So, the TI's sound engine.....
 

Apart from the Hypersaw and the wavetable synthesis, are there any other differences in the actual sound source synthesis palette?

I was wondering, for example, why you couldn't have several different saws, squares etc., to choose from, as opposed to having just one of each (and then the spectral waveshapes)?

Like, selecting a saw with a Juno-type character as one oscillator to play off against a Jupiter-type square as the other osc, or a whole multitude of other combinations of what's out there. Or even the ability to graphically design oscillators (similar to Z3ta+) and then import them as PCM osc's into the Virus?

the z3ta sounds like crap imo
maybe if you run it thru the virus filters it could sound less plastic.
anyhow to answer your questions i think emulating different types of analog wave forms will take more dsp power.
maybe we will be able to see this in the virus digital modular.

Hey. It's one of the best VSTi's around and it sounds very good.

i realy prefer minimoog v,gmedia oddity and imposcar.

The fact of a graphic waveform designer (via software) is that you could almost effectively design, warp and import any of those oscillators as PCMs.

Would adding, say, twice as many sampled PCM waveshapes (of classic synth oscillator shapes, or user-created PCMs) take up all that much extra DSP? It'd be great to be able to pick from ten or so different type 'saw' waveforms with different characters, for example, to make up and mix together as different oscillators, as opposed to having just the one saw, or the like.

Each so-called saw/square/sine/etc. waveforms are quite different for every synth. Few are mathematically correct (apart from the digital synths). Take a peek [here].

I reckon this would be a RAM issue, not a DSP one.

different tools for different purposes.

i find theres rarely any good or bad music making tools out there. just different tools that focus on different aspects of the same thing. something that sounds good to the ear. zeta sounds pretty good to my ear. i dont think its plasticy. at least, not always. very tight bass and sub end. quite punchy which is nice. can do supersaw leads quite authentically which most synths (hardware or otherwise) havep roblems recreating. mind boggling variety of sonic possibilities. the mod matrix is huge and the capacity to truly WARP and fuck your sounds up are staggering. overall an amazing, if extremely complex and CPU hungry synth. out of the others you mentioned i only had impOSCar which was, in a word amazing for warm basses and reeces. unfortuneatly i dont use it so much because my virus b is so unbelievably fat in the bass department that i end up making all bass end sounds on the virus now. i guess i need to find another way of putting impOSCar to another purpose. cant let a good synth go to waste can we? :wink:

the waveforms sit in the memory section?
i already thought the virus cpu generates them.

i tend to use soft synths when my virus poly is up
sometimes i rerecord thich parts with the virus and sometimes if they sound good enough and i want some other charectoristics in my track i just leave it that way.

It does generate the traditional waveforms, but "PCM samples" as Timo was suggesting would by definition have to use RAM.