much can sound the same. Its a fact some plugins can offer a wider palette for sound design, but this alone doesn't sell me on getting Zebra or Sylenth.. Quite a few outside forum members say when comparing Zebra to Virus the sound is close enough to justify not purchasing a virus. This bothers me, as I'm an analogue synth junkie & know the aural benefits of having the real thing first hand. I know the Virus is a VA synth, but surely there has to be some audible benefits to having a virus over plugins. Even in 2013. If anybody knows of posts with A/B clips comparing the virus to plugins or a just a good honest opinion please share it with me ASAP. Thanks

[MBTC]

For me the biggest benefit is the extra processing power of a hardware synth -- getting some of the load off my CPU. Currently the UltraNova is the only hardware synth I own but I may get another Virus in the near future.

The real benefit for me is not really one of better sound than Zebra, Sylenth, Massive, Dune, SynthMaster etc., it would be because sometimes a track based solely on plug-ins can get CPU heavy unless you bounce to audio and lose a lot of creative flexibility by doing so. If I can move some of that load to another processor then its a big plus to me (unless in doing so I run into problems like timing or latency then its not worth the effort).

I've heard of blind studies held where literally nobody was able to accurately and consistently identify a virtual analog h/w synth versus a software synth without being informed which was which. There may be somewhat of a placebo effect going on if someone says the hardware sounds better. I actually read a couple of years ago a representative from Moog come out and say that hardware doesn't sound any better than softsynths, but the real reason to buy Moog gear is the inspiration the hands-on h/w tweaking provides, which I would agree with but it was a powerful statement considering who was saying it.

So basically my stance is that there can be good reasons to get a hardware synth, Virus or otherwise, I just don't think that sound should be the primary justification.

A/B clips of Virus vs competition would be of interest to me too, although unless it is just of raw waveforms I would think it would be very hard to set up a fair comparison.

I have A/B'd my Ultranova against Zebra with a similar very simple patch and wouldn't be able to tell the difference if I were blindfolded. It would be hard to compare more complex patches because the way you program the two isn't identical. I've heard at least one prominent EDM sound designer (Rob Lee) say he preferred the Ultranova sound to the Virus, for whatever that's worth.

[plaid_emu]

I like the hardware aspect as well. Big +. But if we're talking sound, then I'll sound off:

Nothing sounds quite like a Virus. Sure, you can get similar results from a competent VA and some nice effects. It's just that the Virus sound is the sum of all its parts. The effects have a huge role in this, and while many people say the Virus is weak without its effects, I say "Who CARES!" it sounds great with its effects on and that's ALL that matters. I have plenty of nice synths that I run through my Eventide, and while it sounds ****ing amazing it just doesn't sound like a Virus (and a great sound it is).

[TweakHead]

I like the hardware aspect as well. Big +. But if we're talking sound, then I'll sound off:

Nothing sounds quite like a Virus. Sure, you can get similar results from a competent VA and some nice effects. It's just that the Virus sound is the sum of all its parts. The effects have a huge role in this, and while many people say the Virus is weak without its effects, I say "Who CARES!" it sounds great with its effects on and that's ALL that matters. I have plenty of nice synths that I run through my Eventide, and while it sounds ****ing amazing it just doesn't sound like a Virus (and a great sound it is).

Yep, if you like the Virus sound, then just get it! You can't go wrong! I own the C, which doesn't have software integration on it, just pure good old MIDI protocol, and by simply having the hands on controls you're swimming in different waters for sure - it feels like an instrument, and that makes a big difference in terms of inspiration as well. I really love the Virus sound to, despite owning a lot of software plug-ins, and being really impressed with such things as Diva or Massive or the likes of those...