ti2 desktop just arrived
 

First impressions - new style is a little drab. I think I preferred the old chassis. This looks a bit like a wannabe Apple product. No rack ears were included and it's not obvious to me how you'd attach them if they were. I plan to use it as a desktop synth so I don't mind much. It does feel a bit lighter than the TI1 model.

More on the sound features of 3.0 as soon as I finish loading it.

Maybe spray paint it up and that way it'll seem a little more rough around the edges. ;)

Or maybe drip some candlewax to make it look romantic. As for the weight, nail it to the table for maximum resistance.

Will you be comparing the TI1 to TI2 through experience? I am curious if perhaps this thing will play sessions made on a TI1 better... more polyphony and what not. That would be a killer test.

WHAT?!?! Don't tell me you can't rack the thing! I have my TI in my live rack and I was going to list it on Ebay this Sunday and replace it with the TI2.

Have you checked the bottom of the unit for threaded screw holes? That MUST be where they are. If there's no way to rack it, forget it. And if there IS a way to rack it, this means Access is going to charge for the "optional" rack ears. BULLSHIT!

So let me get this straight..... They release a new TI without ever fixing the quantization/timing problems with Virus Control. Nobody is sure if the TI2 will "fix" this problem. The TI2 is nothing but a repackaged TI with a tad more DSP power. And finally to top it off, NO FUCKING RACK EARS with your $2,100 synth?

It's probably powered via USB and it doesn't come with the "optional" power supply either.

the rack ears are optional now and will be available in the foreseeable future. we found that most customers don't use them, why making everybody pay for it?

best, marc

Unfortunately I bounced all the TI1 tracks I had to audio a while ago so I can't do a side-by-side performance test.

I've had a brief listen to some of the new distortions and character fx. My first impression is that these might help a lot in overcoming some of the characteristically dark tone of the Virus. Kudos to Access for making these available for the older models too though.

I honestly think that the grayscale faceplate is slightly less ergonomic than the old one. The gray sublabels are very hard to read in indirect lighting. I know this kind of minimal thing is hip right now but I think it distracts slightly from the efficiency of the interface. Some color coding would be quite welcome.

That said, I don't care that much how it looks if it's reliable and if the new effects make as much of a difference in the sound as I hope they will.

What about Virus Control's quantization/timing? Are your arps and sequences actually locking to the MIDI clock?

I still cant read the dark red shift functions on my TI1 desktop!!

I don't use Virus Control at all.

I just knew you were going to say that? :rolleyes: