Help with KC

[Masteavo]

Hey guys,
I finally went to my local guitar center and put a down payment on a Virus kc after saving money for over a year. In the past week I have read a ton of negitive reviews on the synth. Sounds like just about everyone who has one has had some problems with it. When I pick up the KC next week what are some things I should look for to insure the one I purchaced is problem free and operating properly. I have very little patience when it comes to faulty gear that costs over 1400$ so I wanted to be positive that it's fully functional to avoid any postal activities. Also this will be my first piece of hardware in some time. Reason 3.0 has been my backbone for the past few years and with exception to the sound quality i've been quite happy. But, i'm venturing out to discover a deeper and darker sound and I feel the virus strain will accomidate my needs nicely. With this in mind, does any one out there feel the virus is to unreliable to be my new backbone? I don't want to have any problems with the synth. Should I get a differnt synth? Also, what sequencer works best with the virus synths? Logic? Pro Tools? any suggestions would be welcome. I would like something that works well with Reason 3.0, Access, Clavia, and Waldorf. Mac or PC what works best with the virus? Tell me about your problems and praise. Last question, has any one out there checked out the cosmic dreamer sound set from the access web site, it claimes to be very David lynch like. Thanks in advance. Jonnie

[mw7]

To hear praises and frustrations re: Access synth you need only to peruse the posts on this board. In general, they all seem to be buggy little gems in some way or another.

I have an Indigo 1 (virus B) and a TI Polar. Both of them perform perfectly in single mode, playing one sound at a time (which is what many people do with them). The glitches tend to appear when running them in multi or sequencer mode, with a couple of arps playing and lots of simultaneous effects. Still, they work great 99% of the time, and most glitches can be remedied with a soft reboot of the instrument. Fortunately, this only takes maybe 5 seconds, and the Virus boots up with the same sounds/edits loaded so you can start working again right away. Occasionally, a hard reset is called for, which is rather annoying.

People put up with these issues, though, because the synths sound great. The TI models, in particular, sound AMAZING, and have many features that no other instrument can touch.

I am a "home hobbyist" so I can put up with the occasional Virus crash or lockup in my home studio. If I was playing live, I'd probably be comfortable using a Virus on stage in single mode.

Guitar Center typically offers at least a 14-day return policy on synths. I bought my Indigo used at Sam Ash and they gave me 30 days, as did GC when I bought my Polar. My advice is to get the KC as long as they're willing to give you some kind of no-questions-asked return policy. That's what I did, and I decided to keep the darn things.

[Masteavo]

Thanks for the reply. Do you feel the virus KC is stable enough to lead my home studio as a single piece of hard ware in a soft enviroment. The reason i'm asking is I'm spending every dime I have to get it and don't want to run into a brick wall and hafto ship the thing back to Germany for repair. The down time would set me back months. I need something I can count on, not work on. Jonnie

[mw7]

I don't have a KC, but it seems most of the issues with the Virus synths involve the operating systems and not hardware problems. The Virus B and C models are more stable than the new TI models. That being said, there is always the potential for defects with instruments, especially used ones. That's why you need to clarify the return policy with your local GC regarding this instrument.

Most people seem to buy Viruses because they just gotta have the sounds. If you feel that way about the KC, then you'll likely be happy with it. I doubt that GC would knowingly sell an instrument that had problems. And my guess is that you wouldn't have to ship it back to Germany if it needed repairs.... there should be some authorized technicians here in the US.

If you want a "sure thing," then it's hard to go wrong with instruments made by the big Japanese guys - Yamaha, Roland, and Korg. They're Dependable with a capital D, like buying a Toyota or Honda. But depending upon the kind of music you're into, those synths may not suit you the way that the Virus does.

The Lexus may be a better engineered car, but I prefer the "soul" of my Jaguar in the same way I prefer my TI Polar over the Korg MS2000. The Jag may be in the shop now and then, but it's a small price to pay for a gorgeous automobile that oozes character when compared to a dull, boring, feat of Japanese engineering.