I don't think Access would be flooding the market if their next VA was a genuine 'step up' from the Virus C, and not just a small leap like the C was compared to the B.
The Virus C was essentially nothing more than a Virus B, with near enough the same interface and control panel, with the sound engine itself having just a few additions. - Not really something that was a 'considerable' marked difference from the B, in terms of the concept. They might as well have called it a Virus B v1.5, or similar.
So, therefore, if Access were to introduce a successor VA synth (which I really hope they do), it would have to be significantly different to their previous offerings (involving at least a few new synthesis concepts), and be considerably more advanced in order to differentiate it from being just a Virus C mk2.
I would hope the interface would get a re-design in the process, too, and I think this would help in (aesthetically, too) getting away from what they have done already, and demonstrating a notable change from the stock VA concept of yesteryear.
In my humble opinion, a touchscreen (or an LCD of the same size) would immediately set it apart from every other VA synth on the planet. A graphical touchscreen would also allow them to do things that would almost be nearly impossible to do otherwise. Imagine having someting like a graphical waveform/Z3ta+ synthesis capability using the graphical LCD, and I think that would be exceedingly appealing and would allow for a whole new VA hardware sound-design experience. It would also open the doors for a whole wealth other significant sound-design concepts due to the data being immediately visible and accessible via the screen. And if Access ever wanted to make any more synthesis-types available, then the LCD would re-inforce that.
Rather than a modular design (a more extensive matrix would be sufficient), I think the LCD/touchscreen, and the additional supported synthesis types made instantly possible due to having a such a graphical screen, is where I would personally hope Access is heading. A screen would bypass the need to have a computer, and hence would lessen the extremely destructive aspect of the software vs hardware battle these days. It would be the best of both worlds, and more.
Thanks
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